But this 'mistake' makes sense in connection with Aslaug's upbringing. (True, it was a bit strange that this teenage girl would try to bury her mother in the back yard after discovering her body instead of calling the authorities and arranging for a proper burial. Though the powers-that-be suspect foul play for a bit and place Aslaug under arrest. And it is this knowledge of the natural world (in some ways associated with witches and witchcraft) that get her into trouble as the reader learns. What Aslaug knows is the natural world-the world of herbs and plants and weeds (roots, barks, etc.) She knows what plants are poisonous, and which ones aren't. The information that her mother thought was most important to pass down to her daughter-and the information that her mother chose to conceal-is what sets Aslaug apart from her peers. She's lived a very sheltered, very odd existence. But she's never known about the real world. Though the two did occasionally venture into the nearest town to collect their mail and buy a few supplies now and then. She's never interacted or associated with anyone really. Aslaug has never attended school or church. The two have been living in the country, living off the land for the most part. Her mother, Maren, is a hard woman to know, to understand, to love. In part because our heroine, Aslaug, has been raised in isolation. Set in the modern world-in America to be exact-the book has a very strange otherworldly feel to it.

Of course, there are plenty of folks that would read that description and think 'this is the book for me!' It's a bit dark, a bit moody, at times overwhelming, and not a bit traditional. Weird and sometimes wonderful is how I'd describe Madapple by Christina Meldrum. The women resemble schoolgirls with gangly limbs, ruddy cheeks, plaited flaxen hair they walk holding hands.

Madapple by christina meldrum