November Book Club: The Girl in the Garden

It looks like Rahkee has everything she could want - a great job, a loving fiance - but as her wedding day grows closer she finds herself haunted by her childhood visit to India with her mother. The arrival of a letter forces her to face things she hasn't wanted to think about for over ten years. As she goes back to India for the first time since her childhood, she leaves a letter for her fiance explaining why she must settle the past before she can move into the future. That summer changed everything - her relationship with her mother, her understanding about her heritage, who she was as an American with an Indian background, and the dynamics of her entire extended family. Rahkee recounts the mysteries and deceptions that unraveled that summer so long ago and tried to come to terms with betrayals and confusion she's kept at bay for many years.

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What we thought:

Jenn N: I enjoyed this book. I love stories of family drama and long buried secrets which this book was full of. I also liked learning about the family's unique background and how their culture influenced the family structure and was a source of both pain and joy for them. What I didn't like was how the description of this novel referenced magical elements which led me to believe this novel might have a slight mystical spin, which it didn't. The ending was also a little too quick and neat. Overall though, it was a good read.

Rebecca T: As I was reading (actually listening to, since I got it on audio) this book I kept thinking - this is like a reverse Secret Garden. The end of the audiobook had a short interview with the author and she said that The Secret Garden is one of her favorite books and that it definitely influenced her writing of this one! The book was intriguing with a lot of twists and turns and family drama. I enjoyed Rahkee's interactions with her cousins and the format was interesting as the book was basically a letter to her fiance. I wasn't a big fan of the author's style, however. But at the same time, since I did listen to the book, I was having a hard time figuring out if I didn't like the narrative structure or the narrator's interpretation. I'm glad I read the book, but I have rather mixed feelings about it.

Next month we're reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Heard a lot of great things about this one, so we're excited to see what it's all about!

We're coming up on our 1st Blogoversary too, so keep your eyes open for lots of giveaways and fun coming up later this month :D