This is initially story about crop circles – yes, those otherworldly designs that appear in fields of corn or wheat. This plot line provides the basis for a greater story both Daniel Green, the crop circler, and the family he creates it for.

Ultimately, though, this a story about family and forgiveness. There’s a bit of symbolism in the design that Daniel creates, where circles intersect and overlap each other, just as the stories overlay and intersect each other. As such, the story is told from multiple points of view, primarily by Daniel, Molly (the wife of the farmer who hires Daniel), and Nessa, Molly and Sam’s daughter. Boyce does well to balance the voices so no one story outweighs the other, and she handles the switching of narrators well.

There is a lot of emotional stuff going on here: terminal illness, the fallout of infidelity, addiction, the effect of psychological issues on both the sufferer and those around them, and multiple strained parent-child relationships, the search for forgiveness and the sacrifices we make for others. (I did tell you that you’d need a tissue or two.)

I don’t want to give any spoilers, but there is a passage about one character’s illness, and the imagery of a pebble in a shoe is perfection. There is raw honesty in the exchanges.
People have a hard enough time understanding all the weird things that go on inside their own, normal brains. Throw in a mental illness, and they really freak.

While I wouldn’t call this a light and cheery book, The Fifteen Wonders of Daniel Green IS a beautifully told tale. The characters are real and flawed. Details and hints are dropped left and right, but they don’t begin to fall together at first. Instead, the pieces slowly tumble and roll around until they spill together in this incredible mosaic of a story.

The premise was promising, but didn't fulfill my hopes for the book. In reality it is one of the most depressing books i have read in a long time. Obviously I missed something. However there was a glimmer at hope at the end. I just wish there had been more of them.

This book was heartwarming, funny, sad, and compelling. The story follows Daniel, a "circler" who takes a job in Vermon with the intention of making it his last job. He meets Sam, a farmer who is dying and wants to attract more young people to his town, which is also dying. He meets Sam's wife, Molly, who's never really wanted to be a farmer's wife. Getting to know the family, he falls in love with them, and so did I.

This was such a unique, tender and heartfelt book. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I requested it through Netgalley, but as soon as I began reading it, debut author Erica Boyce's beautiful, poetic prose and warm, rich characters pulled me in.

Boyce's breakout novel centers around the Barts, a farming family in Munsen, Vt. When Sam Bart and his wife, Molly, learns he has terminal stomach cancer, he hires Daniel Green - a young farmhand and crop "circler" - to create an intricate crop circle in his fields in an effort to bring some publicity to the town he loves and the career he has adored. As a member of a secret society of circlers, Daniel has traveled across the country, creating these mystical works of art. With 14 under his belt, he is hoping his fifteenth will not only bring wonder to Munsen, but will also earn him a place in circler history. As he spends more time with the Barts, meets their quirky and charming daughter, Nessa, and learns of their estranged son, Charlie, however, Daniel's plans soon change.

Told through the alternating voices of Daniel, Nessa and Molly, this tender story is one of love, loss, hope and forgiveness. This book held my attention and my heart from the first page to the last, and I couldn't help but fall in love with not only the characters, but also with the plot of this novel.

What an excellent first book! Congratulations, Erica Boyce! I can't wait to read more of your work in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Sourcebooks Landmark for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Whenever you read a book, your perspective of the story and characters are impacted by your own life. For me, the central event, a man dying of cancer asking Daniel to create a crop circle on his farm, hit home a little too much. My wonderful dog is dying of cancer, making the reading of Sam's story a little bittersweet. Additionally, the title is rather misleading. Daniel may be one of the characters in this book, but he is not the only one. Even the chapters are written from different points of view, featuring the farmer's daughter and his wife. I would even say that the reader learns more about other characters in the book than Daniel. And, this is not a complaint as Ms. Boyce does a touching job of portraying her myriad of characters, each looking for their place. Maybe Daniel's appearance is what helps them find their place and that is his final "wonder?"

There are far too many good books out there to spend time reading mediocre ones. I found this book to be incredibly slow. Nothing grabbed me and made me want to keep reading. It didn’t like it at all.

I love discovering random books that I fall in love with! This was such a great, unusual read and I really didn't know what to expect from this novel but I loved its title and the cover (yes I sometimes just by the cover!), both of which caught my attention.

I didn't like that each chapter was written in the first person by a different person – probably 8 or 10, in all. And each person not only spoke of the current time (and their feelings), but of the past. The ruminations of each character’s memories certainly served as background information for a particular quirk in the current personality,

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was such a great, unusual read! I hadn't known what to expect from this novel but I know that I loved its title and the alluring front cover, both of which caught my attention.

This sweet and engaging story begins with Daniel Green who has a fascination with crop circles. He, along with other members of a secret organization, travels across the country creating strange works of art that leave communities mystified. But when a dying farmer hires him in a last-ditch effort to bring publicity to a small Vermont town, loner Daniel finds himself at odds with his heart. It isn't long before he gets drawn into a family struggling to stitch itself back together, and the consequences change his life forever.

“The Fifteen Wonders of Daniel Green” by Erica Boyce explores the unexplainable bonds of family, the everyday wonder of love, and the strange mysteries life provides that help humanity light up the dark.

The story is told through multiple viewpoints and peppered with characters’ back-stories. The characters themselves were richly portrayed and the way that their stories were interwoven was a credit to this début author. There were moments of difficulties in the tale when I felt close to most of them, however, for me, there was no recognisable plot to the story, as such. Even so, I still very much enjoyed the novel and I was interested to see whether the crop circle would be finished.

The ending was both fulfilling and satisfying. Overall, this was a great read for me and one that I would definitely recommend, especially if you are looking for something a little different!

{Thank you to #NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the free copy of #Fifteenwondersofdanielgreen and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.}

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy.

I went in expecting a plain adult contemporary was surprised at how interesting the plot and well written it was. I will be looking out for more novels from Boyce in the future, this was a solid first novel and I love her writing style.
I will be doing an in-depth review closer to release date.

Amazingly interesting and fabulous story about crop circles of all things. Daniel, the main character, is a member of secret group that travels around the country making mysteriously secret crop circles. When his travels take him to a small farming community in Vermont, he becomes close to the family of a dying man while fulfilling his dying wish which is to create a crop circle on his farm. This story is beautiful from start to end---about a community, families coming together in joy and in sadness. Beautifully written as each narrator's chapter connects with the previous one overlapping their stories and lives in a beautiful synchronicity. Amazing characters and truly a beautiful story. I absolutely loved this book so much!!!! I wish I could give it more stars!! Thank you SO much for the ARC!!!

Daniel Green has spent his adult life making crop circles as part of a secret society that travels the world doing so. When he is hired by a farmer in a small Vermont town his life is changed forever. Great characters and a really satisfying ending make this my new go-to book for people who are looking for a good read to escape their own problems for a while.

I enjoyed many aspects of the story, especially those related to the crop circles. The ‘circlers’ are based on a real group of people and circle-making is generously weaved into Boyce’s story. Some of the related elements are quite fascinating.

The author introduces a number of fractured and flawed characters and successfully works towards reconciling relationships and quieting demons. I did think that the book was too tedious in parts, especially during Daniel and Nessa’s road trip. A good effort by Erica Boyce. Thanks to Sourcebook Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

*will post on additional online venues upon publication

The title of the book may be slightly misleading since Daniel is but a part of the whole picture. This story is more about a farming community in Vermont, USA. Daniel is part of a secret group of people who make crop circles in farms (with permission) for various reasons. It may seem a trivial thing to do but the narration by the author takes the situation to a whole new level. 

The chapters shift between the first person narration of three important people: Molly the wife of a dying farmer(Sam), her daughter Nessa and Daniel. Each of these people are dealt with in-depth, their insecurities and what makes them tick. In essence they are good people who mean no ill will towards anybody and in fact try to turn the burden of responsibility inwards at high costs. The story begins with Daniel taking the job but Sam's decline causes a lot of unforeseen circumstances. If you are looking for a tale with an end point of some sort, this is not for you. It has more of a lingering effect. 

Before I praise it any further I ought to mention the one thing that reduced the mood for me. There were too many instances contradictory statements which are meant to be profound. They say things without saying them like maybe and maybe not or yes and no simultaneously.Even before I read the book I realised last month that I was doing a lot of it myself and since I noticed it, it was on my mind and seeing it used in too many crucial stages in the story dampened a tiny bit of my enthusiasm. It does add to the ambience in the beginning but after a point it bothered me. It was not a very big sticking point and neither is the convenient finish since I shed a lot of tears with the last reconciliation bits where people start to reflect more truthfully about themselves. All the people introduced to us are likable (to the extent they are meant to be) and quite realistic, flaws and all.
This was an enjoyable read and I highly recommend this to those people who like reading about different settings and look for interestingly troubled characters.

If I could give this book 6 stars I would do it in a heartbeat! The only thing that disappointed me about this book is that it had to end! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Daniel, Molly and Nessa through their own eyes. I feel like they're now my friends and I should be able to call them up to find out how they're doing today.
I highly recommend this book and I'm grateful that I was able to to get an ARC of this wonderful book.

Interesting character study- loved how the very flawed characters were so real and yet not depressing at all. But I still want to believe in crop circles! Well- written and absorbing.

A very good book, it was enjoyable and entertaining.
I loved the plot, the cast of characters and the setting.
It was a light read, really pleasant and it kept me hooked till the last page.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all opinions are mine

I appreciate the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this book and wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for that in exchange for an honest review.

I also appreciate the impetus to learn more about crop circles and the people (not aliens!) who made them. Yes, I remember back to the 70s when they began to appear and were quite a mystery and a hot news topic.

The format of the book was difficult for me. Each chapter was written in the first person by a different person – probably 8 or 10, in all. And each person not only spoke of the current time (and their feelings), but of the past. The ruminations of each character’s memories certainly served as background information for a particular quirk in the current personality, but quite frankly, overshadowed whatever the plot was.

And what was the plot? What was the purpose of the book? Well, we had lies and secrets. We had all sorts of different psychological issues. We had infidelity. We had the obligatory gay issue. We had family “issues” (and non-family “issues”!). The plot was definitely secondary to the issues.

There are a lot of 4 and 5* reviews which make me wonder what I missed (besides a plot). The author’s use of the English language was beautiful. Her exploration of love and hope and forgiveness and neighborly help was certainly commendable. Her characters are kind and well meaning. Her explanations of various psychological problems were nicely done. And thankfully, each chapter had a heading of the name of which character was speaking.

Best wishes to this new author!

I’m very glad I decided to read this book it was very well written I would totally get this book when it finally comes out

Sam Barts is a farmer in a small Vermont town, struggling with drought and attracting young people to stay and work the farms. Sam is dying of cancer and in his final months has come up with a plan to give the town an injection of interest and tourism. He's engaged Daniel Green to design a crop circle that he will secretly make under cover of darkness in Sam's cornfield. Daniel is part of a clandestine group that hires themselves out to make crop circles. He has created fourteen before in other towns, working undercover as a farm hand and then moving on. He has plans for his fifteenth crop circle to be his most intricate yet.

Grieving for the recent death of his crop circle partner and girlfriend, Daniel becomes drawn into Sam's family and offers to help his daughter Nessa in her quest to bridge the rift between her father and her absent brother Charlie.

This is a story about the healing power of family and community and that sometimes what you are really looking for is right under your nose. A beautiful and engaging debut novel about love and family with an unusual look at the mechanics of making crop circles.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for my review. This has not influenced my review.

For me, this book started off a little slow, but after reading the last 200 pages or so all in one day, I think that was an issue with me and not actually with the book.

While you can easily read the synopsis for a plot summary, this a story about family (both that which you're born with and that which you create), regret (and learning to live -- or die -- with the regret, and love (not the fairy tale kind.)

I really liked the characters, although each of them was flawed in ways that you knew none of them would really ever fully overcome or get away from, although this made them all the more realistic.

I also really liked how the end didn't wrap everything up exactly, just enough, where you can imagine the characters continuing their lives, which I always like in books where I'm actually rooting for all of them.