"The Girl in the Tree" by Şebnem İşigüzel left me struggling to connect with its narrative style. The protagonist's scattered thoughts and emotions felt chaotic, perhaps reflecting her own sense of hopelessness. Unfortunately, I couldn't find myself engaged with the story, and it didn't resonate with me at all.

Sadly, this book didn’t work for me. The main character recounted so many stories that I found it hard to keep track of everything going on. Just when I thought I could settle into the story I was jostled out one scene and into another. I appreciated the themes that this book explored. I just wish the execution was better.

I struggled with the stream of consciousness style of this novel. Was an interesting concept and i learned about Istanbul and the political unrest there,, but had to read this in spells. It jumped so from past to present that I began to question even the reality of her perched in this tree. Realize this was intentional, but made it hard to follow and was not an enjoyable read.

The author created one of the most memorable protagonists. This is a story for young readers and adults. Raw and poetic!

This one was hard to digest and I understand it was a translated book, however, I think the editing needed to be fleshed out a bit more as the flow didn't go smoothly.

Thank you Netgalley, Amazon Crossing and Şebnem İşigüzel for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

Unfortunately, I do not have much to say as I had to DNF the book. I struggles for about a hundred pages but then I decided that the book is not for me. Neither plot, not characters were interesting enough. I also felt that the author was trying to get to something deeper that lay on the surface, however, I personally did not get it.

This was not my cup of tea. I really liked the description and the first fifty or so pages, but the story proved to be difficult to follow and understand. The writing style isn’t for me either, which is unfortunate. It felt creative, though. It is possible this book will find a home in your heart if you give it a chance.

This one was a little hard for me to get into. The writing was not for me and made it hard to connect with the character. The jumping backwards and forwards made it hard for me and a little confusing. I couldn't tell if the character was dreaming or awake.

I went into this book very intrigued by the concept and excited to read about a time period that I don't know much about - the 2013-14 riots and political upheaval in Turkey. I was especially intrigued to hear this through the eyes of a young woman and focused on the maternal family lineage. The maternal storytelling was really interesting way to showcase the family history and how politics interweaves itself across multiple generations. But ultimately this one didn't click for me. I enjoy an unreliable narrator, but I found ours here was so unreliable I was unable to keep track of the story and what was real and what was not. The story is not told in a linear way and this seems to be on purpose and I understand the reasoning behind that. But it didn't land in this format and story telling for me.

There are many other readers who really enjoyed this book and i encourage you to check our other perspectives as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and AmazonCrossing for the e-copy to read for an honest review.

2.5

I decided to give this story a go, it had sat down on my Netgalley TBR for ages now and I finally found the motivation to read it. Initially I requested this novel because I was intrigued by the synopsis and it sounded like a great contemporary novel but I just didn't pick it up until now, and let me tell you I was super dissapointed with this novel.
The first 50 pages were super interesting and they set the tone for the story but then our main character starts on rumbling and telling her story, her families and friends story in a ver confusing manner which completely lost me. I couldn't relate to the heartbreaking events that she was narrating about and I just didn't like writing style.

I found that the book's narrative was enjoyable and finely written, though at times it tended to veer far from actual points driving the book forward. I sincerely enjoyed the coming-of-age stories and the journey, but as aforementioned the book would occasionally weave and slip through the story in a way that left me reeling to properly grasp the flow of narration. Other than that, I enjoyed the descriptive writing and the sense of immersion from the journey and mind of the actual 'girl in the tree'.

I am really happy to read more books that are from those from diverse backgrounds. I liked how it was a coming of age but that was set against the politics and violence as a backdrop. Really was wonderful as a contrast. I also loved the love story. I am also really happy to be reading more books in translation and this did not disappoint. At times it was a bit of a slower pace than what I like but the slow burner paid off.

Good read! The author was creative and created a relatable character for the reader to sympathize with.

This was such a great read for this year. I could not take a rest before it finish, because each pages thrilled me

I'm afraid this was a DNF for me. I really struggled to get into it :(

I'm not sure what it was but it felt quite disjointed. It's a shame as I really wanted to like it.

A young woman climbs the tallest tree in Istanbul’s centuries-old Gülhane Park, determined to live out the rest of her days there. Perched in an abandoned stork’s nest in a sanctuary of branches and leaves, she tries to make sense of the rising tide of violence in the world below. Torn between the desire to forget all that has happened and the need to remember, her story, and the stories of those around her, begins to unfold.

The writing style was a bit complicated for me and that need to be 100% attentive to understand the words, perhaps did not make me enjoy the whole story so much.

I really struggled to get through this book. Too stream of consciousness. Too jumpy. Too all over the place. Too meandering.

I was intrigued, I wanted to know what happened. That’s what kept me going. I had to force myself to finish. The writing was just too chaotic.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

2 star read for me.

The premise of this book is interesting and had me intrigued. The execution was not to my liking unfortunately. The idea of a young girl in a politically fraught time in Turkey who has to grapple with how much of her experiences and memories to hang onto is a good one. My issue was with the writing style that doesn't really suit my taste.

#TheGirlInTheTree #NetGalley #AmazonCrossing

Gripping, captivating, and fantastic - that's what this tale was. The protagonist, the chirpy tree climber, brings all the vibrancy that this intense story needs, and captures not just a bellboy's heart, but the reader's as well. I loved the characterization and the narration style. My sincere thanks for this ARC.