The Handkerchief Tree

November 1, 2012
Sent to live in an Edinburgh orphanage at 11, Shona Murray must begin life on her own four years later. Rather than go into the world of domestic service, she parlays her love of the orphanage gardens into an assistantship at a florist. Shona shows natural talent for her work, and she blossoms in her personal life, too, becoming a beautiful, well-put-together young woman. She attracts the attentions of the shop's owner, Fraser Kyle, as well as a distant cousin, who arrives and leaves under mysterious circumstances. But Shona harbors deep feelings for Mark Lindsay, the orphanage doctor, who first introduced her to the garden's unique handkerchief tree. When he reappears in her life, Shona finally realizes all that she dreamed of having during her time in the orphanage. Scottish author Douglas crafts a moving, if slowly unwinding, story about a woman coming into her own and finding love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)