Leila has no family, but she hopes to be adopted soon. She's a good person who cares about the environment and making the world a better place with her friend Sarika. Someone adopt her already! She eventually finds a family who'd look after her, and her life picks up — or it would pick up if the voices in her head would quiet down! But they won't stop tormenting her. The woods call out to her, summoning her like a message from the beyond. Will she continue to ignore them, or will she surrender to their calling, embarking upon a journey that's both terrifying and beautiful.

I loved the characters and how well developed they are. Jon is an absolute dish, and it brought out the sixteen-year-old me to the surface. Leila is also engaging, and her struggles with seasonal depression are super relateable. The opening pages captured me, and I couldn't wait to see where Eric Smith took me. (The author is a successful lit agent and one of the nicest people I've ever spoken with.) Downsides? It needs more world-building. Rich descriptions are a must in an atmospheric fantasy. I love novels that richly describe the woods, the trees, the fields... the sounds, colors and textures. Those are the things that attract me the most about these books, so don't skim on the descriptions. The more detailed, the better. Other than that, The Girl and the Grove is one addictive read and I'd love to see more from Mr. Smith. I give it four out of five Almond Milk Cappuccinos.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy. I have a lot of students who are in or have been through the system, and I have been looking forward to sharing this story with them. I know they will eat up the relatable characters, life issues, and friendships throughout.

I wish there had been a bit more fantasy to the story, but overall I enjoyed it. I loved that she was an environmentalist and that her perspective was so easy to wrap myself in; so many adolescents don't have hobbies or care about things outside of their little teenage world (a good talking point for possible book clubs!). I just wish there would've been more magic. This was built up to be big in fantasy, and I don't think it met that expectation.

I ENJOYED…
💭

Our main character, Leila, was really endearing and I loved her right from the start. She is passionate, fierce, determined, but also insecure at times and I wanted to root for her and hug her all along. Also, diverse! characters! poc! rep! for!the!win!
I love that this story has an adoptee as a main character just as well. In this family for a couple months, we get to see how Leila grew accustomed to her new parents, her struggles to finally start calling them “mom” and “dad” and everything was just so adorable. Also this is an #ownvoices book for that soo YAY.
This brings me to my third point: I NEED to talk about how cool the parents were and their relationship with Leila. They were protective, understanding and also really fun (mention for Jon, the dad, who made me laugh a lot). I’m all for great parents-children relationship and that one just warmed my heart. I loved the focus on family that way, especially unconventional families, as Leila was adopted.
We also got an amazing and strong female friendship between Leila and her best friend, Sarika. I loved how they supported each other all the way and all of their interactions were gold.
The Girl and the Grove has such a great focus on the environment, something that I also found quite original and really enjoyed seeing in the book.

I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…
💭

While I really enjoyed the idea of the story overall, I felt like it missed a little something for me to be completely captivated. The fantasy/magical elements were there, yet I felt like they could have been a bit more developed, like the atmosphere, the trees, the woods, everything, could have used a little bit more work to really stand out and give this book really magical vibes. It had tons of potential, yet I felt a bit disappointed by the execution.
I enjoyed the side-characters, but they felt a bit superficial to me, at times. I wanted to know more about them, about the best friend, about the love interest, about the mean-girl of the story who, unfortunately, felt a bit two-dimensional. It was a great cast, but once again, it missed a little something.
Lastly, and I don’t know if it’s just me, but the blurb promised me representation of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), something I really was looking forward to… but maybe I missed it somewhere??! The only mention of that happened at the start of the book, but it isn’t explored more and…. I’m sad. Sorry. That was a bad pun. (Maybe I did!! I’m not excluding that I didn’t see it, but… I don’t know, there should have been more?)

OVERALL

The Girl and the Grove was a really refreshing story, with great, endearing characters and a premise with loads of potential. If it failed to meet my expectations a little bit, I would still recommend it if you’re looking for a fun read, a focus on family and environment with a touch of magic.

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.

The Girl and the Grove is a quirky, moving, lovely novel.

The characters are charming and relatable, so real they seem ready to jump off the pages. The treatment of the teen characters is refreshingly honest, portraying both their qualities and flaws with affection and humor.

The book deals with important topics with care and compassion, delving into them with depth but in a way that always remains accessible to its readers. It also portrays a wide array of diverse characters who will resonate with many teens. As a teacher, it's a book I would share with my students without the slightest hesitation.

I especially enjoyed the way social media and the internet are an ever-present part of the story, both through the excerpts interspersed throughout the book and their frequent appearances in the narrative itself. They play a central role in the plot and the character arcs, and their inclusion always feels completely natural--indeed, unavoidable.

The writing style didn't quite work for me, and the pacing felt off at times, but the story made me laugh and tear up and touched me to my core.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Eric Smith for allowing me to read and review an ARC of The Girl and the Grove.

I loved this book! It was one of the best that I've read in awhile, and I can't wait to recommend it to friends. The characters were awesome and well-written. I found myself laughing out loud and relating to the main character and her best friend. They are caring and sassy and sarcastic and just boy crazy enough to make me wish I was 16 again. I have a total crush on Jon- maybe I'm as boy crazy as they are ;)

I wish the ending had dragged out a bit longer, and Jessica was quite a stereotypical villain, but all of the pros greatly outweigh the cons.

Eric Smith, can this please be book one in a series? I would buy the next one! Maybe a modern Captain Planet series? I want to know more about the fantasy aspect, and I love love love the how the characters all relate to one another.

My favorite thing about THE GIRL AND THE GROVE is how y relatable it is, the author Smith writes in a very convincing teenager voice and I loved enjoyed the mixed formats. Overall I really loved this book and I would highly recommend it.

I'm sick, so this review is going to be a bit shorter than normal.   I don't want anyone to think it's because of the book because I really liked it.



Leila was recently adopted after spending her life in foster care and a group home.  She is struggling with having a mom and dad and doesn't use those words.  But her new parents are pretty awesome and I adored her dad.  He made me laugh a lot.  Leila also deals with seasonal depression and anxiety.



For years, Leila had been hearing voices, but was never able to understand what they were saying.  Only her best friend, Sarika, new about it.   Strange things start happening.  Leila is very much into nature and saving the environment.  So much so that she has an online board and joins a local club.  Trees and plants start to grow faster when she touches them.  One day she finally hears the voice clearly and it tells her where to go.  There is a major surprise waiting for Leila in a grove of trees that are set to be torn down.



I really enjoyed how this book showed the dangers of how we treat the planet.  That awareness is needed and I don't see it as a focus of books.  Also, the adoption and Leila's feelings were so well done.  Without getting into too much, I will say that I enjoyed the fantasy/magic with the story, too.



I gave this one 4 stars.  The writing was well done and I enjoyed the unique story.  Thank you to netgalley for giving me the chance to read this early.

Teenager Leila’s life is full of challenges. From bouncing around the foster care system to living with seasonal affective disorder, she’s never had an easy road. Leila keeps herself busy with her passion for environmental advocacy, monitoring the Urban Ecovists message board and joining a local environmental club with her best friend Sarika. And now that Leila has finally been adopted, she dares to hope her life will improve in The Girl and the Grove.

But the voices in Leila’s head are growing louder by the day. Ignoring them isn’t working anymore. Something calls out to her from the grove at Fairmount Park. (via Goodreads)

I received an eARC of The Girl and the Grove from Netgalley, courtesy of Flux Books, in exchange for an honest review. The author and I are also mutuals on twitter. 

The Girl and the Grove is complex and beautiful, much like the grove that the story centers on. It is a beautiful depiction of the complicated way that many adopted people deal with finding their new families, from adopted author Eric Smith.

I've read several of the books that Eric has represented, and I actually own a copy of WELCOME HOME, an anthology he curated. However, this is the first story I've read by him, and my only regret is that I haven't read more of them.

I loved a lot of things about this novel. Another thing I loved was that Leila was open about her seasonal affective disorder and her use of a light box as part of her medical care.  I loved that everyone important in Leila's life in The Girl and the Grove told her not to wear makeup to cover up her birthmark.

I loved that her adoptive parents were actually great, and we got to see all of their emotions throughout the novel. The part that stuck with me the most was Leila's adoptive parents constantly reminding her that they were in this till the end for her. Leila had a lot of reasons to not trust anyone after years of bouncing around the foster care system and group homes. Even though Leila struggled to call them Mom and Dad, they still did everything they could for her and worked to build the trust and relationship through their actions.

I also enjoyed the fact that there was a small conflict between her adoptive father and the activism that Leila took part in in The Girl and the Grove. As a reporter, I question how he would be allowed to be on the boards with someone who does this kind of work and also report on environmental issues. Like I said, I've got some questions. They didn't change my enjoyment of the book though.

I also totally called the plot twists from a mile away. However, I think that that's more because I've been reading this kind of fiction for a Long Time than because of any fault of the author. I also still thoroughly enjoyed the book. It's contemporary with just a hint of the speculative, and I loved it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I look forward to seeing so many other people finally get to read it. You can, and should, pick up a copy on Amazon or Indiebound!



Disclaimer: All links to Indiebound and Amazon are affiliate links. That means that if you buy through those links, I will make a small amount of money off of it.

Based on the summary, I thought I would love this but it just didn't catch my attention. It was a slow read, at least for me, from the outset and I had to set it aside because I didn't see myself enjoying it long term.

Note: NetGalley provided an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Friends, this book is an utter delight that made me laugh and cry throughout.

I understand the critiques in the other reviews, that there wasn't a lot of character development/growth, that the villain was two dimensional. None of that bothered me. This book gives me fuzzy feelings of pure joy.

I'm not adopted, but I'm planning on adopting, so reading a tale of an adopted kids and her feelings around that—the what-ifs of her biological parents, learning to adjust to the security of another family, the emotional (and physical) violence of the foster system—were so deeply important for me, a non-adoptee, to read. I can't imagine how much that would mean to someone who is in the system, someone who experiences those feelings on a daily basis. If nothing else, this book is worth reading for that.

But I appreciate so much about the representation in this book, and what I especially liked was that this wasn't an "issues" book. This wasn't a book about a Black teen being adopted by a Black woman and her white husband; this wasn't a book about a teen with SAD coping with it. This was an adventure story—more magical realism than straight fantasy—about a girl adjusting to her family in the backdrop of saving something she loves. (I also am really glad that there was a flavoring of romance instead of the book being focused on romance—I'm not one for YA contemporaries in general, but YA contemporary romances make me shrug.) We need more stories where marginalized people are doing things that privileged characters get to do all the time without the focus being on their identities. This book is an example of that.

The characters are an utter delight. Leila is a badass, level-headed protagonist, and Sarika is the best friend everyone wants, full of charm and snark and wit. I love their little bits of characterization coming across via text or message boards or tweets. I love how frank Leila is about the conversations she does and doesn't want to have. This isn't some sort of inspiration porn story; it's feel-good while being authentic to itself.

I devoured this book in one sitting. It's an easy, fast read. I'm not kidding when I said that I both laughed and cried throughout. I cannot recommend this enough!!

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

I will keep this brief until release.

I'll start by saying that the prose is simple and sometimes awkward, but I was able to follow the story without getting too distracted.
I loved that we have a character, Leila, who loves and wants to protect the environment- this is always a good thing for me. There is also a lot of focus on family in this book, and how Leila adapts to being adopted. However I will say there was not much character development going on, which unfortunately made them fall flat for me. Overall the story is good, and I enjoyed it, but it could use some honing.

A little slow. I appreciate that magic realism but other than that it didn’t really capture me.

This charming tale is an interesting blend of contemporary and fantasy, with a main character I just wanted to hug throughout the entire book.  Leila is a mature young woman with strong convictions who struggles with questions about her past, while also learning to trust her new family and find a sense of belonging.  And everyone should have a best friend like Sarika - that person who always supports you and has your back no matter what - who is also a snarky, talented coffee barista with a loyal Twitter following.  Leila's dad, Jon, is the perfect concoction of worried, overprotective father, with an endearing, dorky sense of humor.

I loved the emphasis on environmental awareness and the interactions between the group on the message board.  Raising awareness in any way can only have a positive effect.  

Although the romantic relationships felt somewhat rushed, hovering near the 'insta-love' airspace, I appreciated the way Leila realized early on that some relationships are just incompatible, but that doesn't mean the friendship has to end.  It caught me off guard when Shawn's character seemed to change abruptly from one scene to the next, and I was also hoping for a little more information about Leila's biological father.  

The Girl and the Grove is an entrancing story with strong themes of family, friendship, and trust.  Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Although it's clear from the broadness of characterization (some of the characters, notably the Mean Girl villain, are largely two-dimensional) that Smith is a first-time novelist, the story is earnest and the affirmation of adoptive families is touching. Smith offers a changeling fairy-tale in which the changeling belongs more with her adopted human family than with the magical creatures who gave her up. Recommended for adopted kids who want to see themselves as magical.

*An uncorrected advanced proof of this book was received for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This novel followed the main character Leila, who has spent her life within the foster care system and has now been adopted. She also lives with seasonal effective disorder and is very interested in the environment which is the main focus of this book, alongside the voices she hears.
This defiantly was different to any fantasy book I have ever read, and I liked that about it. It was unpredictable, and heart-warming. I felt this book started off slow and took a while to get to the main part of the story, however that did allow for more time spent getting to know the characters outside of the main plot.
I really loved the adoptive parents, in particular the farther who I felt was really well written and developed and added hugely to the overall story.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book. If you like YA or fantasy novels then you should definitely check this out. I liked that it included a main character who has been within the foster care system and was now adopted, a topic that I haven’t read many books about. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for other releases by this author, as I enjoyed their writing style.

To be noted:

I was given a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This book was free, and my review is not biased towards that fact in any way. These are my opinions only, (as everyone is entitled to them) and should only be taken as an idea for whether or not you would like to read the book yourself. In the end, no matter what review I give, props to the author for writing what they love, and actually publishing a book.

The Girl and the Grove

For starters, I'm beginning to think that I'm either too understanding as a reviewer or everyone else is really rough on their writers...because I for one loved this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Having said that, it did take me the first couple chapters to understand and get into the book, but once I did I really had a hard time putting it down for daily life/adult stuff... I recognize this style of writing and feel like the author and I have some things in common.

This book has a lot of depth. I feel for Leila. Again, I could be biased on this front because my fiancé and I are wanting to eventually adopt and honestly, getting a look into how a child might feel about calling their adoptive parents "mom and dad" something so simple for us, that comes so easy... those children may be afraid to give that. Afraid they're going to get tossed back, no matter how much it is apparent that the adults care for and love them. Afraid of losing what they have if they struggle with mental disorders or if they do one too many things wrong. My goodness I just didn't even really think about those things. It totally gave me a new perspective on how to treat these kids. It amazes me in the first place that people could (and often do) treat them like items, like they can be returned whenever if it just "didn't work for them" or they "weren't a good fit." However, it happens all the time, and I think that kids probably just come to expect it to be that way. This thought essentially pulled on my heartstrings. All children deserve so much more...

However I feel myself rambling so I'll get on with it. The plot was good, I cried several times, like when Leila's hair started falling out, or when they thought Milford wouldn't make it. I've read stories where you actually don't know whether these people will make it. The ending is so abrupt and disappointing I think I'm conditioned to be afraid of sad endings and really not knowing for sure how the book is going to end gets me emotional. But that's what makes a good book right? You laugh and cry right along with it all, and that's why I gave this book 5 stars. I try to reserve my 5 star ratings for books that really get me going, and this was one of them. It had elements of what discrimination is like from all fronts, rich and poor, black and white, etc. Feeling forced into something to save other members of your family from losing their jobs like with Shawn and Jessica. Shawn was super easy to dislike at first, by the way. I think he had good intentions but totally went about the whole thing wrong.

Sarika and Leila's relationship was sweet and fun. Just how best friends should be. I also appreciated that the author added a "thanks" from her biological mother for Sarika helping and protecting Leila throughout all those hard years. I was a little disappointed they didn't reach farther into the aspect of her father, and what happened to him. I think that could have been a good side story. The end of the book seemed to move faster than the rest though, so it never seemed to come to fruition what ever happened besides his possible drowning..

In conclusion. I think I would like to see more from this author and maybe even a little more about Leila and her story. It has a lot of potential to have a side story or something, even though the book is pretty much over.

We've only got one Earth and she needs some protection from her inhabitants, but that protection gets incredibly personal for one teenage girl in Eric Smith's The Girl and the Grove. 

Leila's faced challenges her entire life ranging from the emotional stresses of the foster care system, her seasonal affective disorder, and the disembodied voices she occasionally hears and keeps secret from everyone. Having finally been adopted by an accepting and loving couple, Leila's life seems to be settling down, leaving her with ample time to spend with her best friend Sarika and finding ways to help the environment. But the voices in her head are growing louder and more distinct, driving Lelia to find a better solution than ignoring them. By listening to the voices instead, Lelia finds a new element to her environmental cause to lobby for, as well as a surprising insight into her heritage. 

This narrative is not only an enjoyable story in a familiar-to-me setting of Philadelphia, but it takes the time to educate readers on some big issues surrounding the lesser discussed topic of adoption, as well as other big topics of identity and the environment, with a dose of magic realism that tempers some of the heaviness of those topics through offering a bit of the fantastic. I found it interesting and refreshing to see the online life of a teenage character that went beyond typical social media through the environmental message board that Lelia and Sarika moderate interspersed throughout the story. Though a common feature in YA books (and books in general), the romantic relationship element of the story was a weak point for me - especially when considering the ages of those involved - but the relationships did serve a purpose in the narrative to help Leila grow as a character and move the story forward. 

Overall, I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Full RTC.

The first 10-20% of the book was cool. I liked the main character and loved her parents. Her friendship with Sarieka was also probably the best part of the book. After that initial part 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.

The Girl and the Grove is a standalone contemporary fantasy book that follows Leila, a brown girl who has been adopted recently after many years in foster care.

This book brings a new, interesting perspective tp 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.

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.