In The Garden by Nick Newman, the author has created an atmospheric and dynamic story that delves into dark truths and a dystopian world. With a world that is disrupted, Evelyn and Lily must confront their changed world and the boy that has forced that conflict.
One of the aspects I enjoyed the most is the conflict between Evelyn and Lily, especially as Evelyn reflects on their past and how their world changed as the world became a post apocalyptic world. Nothing is ever revealed about the causes of the world being disrupted but that only makes the story more hypnotic and compelling. The atmosphere of the garden and the dynamic between the two sisters is what drives the narrative, until secrets are revealed and a choice between love or survival must be faced.
If you love atmospheric and dynamic stories, this is a richly compelling novel with complex characters that is about love and survival. It is wonderful but also tragic at times but the ending is gorgeous.

This was too slow and dull for me. It was quick to read but very uninteresting because there were so many unanswered questions and mundane details that could’ve been left out.

I'm not sure what I just read. There was no plot, this felt abysmally pointless. It started slow and I still decided to give it a chance but the mundane happenings of two old sisters wasn't doing it for me. I sped through the last 30% of the book. It ended as it began, meh. Thanks #NetGalley for the arc.

This one was weird.
I still don’t know what happened to make two elderly (I think?) women isolate on their little oasis. I wanted to know more about what was in the house, more about what happened outside, and more about their mother and her mental woes.
I kept reading in hopes I would get some of these answers, but really didn’t find them.

C/2.5 ⭐️

Two elderly sisters, Evelyn & Lily, live alone in an isolated home with a big garden. They have not left the walls of their home & as far as they know nothing else exist outside them. Until a young boy goes into their garden & changes their reality. I really enjoyed the story, but found it so heartbreaking. I loved the dynamics between the two sisters & seeing them face the changes in their lives.

An interesting take on a dystopian novel. Wasn’t quite sure what was happening half the time and kept going back and forth on whether our narrator was reliable or not. I did enjoy having the characters be older women. A decent change of pace in a horror/dystopian.

I enjoyed this dystopian fairy tale of two elderly sisters tending to a garden by themselves and the boy who arrives who turns their world apart. Newman tells a great tale, slowly peeling back this onion of a story with a few twists that bring the book to a satisfying conclusion.

Oh man! This book! I think by now you know that I'm a sucker for post apocalyptic, dystopian novels and the isolation angle is always a fun one!

Two elderly sisters rely on each other for their daily survival. Evelyn steadfastly follows Mama's almanac, a book which guides the girls through each season and how to tend to their garden to ensure they have enough food to live off of. Lily, the younger, is more whimsical, preferring to practice her dance routines or paint out in the gazebo, and cooks what Evelyn forages.

The house they live in is the very same one they grew up in, and was initially put to use as a group commune when things in the outside world first started going bad. Though, as things worsened, everyone packed up and headed out, leaving the sisters alone with Mama and Papa. Papa also eventually disappeared and that left the three. Mama, now crazed and in an effort to protect the girls, sealed the kitchen off from the rest of the house, claiming the rooms were all poisoned and filled with dangerous "man" things, and forbid them from exploring beyond the garden because there was nothing left outside their little haven but a barren wasteland.

After Mama's passing, the girls did the only thing they knew to do, which was maintain her strict rules to ensure their own safety. That is, until they discover a young boy who has broken through their garden wall claiming he is running from "others" and, you guessed it, this encounter shatters their entire world, flipping everything they were taught to believe right onto its head.

The Garden is wonderfully reminiscent of other post apocalyptic and isolation novels I've read (books like The Road, California, Whether Violent or Natural, The Water Cure, What Mother Won't Tell Me, These Silent Woods, all come to mind) where the characters appear to unravel almost as beautifully as their outside worlds do and where creative parenting plays a large role in just how fucked up the kids have become.

It's a deliciously slow burn with a couple of sick little twists thrown in towards the latter part of the book and it's an understatement to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it!

@putnambooks | #gifted Do you like beautifully bizarre books? If so, I’ve got a fantastic book for you: 🥀𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗡🌻 by Nick Newman. I didn’t know what to expect going into this one. I knew it was about two elderly sisters living in a secluded, walled off home surrounded by a large garden. I also knew that into their lives comes a teenage boy who both frightens and intrigues them. What I didn’t know is what a strange mash-up this story is. It’s definitely dystopian, slightly sci-fi, maybe a tad horror, quite literary, has mystery elements, and also a bit of a historical fiction vibe.⁣
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I realize that sounds like a crazy combination, but it worked 𝐒𝐎 well! From the very start I was fascinated by sisters Lily and Evelyn, who’d been living in the same country home for almost their entire lives, but why? They were still following their mother’s rules and directives decades after she’d died, but why? They feared the outside world, but why? The idea of a boy being on their property brought both terror and hope, but why? Rest assured everything was eventually revealed and the journey proved to be absolutely unforgettable.⁣
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𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 is definitely one of the most original books I’ve ever read and I loved every moment of the reading experience. I don’t think this book will be for every reader, but for those who like something daring and a little out there, this is a book you 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 to read. Comparisons are difficult because this book is so unique, but it did remind me a bit of 𝘜𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 by Claire Fuller, another book I loved. When I initially finished 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯, I wasn’t quite sure where to rate it, but as time has gone on, I can’t get this story out of my head and that’s always a very good sign for me! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The garden by Newman is a unique blend of dystopian/gothic fairy tale. Evelyn and lily are two elderly sisters who have lived alone, isolated from the world behind the walls of their garden. Evelyn and Lily have isolated themselves since an incident occurred as children and their mother kept them safe in the garden, Their safety is breached though when a child arrives in the garden—where did he come from and how did he enter the walls? His arrival starts to cause an unraveling of Evelyn and lilys sense of safety and details of their past and the garden slowly start to come to light as the world begins to break through the walls…

This is a unique read that has a sense of looming dread and claustrophobia throughout the tale. I enjoyed the unexpected dystopian elements that elevate it beyond a typical gothic story. This is a fast read and the tension builds through the pacing. An interesting and different read that will please readers of speculative fiction!

Thanks to the publisher for providing this arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Two elderly sisters live within the confines of a walled garden, having forgotten what their lives were like before the garden, and not remembering what exists outside the walls. They tend the garden and the bees, keeping to their routines that have been written down in their mother's very-used almanac. Practical Evelyn seems to run the daily chores, but something seems a little off and childlike about Lily, who spends her time dressing up in her mother's decaying outfits and practicing dance in the gazebo. When the sisters discover signs that someone may have broken into their sanctuary, their lives and relationship to one another slowly changes. Slowly, the sisters begin to remember the past in snippets, as the outside world eventually comes crashing in to the garden.

Overall this book kept me engrossed, as I wanted to learn more about the mysterious circumstances of Evelyn and Lily. And of course, once the boy is discovered and their isolation and safety are threatened, I was on tenterhooks waiting to see what would be revealed. There were one or two elements that I was not expecting. My only gripe is that the ending seemed a little rushed after the languid opening and middle parts of the book. I suppose it makes sense that the beginning of the book was slowly revealed, just as Evelyn's memories were cloudy and hazy. Be that as it may, the ending was satisfactory, and made me want to go back and finish my read of Jo Walton's [book:My Real Children|18490637].

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an opportunity to read this book!

I don’t usually go for dystopian books, but The Garden totally caught me off guard. I picked it up because of the cover, barely skimmed the synopsis, and just dove in—which, honestly, made it even more of a ride.

It’s about two elderly sisters, Evelyn and Lily, who have spent their entire lives in this old, crumbling house—but only in the kitchen and garden. They never go beyond the wall, just sticking to the routines their late mother left behind in her almanac. Something awful has happened to the world outside—there are massive storms, everything is covered in dust, and it’s just… not safe. But then a boy suddenly shows up in their garden, and everything starts to unravel.

The whole book has this eerie, claustrophobic vibe, and I could practically feel the dust in the air and hear the creaks of the house. It reminded me a little of Flowers in the Attic but with a dystopian twist. The relationship between the sisters is super complicated—sometimes sweet, sometimes frustrating, but always so interesting.

It does start out slow, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first, but once I hit a certain point, I was in. And while I usually like clear answers, this one leaves a lot up in the air. Strangely enough, I didn’t mind. The mystery and weirdness of it all just worked.

It’s unsettling, kind of sad, and definitely unique. If you like slow, atmospheric books that make you think (and maybe frustrate you a little), I’d say give it a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam

The prose was lyrical but I didn’t understand the story. I kept waiting for an explanation as to what was happening.

The garden is all elderly sisters Evelyn and Lily remember. The time before the garden is lost to them, and the world outside is now a mystery. Their mother grew the garden when they were children and taught the girls how to tend to it and keep their family estate entirely self-sufficient. She also taught them that there was nothing but waste, ruin, and danger lie outside the walls. One day, a nameless boy appears in their garden, challenging everything they thought they knew about the world.

One thing I loved about this book was the absolutely jarring switch from cozy to spooky that we took. We began with cozy world building and tending to the garden and pivoted to hearing things, seeing things, and flinching at bumps in the night (ok the last part was maybe just me). I loved unraveling the mysteries of the past, the garden, the sisters, and the boy. I loved how creeped out I was. I also really appreciated the unique point of view this book took. In a typical post-apocalyptic story, we would be hearing from the boy. Hearing from the sisters was a fresh and fun take (I'm not elaborating more for spoilers sake)

The ending of this book stuck with me in ways that were both good and bad. I love that it made me think and I love the bits of closure that we got. I just wish we had more answers about the incident and the world and how society is functioning. I get that this is simply not the point of the book, but I am SO into what Newman has created with this novel. I want more!!

I recommend this for people who like post-apocalyptic media (looking at you, doomsday preppers) and beginner horror readers like myself!

Inter story of two elderly sisters living in an isolated house somewhere in the near future.
Having no contact with the outside world their lives are upended when a young boy
enters their world. With a growing sense of dread the story plays out to its surprise
conclusion.

This is a rare gem of a book, so eloquently written. I do not like dystopian fiction but this book - it's so lyrical it almost sings. The story is odd - two elderly women, Evelyn and Lily, sisters, live together and tend a garden for their sustenance. Their father left long ago, their mother has passed away and is buried in the garden, and for some reason the sisters limit their life to the kitchen. The house, it seems, is quite large. A boy appears and while they are frightened, Evelyn recognizes that he needs care and attention, and the addition of this boy changes the progression of their lives. As the story continues and their early lives are slowly revealed, we learn more of how this situation evolved. I think the ending, as in all dystopian futures it seems (how can it be otherwise?), is sad but the book is solid.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley and the publisher, the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own.

The story begins close to the end, as these two sisters have grown old together in a world that we'll see as they play out the story of their lives. Living in isolation with only each other as comapny, they feel safe from the outside world, yet unsure what will become of them should they look beyond the garden wall. Nick Newman builds the world around them as he slowly defines the sisters themselves. Then a third person joins them, bringing the sister's fears and hopes to an ending you'll not see around the corner.
This is an original plot with the sisters taking on the answers to the question so many have asked.....what would happen if........

The Garden is about two elderly sisters and their effort to survive some sort of climate disaster by cultivating and stewarding a garden their mother had left them at their childhood home. Their mundane everyday lives are disrupted when they discover they may not be alone on the property.

The Garden is labeled as sff. However, there are very few sff aspects to the story, which was a major disappointment. We found the first half to be quite engaging as we get to know more about the sisters, their situation, and their past. At times, it almost read like a cozy fantasy story (minus the fantasy)...almost. The slice of life bits were cozy. The latter half of the story became a bit jumbled and harder to suspend our disbelief to remain immersed in the story.

Enough with the negatives. The positives. The writing itself was pretty good. The story read more like literary fiction with a dash of horror towards the end. There were a lot of writing devices used throughout - the sisters were foils for each other, the use of mood, diction, flashbacks, foreshadowing, and in media res. The words read better than the story at times. Overall interesting exploration of the themes of generational trauma and adapting to change.

For more thoughts, check out our podcast episode: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/77bbtKKp6Qb

2.5 Stars

I had really high hopes for this one, as I haven’t read a great dystopian thriller in a while. Unfortunately, it missed the mark for me. The premise was intriguing—two elderly sisters isolated in a mysterious garden, their lives disrupted by a strange boy—but the execution fell flat.

I wouldn’t classify this as a thriller or horror as many have. The tension felt dull, and the pacing dragged where it should have built momentum. There were so many missed opportunities to expand on the why behind the sisters’ existence and the world outside. Instead of revelations, I was left with more questions and little resolution.

The writing was atmospheric, and the setting had an eerie, dreamlike quality. But without clear answers or a gripping plot, it felt hollow. If you enjoy ambiguous, slow-burn literary fiction, you might get more out of this than I did. But if you’re looking for a compelling dystopian thriller, this one may disappoint.

Thank you, NetGalley & G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Garden by Nick Newman is a great dystopian tale.
The characters are solid and engaging.
A mysterious and thought-provoking story that kept me glued to my Kindle.