4 🌟

Definitely not your normal dystopian tale. Haunting, quiet, and unsettling, the end of the world - the one at large and the self-contained one of the garden - is revealed slowly through flashbacks and the narrative.

As I read and got to know the sisters, the more concerned I got. There is much more to them than what we see initially, and not all of it is good. The building sense of dread throughout the novel is resolved in simple, but no less dreadful ways. It was really beautifully done and I greatly enjoyed this read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book!

I SO enjoyed the speculative and mysterious vibes around this one, as well as the relationship (and its ebbs and flows) of the sisters. I think there was unexpected character development in a few spots that was so realistic BECAUSE it was out of left field and felt like a complete 180.

I will say it felt slow at times, and I expected more in terms of a resolution. Due to the pacing and the lack of clarity, I give it 3 stars.

The Garden by Nick Newman is a highly recommended dystopian fairy tale-esque literary novel with gothic/horror elements.

Evelyn and Lily, two elderly sisters, live only in the kitchen of a decrepit manor and spend all their time caring for the garden, fruit trees, and tending the bees behind the stone walls that keep them secluded from the outside world. They have lived in isolation for years. Evelyn carefully follows the instructions of the almanac written by their mother, even though the information in it no longer resembles the world they live in where dust storms are always a threat. At the same time Lily takes the daily chores leisurely and prefers to dance or play. When a nameless young man is found hiding in the house it changes the dynamics of the relationship between the sisters.

In this eerie, slow-paced atmospheric novel it is clear from the start that something isn't entirely right with the sisters. Their life-long relationship is dysfunctional. There is character development but in their completely isolated and dystopian world their personalities are odd, childlike, and still subservient to their deceased mother orders. They are also still acting out their roles from childhood. Their deceased mother is almost another character and flashbacks to their childhood intimate she was likely abusive.

For readers many questions will quickly arise and most won't be answered. No location or time period is ever mentioned and it's likely the sisters don't know. We have no clear understanding why everything from outside the wall is to be feared. Some of the sister's ritualistic behavior is nonsensical. We know that huge dust storms can occur. We know they have been instructed to fear men. The tension increases when Evelyn begins to suspect someone is on their land, while the horror elements are slowly uncovered in a natural development of the narrative.

This is a well-written dystopian novel that has similarities to other previously published books in the same post-apocalyptic/isolated population genre, but is a unique, entertaining take on the trope.
Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

A fable of sorts, a bit of a eden sequence dystopia. Overall a good concept but I was left wanting more.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Garden by Nick Newman is a haunting, slow-burn dystopian novel that’s both eerie and thought-provoking. The story of two elderly sisters, Evelyn and Lily, living in isolation within their crumbling family estate, captivated me with its quiet tension. The writing is atmospheric, and I loved how the sisters' complex, layered relationship evolved, especially with the arrival of a mysterious boy. While the pace was a bit slow at times, I enjoyed the building unease and the unsettling mystery about the world outside the garden walls. The ending was ambiguous but fitting for this gothic, character-driven tale. A unique read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book! Overall, I really liked "The Garden". Nick Newman has created an intriguing secluded world with unsettling hints dropped throughout the novel that slowly reveal what has transpired outside the walls of this Eden. The two sisters personalities are swiftly and succinctly defined, and very believable. I enjoyed how their mental/emotional intelligence reflects the strange circumstances through which they have lived most of their lives. The somewhat sparse writing style really worked with the tone of the story, and it was a very quick read. My only complaint is that I wish it had delved into just a bit darker/scarier territory, but I think some of the other reviews I read before starting the book gave me unrealistic expectations in that department.

Once upon a future time…
Two elderly sisters live an isolated, self-sufficient existence within the boundaries of their estate’s stone walls. Beyond that – well, they believe their mother’s description of a frightening, threatening desert, where all men are monsters. In their walled garden, with fruit, wheat, and vegetables growing, bees making honey, and chickens laying eggs, they pass their days in work and rather childish play. And then their wall – and world – are breached by the strange creature of a boy.

The sisters were raised from pre-adolescence with no contact with the outer world by their enraged, man-hating, paranoid and abusive mother. She teaches them that danger exists everywhere but in the garden and the large kitchen, barricaded from the house, where they make their home. Evelyn, the elder, responds with slavish devotion to her mother’s instructions and then to her memory of them; Lily, slightly younger, is a free spirit, asking questions, testing limits.

The story of their strange later life, and their relationship, is powerfully evoked by the author Newman’s descriptions.
However, the somewhat sudden, detailed conclusion of the story seems disconnected from the strange shadowy world he so carefully created. I think the tale would have been better served with a more ambiguous finish.

Dark, intriguing, horrific, riveting, thought provoking, and hard to put down! Come take a walk in The Garden and meet Evelyn and Lily, two elderly sisters who have lived in isolation in their walled in garden. They do not know what lies beyond the walls. They have each other, their garden, their bees, their flowers, their vegetables, and their crumbling home. They follow the instructions their deceased mother left for them in what they call the almanac. The sister's lives are ordered, organized, and the same day after day. They live in the kitchen while the rest of the home lays to waste. Evelyn takes comfort in her life of order, while Lily is curious and inquisitive. When a boy is found living in the home, questions swirl through their minds....

What a delightfully dark and unique dystopian tale about two elderly women, a boy, and what may or may not have happened in the outside world. I loved the haunting and eerie atmosphere, the shocking jolt that the boy's presence had in their lives. This book is oozing with atmosphere and unease. I was full of wonder and dread not knowing where this book was heading. I could not help but wonder what it must be like to spend almost one's entire life with only one other person to talk with, to share a meal with, and to endure with. Having nothing but memories of the past, their mother, and their father. The Garden has a something-isn't-quite right feel jumping off the pages. I enjoyed how the author had the sisters both experiencing the boy’s presence in differing ways and watching as it affected them individually and its affect their relationship with each other.

If you are looking for something a little peculiar, dystopian, original, and atmospheric, look no further. The Garden grabbed me from the very first chapter and never let go!

I think this story left me with more questions than answers, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Evelyn and Lily live in a walled-off garden in the kitchen of their childhood home and spend their days tending to their garden and caring for bees and chickens. One day they find a boy hiding in their garden, and they don't know where he's come from or what he wants.

This is a slow read with a world full of childhood trauma to be unpacked and explored that only led me to have more questions as to what kind of dystopian world they're in.

As interested as I was in the plot of the story, I don't think this book was for me, but I will say I enjoyed the author's writing style and am open to reading more by him, hopefully in the near future.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.

As a fan of postapocalyptic fiction, I was excited to have an opportunity to read The Garden in advance of its publication date. As a sibling with one sister, the summary resonated with me. I appreciated the way the author began the story long after 'the event' and throughout the story began to unravel how the sisters ended up in their current circumstances. No spoilers but was completely surprised by something revealed over halfway through the book. I would have preferred a stronger ending but overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend.

This story seems to be set in a not to distant future where a devastating event has isolated 2 elderly sisters. Their family had deteriorated due to their mother’s mental illness, and they have spent their lives first, caring for their mother till the end, and then following the mother’s plan book to maintain the garden.
There are many odd features of their lives, and, due to their mother’s teaching, they live in fear of anything or anyone from beyond “the wall”.
When their routine is interrupted by the discovery of a strange boy on the property, their well regimented life spirals out of control.

While and interesting premise, I was not impressed with this book, and would not recommend it.

This was an interesting read to say the least. I'm not entirely sure how I felt about it. It was hard to get into because the plot was slow and mostly character driven.

Two elderly sisters have lived their entire lives in an idyllic garden. Evelyn and Lily don’t know what’s beyond the garden’s stone walls and they spend their days tending to their garden, their bees, and perfecting their ballet routine. Until one day, a strange creature appears, and it forces them to contemplate what’s out there.

This is a sort of dystopian, subtle horror story that explores allegiance, complacency, and survival. It touches on climate change in a fascinating way. It’s eerie and unsettling. The story is a slow burn, but readers are rewarded with the answers they seek at the end of THE GARDEN.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the digital ARC of THE GARDEN in exchange for my honest feedback.

This book took me by surprise, in a good way. This book is a dystopian-esque read - not the type of books that I normally go for but this had me hooked from the beginning. Thanks to Netgalley and Transworld Books for the advance review copy.

Two elderly sisters, Evelyn and Lily, live in only one room (the kitchen) of their sprawling childhood home. Completely isolated and walled off from the dangerous outside world, they survive on food from their large garden and water hauled up from a nearby stream. The property once served as a thriving commune before the apocalyptic event occurred bringing devastating dust storms and a complete change in civilization. Their father left, their late mother sealed off the bulk of the house and prohibited the sisters from entering it, and now, after decades alone, memories of their parents and their home come only in dim flashes.

One day, an injured boy shows up, bringing hints of the outside world and change to the sisters' lives.

The Garden is atmospheric and eerie, written in the gothic, foreboding style of Shirley Jackson or Margaret Atwood. The reader never comes to understand many of the story's details, such as exactly what happened—a climate change disaster, perhaps? And, the ending was somewhat vague, But these omissions, purposeful on the part of the author, allow the reader to fill in the blanks. Beautifully written and perfectly paced, The Garden completely mesmerized me.

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the Advanced Reader Copy. This opinion is 100% my own.

This book was very slow and did not compel me to keep reading it very well. This was not the book for me.

This is not a typical type of read for me. It was a strange , almost hypnotic type of story that I found I could not put down. It is a slow-building dystopian book about two sisters who have really had no contact with the outside world in many, many years. The world they live in is almost dream-like and in many ways child-like. There was also an element of horror to the story that is woven into the seams. It is quite a compelling read.

The Garden by Nick Newman ⭐⭐⭐⭐

An emotional journey between sister's Lily and Evelyn. They don't leave the house (which they have lived in their whole life) or the garden and have no reason to. The garden supplies all their food. The garden which was left behind when their mother died.
They live their lives in isolation.
Would you be able to survive in isolation?

Thanks to Netgalley and Transworld Books for the advance e copy.

There are four main characters in this novel. Evelyn, the obedient and stoic daughter. Lily, the gadfly who dares question authority. The boy, beast of burden, who sets the story line in motion. Finally mother, who lies beneath the garden yet still has authority over the happenings.

The plot hints that at one time The Garden was probably a compound for a cult of environmentalists that fell apart as the climate changed for the worse. Most took off for parts unknown leaving only mother and the girls. The book of knowledge (their spurious bible) was an almanac written by the hand of mother and is the main source of information for Evelyn and Lily.

Day to day they tend the vegetable garden and bees – Evelyn aggressively while Lily is more passive and wants to practice her ballet. They are frightened and anxious of what and who lies beyond the garden wall. This regimented lifestyle is disrupted with the arrival of The Boy.

As the book progresses the reader, along with the girls, start to question what lays beyond. The story turns dark both inside and outside the garden as the layers of mothers warnings peel away.

This book held my interest. The characters were well formed and made real. The allegory of The Garden can be interpreted many ways when juxtaposed against today’s environmental and political climate.

3.75 stars

This review is based on an ARC of The Garden which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons).

The cover halted me, the synopsis piqued my interest, and the first few lines swept me away into a wondrous landscape of lush greenery and the low-thrumming drone of bees. Our main characters, stolid Evelyn and frisky Lily, make for an intriguing yin and yang duo. I really enjoyed the dynamics of the characters, their believability and development. And that's not to forget the titular Garden, as alive and real as Evelyn, the bees, and the Boy; nor Mama, deceased, but whose breath speaks in the breeze, whose heart flutters with the pages of the Almanac.

The Garden, perennial and unchanged for decades passed, sees an abrupt change with the crumbling of a wall and a mysterious intruder from beyond. As routine is broken and steadfast beliefs challenged, our characters--and, inevitably, the reader--begin to question the truth of Mama's Almanac, of the idyllic life of the Garden.

I found myself so involved in the story of The Garden! As mysteries unfolded and doubts began to brew, I grew ever more wary, indignant to believe in another way of life. Then, I found myself opening to curiosity, growing doubtful of Mama's truths, questioning all I had come to know.

The Garden plays with one's mind, emotions, loyalties. The Garden is at once whimsical, romantic, and eerie, packaged in butcher paper and twine, a delightful cottagecore gift.