“Corinne La Mer’s heart beat like wild drums as she ran through the forest. Her bare feet stumbled over the dead leaves and protruding roots of the forest floor. […] She didn’t know this part of the forest. And it was darker here. The branches of mahogany trees were so thick that barely any light came through. It even smelled different, of wood and wet earth, while Corinne was used to the smell of the sea. She had no idea which way was out.”

These opening pages use several techniques to establish the novel’s setting and protagonist. Vivid imagery plays on the reader’s senses of touch, sight, and scent, granting the scene a sense of verisimilitude. The passage also juxtaposes the dark forest with Corinne’s home by the sea, a contrast further emphasized by Corinne’s surname; “mer” is French for “sea.” Altogether, these details establish the natural world as a narrative focal point and poise Corinne La Mer as a protagonist on the cusp of a transformative journey that will challenge her to navigate and overcome unfamiliar circumstances.

“At the burial, Corinne had whispered, ‘How long will it take her to grow back, Papa?’ But the look on his face told her that not everything that was put in the ground would give something back. A little orange tree had appeared next to the grave a year later, and had bloomed every year since, but it was not the same as having her mother.”

Corinne learned everything she knows about her favorite pastime, growing things, from her deceased mother, Nicole. In the scene above, at Nicole’s grave on All Hallow’s Eve, Corinne recalls her reaction to her mother’s death. While Nicole does not grow back from being buried in the churchyard, Corinne’s mother nevertheless stays with her in the orange trees and the powerful magic contained in the necklace she gave Corinne.