L B Gschwandtner

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book which presents an interesting look at a young girl’s first semester in a new boarding school. The author chooses a narrative style that makes this work feel almost like a memoir in places. We are introduced to Susie Greenwood as an older woman celebrating the birth of her grandchild when she runs into an old friend, and the perspective of the older Susie stays with us as we go back in time and see what teenage Susie experienced, filling in and offering hints of what is to come.

Later, we see Susie become more involved in her school. We see some of the consequences of actions taken by others come back in a haunting way, and the fallout of those major events and Susie’s reactions to them is certainly handled in an interesting way. I particularly enjoyed the troubled relationship portrayed between children and their parents, and how that can cause them to unknowingly make catastrophic decisions, not realizing how flawed their thinking, too, has become.

Please excuse typos. Entered on screen reader.… (altro)

The Other New Girl is a story that will lead you through an ongoing empathetic moral journey, as you travel back in time with Susannah, a new grandmother who runs into a figure from the past that brings up one that she'd tried to push away for a long time. As a teenager, Susannah was trying to form her own moral identity, all while attempting to fit in with her peers, more as a survival method, and follow a path of higher moral and ethical standards as she uncovers her ongoing Quaker faith. Unfortunately, she is destined to get wrapped up in very unfortunate and sad tragedy as the moral/ethical boundaries and peer-pressure collide. Following her through this backwards journey was very emotionally challenging, but I found it to be an enjoyable read.… (altro)

Reviewed by Annie Lou
Review copy provided by author
Six women, three days, and one river. When I first read the blurb, I was afraid I was about to read Deliverance with women.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Naked Gardener is the story of six women of varying ages, walks of life, and personalities coming into themselves. It’s a poignant story of discovery, self-acceptance, and understanding.
Katelyn had always wanted to canoe down the Trout River, more specifically the Trout River Falls.

And when the women of the city council need a gimmick to save their dying town, the ladies use brainstorming ideas as the perfect excuse for the “girls only” weekend canoe trip. It is the quintessential “girls night out”--on steroids.

But the trip turns out to be much more than a way to figure out how to save the town. Each woman brings her own individual angst, issues, and problems on what turns out to be a very enlightening and fateful trip.

Beautifully written, artistic, and touching, The Naked Gardner is a novel of coming to terms. Each character has to discover, reveal, and accept who they are, the changes they face, and the lives they are living at that moment in time.

There’s a piece of every one of these women in us all. Hope the virgin, Valerie the aging beauty queen, and Katelyn who’s afraid to get her heart broken again. As for the others? Well, I can’t spoil the story. You’ll just have to read it for yourself.

Quote: From Katelyn "Artists have all of the same struggles everyone else has. Except they rarely make enough money to live on, and they have the extra burden of being pushed internally by ideas and visions that nobody else has. It's not a decision. It's built in."… (altro)