From the start, this was probably one of the most unique books that I’ve read, with a very good message behind it. Although it was definitely one of the longer ones I’ve read, it was well-written enough to keep any reader interested.

This book tells the story of 9 Americans who work together to prevent the destruction of forests within the U.S. The book starts in the 1800s with the story of the Hoel chestnut tree, detailing an important background for another character later in the story. The Hoel family had a tradition of taking pictures of the tree every year, and these pictures were eventually inherited by Nicholas Hoel, the great-great-great grandson of Jorgen Hoel, who planted the tree. After this chapter, the book fasts forward in time to the story of Winston Ma and his family, who escapes communism in China and becomes an electrical engineer in the U.S. He starts a family, and plants a mulberry tree. However, later, when everything falls apart, he takes his own life underneath the very tree he planted, leaving behind his daughter, Mimi Ma, who will be an important character later in the story.

There are seven more individual stories in this book, each revolving around a specific character in a different time period. Each of these nine individuals has seen their live impacted massively by nature, and each one of these stories are centered around a certain tree, as seen in the two early characters. The 9 characters eventually go on to formulate a plan to spread awareness for their cause, but It does not really go as planned. I won’t spoil what happens to each of these characters, but I will say that this book can have either a happy or sad ending, depending on one’s interpretation of it.

Overall, I think this book had a great message behind it, with the author clearly emphasizing the importance of nature to the world, as well as the importance of the continued existence of trees. This book is an amazing example of environmental activism through literature, and I would recommend this book to anybody interested in the environment and its preservation.

The Overstory by Richard Powers is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.