Customer Reviews

A Garden of Aloes

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I really enjoyed A Garden of Aloes. Having lived in Tucson there is a sense of place in the book, the seedy side of the hot hot town.

I grew up in a family with three sisters, and of course my mother; and I have a 15 year old daughter. I've always wondered what goes on in their minds. This book gives us men a window into the inner workings of the female mind. Each character's narrative is engaging and rings true.

The plot was slowly thickened through a spare set of well placed clues spoken by the various narrators so that when the horrible truth was revealed, I was almost prepared.

I highly recommend this fresh and provocative first novel.

The characters in this novel are alive, vibrant and, sad to say, relevant today. Jandrey has captured well, the lives on the fringe of our not so evolved patriarchal "civilization" of even 2008. Sad, but true, I'm sure we can find many such lives in the midst of our cities all over the USA. But the miraculous thing is that she captures their humanity, their courage, their stamina, and their sublime intelligence in a world of cards stacked against them. Jandrey is flawlessly accurate in her account of place. Tucson, the desert, and Miracle Mile are as alive as her characters in a way that only those of us who live here can testify. An abuse survivor as a female child, teen and young adult, I can easily relate to the thought processes of Sam as well as some of the survival strategies of Dee, Leslie and Eden. Jandrey is amazingly insightful into the mind and heart of abused women and children. I think this novel should be required reading for all high school students. If I'd read this book as a young adolescent, it may have saved me from the predatory and abusive members of our society. For me, the best part of the novel is the premise that, with faith, love and support for each other, there is hope. That no matter how bad life gets, no matter how alone and desperate and hopeless you feel, there are always angels in the form of fellow humans that emerge from the fabric of our everyday world, who will be there; who will help see us through and in the process, maybe become lifelong friends or even "family". I'm looking forward to the next G. Davies Jandrey novel!

What is most compelling in this first novel, may there be many more, is the dead on voices of the girls. Although I rooted most for Sam, her older sister Audrey and neighbor Chablee tell their versions of the hard, hot summer in the Oasis Trailer Court in the detailed, self absorbed and idiomatic way that only teenage girls can. With equal parts of curiosity, confusion,and judgment, all three try valiantly to make sense of confusing parts of their lives: the crashing downwardly mobile move for Sam and Audrey, the topless dance club as the place of employment for Chablee's mother, and the actions of Dee, the overweight manager of the trailer court who seems to be more than one person. Jandrey pulled me into many imaginary conversations with the girls. Anyone who has raised or worked with teenage girls will admire the careful observations Jandrey makes without a heavy hand or condescension. While not an easy tale, it is one that I kept thinking about for a long time after I finished it.

I really like this book. It's a quick read, with good suspense, so you're already hooked when you realize it's also an important book, with plenty to say about courage and morality and relationships. Best of all are the characters, who keep popping back into your mind. I'm buying this book for every woman and teenage girl on my Christmas list, and a few men, too.

The voices in Ms. Jandrey's debut novel are exceptional. They ring true, and so do the women to whom they belong. The story is exciting, interesting and well told; Samantha and Dee, in particular both intrigue and enchant the reader. The heat of an Arizona summer is almost another character. The setting is vivid; the reader can see the motor court, the quartz gardens and Dee's brave flowes. Samantha, one month past her eleventh and a half birthday when the story begins, is a compelling character, a wonderful young girl. There is suspense in this novel, not only becuase the reader wants to know the outcome, but because this is a story of a family being created and woven through very disparate threads. A very good book~!