This novel is deliciously sweet. It is a magical-realism novel, set in a garden under a magic apple tree. Things this novel are not: deep, philosophical, challenging. Things it is: EXCELLENT brain candy. It's the sort of novel I go to when I need a break, when my brain can't slog through anything heavy. It's like a really comfortable, warm pair of slippers.

A woman is drawn through space and time to keep her ancestor alive. Butler addresses racism head-on, looking at the slavery of the deep South through clear, compelling narrative.