Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really wanted to love this and it was okay but I think it was a little too young for me? I haven't felt compelled to pick it up in a few days and the reviews I've seen have voiced some of the concerns I already had for my personal enjoyment so. I will donate it though because I'm positive someone else will enjoy this! ❤️
Quill is unique. He's seventeen and has barely stepped foot outside his house. His family is a bit overprotective and homeschools him and is slowly teaching him to tend the family garden. Oh and he's the first male dryad ever to be born. He hasn't quite come into his powers yet so, really, all he feels like is a sheltered weirdo with leaf-green hair. Until a new boy moves into the apartment next door and Quill's entire life flips upside down. Liam is adventurous and nice and flirty and,...cute. So much so that Quill starts to silently rebel and sneaks out to have adventures with Liam: going to the movies for the first time or going swimming after dark.
Letting his defenses down around Liam, he brings him into the family garden (set in a secret pocket dimension in the closet) which sets off a series of events that no one could have seen coming.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from Evergreen and was pleasantly surprised. I didn't super realize it was a retelling of [b:The Secret Garden|2998|The Secret Garden|Frances Hodgson Burnett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873635l/2998._SY75_.jpg|3186437] at first and I'll be honest I'm not overly familiar with the source material (I think I saw the movie when I was super young?). I devoured this in two days. I could've finished it in one night if I had wanted to be a bit more reckless with my sleep. Liam and Quill are charming and Quill, while being a petulant teenager rebelling, feels real and not obnoxious. I'm an old curmudgeon now and often get exhausted by "put-upon teen" characters but really liked Quill. The story is engaging and the characters are lovable. Quill's mom feels a bit flat for most of the book but I think that's maybe a bit intentional as we only see her from Quill's perspective.
All-in-all this was a really fun time and definitely would recommend it to people who enjoy queer YA books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Letting his defenses down around Liam, he brings him into the family garden (set in a secret pocket dimension in the closet) which sets off a series of events that no one could have seen coming.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from Evergreen and was pleasantly surprised. I didn't super realize it was a retelling of [b:The Secret Garden|2998|The Secret Garden|Frances Hodgson Burnett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873635l/2998._SY75_.jpg|3186437] at first and I'll be honest I'm not overly familiar with the source material (I think I saw the movie when I was super young?). I devoured this in two days. I could've finished it in one night if I had wanted to be a bit more reckless with my sleep. Liam and Quill are charming and Quill, while being a petulant teenager rebelling, feels real and not obnoxious. I'm an old curmudgeon now and often get exhausted by "put-upon teen" characters but really liked Quill. The story is engaging and the characters are lovable. Quill's mom feels a bit flat for most of the book but I think that's maybe a bit intentional as we only see her from Quill's perspective.
All-in-all this was a really fun time and definitely would recommend it to people who enjoy queer YA books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I was provided with an eARC for this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
First off, while this book is sold as being a reimagining of The Secret Garden, this isn't the case. Is there a garden? Yes. Is it secret? Yes. That's where the similarity ends, so don't go into this expecting an urban fantasy version of the classic story as it's not the case.
While I did enjoy the book once things got going (the pacing is a bit slow at the start), it is very YA. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just got a lot of teenage angst, which means the fantasy aspect doesn't get built upon. You're only given a vague idea of the magic system, history and world as more of the focus is on the teenager side of things and young love.
Most of the fantasy side of things happens towards the end of the book and while it's enjoyable, it feels a bit rushed. This results in the stakes feeling relatively low, even with something big to deal with.
While I enjoyed this book, it's not one I'll reach for again. However, the romance side of things was sweet and it was an easy read to start my year off. I definitely think a younger audience will enjoy it much more.
First off, while this book is sold as being a reimagining of The Secret Garden, this isn't the case. Is there a garden? Yes. Is it secret? Yes. That's where the similarity ends, so don't go into this expecting an urban fantasy version of the classic story as it's not the case.
While I did enjoy the book once things got going (the pacing is a bit slow at the start), it is very YA. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just got a lot of teenage angst, which means the fantasy aspect doesn't get built upon. You're only given a vague idea of the magic system, history and world as more of the focus is on the teenager side of things and young love.
Most of the fantasy side of things happens towards the end of the book and while it's enjoyable, it feels a bit rushed. This results in the stakes feeling relatively low, even with something big to deal with.
While I enjoyed this book, it's not one I'll reach for again. However, the romance side of things was sweet and it was an easy read to start my year off. I definitely think a younger audience will enjoy it much more.
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Evergreen is a queer urban fantasy romance following a half-dryad teenage boy. Quill lives a sheltered life as the first of his kind male dryad, quietly working in his mom’s secret garden full of magical plants. All he wants is to be more than what his mom has planned for him and set out into the normal world when he meets his new neighbor. Liam is the normal teenager Quill aspires to be and helps him experience the mundane world of gadgets, movies, and friends and the possibility of more than just friendship. But just as Quill starts breaking free, the plants in his family’s care starts dying and something sinister is emerging.
I actually really enjoyed this book. It chronicles the tender exploration of friendship and romance between teenage boys—one of whom just happens to be from the magical world. From simple texts to seeing movies in the cinema to driving around town all night, their relationship was sweet and heartfelt. It was a very quintessential teen romance for the first three quarters of the book that I thoroughly liked and enjoyed.
The book does take a rather abrupt turn in the last quarter that does feel like it came out of nowhere involving the secret garden and what is going on there. I think there needed to be more hints and more obvious foreshadowing so that it wouldn’t feel so sudden. There was certainly more to explore from this storyline, but the conflict is resolved fairly quickly so it didn’t have as much depth and emotional impact as I would have liked.
Evergreen delivers more on the tender gay romance over its more fantastical story elements.