Adara and her dad are moving in with her grandmother, after Adara’s mother dies. Her father won’t talk to her about her mother’s death or why they are moving from California to Michigan to begin with. Luckily, her grandmother is a great source of comfort, Adara quickly makes a friend, and she develops an interest in one of her mother’s passions: plants. The plants, it seems, also have an interest in her: for Adara realizes she can talk to them. But being a good friend and caretaker is difficult to do when you’re wrapped up in your own well-being. Adara has a lot to recover from, but she is so focused on her own misery and the injustice of her own life, she isn’t very good at seeing how the other people in her life are struggling too.
This is a super cute middle grade graphic novel with super sweet artwork. One of my book club kids told me he read it five times in a row. The fantastical friendship between Adara and her succulent Perle is a great mirror to the challenges Adara faces with her new friend Winnie – but while Perle quickly shows physically how Adara’s ignorance affects her, Winnie is a tougher friendship to navigate. The plant magic is something I’d have loved to delve into a little more – it’s implied maybe that Adara’s power comes from her mothers’ earrings? Like Jem? but not confirmed. Not that it matters, I don’t need to be sold on “what if you could talk to plants?” I’m in! I also think it is really interesting to see a novel about a child’s grief that is a reminder that life goes on beyond the child. Zoe has a good support system, and has certainly earned her time pitying her circumstances, but I like that she’s challenged to be a better friend.
Great pick for any tween who loves graphic novels, and especially those who enjoy thoughtful, magically rendered ones like The Tea Dragon Society or Garlic and the Witch.
