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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
The Girl and the Grove is so wonderful, one of the best YA had read this year. I love the story, I love the writing, I love the characters (so so much), I love the messages about the environment, I love the magical elements, I love the friendship. I love the diversity, the respect, and love that it’s so clear Eric put in the story.
Leila has been moving from foster care to foster care and living with seasonal affective disorder. She has been adopted by a lovely couple, who welcomes her with open arms, but it’s not so easy to let herself trust, to open the barriers she has lived with all her life. It doesn’t help that the voices in her head are louder than ever and she feels like there’s something in Fairmount Park, something she needs to do.
The story is so full of magic, hope and love. It’s a perfect balance between contemporary YA and the chosen one trope. There’s magic, schemes to save the world and adventures. And there’s also the struggle of Leila to open up, to feel comfortable in her new home. Between the fantasy and the contemporary we go; there’s despair and fear, but also so much hope for a better world. Yes, Leila has seasonal affective disorder and yes, it’s something we see through the story, but it's never considered as unreal or an exaggeration. Leila’s parents are very understanding and respectful of her mental health and her boundaries. They never push her, never question her. And I love it. I’m so here for supportive parents of mentally ill children.
The friendship between Leila and Sarika is heartwarming; she’s always there for Leila, always, she provides unconditional support and confidence. But Sarika is also her own character, with her own personality and conflicts.
Yes, there is romance and it was very sweet. Perfect for the story because it doesn’t eclipse the plot, doesn't solve everything, but gives Leila unconditional support. He listens to her, he tries to understand and respects what she wants. I mean, I wasn’t completely on board with romance (I felt kinda meh about Landon), but there were some cute moments that I enjoyed a lot.
There are so many things to see about this wonderful book, about the story and the characters, but at the end, everything sums up with a "THE GIRL AND THE GROVE IS SO GOOD, PLEASE READ IT", so I'm going to go with that for now.
Leila has been moving from foster care to foster care and living with seasonal affective disorder. She has been adopted by a lovely couple, who welcomes her with open arms, but it’s not so easy to let herself trust, to open the barriers she has lived with all her life. It doesn’t help that the voices in her head are louder than ever and she feels like there’s something in Fairmount Park, something she needs to do.
The story is so full of magic, hope and love. It’s a perfect balance between contemporary YA and the chosen one trope. There’s magic, schemes to save the world and adventures. And there’s also the struggle of Leila to open up, to feel comfortable in her new home. Between the fantasy and the contemporary we go; there’s despair and fear, but also so much hope for a better world. Yes, Leila has seasonal affective disorder and yes, it’s something we see through the story, but it's never considered as unreal or an exaggeration. Leila’s parents are very understanding and respectful of her mental health and her boundaries. They never push her, never question her. And I love it. I’m so here for supportive parents of mentally ill children.
The friendship between Leila and Sarika is heartwarming; she’s always there for Leila, always, she provides unconditional support and confidence. But Sarika is also her own character, with her own personality and conflicts.
Yes, there is romance and it was very sweet. Perfect for the story because it doesn’t eclipse the plot, doesn't solve everything, but gives Leila unconditional support. He listens to her, he tries to understand and respects what she wants. I mean, I wasn’t completely on board with romance (I felt kinda meh about Landon), but there were some cute moments that I enjoyed a lot.
There are so many things to see about this wonderful book, about the story and the characters, but at the end, everything sums up with a "THE GIRL AND THE GROVE IS SO GOOD, PLEASE READ IT", so I'm going to go with that for now.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I had a bit of trouble getting into the book in the beginning. I did enjoy it and think it was a good book but it just wasn't my cup of tea. The book was pretty predictable in my opinion. I did like the adoptive aspect of the story as well as the high school drama. I thought Shawn was unnecessary and felt like Leila (I know I spelled that wrong ) was super sensitive . I just didn't connect. I loved Sarika though. I feel like it was a easy read and depending on the readers taste , I would recommend it .
I had a bit of trouble getting into the book in the beginning. I did enjoy it and think it was a good book but it just wasn't my cup of tea. The book was pretty predictable in my opinion. I did like the adoptive aspect of the story as well as the high school drama. I thought Shawn was unnecessary and felt like Leila (I know I spelled that wrong ) was super sensitive . I just didn't connect. I loved Sarika though. I feel like it was a easy read and depending on the readers taste , I would recommend it .
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...
(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/
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
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.
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?
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.
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.
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