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ClareR (6062 KP) rated The Garden in Books

Oct 14, 2025  
The Garden
The Garden
Nick Newman | 2025 | Dystopia, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I knew The Garden was going to be set in a dystopian future, but I didn’t fully appreciate just how much I was going to like it.

The story starts off very gently: two elderly sisters, living in the grounds of a big house, one working tirelessly in the garden in order to provide them with enough food, the other joining in here and there, but mostly she’s preoccupied with practicing her dance routine. Outside the gardens walls lies unknown danger. One mustn’t even look beyond the wall.

And then a young boy arrives and everything changes. The outside comes inside.

I loved this. The rules the women live by, set by their mother decades ago, are there to keep them safe, but there’s no room for manoeuvre. So when they’re faced with the unexpected, they don’t know what to do. There’s a climate disaster angle too, and gives the reader a scenario of what might happen if we continue on our current trajectory. Changing seasons, drought, sandstorms.

This novel is so atmospheric. There’s an undercurrent of dread and impending doom, and the descriptions of the garden, cottage and land are quite beautiful.

Wonderful writing and a wonderful story. Highly recommended!
  
    Turkey Crossing

    Turkey Crossing

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    Podcast

    This is a podcast about education and my attempt to use classroom 2.0 tools in my classroom. I...

    Quincy

    Quincy

    Music and Education

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    App

    Quincy is a most unique music composition tool. Its modular approach to interpretation of cellular...

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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Oct 22, 2022  
The very talented Shanti Hershenson joins me on my blog today to discuss the hardest thing about being a teen author and shares an excerpt from her young adult science fiction romance NEVERYDYING. Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a paperback copy of the book - five winners!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2022/10/blog-tour-and-giveaway-neverdying.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
If you could live forever, would it be a gift… or a disease?

A doctor created a genetic mutation meant as a gift to society—to those at random in future generations who were born with it: Immortality. But the risk of overpopulation and questions rising about the imbalance of only few being Immortals brings the ruthless President Wilde to a different stand—a facade of peace and equality whereas Immortals are executed daily—thus creating the ruination of the United States… and the world soon after.

Scarlett Caldwell is a girl of many mysteries—but along with that, she’s an Immortal. Having run away from a very young age and forced to forget the part of her identity that could get her assassinated, she turns to very few of her friends and spends the majority of her days hiding in the Immortals Legion, a compound for Immortals in hiding. But times are changing and tensions are only growing—Scarlett knows she can’t stay hidden forever. When she encounters an unfairly attractive Exterminator who, despite seeming rigid, has an amusing thing or two to say, she is left absolutely livid. But beyond that, beyond all the parts of him that she hates, there’s a secret. And Scarlett will do anything to unravel it.

Cain Hawkins is an Exterminator, a member of the country’s new authority specially trained to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Immortals. He truly believes that being an Exterminator is what he is meant for—despite what he may or may not know. And when a skirmish with an Immortal on the street leaves him questioning every last bit of himself, he will have to rise to stand with his president and failing country, or run from everything he was conditioned for. Besides, Cain has a secret: He is an Immortal too.

Their first encounter is far from the last, for an opportunity rises for the two to (unwillingly) work together. Already, they are left with a spark—a spark of hope for a future where Immortals are not prosecuted. And no matter if Cain sees the spark or not, the question still remains: How long will it be until a single spark ignites a fire?

TUCK EVERLASTING meets STAR WARS in this compelling and romantic novel by 14-year-old author, Shanti Hershenson.
      
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LucyB (47 KP) rated Big Little Lies in Books

Jul 23, 2017  
Big Little Lies
Big Little Lies
Liane Moriarty | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.6 (97 Ratings)
Book Rating
Darkly funny, great characters, didn't see the end coming (0 more)
Magnificently clever, darkly humorous, thought-provoking read.
Sigh. I do so love it when I finish a book and wish it wasn't finished! Big Little Lies is absolutely one of the best books I've read for a while, and absolutely had me hooked from start to finish.

The story focuses on three main characters: bolshy Madeleine, mousy Jane and beautiful Celeste - who share a common bond; they have children starting the same kindergarten class. However, things go swiftly wrong when Jane's child Ziggy is accused of trying to strangle another child - a situation that soon escalates with alarming consequences.

The book captures playground politics to perfection (I'm wagering the author MUST have kids of her own), but goes far beyond exploring the behaviour of over-zealous school mums. It also examines the insanity of bullying, how quickly situations can spiral out of control, and the horror of domestic abuse. In spite of handling some weighty issues, it also manages to be quite darkly amusing and highly wry.

The characters are likeable, engaging and relateable (I'd guess most mothers reading this book would instinctively 'gravitate' towards one of the three protagonists). And the ending? I won't spoil it - but put it like this, I certainly didn't see it coming.

Love love love this book. Definitely one to read, folks!