The Vegetable Museum

A solid novel about family and community, which offers plenty of scope for discussion on environmental themes.

Uprooted from her life in Montreal, Chloe is unhappy about being dragged to Victoria by her father and separated from her mother. But she quickly bonds with her grandfather, whose stroke was the reason for the move. When he suffers a second stroke, she becomes obsessed with finding his collection of heirloom seeds. The supporting characters are charming although the narrator herself feels under-developed and the pacing, which is solid for most of the tale, falters at the end with an abbreviated solution to the problem and too rapid a resolution. The parents marital problems are very believable and add dimension to this simple story.

Many thanks to Orca Book Publishers for the advance reading copy.