THE PEACH THIEF by Linda Joan Smith

Review by Kelly Carey

​Hungry, alone and dreaming of the peach she tasted only once, young orphan Scilla scales the wall of the Earl’s garden hoping to find the delicious fruit. Caught and mistaken for a boy by the imposing head gardener, Scilla is offered work instead of being sent back to the workhouse. Scilla attacks her garden chores with a desperate fervor, determined to keep her identity a secret and earn the warm bed and regular meals her new job offers. The longer she stays the more she falls in love with cultivating a thriving garden and the more confused she becomes by the flushed face feelings she gets around garden apprentice Phin. But Phin will put her safety in jeopardy and might just make her lose the only secure home she has ever known.
​
This middle grade novel would sit comfortably on a nightstand next to The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1911) and The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Dial Books, 2015). All three books take place in the English countryside in the late 1800s to early 1900s and feature a scared but spunky girl fending for herself in difficult circumstances. 

---

On Writing: 
Linda Joan Smith’s book can be used as a mentor text for every aspect of middle grade novel perfection but can be especially studied for: 

Building a Connection Between a Main Character and the Reader
Smith’s main character may live in the Victorian age and be suffering under circumstances foreign to today’s readers, but Smith creates a powerful bridge by exploring universal emotions. Readers will understand Scilla’s desire for safety, security, and friendship and that will bond them to her success and provide tension when she is in danger. If your manuscript features a character in circumstances or settings vastly different from your potential reader, use Smith’s novel as a guide for allowing relatable human emotions to connect readers with your character.

Creating A Strong Supporting Cast
The Peach Thief is populated by fully realized secondary characters with a full cadre of their own motivations and personality traits that serve the plot. Every side character could be pulled out and viewed as a wholly formed individual. The result is a bustling hive of people swarming around Scilla that give the story a satisfying depth. Take a lesson from Smith and make sure your secondary characters have their own unique backstory – even if that backstory never makes it into your text – and actions that serve the main plot.

Painting a Powerful Setting
Smith manufactures a verdant English working garden and allows readers to taste the fruit, feel the delicate seedlings, and smell the rich dirt. Use Smith’s book to explore the power of senses and deliciously descriptive word choice to create a setting readers will want to inhabit. As a bonus, these same writing tools make Smith’s high tension pivotal scenes punch with a power that will grab and thrill readers.

Seek out The Peach Thief as a mentor text for creating a satisfying main character, building a strong supporting cast, and using descriptive language to paint a powerful setting.

---

To learn more about Linda Joan Smith, visit her website here or follow her on Facebook here.