A contemporary novel about three adopted siblings who find each other at just the right moment.
Being the middle child has its ups and downs.
But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including—
Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs.
And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can’t hurt anyone but him.
My third read of the year and oh my, my reads keep getting better by the book! I started with a 3,5 star-rating for Bubz Guide, then came the 4 star-rating for All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, and now there is a 4,5 star-rating for Far from the Tree! Because this book was just beautiful.
So, as the blurb describes, this book is about three adopted (well, except for one) siblings: Grace, Maya and Joaquin. Both girls were adopted, Joaquin on the other hand had been going around foster homes for the 17 years he was alive.
Grace was adopted at birth and grew up as an only child in a family with two loving parents. After having given birth to a baby of her own, she feels the urge to go search for her own birth mother. I really felt for her and the fact that she seemed to be holding a grudge toward herself for giving het baby up. Had she done the right thing, made the right choice? Did she pick the right parents for Peach (her name for the baby)?
Maya was also adopted at birth. Then, 3 months after her parents had adopted Maya, they found out that they were pregnant with a new baby, resulting in Maya's little sister Lauren. The three of them look very much alike, Maya doesn't. This makes her feel uncomfortable, because to her it's a reminder that she isn't 'really' family.
Joaquin had been in the foster care system for all of his life, which really has had a big impact on how he sees himself and the world. He seems very negative and tends to keep people as a distance, because he doesn't want to hurt them, but this often leads to Joaquin hurting himself.
When these 3 siblings meet and start to get to know each other, they start this adventure of growing up and facing their fears. Having 'real' family members seems to be weird and hard at first, but it also seems to inspire and motivate them to keep going.
What really got to me and resonated with me was the way growing up changes your view on your parents, described in the following quote:
I'm 21 now and this is something I've also started to realise in my own life: parents aren't gods or these perfect people who know how to handle everything, parents are also just people who sometimes make mistakes and also don't know how to act in certain situations.
I really liked this story and the progress the characters made as people in this adventure of theirs. I really understood Grace's need to go look for her biological mother, after having giving up her own baby for adoption. She wanted to reassure that she did the right thing and she wanted someone to really understand what she was going through. Though on the other hand, I also really understood Joaquin's unwillingness to go look for their birth mother, because he felt wronged or hurt because of her actions. His sisters had both been adopted, and he was happy for them, but he never got that. That never worked out for him. I guess he felt let down and just angry. The ending was amazing, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside and I even cried. The characters were perfect in the way that they had flaws that were real, nothing over-dramatic or unreal. These siblings felt like real people to me and that is admirable.
In conclusion, a real strong story about family. Just beautiful.
Why not 5 stars though? I mean, if I really thought it was THAT amazing, why not go with the top rating? Well, that is because in the beginning, I hard a real hard time with keeping track. I often read in bed, before I go to sleep and every time I opened this book back up, I had to reread the chapter I had finished the night before because it had sunk away. It was all a bit much in the beginning and I couldn't get it to stick inside my head. So, that's why I came to the 4,5 stars.
Being the middle child has its ups and downs.
But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including—
Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs.
And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can’t hurt anyone but him.
My third read of the year and oh my, my reads keep getting better by the book! I started with a 3,5 star-rating for Bubz Guide, then came the 4 star-rating for All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, and now there is a 4,5 star-rating for Far from the Tree! Because this book was just beautiful.
So, as the blurb describes, this book is about three adopted (well, except for one) siblings: Grace, Maya and Joaquin. Both girls were adopted, Joaquin on the other hand had been going around foster homes for the 17 years he was alive.
Grace was adopted at birth and grew up as an only child in a family with two loving parents. After having given birth to a baby of her own, she feels the urge to go search for her own birth mother. I really felt for her and the fact that she seemed to be holding a grudge toward herself for giving het baby up. Had she done the right thing, made the right choice? Did she pick the right parents for Peach (her name for the baby)?
Maya was also adopted at birth. Then, 3 months after her parents had adopted Maya, they found out that they were pregnant with a new baby, resulting in Maya's little sister Lauren. The three of them look very much alike, Maya doesn't. This makes her feel uncomfortable, because to her it's a reminder that she isn't 'really' family.
Joaquin had been in the foster care system for all of his life, which really has had a big impact on how he sees himself and the world. He seems very negative and tends to keep people as a distance, because he doesn't want to hurt them, but this often leads to Joaquin hurting himself.
When these 3 siblings meet and start to get to know each other, they start this adventure of growing up and facing their fears. Having 'real' family members seems to be weird and hard at first, but it also seems to inspire and motivate them to keep going.
"The older she got, the more human her parents seemed, and that was one of the scariest things in the world. She missed being little, when they were the all-knowing gods of her
world, but at the same time, seeing them as human made it easier to see
herself that way, too."
I'm 21 now and this is something I've also started to realise in my own life: parents aren't gods or these perfect people who know how to handle everything, parents are also just people who sometimes make mistakes and also don't know how to act in certain situations.
I really liked this story and the progress the characters made as people in this adventure of theirs. I really understood Grace's need to go look for her biological mother, after having giving up her own baby for adoption. She wanted to reassure that she did the right thing and she wanted someone to really understand what she was going through. Though on the other hand, I also really understood Joaquin's unwillingness to go look for their birth mother, because he felt wronged or hurt because of her actions. His sisters had both been adopted, and he was happy for them, but he never got that. That never worked out for him. I guess he felt let down and just angry. The ending was amazing, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside and I even cried. The characters were perfect in the way that they had flaws that were real, nothing over-dramatic or unreal. These siblings felt like real people to me and that is admirable.
In conclusion, a real strong story about family. Just beautiful.
Why not 5 stars though? I mean, if I really thought it was THAT amazing, why not go with the top rating? Well, that is because in the beginning, I hard a real hard time with keeping track. I often read in bed, before I go to sleep and every time I opened this book back up, I had to reread the chapter I had finished the night before because it had sunk away. It was all a bit much in the beginning and I couldn't get it to stick inside my head. So, that's why I came to the 4,5 stars.
Comments
Post a Comment