When Evie Perez is cut off from everything she loves and forced to move to Iceland for the summer, she takes her canvas and paintbrushes into the picturesque cherry orchard behind her guesthouse. She stains her lips with stolen cherries in the midnight sun and paints a boy she’s never met.Oskar is startled to discover Evie in his family’s orchard, and even more surprised to see himself on her … on her canvas. Too ashamed to reveal his stutter, he remains quiet as Evie returns day after day to paint, spilling confessions she wouldn’t even tell her priest.
When the magic intensifies and their connection deepens, everything they share is at stake, forcing Oskar to decide how long to maintain his silence.
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What a wonderful and magical experience!!!! The Language of Cherries is a story that will make you feel everything in a very powerful way, a story that will make you feel alive and even wants to start paying attention more and more to those details we usually don’t stop to look around.
The Language of Cherries is the story of Evie a teenage girl who was feeling very lost in her life. she felt alone, her parents were very consumed with life problems and egoisms that she really didn’t understand making her feel even more like she didn’t belong, she only felt safe with her Abuela the only person in this world who truly saw her from who she was.. until life happened and everything she ever knew started to change, making her finally see and feel for the first time.
Oskar lost so much when he was just a boy, he feels like nothing is going to be the same, and lives his life secluded from the world just keeping himself busy with house chores to forget. but everything happened for a reason and life is about to show him all the magic he has been missing.
Oskar and Evie’s story allows us to live and grow with the characters as the story continues to evolve, the secondary characters are amazing as well giving so much depth to the main characters. I really love Agnes, she was always a beacon of light between Oskar and Evie..
I really don’t have enough words how much I loved this book, it is hard to translate my feelings but is a story that gives you so much hope, that makes you believe in second chances, in magic and that there’s still good people in this world.
Overall it was a magnificent story I’m looking forward to spreading the love of this book and read more books by Jen Marie, Thank you for the magic.
This book will give you ALL THE FEELS. I was honored to read an early copy of this. Hawkins is a master with words and the way she can turn a phrase will leave you in awe. She captures your heart with words, pulls you into the story until you have a book hangover for days wanting more of these characters. Rich world building and characters you root for and relate to make her a master storyteller. I can’t wait for the world to read this and fall in love with Hawkins words.
Imagine the summer before your high school senior year, away from everything and everyone you love — your sweet grandmother who truly understands you, your best friend, your first cute guy, your hometown Florida sights — and spending it in Iceland! Evie Perez stays in a small cottage in a small town while her archaeologist father leaves her for his sites. Alone and depressed, Evie is drawn into a cherry orchard where she encounters a boy her age, Oskar, who doesn’t talk and magic that assails all her senses.
Jen Marie Hawkins instills her debut novel with such lush writing I could taste and feel each scene. I particularly love the made-up words, her ability to play with language to evoke feeling. But it’s not overly descriptive or too lyrical or too slow. It simply, and wonderfully, reels you in, making you part of the story, making you hunger to know what happens next. The characters are rich and nuanced and layered with emotion. My heart ached for Evie and Oskar, for their torments, for their choices that inevitably create more and more turmoil. And through it all are the cherries, dark and sweet and luscious, exerting their magical pull.
I never thought of going to Iceland, but after reading this book I could imagine exploring it in summer, hiking the lava fields, swimming in the hot springs, hoping to see the aurora on a clear night. I cried at the end, because it was over. I’ve written the words “You won’t want this to end,” but this time I felt those words magnified, multiplied to infinity. I wanted to reach into the story and hold Evie and Oskar close. (way more than 5 stars)
THE LANGUAGE OF CHERRIES caught my interest when I read the blurb. I thought one of my granddaughters would enjoy reading the story. I bought her a copy and bought one for myself. I enjoyed the story of Evie Perez & Oskar Ericksson, and their love story that started in the only cherry orchard in Iceland. It also was a very magical cherry orchard. They met beneath the most magically gifted tree in the entire orchard. Their connection was powerful from their first meeting. Oskar would not talk because he didn’t want to reveal his stutter. Evie just assumed he didn’t speak or understand English.
Evie was in Iceland with her father. She had not wanted to leave Florida, or leave behind her friends or her beloved Grandmother. She also didn’t want to be sent to live with her neglectful mother in New York City. So here she was in Iceland. Something changed for her when her father brought home a delicious enchanted cherry pie. The next day she was drawn to the cherry orchard that had produced those delicious cherries. She brought her paints and painting supplies. Suddenly she was inspired to paint a picture of the cherry tree and a young man who she had never met. When the same young man appeared right before her eyes, she knew then that this was a dream come true. The very beginning of a slow-burn love story. Though he spoke not one word. It started with one bite of a cherry pie at midnight. These cherries had a soul.
This story has wonderful characters who you find easy to care about. People who have made mistakes and are trying to overcome their shortcomings. Most of all it has the fated love story of two teenagers from different countries. Who find true love in the only enchanted cherry orchard in all of Iceland. You can find your soulmate without a word spoken, but the language of cherries and love.
I enjoyed how this story was told… great premise & storyline.
What a lovely story of two wounded young adults who find their way to love and healing with a little help from a magical cherry orchard. The Icelandic setting makes the story even more unique.
***Actual Rating: 5++++++/5 Cherry-on-Top Stars***
I’d like to start this review by saying that it’s been forever since I last experienced something so incredibly heartfelt, unbelievably touching, and extremely emotional by reading a book. In fact, I was stunned speechless by this earth-shattering piece of story so much that I came up with a short playlist 100% inspired by Evie and Oskar’s, the protagonists’, tales of cherries; thus, I hope you’ll enjoy this book, my review, and my song choices as much as I like putting them together.
Long story short, the journey of The Language of Cherries began when Evie Perez, a Cuban-American teenage girl residing in Florida, was sent to Iceland to live with her estranged father for her summer vacation since she chose not to stay with her terrible mother in New York. As an aspiring artist, Evie discovered a beautiful cherry orchard right next to her dad’s house, which served as a perfect inspiration for her right when she needed it most.
Little did she know the cherry tree she randomly sat under was…a little different from others. According to Evie, aside from its juicier, riper, and plumper cherries, the fruit itself possessed the magic power of materializing dreams. After having a little taste of a few stolen cherries, Evie’s paintings came to life as if some invisible forces wielded her paintbrushes mysteriously.
Enter Oskar Eriksson, a handsome 17-year-old Icelandic guy who owned the orchard with his aunt but secretly battled against his stammer. And by “battling” against, it was more of “escaping” from reality when all Oskar did was keep his thoughts in his English, poetry-formed journal while pretending he didn’t understand the beautiful language, a.k.a. the one Evie spoke in.
See, they were easily one of my top favorite OTPs (one true pairings) thanks to all the swoon-worthy yet hilarious moments. I honestly LIVED for Evie and Oskar’s ridiculous encounters and cute banters.
All right, before I was carried away by their adorableness, I’d like to talk about how this book had had such an incredibly positive impact on me and what I loved most about it. Since this book is partly composed of *ahem* “journals full of bad poetry, unfinished songs, and scattered thoughts of a sad guy who lost everyone he ever loved” (Oskar’s words, not mine), I really loved the lyrical literary notes as well as Evie’s unfiltered inner thoughts throughout the story.
In case you’re wondering, this book was told from both Evie and Oskar’s perspectives, which was undeniably a brilliant arrangement to make everything clear for the readers. The light-hearted tone of the narratives really brought out the best of Evie’s down-to-earth personality and Oskar’s overall broody-yet-caring-enough vibe.
To my astonishment, Evie’s paintings and her insatiable desire for cherries from that special tree may have something to do with Oskar’s traumatic experience and that’s all I’m telling you right now. *wink* Aside from the non-spoilery teaser above, I also appreciated the truth in these tales of cherries. The author somehow flawlessly elevated the essence of such a fictional, Nordic folklore regarding Oskar’s family roots as the one and only cherry orchard owner in Iceland, and brought life to Evie’s paintings inspired by the cherries-infused dreams.
In short, The Language of Cherries was a book about friends, family, relationship, first love, and most imperative of all, forgiveness. The depth of these concepts was splendidly presented by Evie and Oskar’s way of story-telling, and I found myself gravitate towards their self-exploratory journey right after jumping on board of this wild, memorable cruise full of diverse cultural backgrounds. As much as I’d love to better represent the general idea of this book, I know no words can do justice to this beautifully written masterpiece.
Therefore, I decided to share my mini playlist inspired by this book with you and hopefully, you’ll give Evie and Oskar’s “Aisling” cherries a taste. To put it differently, this book wasn’t just one that’d stay with me for a long time; I would artfully weave the amazing experience and lessons into my own life in reality as well. After all, just as Oskar quoted from Bob Marley, “You just got to find the ones (the people) worth suffering for,” and this book I’m holding right now, is a story worth fulfilling.
Lastly, needless to say, The Language of Cherries is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED read from me and I’m certain you’ll feel the contagious happiness, sense of achievement, and self-betterment at the end of the story.
***Thanks to the author and Owl Hollow Press for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***