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themaliciousreader's review against another edition
4.0
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Girl and the Grove tells the story of Leila.
She’s 16 and has been in the foster system since she was 2. Until recently, when she was adopted.
Leila is very shy and has a deep connection with nature and follows a path that leads her to a grove that may die if a construction project goes through.
This book had everything. A cute romance, a strong friendship and some family drama. I liked the characters. I liked how passionate Leila was about the environment and I found her to be a very interesting character allover.
I had a bit of trouble getting into the story though and I sometimes found the writing style a bit hard to stay focused on. And I’m kinda done with stories containing the ultimate mean girl…
Other than that, I found this story really interesting and very poetic. I liked the social media end of chapters and I now want to watch How to Train Your Dragon again...
The Girl and the Grove tells the story of Leila.
She’s 16 and has been in the foster system since she was 2. Until recently, when she was adopted.
Leila is very shy and has a deep connection with nature and follows a path that leads her to a grove that may die if a construction project goes through.
This book had everything. A cute romance, a strong friendship and some family drama. I liked the characters. I liked how passionate Leila was about the environment and I found her to be a very interesting character allover.
I had a bit of trouble getting into the story though and I sometimes found the writing style a bit hard to stay focused on. And I’m kinda done with stories containing the ultimate mean girl…
Other than that, I found this story really interesting and very poetic. I liked the social media end of chapters and I now want to watch How to Train Your Dragon again...
utopiastateofmind's review against another edition
5.0
(Disclaimer: I received this free book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I just need to say that this book moved me to my very core. As someone who is adopted, reading this was a breath of fresh air. I've had these similar thoughts about abandonment, about being broken, and about the mysterious existence of our birth parents. I want to talk about how refreshing it was and heartwarming, to see a positive portrayal of friendship between the MC and her best friend. It took everything I was expecting, proved some of it right, but improved upon in in spectacular ways. One of the other things I loved was the activism in this book. I wish my younger self had read this and thought - yes it is so cool to be passionate about something that people might not (probably not) understand, and to go with it. The Girl and the Grove mixes genres, is integrated with pop culture references, and is purely delightful and spectacular.
Characters: 5, World Building: 4, Plot: 5, Writing: 5
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-the-girl-and-the-grove-by-eric-smith/
I just need to say that this book moved me to my very core. As someone who is adopted, reading this was a breath of fresh air. I've had these similar thoughts about abandonment, about being broken, and about the mysterious existence of our birth parents. I want to talk about how refreshing it was and heartwarming, to see a positive portrayal of friendship between the MC and her best friend. It took everything I was expecting, proved some of it right, but improved upon in in spectacular ways. One of the other things I loved was the activism in this book. I wish my younger self had read this and thought - yes it is so cool to be passionate about something that people might not (probably not) understand, and to go with it. The Girl and the Grove mixes genres, is integrated with pop culture references, and is purely delightful and spectacular.
Characters: 5, World Building: 4, Plot: 5, Writing: 5
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-the-girl-and-the-grove-by-eric-smith/
yuna's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Adoptee feels written by an actual adoptee! A lot to enjoy in this read: environmental justice, friendships, light magic, beautifully handled adoptee feels and identity issues, low stakes/quiet story that's still Important capital I to the characters, and epistolary elements.
larondaflyingpaperbacks's review
2.0
You can see my full review here!
*I received an eArc of this book from the Publishers through Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
The first 10-20% of the book was cool. I liked the main character and loved her adoptive parents. Her friendship with Sarika was also probably the best part of the book. After that initial beginning of the story, I had no idea what was happening. It wasn't as if too much was happening, I just... couldn't understand where the story was going.
Adding Leila's Seasonal Affective Disorder was a huge catalyst for me wanting to read this considering I've never read a book featuring it. But again, after about 20%, I was not having fun. And though I liked Leila, some of her decisions involving certain characters did not bode well with me.
And the overly cliched mean girl! This has it be the most over the top "I'm bitchy just to be bitchy" antagonist?can we call her that? I have ever read about. And the borderline love triangle? It's forced down the reader throat that Leila and Shawn had "tension" and then that squashed when Landon comes in. BUT SHAWN IS STILL THERE FOR NO REASON. Overall, Leila and Sarika's friendship was the best... the rest not so much.
*I received an eArc of this book from the Publishers through Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
The first 10-20% of the book was cool. I liked the main character and loved her adoptive parents. Her friendship with Sarika was also probably the best part of the book. After that initial beginning of the story, I had no idea what was happening. It wasn't as if too much was happening, I just... couldn't understand where the story was going.
Adding Leila's Seasonal Affective Disorder was a huge catalyst for me wanting to read this considering I've never read a book featuring it. But again, after about 20%, I was not having fun. And though I liked Leila, some of her decisions involving certain characters did not bode well with me.
And the overly cliched mean girl! This has it be the most over the top "I'm bitchy just to be bitchy" antagonist?
magdalynann's review
3.0
DNF @ 18%
There was a lot I was expecting from The Girl and The Grove and everything that I wanted didn’t really come out. There were parts I really enjoyed and parts where I just had to put the book down. This one was a DNF from me.
Leila, a recently adopted girl living in Philadelphia, lives with seasonal affective disorder. I loved that we got to have a brown girl with mental illnesses as the main character. That was the coolest thing ever.
But the writing itself threw me off too much for me to be able to happily finish the book. If you know me, I hate DNF’ing books. I’ll push myself through an ARC just to be able to feel like I can fully review it. But DNF’ing something also tells you a lot about the book itself.
I jumped at the idea of The Girl and the Grove when I first saw it. I love urban fantasy stories and I was already imagining all the cool fantasy elements this story would have–Leila’s a dryad! Living trees! Technology and nature existing in harmony!
But none of that really happened. I couldn’t get into it to really get to the meat of the story and the writing wasn’t nearly engaging enough for me to want to stick around in anticipation of a successful twist. Every time I tried to read more, I just got more bored and I’d rather go to be an hour early and sacrifice my pre-bed reading time than force my way through a book I wasn’t engaged with.
There was a lot I was expecting from The Girl and The Grove and everything that I wanted didn’t really come out. There were parts I really enjoyed and parts where I just had to put the book down. This one was a DNF from me.
Leila, a recently adopted girl living in Philadelphia, lives with seasonal affective disorder. I loved that we got to have a brown girl with mental illnesses as the main character. That was the coolest thing ever.
But the writing itself threw me off too much for me to be able to happily finish the book. If you know me, I hate DNF’ing books. I’ll push myself through an ARC just to be able to feel like I can fully review it. But DNF’ing something also tells you a lot about the book itself.
I jumped at the idea of The Girl and the Grove when I first saw it. I love urban fantasy stories and I was already imagining all the cool fantasy elements this story would have–Leila’s a dryad! Living trees! Technology and nature existing in harmony!
But none of that really happened. I couldn’t get into it to really get to the meat of the story and the writing wasn’t nearly engaging enough for me to want to stick around in anticipation of a successful twist. Every time I tried to read more, I just got more bored and I’d rather go to be an hour early and sacrifice my pre-bed reading time than force my way through a book I wasn’t engaged with.
simonlorden's review
4.0
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Girl and the Grove was one of my most anticipated 2018 releases. I requested the ARC months ago and I was overjoyed when I got it, but somehow I only got around to reading it in May.
It was awesome to read a book with a teen protagonist whose hobby is protecting the environment, with a fondness for trees in particular. I also think this is one of the only #ownvoices books with an adopted protagonist that I’ve read, especially a protagonist who was adopted as a teen and not as a small child. (In fact, the only one I can suddenly think of is one of Vavyan Fable’s books, but as far as I know, that wasn’t #ownvoices.) It was really interesting to read about Leila’s experiences, and how she struggled with accepting that she finally had a home and a family.
Read the full review on my blog.
The Girl and the Grove was one of my most anticipated 2018 releases. I requested the ARC months ago and I was overjoyed when I got it, but somehow I only got around to reading it in May.
It was awesome to read a book with a teen protagonist whose hobby is protecting the environment, with a fondness for trees in particular. I also think this is one of the only #ownvoices books with an adopted protagonist that I’ve read, especially a protagonist who was adopted as a teen and not as a small child. (In fact, the only one I can suddenly think of is one of Vavyan Fable’s books, but as far as I know, that wasn’t #ownvoices.) It was really interesting to read about Leila’s experiences, and how she struggled with accepting that she finally had a home and a family.
Read the full review on my blog.
delphinbella's review
5.0
CPed and loved it :) The relationships in this book were so real and wonderful, and as a tree-hugging, mythology-obsessed hippy I loved the dryads and the central themes. Plus, it made me cry <3
joreadsbooks's review
4.0
Read as an ARC from NetGalley
It's rare to find a book that really captures how teens experience the internet and ways activism manifests. Smith brings forth such a strong friendship in Leila and Sarika. They were so fun to read about, very supportive, and balanced each other out wonderfully.
I enjoyed how low-key the magical element was, given that it showed up so late. The way Leila's passion for nature had been grounded in the familiar was really well done. It made her relatable but also helped the audience care about the things she cared about. She was headstrong, but compassionate. I especially loved the way she related to her parents, particularly Jon. He bumbled a bit, but ultimately, he cared about her. Lisabeth could have had some more page-time, but the moments she was present were great.
The weakest element for me was the antagonist. It felt like some character development was missing because she was so one-dimensional. I thought establishing the real villains—those wanting to destroy the grove—was handled much better. It would have been nice to get some foreshadowing there in the beginning.
Overall, a great read about fighting for what you love and so many good family feels.
It's rare to find a book that really captures how teens experience the internet and ways activism manifests. Smith brings forth such a strong friendship in Leila and Sarika. They were so fun to read about, very supportive, and balanced each other out wonderfully.
I enjoyed how low-key the magical element was, given that it showed up so late. The way Leila's passion for nature had been grounded in the familiar was really well done. It made her relatable but also helped the audience care about the things she cared about. She was headstrong, but compassionate. I especially loved the way she related to her parents, particularly Jon. He bumbled a bit, but ultimately, he cared about her. Lisabeth could have had some more page-time, but the moments she was present were great.
The weakest element for me was the antagonist. It felt like some character development was missing because she was so one-dimensional. I thought establishing the real villains—those wanting to destroy the grove—was handled much better. It would have been nice to get some foreshadowing there in the beginning.
Overall, a great read about fighting for what you love and so many good family feels.
acqua's review
2.0
Well, this was disappointing.
2.25 stars.
The Girl and the Grove brings a new, interesting perspective to the contemporary fantasy genre, focusing on themes of environmentalism and family instead of the romance or the magical creatures, although those two elements are still present and relevant.
I loved the premise of this book; my problem was the execution.
I didn't like the writing at all. It was often awkward, almost amateurish at times, and with this premise - magical groves in the park! - there was so much potential, but there was almost no atmosphere. There are so many scenes set in the wood and you basically don't describe the wood? Why?
The dialogues weren't terrible, but sometimes it was clear that this book was written by someone who has never been a teenage girl.
I liked Leila. We do not often see characters who really care about the environment and fight to preserve it. I also really liked how her arc focused on both the romance and the family - she has been adopted recently, and she is still coming to terms with it. Her seasonal affective disorder doesn't help.
I didn't like the other characters as much. While Leila's family was great and it was nice to see a strong female friendship between Leila and Sarika, there was also the very stereotypical, really evil blonde mean girl who didn't get any development. All we know about her is that her dad is rich, she wears make up and she is evil. She's so evil she's worse than a caricature.
I thought we had left this kind of character in 2012 YA books.
I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
2.25 stars.
The Girl and the Grove brings a new, interesting perspective to the contemporary fantasy genre, focusing on themes of environmentalism and family instead of the romance or the magical creatures, although those two elements are still present and relevant.
I loved the premise of this book; my problem was the execution.
I didn't like the writing at all. It was often awkward, almost amateurish at times, and with this premise - magical groves in the park! - there was so much potential, but there was almost no atmosphere. There are so many scenes set in the wood and you basically don't describe the wood? Why?
The dialogues weren't terrible, but sometimes it was clear that this book was written by someone who has never been a teenage girl.
I liked Leila. We do not often see characters who really care about the environment and fight to preserve it. I also really liked how her arc focused on both the romance and the family - she has been adopted recently, and she is still coming to terms with it. Her seasonal affective disorder doesn't help.
I didn't like the other characters as much. While Leila's family was great and it was nice to see a strong female friendship between Leila and Sarika, there was also the very stereotypical, really evil blonde mean girl who didn't get any development. All we know about her is that her dad is rich, she wears make up and she is evil. She's so evil she's worse than a caricature.
I thought we had left this kind of character in 2012 YA books.
I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.