Customer Reviews

The Gardener

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was drawn to this book because of its cover, but its teaser is what hooked me. And as a brisk science fiction urban adventure, it does not fail to deliver. The book opens with a five year old Mason, the protagonist who also narrates the story, being mauled by his neighbor's dog. That's the day his mother revealed the DVD of his father--or rather, his father's torso--reading from "The Runaway Bunny".

The book then fast forwards ten years. Mason had grown into an immense athlete with a mangled face and an aptitude for biology with big dreams for his future. What he finds while making plans for that future is that his mother was keeping more secrets from him and a company's conspiracy to grow children who did not need food or water to survive.

From the first page, the story moved quickly and there wasn't much downtime, however, I never felt breathless while reading it. In other words, it moved at just the right pace. Mason was an incredibly likable character. It's established early on that he had a case of white knight syndrome; he got a kick out of helping people, which might, in part, be due to his disfigurement (upon first sight, most people cringed, so it felt good when people were able to look at him as something other than a frightening monster). On the flip side, his character did have a few moments where he became stiff and bland.

At one point Mason accidentally awakens one of the catatonic teenagers in his mother's care and is completely smitten by her beauty. From that point forward, he was compelled to do everything in his power to protect her. Unfortunately, some of those scenes (and some of his internal monologues) felt contrived. It became a case of telling rather than showing when showing would have been most appropriate. Frankly, I didn't buy the chemistry between the two of them.

Speaking of contrivances, there were more than a few that pulled me out of the story. For instance, whenever Mason and Laila needed to be alone in a scene together, the other players would be conveniently removed, no matter how far-fetched (a seemingly reasonable adult handing over her car keys to an underage driver). Or, in the case of Mason's mother's alcoholism, superficially it played a major role, but the story didn't support it. As an example, Mason needs to pick her up from a bar after she'd been drinking heavily. She finds out that she needs to work and decides to drink some coffee, go in and hopes she sobers up. When Mason arrives later, she's completely sober. In fact, it didn't seem as though she'd been drinking at all. An unfortunate side effect to all of those contrivances was unbelievability and predictability.

That aside, I must admit that I love the premise of this book. I would recommend it if for no other reason than to enjoy the concocted conspiracy theory involving autotrophic humans. It's woven on recent biological findings in sea snails and carried to a whole new level. There was also an undertone of environmental awareness and moral responsibility. Those two aspects would make this book an excellent discussion piece and it's almost enough to forgive the story's formulaic unfolding.

Plus, for younger readers, it's fairly clean. While there is talk of alcohol abuse and underage driving, it's reinforced that those behaviours are inappropriate and, as mentioned before, are downplayed. And there may be a scene or two involving Mason and Laila that might make the reader blush, but it's rather innocent and Mason behaves as a perfect gentleman.

Plot Summary: Mason is a normal teenage boy, except for his large size and disfiguring facial scar. While visiting the nursing home where his mother works, he encounters four catatonic teenagers. One of them wakes up and makes a run for it. Mason decides to help the girl since she's clearly afraid of someone, and they soon notice strangers tailing them. The girl has no memory of who she is, but disturbing fragments resurface that show her life has been anything but normal. Mason is determined to help her, but in the process he learns a few secrets about his own parents, and their link to the girl.

There's an interesting premise here, but it didn't get fully realized. I feel like The Gardener is about 100 pages lighter than it should be. When I picked this up I figured it was another post apocalyptic, young adult dystopian story, but actually it takes place in the present. The creepy part about this book is that it predicts that mass famine will kill all the humans off, but it doesn't do anything to alleviate the fears it creates. It kind of reminded me of my Dad's doom and gloom predictions for the future (is it any surprise that I grew up with a pessimist?). I'm a cynical adult and I can shake that stuff off, but this will probably make a big impression on younger, more impressionable minds.

The book kicks off with an emotional hook that grabbed me immediately. Five-year-old Mason is horribly mauled by a dog and therefore scarred for life. This event is formative for him in more ways than one, and it ties in nicely to the teenage Mason we meet later on. As a big guy with a scary scar, he uses his looks to do good deeds - like saving kids from bullying - and he develops a hero complex. This is a crucial character trait, as it explains why he helps a girl who is on the run from a large corporation.

Sadly the story didn't go nearly far enough for me, and I don't think it'll go far enough for its intended young adult audience either. The ending is way too hasty, and it tries to tie up loose ends with a mere paragraph, or less. It was kind of weird, and again I think this book could have used another 100 pages to bring things full circle. The quality of YA novels is through the roof these days, and I'm afraid this book doesn't compare to the upper echelon of stories. This title will be released on May 25, 2010.

I read Bodeen's first book, The Compound, and really enjoyed it. The story was solid, the characters were fully fleshed out, and the pacing was riveting. So when I heard about The Gardener and the incredibly enticing premise, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy.

The story opens with a great emotional hook as five-year-old Mason is attacked by the neighbor's dog. It also skillfully introduces how that moment triggers later events in the story, and I couldn't wait to find out how it was all connected. And I wasn't disappointed about that. The plot is pretty strong and the pacing is just as riveting as The Compound.

The characters, however, weren't as solid as they needed to be. Mom's drinking is introduced when convenient, but forgotten when it's not. Including the effects of drinking so much that she can't drive herself home. The story also didn't have enough oomfph to it. In The Compound, the reveal about the yellow room is shockingly mind-blowing and horrifying, and I could not put the book down afterwards. The Gardener had the potential for this in multiple places, but it never lived up to that potential.

Still, this is a good story that younger teens might enjoy. The alcoholism and other mature themes are handled well, and are not too much for a young teen.

The Gardener is most certainly unique story, but there's just not enough energy to capture the reluctant reader. The mystery was revealed in slow and prolonged ways, and the spastic action sequences and ending just fell a bit short of captivating.

Be aware that whatever summary you read will tell you everything there is to know about this book. It really made me mad. Even the back of the book gave everything away!

This isn't usually a problem, but it was with this book. Why? IT'S FAR TOO SHORT! This easily could have turned into a series. Easily. Instead, the author included a 2 page epilogue that wrapped everything up in a very annoying way. I wanted more conflict!It took me less than 3 hours to read. I wanted more! More! The premise is so good!

Plus, there's that annoying "instantaneous love" in this book. The book only spans a couple of days, and yet by the end two of the characters are "soul mates." That can work if those two days had been full of getting-to-know-you action adventure, but they weren't. There were small moments of action, then LARGE moments of talking(and not getting-to-know-you talking).

One thing I really liked about this book was that YOU have to decide who is good and who is evil. The book only kind of tells you what to think, but mostly it's up to you to choose. That was nice.

Maybe it's because I had such high hopes for this book, but The Gardener definitely fell off it's pedestal. I still think it's worth reading (hence the 3[.5] rating), but it's not the epic sci-fi you think it should be. Certainly eerie and thought-provoking, but not epic.

I am reviewing an ARC provided by the publisher.

S. A. Bodeen's The Gardener is a frightening glimpse into a world desperate to adapt to a life without food. Food as we know it will become scarce; modern production and packaging lines will feel the stress of a population that outgrows manufactured and ready-to-buy products. Overpopulation specialists speculate on the need to return to self-farming and whether humans will ever be able to adapt as a species without intervention. Bodeen's premise raises questions of population, ethics, and genetic manipulation, but in truth provides only a surface examination of those issues.

The main character, Mason-or Mace as his friends refer to him-is young. His off-beat dialogue often contradicts his mature behavior, but it reminds us of how tenuous adolescence is. We are frequently told his love of heroics is more of a compulsion; Mason can't resist helping other people-something we are initially forced to take at face value as part of his character. This habit proves no different when he meets a strange and distressed girl with almost paralyzing fear of someone she calls the Gardener.

The time frame became a concern when I considered the amount of information and events crammed into the better part of just one day: his mother's drunk enough she can't drive home, but sobers within an hour or two to work in a nursing home; a girl borders on comatose, but awakens and throws Mason (well over 6 feet tall, 200+ pounds of muscle) over walls he can't jump himself; there's a drive to Portland for a book signing; a snow mobile accident; the list goes on. Not to mention the intense relationship he develops with the girl. And Mason barely questions his involvement. To be fair, he takes everything in such marvelous stride until the end of the book-I don't know how I would react if I were given the same choices. He has some base instincts that kick in and allow him to do whatever it takes to protect a girl he's only just met-and he doesn't even know her name. It still felt as if there was too much that happened, or too much that needed to happen in a short about of time and darned if Bodeen wasn't going to make it happen.

Whatever whimsical adventure, however dark, could come of this was a bit too fantastical and unbelievable for me. I do think if I were younger, it would be appealing. What younger reader wouldn't be enchanted by a dangerous adventure to save the Sleeping Beauty and take down the Evil Witch and her Castle all because they offered to help? It's a grim fairy tale our protagonist is a part of, one that I think is better suited for MG than YA readers.

The writing is very accessible, but at times failed to fully attract my attention with a sparse exposition more conducive to action and suspense rather than an appreciation of this eerie future world we might imagine is not too far from our own. I thought the science behind the experiment was vague, if imaginative. If I was younger, it would be enough for me to know a problem exists and TroDyn (I would like to know if this name has any significance I am missing) is solving it, but doing some dangerous things in the process. I was concerned more at the doomsday nuance to Dr. Emerson and Solomon's dialogue. It was a bit outlandish in its immediacy, as if famine and pestilence are literally down the block and around the corner, next year rather than generations away. I found that urgency distracting and disingenuous, if motivational to certain characters.

There isn't too much character growth in The Gardener. It's fast-paced and action-packed with little room for anything else. The consequences are minimal; certain actions are condoned under the pretense of messy politics and preservation. No one is really punished. Blameless they may not be, but certainly TroDyn's actions betray that. This may make the story more interesting (one character may "get away with it," but it sets up tension for a possible sequel), but the evil characters were so obviously evil I couldn't help wanting Bodeen to be rid of them.

I was disappointed the metaphor behind the butterfly tattoo was explained so openly. The subtlety I've come to appreciate from certain literary devices was not here. My personal preferences aside, the explanation is one that some readers might find helpful, even critical to understanding the nature of the experiment. I could have done without it, had I been left to draw the appropriate connections myself.

Despite the action, I felt the suspense was a little lax. I had the ending figured out the moment I read the jacket copy-before I even started reading the book. Though, I wonder if the point wasn't to create such a dramatic reveal, but to set up the potential for a sequel. And the framework has been put in place for one.
Younger readers or dystopia fans who want a quicker read may appreciate The Gardener. Although I felt the characters lacked a richness or sometimes fell victim to caricatures (in particular, I am thinking of Eve), the book was still entertaining. Certainly, I don't believe I am the intended audience, but would recommend this to fans of MG speculative fiction.

This was the first novel by S.A. Bodeen that I have ever read. I had high expectations since I have had her previous novel, The Compound, in my wish list for a while now. I have to say that I was a little bit let down with this odd little YA sci-fi novel.

The Gardener starts out by introducing us to Mason in his childhood. He is viciously attacked by his neighbors dog, leaving one side of his face mangled and permanently scarred. The book then flashes forward to the present, where Mason is a fifteen year old high school kid, who-despite his hideous scarring-is living a fairly normal life in his small town of Melby Falls. He is surprisingly well adjusted, and his massive height and build has come in handy with fending for himself in the world. His character was the highlight of the novel for me. With his incredibly brave and good natured ways that are pretty much unheard of in this day and age; I felt as If I were reading about a young boy in a different time period. His genteel manners and heroic attitudes about helping people were fantastical, to say the least.

Mason soon finds himself caught up in a web of intrigue and adventure when he stumbles upon a beautiful young girl in a nursing home where his mother works. She snaps out of her coma when Mason plays a DVD of his father reading a bedtime story and instantly Mason becomes her caregiver and sneaks her out with his best friend. This is no ordinary girl though...and Mason soon learns that an insane, utterly science fiction-like conspiracy has been taking place in his town for years.

This book will definitely appeal to a younger crowd more so then it did for myself. I felt that the plot was a little bit far-fetched and something didn't really click with me while reading it. I am not sure if it was just a case of coming down from reading such a FABULOUS novel (Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien) and this one not living up to it...but, I had a really hard time struggling through enjoying the world that Bodeen crafted. Mason will be an interesting character that younger girls will find themselves swooning over, despite his disfiguring scars, because of his heroism and protectiveness over Laila.

It's a fast read, at well under 250 pages, and it will definitely find a strong following of fans. The enviromental undertones are very strong and a call to help mend the planet will be felt by most readers after finishing this. I did enjoy it, just not as much as I had hoped.

The characters in this book come off as rather one-dimensional, the love interest as little more than a cardboard cutout of a tepid teenage boy's fantasty - pretty girl without much personality in need of saving. The main character is also bland and uninteresting - a good guy with a hero complex and without half of his face. The writing style is entirely unremarkable - there are so many more compelling young adult fiction titles out there with complex characters and captivating plots, don't waste your time on this book. Sometimes I wonder how this quality of writing even gets published.

Mason's only knowledge of his father comes from a recording of his dad reading a children's book. But he opens a can of worms when he plays the DVD for a group of catatonic teens at a nursing home and one of them responds--a girl, who wakes from her stupor and begs Mason to help her escape from "The Gardener". To top it all off, the girl has a tattoo of a blue butterfly on her forearm, just like Mason's elusive, unknown father in the recording. Coincidence? Not likely.

As far as heroes go, Mason's a shining example. He was horribly scarred as a child, but he doesn't let that affect him in daily life. He takes care of his mother, who has a low-level alcohol problem, and his hobby is defending and saving people who are in distress. He's great with science and he'd like to do a summer internship with the locally-based TroDyn Industries, a scientific research complex interested in "environmental sustainability," but his mom hates TroDyn for reasons she won't discuss. Mason feels compelled to rescue the poor girl who is terrified of of the TroDyn logo, has nasty circular scars on her legs, and when asked where she's from, replies, "seventh row from the back, third from the end" (pg 64).

Note: From the cover and the tagline, I was expecting a dystopian novel or a futuristic science fiction, but it's neither--it's a present-day story with science fiction elements.

The Gardener is based on a good, creepy concept that's drawn out for too long. If it were kept to about 70 pages, it could have been really jolting, but the lengthy running-from-the-bad-guys scenes and the equally long explanation scenes took away from the chills.

THREE QUICK POINTS
* Point 1: It's a great discussion piece. The book deals quite a bit with the changing global environment and its ramifications for the human race.

* Point 2: Spotty character development. Mason, as a character, started out well enough, but when Laila was introduced the character development faltered and stalled. (The other supporting characters were mainly cardboard placeholders)

* Point 3: Plot by numbers. The unfolding plot was too convenient, even for a middle grade read, and a side effect was a problem with overall consistency.

SHORT SYNOPSIS
Fifteen year old Mason uncovers a conspiracy by a company named TroDyn to grow children who do not need food or water to survive.

MY THOUGHTS
I love that this book asks the reader to think about big things: the food crisis, global warming, moral and ethical responsibilities in bio-engineering and some other similar conundrums. Although each of these issues were superficially touched upon in the book, it was enough to make the mind wander. Great for debates, too.

What I didn't love, however, was the plot-by-numbers unfolding of the story. It lead to consistency problems. To give an example without offering a huge spoiler, Mason's mother is supposed to be an alcoholic--I guess in an effort to add color to the story--but the moment it becomes inconvenient for the plot's unfolding, it's abandoned. That wasn't the only time an established tack was disregarded for the sake of the plot either. Ultimately, it made the story (and its characters) feel unnatural.

Then there's the problem with the character development, or more specifically, the relationship development. In the beginning, Mason was a well-established and likable character, but after Laila was awakened and he became smitten by her beauty, he became bland. His actions felt like he was going through the pre-ordained motions. To make matters worse, there never seemed to be a true connection from Laila's side. It sent the message that beauty is the only reason one should love, although the author may have been trying for the opposite. Even though Laila didn't have much character development, I will admit the mystery surrounding her was intriguing.

At very least, Mason and Laila should have spent a few scenes getting to know each other on a level other than trying-to-unravel-the-big-conspiracy. It may have made the instant undying love connection easier to digest, if not plausible. On that note, the epilogue with its happily-ever-after ending was a huge let down. Had the epilogue been omitted, the end would have been a perfect set-up for a second book...and even if there would be no second book, it's still left open enough to keep one's mind twisting and turning around the possibilities.

Admittedly, I am not much of a science fiction reader. When I heard about S.A. Bodeen's The Gardener, though, I knew I wanted to read it. I'd read The Compound and while it wasn't my favorite book, it's a book that my teens really enjoy. I was ready to see what Bodeen could do in her sophomore effort.

Mason, our main character, is a maverick. Of course, we won't know this immediately. It's something we discover when he steals a pass into his mother's work place -- a nursing home of sorts run by TroDyn, a large science corporation that has its hands in about everything in their Portland-area home town of Melby Falls -- and immediately spots a group of kids about his age who look completely comatose. What could be wrong with them, Mason wonders?

Of course, it doesn't stop at wondering and of course, it's the incredibly beautiful and flawless girl who somehow manages to convince Mason to free her from the home and save her. With his best friend. Mason does just that.

It's here that the story unravels into an incredibly fast-paced story of science, deception, and corporate involvement in science and humanity.

Did I mention Mason has a huge scar on the side of his face from an accident in his early child hood? Oh, and he doesn't know who his dad is beyond a DVD he stumbled upon in his mother's files of him reading The Runaway Bunny. Oh, yeah, and mom is hiding a lot of money from Mason, too, which he would love to use in college when he goes to study at Stanford.

I realize I've left a lot of plot out of this, but the short and long of it is that saying any more will ruin the suspense and the action that develops. The story is well-developed in plot, with enough twists and turns that kept me flipping frantically through the pages. TroDyn is an evil empire set on solving one of the world's greatest problems -- food! -- by doing something entirely unethical to future generations. Lalia, who is the girl Mason saves, will lead him into unleashing their secrets to the world. And it might just be his dad who has something to do with it. The Runaway Bunny also plays well into the evil-doing.

The Gardener will appeal to many readers, though hard-core science fiction fans will see many of the holes in the story. This will likely appeal to more reluctant readers, since it moves so quickly. We have a handful of well-developed characters who are interesting and encourage further reading.

My biggest problem with the book, though, is that we don't have well-developed character relationships. Solomon and Eve, who we meet near the end of the story, were introduced as partners, but there is a quick turnaround in that relationship that never once made sense to me. She went from his assistant to suddenly evil, and since I hadn't been introduced to either until the end of the story, that shift was never believable or easy enough to accept for me. I think since those two characters do play such a vital role in the end of the book that they could have been better sketched. I thought they were really interesting and was sad I didn't get more.

The ending of the book, which we work toward at such a rapid pace, is actually a bit of a let down. I felt there was an opportunity to go out with a real bang, but instead, it's kind of flat and undynamic. Mason the superhero never emerges where it could have been opportune.

A few plot holes are obvious, but because the story itself is interesting and unique, they are mostly forgivable. I thought they were quite similar to the holes I found in The Compound, which made me wonder if that's Bodeen's style. Most readers will suspend their belief in the story anyway, so forgiving the holes will be pretty natural.

Fans of The Compound will devour this title. I know my teens will really enjoy this one, and this is a title that begs to be book talked. And boy, if some of the ideas in here don't terrify you, then you don't watch the news quite enough.