About Gardens of Water

Hello Readers!

Our Featured Book of the Month for June is Alan Drew's Gardens of Water.

I'm about two-thirds of the way through it right now and I'm really enjoying Drew's style.

The story is set against the backdrop of the terrible quake that devastated northwest Turkey in 1999, and it explores the clash of cultures between an American family and a family of devout Muslim Kurds--former neighbors (uneasy acquaintances, at that) who are forced closer together in the quake's aftermath. The clash is made even more intense by the secret romance that's going on between the American family's teenaged son and the Kurdish family's teenaged daughter.

I'm eager to see how it turns out, and I'm fascinated by the fact that Alan Drew actually lived in Turkey at the time of the 1999 quake. Maybe I'll even get a chance to talk to him about it when he visits the Main Library on June 21st!

Here's a link that provides some facts about the earthquake.

And here's one that provides some information about the history of the Kurdish people in Turkey.

I hope you'll join me in reading Gardens of Water.

Check back in a day or two for a profile of the author and some thought-provoking discussion questions.