In Olympia Vernon debut novel Eden, the main character Maddy decides to use red lipstick that she obtained from her aunt Pip, to paint a picture of a naked woman on the first few pages of the book of Geneses while in church with her mother. Her mother decides to teach Maddy a lesson in life by sending her to care for her aunt Pip who is dieing of breast cancer. Pip who is an outcast in the town due to her devilish ways and sleeping with her own sister’s husband, helps Maddy to understand that if you live by the sword in life you will die by the sword.

This novel has a poetic flow that is made for a special kind of reader that will understand the language that Ms Vernon uses to describes the storyline. It leaves too many unanswered question that may leave potential readers daze and confused. I found that I had to go back though chapters to catch a meaning of a paragraph. The chapters were kept short, but they did not coincide with each other. It has the making to be a wonderful novel, but the plot and storyline needs to be a little more organized. Also the poetic and descriptive language should be limited or made easier for the reader to understand and know what the author is referring to.

Review by Jen Murphy
A SistaGirl Book Club Reviewer