The Eyes of the Amaryllis

Eleven-year-old Jenny goes to stay with her grandmother, Geneva, in a coastal New England town while Jenny's mother recovers from an illness. Geneva lives alone in a cottage by the sea, where she walks the beach each night searching for messages from her husband who was lost at sea thirty years ago. During her stay, Jenny learns about the shipwreck of the Amaryllis and her grandfather's fate as its captain. She becomes drawn into her grandmother's nightly beach walks and the mysterious connection between the sea and the shore. A supernatural presence makes itself known, leading Jenny and Geneva on a quest to understand the relationship between the living and the dead, and what the sea chooses to keep or return. Their search brings them closer together as they confront questions about love, loss, and letting go. The Eyes of the Amaryllis explores themes of memory and acceptance, while asking what it means to hold onto hope in the face of unchangeable truths. Through its blend of realism and fantasy, the story examines how different generations process grief and find peace.

Readers describe this as a haunting ghost story that explores themes of love, loss, and family bonds. The atmospheric seaside setting and Babbitt's poetic writing style receive frequent mentions in reviews. Readers appreciated: - Vivid descriptions of the ocean and coastal environment - Complex relationships between three generations of women - Balance of supernatural elements with realism - Deeper meanings beneath the surface story Common criticisms: - Slower pacing than Babbitt's other works - Some found the ending unsatisfying - Young readers report difficulty connecting with the characters - Several note the story is more melancholic than expected Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (1,900+ ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (40+ ratings) One reader on Goodreads wrote: "The prose reads like waves lapping at the shore - gentle yet persistent." Another noted: "This isn't Tuck Everlasting. It's a different kind of magic, more subtle and sad."

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🌊 The novel's haunting maritime setting was inspired by Natalie Babbitt's own time living in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where she was surrounded by stories of shipwrecks and seafaring families. 🚢 The amaryllis flower, referenced in the title, symbolizes pride and determination in Victorian flower language—traits exhibited by both the grandmother and the mysterious ship in the story. 📖 Author Natalie Babbitt initially struggled with writing this book and rewrote it entirely three times before achieving the final version that was published in 1977. 👻 The book masterfully blends elements of ghost stories with coming-of-age themes, a combination that was relatively uncommon in children's literature of the 1970s. 🎨 Before becoming an author, Babbitt was an illustrator and created her own cover art for several of her books, though not for The Eyes of the Amaryllis.