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.

Post-apocalyptic stories have enjoyed a long popularity, likely in part due to a world that refuses to return to any semblance of "precedented times." I know I've thought about the possibility that everything goes to hell. How long could I last on just what I could grow and preserve on my own? (Answer: not long.) But these stories often center the first few years after an event. The Garden, the adult debut from Nick Newman, instead explores what happens when self-sustenance and isolation last for a lifetime.

Evelyn and Lily live small lives: Evelyn tends to the vegetables and bees, while Lily does the cooking, and the two elderly sisters ramble around the part of their childhood home they've confined themselves to since they were young. But amid Lily's continued practicing of the dance routine she's been working on for decades and Evelyn recites the one book they have for the nth time, Evelyn also starts noticing little oddities: a beehive out of place, a shadow she can't explain, food missing from the kitchen.

The culprit is a teenage boy who has slipped through a hole in the wall that has protected the garden and the house within since the world went to hell. Evelyn can't bear the thought of him starving and being hurt, while Lily wants to do away with him immediately. Both fear that his presence is only the first of the dangers that might finally come to their door. As the newness of the boy's presence wears off, Evelyn's fear only grows, while Lily seems to have lost hers—even of the things the sisters have been avoiding from the start. Suddenly, it's not just their safety at risk, it's their relationship, and their entire little world.

We get few details about the world or what happened to it, other than things are very, very bad. In flashbacks to the beginning of the end, there are glimpses of supply and provision shortages; the girls' mother and father argue about whether to stay or go from the estate, and whether to wall themselves in or leave in search of safer ground; a small group of looters arrive when it's just the girls and their mother in the house, demanding everything they have and more—or else. Evelyn is just a few years older than Lily, but it's enough to give her a fuller picture of what their mother was trying to shield them from while Lily's understanding is limited to vague threats of monsters beyond the garden's walls. And that discrepancy in how much each understands of the world outside affects how she perceives the new 

One of the most interesting aspects of The Garden is how overgrown the childhood relationship between the sisters has become over the years. They're both now old enough to know they should be watching for early signs of dementia in the other, but their dynamic has remained unchanged over their lifetimes, as if the lack of outside influences prevented them from growing up, too. Lilly still defers to Evelyn, even while complaining about how Evelyn is bossy and always in charge. They both defer to their mother, though she doesn't talk back much from her grave, and it's clear that even the garden has outgrown her guidance. Decades of love, history, resentment, and childlike obedience that should have expired a lifetime ago make for a potent stew for these sisters to sup.

In many ways, The Garden is as much about the testing, and mending, of that sisterly relationship as anything else. The apocalypse is merely a reason for their cloistering, and the reckoning they face with each other—and how and why they've spent their lives within these walls.

This book is like Grey Gardens but with sisters and set in a dystopian world. The sisters are just as strange and delightful as you want them to be, and yet there's so much heart and the author makes them so dimensional, you can't help but fall in love with them. I was able to relate to both women in such deep ways, it really touched me. With Evelyn, I felt connected to the caregiver and eldest sister--the one who has to listen and "be good" and put others first. With Lily, I saw the child-at-heart, artistic lunatic who's so much smarter and more intuitive than at first glance.

I will avoid any potential spoilers, so I'll just say that this book is about family, and the ending broke my heart in the best way possible. I loved it. Bring on the strange stories that will unexpectedly make you cry.

The Garden is a dystopian story of two sisters living in an old house with no communication to the outside world; they aren't even sure if there is any "world" out there anymore, as they won't even look over the wall of the garden. The setting is their childhood home, old and run down now, in an unknown time and an unnamed place. When they were younger their mother set up the large estate to be self-sustaining - they grow all their own food, get their water from a spring on the property, etc. The sisters, Evelyn and Lily, are old now and their parents are gone. Their Mother has died and they were told that their father left. The mother basically brainwashed them when they were children to believe all men are evil and nothing (at least nothing good) exists beyond the walls of their garden. So they live, day after day, year after year, tending their garden to just survive.
Then one day a stranger shows up, a young boy has breached their wall and come into their lives; they can no longer pretend that no one else exists, they now know their is a world out there with other people and other possibilities.
Bonds are tested, new bonds are formed, and survival is key as other find the garden and try to take them away.
It was an interesting story, a little slow at times, but I enjoyed it enough and wanted to keep reading to figure out what was going on and what was going to happen. Nothing spectacular, but definitely not bad. A solid average 3 stars.

This was so much better than I had anticipated. We follow two elderly sisters who are isolated in a dilapidated estate where they have sequestered themselves to the kitchen and the garden in a haunting dystopian future. I will say if you enjoy books like Pink Slime by Fernanda Trias, Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer or other weird environmental dystopian fiction then check this one out. The writing is fantastic as well as the pacing. I will say sometimes books like this can drag but fortunately this one held my attention and didn’t let me go until it was over. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. Thank you to the publisher and NetGally for the advice copy in exchange for my honest review.