Beneath the Night Tree

By: Nicole Baart

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Christy Award nominee Nicole Baart delivers “this beautifully written, heartwarming” (Library Journal) tale. Living in a cozy Iowa farmhouse with her kindly grandmother, 24-year-old Julia Desmit struggles to support her five-year-old son and 10-year-old half-brother. Though her boyfriend is away at medical school, Julia harbors hope for a better life. And then the man who abandoned her six years ago rocks her happy world with one question: “Do I have a son?”

©2011 Nicole Baart (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

Providence

If you could sum up Beneath the Night Tree in three words, what would they be?

Wrong become right

What about Johanna Parker’s performance did you like?

The narrator did an excellent job! I specifically buy audio books she narrates.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It brought back memories of bad hookups from my high school and college days and all the wrong reasons why women pursue men. I liked how the author took the heroine from a place of brokenness to finding her purpose. I appreciate a good romance that deals with real issues women have.

Any additional comments?

I purchased this audio book because of the narrator, but eventually fell in love with the author and her writing style.

Wonderful continuation of Julia's story

What made the experience of listening to Beneath the Night Tree the most enjoyable?

I loved Nicole Baart's strategy of taking a break from Julia's life for a couple of books and then returning there to continue the story several years later. Julia and her little family have stretched and grown, both closer and further apart, in interesting and realistic ways. Johanna Parker's narration was superb in this book, as it was for the previous books, "After the Leaves Fall" and "Summer Snow."

What about Johanna Parker’s performance did you like?

She became Julia DeSmit, her grandmother, even the children. her voices were realistic and not grating, like so many narrators who try and portray children.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes. Julia's growth as a character, as well as the growth and changes in Parker, Michael, and the children made for wonderful and compelling reading. I also thought the depiction of Julia's wise grandmother was mostly well-done, but it doesn't seem that she struggled with any unforgiveness, impetuousness... perhaps she was just too "saintly" for my taste. This is why I could only give the book 4 stars.

Any additional comments?

Baart has a knack of putting everyday characters with faults and foibles front and center in her books. They are damaged without being tragic, sympathetic without being sappy.
Great work, well worth the read!