Wednesday, August 10, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: THE GARDENER by S.A. Bodeen

by S.A. Bodeen
Macmillan/Scholastic
Ages 12 & up
232 pp.

SUMMARY
Mason has been offered a summer internship at TroDyn, a corporation known for its strides toward ending global hunger. His mother, however, won't allow it. Mason confronts his mother at work at the Haven of Peace and while there meets Laila, a catatonic beauty under his mother's care. When Laila awakes and insists that Mason help her escape, Mason can't help but wonder what she is running from. He soon discovers that Laila is different. She never eats or drinks. She has difficulty managing simple tasks like dressing herself. And she is incredibly strong. It doesn't take long for Mason to find the truth: Laila is part of an experiment, and TroDyn will stop at nothing to get her back.

REVIEW

I love the tagline "This Greenhouse...Grows Humans." Creepy. This story is a quick and engaging read. My seventeen-year-old and I both loved it. Couldn't put it down. The characters are very real, and the circumstances in which they find themselves believable. The story is fast-paced. There is a bit of an information dump towards the end, but overall The Gardener is worth it. Even though it is YA, I didn't find anything objectionable in it for slightly younger readers.

Rating:  3.5 out of 5 stars
Profanity:  none
Violence:  mild
Sex:  none

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review. I'm such a sci-fi nut, I'll read it.

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  2. I just ordered this one and after reading your review I can't wait until its arrival. Great review.

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  3. A greenhouse that grows humans...eeeek! Sounds like a good, creepy read.

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  4. Yikes. Sounds creepy. lol
    Thanks for the review!

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