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A review by nicolemhewitt
The Girl and the Grove by Eric Smith
5.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This is the type of book that keeps you guessing as far as what’s really going on. At First, it feels like a contemporary novel that deals with the issues of adoption, loss, and a sense of not belonging. I think that any teen will be able to relate to those issues, even if they haven’t experienced this type of loss. Of course, like most contemps, there’s a romance—though the path to that romance isn’t as straight and narrow as we’re used to seeing. There are also hints of mental illness … or is it? About halfway through, the book takes a major jump into magical realism territory, which blends into fantasy for a brief spell… but then we stay firmly in what I’d call magical realism. I think some people were thrown by all of this, but I mostly enjoyed figuring out where things were going. And I liked the overall magical realism, though I do wish it had been introduced a little earlier in the book.
I liked Leila, and I felt for her in her struggle for identity. I also connected to the romance in the book, and I loved the sense of environmental activism. The mean-girl character was a little over-the-top, but I think younger teen readers especially will enjoy this one. And the adoption themes alone make it a unique and interesting read.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
This is the type of book that keeps you guessing as far as what’s really going on. At First, it feels like a contemporary novel that deals with the issues of adoption, loss, and a sense of not belonging. I think that any teen will be able to relate to those issues, even if they haven’t experienced this type of loss. Of course, like most contemps, there’s a romance—though the path to that romance isn’t as straight and narrow as we’re used to seeing. There are also hints of mental illness … or is it? About halfway through, the book takes a major jump into magical realism territory, which blends into fantasy for a brief spell… but then we stay firmly in what I’d call magical realism. I think some people were thrown by all of this, but I mostly enjoyed figuring out where things were going. And I liked the overall magical realism, though I do wish it had been introduced a little earlier in the book.
I liked Leila, and I felt for her in her struggle for identity. I also connected to the romance in the book, and I loved the sense of environmental activism. The mean-girl character was a little over-the-top, but I think younger teen readers especially will enjoy this one. And the adoption themes alone make it a unique and interesting read.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***