Tell it to the Trees opens with the death of Anu, a single woman who rents the "back house" of the Dharma family. It is winter, a deep cold winter in northern British Columbia, and Anu is found frozen, having lost her way to the house in a blizzard. Inside, the Dharma family looks on in various degrees of shock.

Months earlier, Anu arrives at the home of this seemingly happy family. Her decision to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere is at first a good one; Suman Dharma brings Anu a delicious lunch every day, the children Varsha and Hemant leave her alone, and the silence of the woods inspires her to write.

Soon, however, the perfect façade of the Dharma family shows its chips, and Anu becomes wrapped up in family drama, determined to help the kind Suman make a better life for herself.

Using shifting narrators, Badami slowly unveils the story of this troubled family. Varsha, who lost her mother at a young age, clings to Suman, terrified that she will lose her step-mother as well. Varsha goes so far as to hide Suman's passport, knowing that she cannot leave without it. Little Hemant adores Varsha, his older half-sister, and is controlled by her; she is a troubled child whose warped thoughts guide much of the plot. Akka, the family matriarch, carries her own secrets, and places importance on keeping up appearances. Whenever something bad happens, she reminds the children to hold it in; if secrets threaten to come out, Akka urges Varsha and Hemant to tell the trees.

Badami's latest novel is incredible; a disturbing tale that catches the reader immediately, Tell it to the Trees is a story of family life gone terribly wrong. Her prose, particularly when describing the snowy Canadian winter, is beautifully constructed. The freezing atmosphere of the winter echoes the chilly thoughts and actions of the characters, and the muffled quality of the snow mirrors the strangled lives of Suman and her children.

This is Badami's fourth novel, and her most impressive. I devoured my copy in one sitting, unable to tear myself away from the characters. Varsha's narration, in particular, is some of the best I have read in a long while, and she is certainly the most convincing child narrator I have come across. Her thoughts, and the logic behind her beliefs, show a damaged little girl capable of serious actions, and her sad life had me in tears. Tell it to the Trees is heartwrenching, a touch frightening, and a major achievement by a remarkable author.