The secrets of the past meet the shocks of the present.
Aslaug is an unusual young woman. Her mother has brought her up in near
isolation, teaching her about plants and nature and language—but not about
life. Especially not how she came to have her own life, and who her father
might be.
When Aslaug's mother dies unexpectedly, everything changes. For Aslaug is a
suspect in her mother's death. And the more her story unravels, the more
questions unfold. About the nature of Aslaug's birth. About what she should
do next.
About whether divine miracles have truly happened. And whether, when all
other explanations are impossible, they might still happen this very day.
Addictive, thought-provoking, and shocking, MADAPPLE is a page-turning
exploration of human nature and divine intervention—and of the darkest
corners of the human soul.
Vanity Fair Magazine (May '08) (click to view page)
"In debut novelist Christina Meldrum's mesmerizing literary mystery, Madapple (Knopf), the worlds of science and faith collide."
—Vanity Fair (see article at right)
"The haunting tale of one exceptionally disturbed family unfolds in this gripping page-turner. Locked away from the world behind heavy drapes in a house with no mirrors, Aslaug Hellig grew up with her intelligent and overbearing mother Maren, who had told her that she was the product of immaculate conception. Though extremely knowledgeable about the local flora and other bookish pursuits, Aslaug is veritably clueless in social situations. When Maren dies suddenly, Aslaug's world shatters. Alone and frightened, she goes to stay with her estranged aunt and cousins until their suspicious demise. As the narrative moves between her trial for murder in the present and the past that led up to it, the Helligs' shocking truth is slowly revealed. Though Aslaug's situation is hardly conventional, the author does a spectacular job of making the unbelievable credible. A markedly intelligent offering mixing lush descriptions of plants, history, science and religion, this should surely spark interest among a wide array of readers. With this spellbinding debut, Meldrum marks herself as an author to watch."
—KIRKUS (starred review)
"[A] beautiful, unusual novel...will haunt readers long after they have finished the book."
—KIRKUS(MADAPPLE is being featured in Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2008 special edition, "First Fiction: 35 Promising Debuts."
To read the full description, click here.)
"Aslaug lives in isolation; the flowers and plants that her mother, Maren, uses to make their lives possible
are more real to her than the outside world. Then Maren dies, and Aslaug makes her way to the nearby
Maine town, where she finds her Aunt Sara and teenage cousins Susanne and Rune. Aslaug hopes they
will have a clue to her father's identity; she learns, as readers already have, that Maren proclaimed Aslaug
a virgin birth. Aunt Sara, a charismatic preacher, wants none of this. But Susanne, enthralled with the
writings of esoteric religionists and pagans, believes this is a possibility, and Rune is enthralled with
Aslaug herself. Then Aslaug finds herself pregnant, and divine intervention is once more a possibility. Plot
summary does little justice to this haunting book, which is as much mysticism as it is story. Meldrum
plunges deeply into the nature of reality. She uses language in a particularly arresting way, and the leaves
and petals of the plants that are so much a part of Aslaug's life shimmer over the pages. If all this wasn't
satisfaction enough, Meldrum, a litigator, mixes faith and science with a solid mystery, told in the
transcripts of a trial in which Aslaug is the defendant. There is much to ponder in this enthralling
achievement from a debut author."
—BOOKLIST (starred review)
"In a stellar debut novel that explores the nexus between the natural world and the spiritual realm, Meldrum spins a mesmerizing story about a sixteen-year-old girl, Aslaug, who believes she was born of a virgin. Raised in a reclusive and restrictive environment, homeschooled by her eccentric Danish mother, Aslaug learns several languages and lots of herbology but very little about common school subjects and nothing at all about the religious texts that her mother pores over. When her mother dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances, Aslaug leaves her small Maine community to live with her aunt, who is running a Pentecostal church in a nearby town. As dark family secrets are revealed, the tension escalates; eventually, a fire destroys the church, claiming the lives of her aunt and cousin, and Aslaug is the chief suspect. Her account of events, rich in lyricism and imagery, is juxtaposed with spare courtroom transcripts. The interplay between the two narratives is particularly effective at foreshadowing and generating suspense, while the stimulating exploration of religion and mythology adds thematic depth. j.h."
—THE HORN BOOK (May/June)
"Christina Meldrum has written a devastating, gut-wrenching, compelling and thoughtful story. The amount of research that must have been put into the sections on herbology and botany alone confound me. There are deep discussions of religion and faith, along with language and science. The characters are all broken but fierce, and I found myself loving and hating them in equal measure. Readers need to buy into the story, but once there, will not be able to put this book down. I have not come across a book as astounding as Madapple in a very long time."
—Booktopia (read the full review here)
"A beautifully written novel... Christina Meldrum writes atmospherically, and she beautifully portrays her characters, peeling away the layers of the onion until we see their very core. With a page-turning plot that will keep you up long past midnight, Madapple will stick in your mind long after you have finished reading it."
—Mrs. Magoo Reads (read the full review here)
"...This brilliant, densely written amalgamation of botany, religion, murder mystery, courtroom drama and dark family secrets is the twisted brainchild of newbie author Christina Meldrum. Now, I read a LOT of YA fiction, and this one stopped me dead in my tracks with its utter bizarreness. So if you want a challenging read that's so far off the beaten track it's practically in the MILKY WAY, dig up Madapple at your local library or bookstore May 2008." —Reading
Rants (read the full review here)
Read the full reviews and other reviews 
