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Book The Light Through the Leaves
GISH II Challenge
Team: I Plead the Fifth



One unbearable mistake at the edge of the forest.

In a moment of crisis, Ellis Abbey leaves her daughter, Viola, unattended—for just a few minutes. But when she returns, Viola is gone. A breaking point in an already fractured marriage, Viola’s abduction causes Ellis to disappear as well—into grief, guilt, and addiction. Convinced she can only do more harm to her family, Ellis leaves her husband and young sons, burying her desperate ache for her children deeper with every step into the mountain wildernesses she treks alone.

In a remote area of Washington, a young girl named Raven keeps secrets inside, too. She must never speak to outsiders about how her mother makes miracles spring from the earth, or about her father, whose mysterious presence sometimes frightens her. Raven spends her days learning how to use her rare gifts—and more important, how to hide them. With each lesson comes a warning of what dangers lie in the world beyond her isolated haven. But despite her mother’s cautions, Raven finds herself longing for something more.

As Ellis and Raven each confront their powerful longings, their journeys will converge in unexpected and hopeful ways, pulled together by the forces of nature, love, and family.

Possible Discussion Questions

) Every individual would respond differently to the trauma of their child’s abduction. Do you think Ellis would have had addiction problems without the betrayal and abduction? Discuss how her childhood situation, including Zane’s departure, influenced her perceptions about herself and influenced her reactions.

2) Zane’s abrupt departure caused Ellis lifelong grief, yet she also left her children. In what ways did she rationalize this decision? Discuss why harmful actions sometimes repeat in families.

3) You don’t know what Jonah has been going through until the end of the story. Did your feelings about his response to the family tragedy change at the end of the book?

4) Why didn’t Ellis immediately tell Jonah she saw him with Irene the day of the abduction? What did that tell you about her character? Did you judge her more or less harshly for her silence?

5) Why did Jonah let his mother take over the household? Do you think he understood doing so was crushing Ellis yet more after the abduction?

6) Imagine how the family’s post-abduction crisis might have been different if Ellis and Jonah had communicated better. Why couldn’t they? Do you think the communication gap had more to do with Ellis, Jonah, or both?

7) Powerful grief can make a person want to run away. Discuss the ways in which Ellis attempts to ‘erase� herself, including her encounters with men.

8) Why do you think Keith was different for Ellis? Do you believe in that kind of immediate connection?

9) At the end of Part 1, when Ellis says she feels she’s moving in the right direction, is she? Would she have been happy wandering like Caleb if her life hadn’t been changed by the assault?

10) What was your reaction toward Mama? Did your feelings about her change as the story continued?

11) Imagine Raven’s life if she hadn’t met the boys. Even if she eventually found her family, how would the absence of those relationships and her school experiences have affected her?

12) Why does Raven believe she’s half Raven spirit? Why does her perception of her divided persona intensify as she has more experiences at school? If Mama hadn’t forbidden seeing the boys beyond school, do you think Raven might have questioned her origins more?

13) Do you think Aunt Sonya did enough to ensure Raven’s safety? Discuss the importance of the ways she influenced her sister’s parenting.

14) Discuss the ways Ellis and her daughter were connected through their experiences though they were far apart.

15) Did Keith do the right thing when he drove Ellis to Florida?

16) Did you think Keith had good reason to leave Ellis when he discovered she had hidden her past from him?

17) Imagine River, Jasper, and Viola’s lives if the baby hadn’t been taken. Would the Bauhammer family have been happy? Do you think River would have the same problems?

18) Discuss how the childhood experiences of Jonah, Ellis, and Audrey changed many lives in this story.

19) Raven and Jackie had three months to consider their weighty decision at the end of the story. Why do you think they chose as they did?

20) How do you see the future of the united families?

Initial Thoughts

I've read Part 1 currently.

I'm not sure what I think of the start of this book. I suppose Ellis is not a totally likable character and I'm struggling with her actions. It is hard to conceive of a mother (view spoiler)[ leaving her children, although her reasons for doing so do seem believable. She was also left by Zane,though, and knows how that affected her as a child. Going down the addiction path also seems likely given the family history of similar problems. I'm hoping she'll be able to stay sober as she is trying to at the end of this section. I hope Caleb is a good influence on her. (hide spoiler)]

I wonder if we will find out what (view spoiler)[ happened to Viola by the end of the book or if we'll just be left to assume she was taken by someone who hopefully takes good care of her and loves her? (hide spoiler)]

Thank you for setting this up, Lisa.
I am excited to start this book today - completely blind about everything about it, but I trust your choice, so this is going to be very interesting.

Will come back when I have a bit completed and then read through the Discussion Questions and your initial thoughts, to avoid any spoilers.

Halfway Point

I've read the next two sections now, so a little less than half way through the book.

Part 2 - Raven
I think this section answered my question about (view spoiler)[ whether or not we'd find out what happened to Viola. I suppose it should have been a no-brainer that we would, but I also thought maybe her loss was just a trigger to start the story and that we'd never know.

This section reminded me a bit of The Berry Pickers...another missing girl, stolen by a woman that wanted a baby/child, and being relatively well taken care of - yet living a much different life than she would have if she had not been taken.

I like Raven and I appreciate the education she is getting living in the woods - much of which I think Ellis might even approve of. But Audrey (I think that was her adopted mom's/kidnapper's name?) has obviously crossed a line taking the baby and hiding her away from society. She's a bit delusional in her beliefs. I'm not sure what I'm hoping will happen at this point - it is too much that Audrey asked Raven to not go to the boy's house anymore I think, and I expect that promise will be broken. Will Raven confide more in Jack's mom which will lead to authorities being involved? Will she make it back to Jonah and her brothers? I guess I'm hoping for them to be reunited. While it will be difficult for Raven to have all her beliefs from her early formative years shattered, that might be best for her in the end. Hopefully she would keep her love and appreciation of the outdoors and then if she's ever reunited with her mother they would have that appreciation/love in common. (hide spoiler)]

Part 3 - Ellis
I guess I am not surprised (view spoiler)[ by the fact that Ellis was attacked at the beginning of this section. But she seems to have come out of it ok - she's not addicted to pain killers or other drugs at this point and seems to be on a good career path towards starting/running her own business. I liked Keith and am glad he's back in her life - I hope they are able to stay together, although I think it will be very difficult for him with how closed off she is. I'm interested to see where this goes.... (hide spoiler)]

P.S. I found two more prompts that work for this book, so I gave them to you on the spreadsheet. Obviously, if we find more you can use whichever ones you want. Or mix the prompts up between us. But at least we have four different ones now for this book.

Also prompt #168- MC uses candle, pg 294 "After dinner, they put candles on the cake..."

Part 4

I'm wondering if you're regretting trusting me to choose this book...it is definitely different than I expected. That said, I'm sad that I have to go home and sleep now and can't keep reading....

My eyes pretty much popped out of my head when (view spoiler)[ Audrey told Raven she couldn't get pregnant because she was part earth spirit and then encouraged her to enjoy her youth and have lots of sex with her boyfriend.....then in the next sentence told her they should do an asking for a baby, wouldn't she like another baby in the house? I can't believe she'd do that to her teenage (kidnapped) daughter!

And now Audrey is very likely dead and I'm guessing there's a good chance Raven is pregnant....but they've also figured out who she really is.... (hide spoiler)]

Part 1

Okay, so I am little slow off the block on this one.
But I am certainly intrigued by what I have read so far. Ellis is an interesting character to say the least and while her actions are questionable, they don't seem completely out of pocket. Even the decision to (view spoiler)[leave her husband and kids seemed to come from a place of concern and sometimes taking yourself out of the equations seems like the best solution given the situation. (hide spoiler)].
It seems she has infact gone through a fair few things in life, with Zane and then Viola - plus the family history and addiction, her husbands infidelity - it all can weigh on you even when you don't actively think about it.

I do hope that her cross-country journey, which seems more like her desperately trying to find an oasis where she can quieten the monsters in her head, yields her the solace she is seeking. Keith seemed like an interesting companion and I wouldn't have minded seeming more of them actually. Caleb, for some reason, sounds like bad news, but we have just been introduced to him and I am maybe jumping the gun a bit with him.

As for Viola, (view spoiler)[ I just thought that the whole Raven angle of it is basically Viola 2.0, but I have not read anything about Raven yet, so this is just a wild wild guess. (hide spoiler)] But, I think we will know about Viola as the story progresses or so I hope.

Part 2

This part was so removed from Part 1, that for a minute I actually had to check if I had accidentally started reading a whole different book. Haha! Not going to lie, it took me a minute to understand the whole spirits and earth God situation - but Raven is a nicely laid out character. (Although, why is she called Daughter of Raven when she herself is Raven?).

And yes, you are absolutely bang on when you said it resembles The Berry Pickers. What are the odds that the two books you choose happened to have a similar narrative structure. :) The Berry Pickers was a decent to good read, so I am expecting things from this one because we have a little more intrigued laced in the stories here.

The mother is a little out of sorts or atleast seems so to me. I get the belief part, but she seems to be swayed away by it pretty often. Parenthood like this tends to bother me, because then you are leaving your young kid to essentially fend for themselves, physically and emotionally - so what is the point of you as a parent even being around. Absent parents while being physically present can be a bigger impact on the kids and in more ways than one. But yeah, I was impressed by the level of education Raven seems to have received and she seems to be a sharp girl who picks up on things relatively quickly. (But that could also be that she has had to grow up faster than her age given her situation).

I won't be surprised if Raven breaks the promise to not meet Jacky and Huck and their mother because that is a very exciting avenue into a life she had no inkling of until then, and that is likely going to result in her story coming to light. And I agree with your take on how that would play out vis-a-vis the teachings that she has received so far - her relation with the outdoors is her connection back to Ellis.

Part 3

Ellis's story definitely has me more intrigued for now. Although, it does seem to jump timelines rather frequently and randomly which does bug me a little. I may not necessarily be on board with her decisions but I understand her motivation. I would have liked to read a little bit more about the underlying impact of her trying to run away from her previous life is as we read through her constant move around the country. It clearly is impacting her, but the writing kept her actions and motivations at just the surface level and on the actions that happened in the present. A little more deep dive into the impact of her past life would have made her journey a little more emotionally impactful for me.

I am genuinely pleased that Keith was back in her life. But, the way she involved him back in her life was certainly a bit unfair for him. Also props to Dani for being a good friend, who showed up for Ellis even after everything. Funny how Ellis does have a fair few kind folks in her life, but she just doesn't seem to acknowledge their contribution in her life and how her grief has overtaken everything else.

But overall, a good character graph for Ellis in this part - from a brutal start to a hopeful end.

Part 4

This section of the book was just bonkers! Not going to lie, I am a bit lost on the Audrey situation. Are we just to believe all that she stands for without any background information as to why she is the way she is? (Maybe Part 5 will tell us that as the stories (hopefully!) converge!). But, the whole relation between Audrey and Raven is a bit tricky to comprehend. I understand people can be blinded by their beliefs but Audrey just seems to be in a whole another world. Also how does she have so much money when no one really works in that household? Where is the inheritance coming from? I have a feeling (view spoiler)[ the senator has actually been funding all of this and there is a lot more there than what we have seen so far (hide spoiler)], otherwise who pays the credit card bills? How do they have the money to have all these cameras and security installed in the house? How do they even afford the house? And how does no one in the town question that?

While I am not too blown away by the book so far, I am glad I trusted you in reading this with you. Honestly, I may not have read it had it be just me - so terribly glad to do this buddy read with you, Lisa! Haha! :)

Part 4 was bonkers!

I've finished the book now and think I'll give it 4 stars (that might be rounded up...I haven't decided yet).

(view spoiler)[ I think I liked the ending overall, although everything was tied up with too pretty of a bow. The family definitely went through enough hardship that they deserved a lot of good, but it felt like everything was a bit too rosy at the end.

I'm glad that Raven is seeing that her mother (Audrey) was not all good and that she caused a lot of hardship by taking her. (hide spoiler)]

This book has so many parallels with The Berry Pickers, both looking at how one event can shape so many peoples lives and all the ripples it has. It is funny that we buddy read both of them together!

Final Thoughts

So, that was all sugary sweet! (view spoiler)[While, I liked the fact that everyone ended up happy and content with their life choices after all that they went through, it somehow felt a bit forced to me unfortunately. (hide spoiler)]

What I particularly liked was this section spent some time for the siblings to bond with each other, which I was hoping that the author did not overlook in between the Raven and Ellis's story. The kids went through a lot and we never quite saw that, so it was good that they got some voice. Jacky is pretty much the definition of wholesome and Reese is an absolute favorite. I also loved Max, who was pretty much in the background but shone when she made her presence felt.

Overall, a decent read. But it surely is funny how we read two books a couple of weeks apart that had more or less the same thematic narrative. Thanks for choosing this one, Lisa - happy to have read it with you! :)