Blooming at the Sunrise Motel by Kimberly Willis Holt

"That day, I realised doing small things for people can be a big gift."

"I'm the conductor, they're the musicians, and by dusk the garden has become a symphony - or at least the start of one."

Stevie is living a happy life with her mum and dad in New Mexico. Her mum and dad sell flowers and produce from a stand beside a busy road. They are not rich in monetary terms but they are happy and one they even have a plan to travel to Australia until ...

"Two weeks ago, while I was at school, a drunk driver crashed into my parents' stand."

Stevie only has one living relative, or so she thinks, and so she has to pack up and move to Texas where she will meet a grandfather she didn't even know existed. When she meets Winston Himmel it is clear the coming weeks will be difficult. He is a distant figure with few words and he is not inclined to talk about Stevie's mum, his daughter, or her husband. Gradually, with a lot of patience and at times confusion,  Stevie learns about her own complex past. She also discovers more about mother and father's relationship and the things they didn't tell her.

Stevie tries to make the best of this difficult situation. The motel workers are friendly and so are the long term residents. Back home in Taos, Stevie loved her parent's garden and so she decides this run-down motel will be way more inviting to customers with the addition of a flower garden. Unfortunately Winston does not agree. Eventually, though, the day comes when Winston does begin to answer some of Stevie's burning questions.

"I thought his telling me more about what happened would answer everything. But it's like he's given me a jigsaw with pieces missing."

I love the warm way Kimberly Willis Holt describes the various people who live and work in the motel. There is a beautiful scene in the story when Stevie gathers them all together (Winston is away) for a meal near her newly established garden. 

"An hour later, Violet comes to the rescue with a bolt of pink satin. ...  We unroll the yards and yards of fabric. There's more than enough to cover the long makeshift table. At Violet's urging, I let the ends flow onto the grass. The satin shimmers in the sunlight, and the forks and spoons sparkle like jewels. It's beautiful."

Reading this book I also enjoyed meeting Stevie. She is a wise girl and she is also deeply kind. Do you love the cover of this book? I do. A literary friend laughed at my cover obsession recently but having working in a library and been a customer of book shops I know a good cover is so important - of course there are terrific books with dreadful covers and there are books I don't enjoy even though they had very appealing covers. Anyway I am happy to say Blooming has a beautiful cover and a wonderful, heart-felt story. I highly recommend Blooming at the Sunrise Motel for readers aged 10+. If you are wondering about the title it has a few meanings one of which relates to the motel office which has a sign that says "The Bloomin' Office". 

"We had a few Aussies staying here a couple of years ago. They were doing a road trip around Texas. They started drinking in the mornings and didn't quit until after midnight. Come check-out day, they were so drunk that they circled the motel, walking laps around the parking lot. We couldn't figure out what the heck they were doing. One of them asked ... 'Where's the bloomin office?"

Companion reads (no surprises here):

Louisiana's Way Home

Front Desk

Caterpillar Summer

I mentioned the cover of Blooming at the Sunrise Motel. It has art by Julia Denos. Here are some of her picture books and middle grade book covers (Hilary McKay Casson family series):

Windows