Like the Willow Tree

Written by Lois Lowry

Part of the Dear America series

Orphaned by the flu, Lydia faces a new life in a strict Shaker community.

3.9 Goodreads · 2,909 ratings

224 pages· 34,893 words· Est. 5 hour read· 830L

$12.99Save 7%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

In 1918, Lydia Pierce, orphaned by the Spanish flu, is thrust into the strict Shaker community of Sabbathday Lake. Separated from her brother, she must navigate a world of unfamiliar customs and isolation. Can Lydia find joy and belonging in a place where men and women live apart? Her journey of resilience and adaptation unfolds as she learns to embrace a life she never imagined. Will Lydia's courageous spirit help her bridge the gap between her past and this new, challenging existence?

From the publisher

Two-time Newbery Award-winning author Lois Lowry brings a brand-new, beautiful diary to the Dear America series!

Suddenly orphaned by the Spanish flu epidemic in the fall of 1918, eleven-year-old Lydia Pierce and her fourteen-year-old brother, Daniel, of Portland, Maine, are taken by their uncle to be raised in the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake. Thrust into the Shakers’ unfamiliar way of life, Lydia must grapple with a new world that is nothing like the one she used to know.

Now separated from her beloved brother, for men and women do not mix in this community, Lydia must adjust to many changes. But in time, and with her courageous spirit, she learns to find the joy in life again.

At a glance