Review: Annie's Song by Catherine Anderson

Again, this is not a YA book. warning. This is also not a new book (oh darn) but i read it and i loved it, so here it is.

Goodreads:

The Gift

Annie Trimble lives in a solitary world that no one enters or understands. As delicate and beautiful as the tender blossoms of the Oregon spring, she is shunned by a town that misinterprets her affliction. But cruelty cannot destroy the love Annie holds in her heart.

Alex Montgomery is horrified to learn his wild younger brother forced himself on a helpless "idiot girl." Tormented by guilt, Alex agrees to marry her and raise the babe she carries as his own. But he never dreams he will grow to cherish his lovely, mute, misjudged Annie, —her childlike innocence, her womanly charms and the wondrous way she views her world. And he becomes determined to break through the wall of silence surrounding her;to heal...and to be healed by Annie's sweet song of love.

My Thoughts:

OK. I read this book, then made Kevin read it. We both LOVED it. oh man. Yes, there is a small rape scene. thankfully, it is not really graphic at all. I can not even begin to describe to you how wonderfully the author put this book together. The main focus throughout the book is that Annie is Deaf (because of the deafness, mostly mute). Because of this, most of the story is told in her mind. Since she became death through an illness, she already has a basic understanding of some things. \Her parents, however, kept her away from all of the other people in town so she was rarely seen except running through the woods and just being an overall free spirit. No one realizes she is Deaf. They all thing she is the town Idiot. Alex takes her in as his wife temporarily when she is pregnant and he still believes her an idiot. (his intentions to take the baby and raise it as his own so it isn't put up for adoption by Annie's parents.) The longer he spends with Annie, however, the more he feels like keeping her. He realizes she understands way more than she lets on. He is th one who discovers that she is actually deaf. From that moment, he tries to open up the world to her and show her all the things she grew up without. he buys her everything he can think of that she felt deprived of because her parents didn't believe she had a use for nice things. He is so in love with her and he tells her and showers her with his love and understanding. Oh man, this book almost made me cry near the end. there were some trials with this couple. I will say, however, that one of the reasons i LOVED this book so much is because of the unique take on the heroine. I loved both of the lead characters. Neither one grated on my nerves too much. Annie was a constant source of amusement for me. When he tried to explain to her she was pregnant...she thought she was going to have an egg. She was much like a big child and i absolutely LOVED her story. you should seriously consider reading it. <3  rating: 5/LOVE!