{"id":12144,"date":"2023-06-15T01:00:37","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T06:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/?p=12144"},"modified":"2026-09-16T12:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:11:49","slug":"book-the-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-the-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"The Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"book-1987\" class=\"bdb-book-info\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/book_thegarden.png?fit=250%2C375&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"The Garden\" class=\"alignright\"\/><strong>Title:<\/strong> The Garden<br \/><strong>Author:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/author\/tomi-adeyemi\/\">Tomi Adeyemi<\/a><br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/series\/into-shadow\/\">Into Shadow #1<\/a><br \/><strong>First Published:<\/strong> <span content=\"2022-11-15\">November 15, 2022<\/span><br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/publisher\/amazon-original-stories\/\">Amazon Original Stories<\/a><br \/><strong>Pages:<\/strong> 44<br \/><strong>Genre:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/poetry\/\">Poetry<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/short-stories\/\">Short Stories<\/a><br \/><strong>Format:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/format\/ebook\/\">Ebook<\/a><br \/><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/source\/kindle-unlimited\/\">Kindle Unlimited<\/a><br \/><strong>Rating:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/rating\/0.5\/\"><span class=\"bdb-font-awesome-star-wrap\"><i class=\"fas fa-star-half-alt\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/62991528-the-garden\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/addtogoodreads.png?ssl=1\" align=\"left\" border=\"0\"\/><\/a><br \/><br \/><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong> <p>In this dreamlike short story told in alternating prose and verse, number one New York Times bestselling author Tomi Champion-Adeyemi weaves a tale of a young woman\u2019s journey to find her mother and uncover her secrets.<\/p>\n<p>Fifteen years ago, L\u0119ina\u2019s mother, Yuliana, went searching for a mythical place called the Garden and never returned. Determined to learn the truth about what happened, L\u0119ina travels to Brazil to search for the hidden realm, with Yuliana\u2019s journal and a local tour guide leading the way. But L\u0119ina soon begins to wonder if she\u2019s looking for answers\u2014or if what she truly wants to find is herself.<\/p>\n<strong>Get the Book:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4gN0EfM\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon<\/a>\r\n<hr \/><\/div>\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Review\",\n\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2023-06-15T06:00:37+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\"description\": \"The Garden\",\n\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Radical Dreamer\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-the-garden\\\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"itemReviewed\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Book\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"The Garden\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"author\": [\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Tomi Adeyemi\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-database\\\/author\\\/tomi-adeyemi\\\/\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\t\t\"isbn\": \"\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"numberOfPages\": 44,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Amazon Original Stories\"\t\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\t\"image\": \"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/book_thegarden.png?fit=250%2C375&ssl=1\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2022-11-15T00:00:00+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.goodreads.com\\\/book\\\/show\\\/62991528-the-garden\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"genre\": \"Poetry\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Jamie\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/\"\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \"reviewRating\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Rating\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"ratingValue\": 0.5,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"bestRating\": 5\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<h2>Review<\/h2>\n<p>What did I just read? <em>The Garden<\/em> is a drifting narrative about a young woman named L\u0119ina, who is following a journal her mother left behind to find a place called the garden. It is a largely character-driven work as it only consists of conversations between L\u0119ina and her tour guide, Angelo. I&#8217;m generous when I say conversations because it&#8217;s mostly L\u0119ina asking Angelo silly questions that she thinks are deep and deciding that she&#8217;s falling for him. My boy Angelo needs help; his client is flirting with him, and she is Tumblr girl sad.<\/p>\n<p>The story is told in alternating poetry and prose, but I didn&#8217;t find either to be particularly engaging. It felt like it was trying too hard to appeal to the sensibilities of Instapoetry fans. It was too short for there to be any character development, but the story runs with it like we&#8217;re supposed to know these characters and care about either of them. It&#8217;s a bite-sized story that can be read in a few minutes, so it was no great loss to read, but this short story didn&#8217;t really do anything for me. Normally I enjoy these original short story collections as a way to sample author&#8217;s works, but in this case I think the short story does more harm than good. <\/p>\n<h4>Quote<\/h4>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;My mother told me of a garden\u2026 she followed it to her grave.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<h2>About the Author<\/h2>\n<div class=\"ubb-about-author\">\n<h3>About Tomi Adeyemi<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_tomiadeyemi.png?fit=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft ubb-about-author-photo\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_tomiadeyemi.png?w=200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_tomiadeyemi.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American writer and creative writing coach based in San Diego, California. Her debut novel, CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE, comes out March 6th, 2018 and the movie is currently in development at Fox with the producers of Twilight and The Maze Runner attached. After graduating Harvard University with an honors degree in English literature, she received a fellowship that allowed her to study West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil. When she\u2019s not working on her novels or watching Scandal, she can be found blogging and teaching creative writing to her 3,500 subscribers at tomiadeyemi.com. Her website has been named one of the 101 best websites for writers by Writer\u2019s Digest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ubb-author-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tomiadeyemi.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tomi_adeyemi\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Twitter<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/16642745.Tomi_Adeyemi\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Goodreads<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4dxqWQz\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Amazon<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tomiadeyemi\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Review What did I just read? The Garden is a drifting narrative about a young woman named L\u0119ina, who is following a journal her mother left behind to find a&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[352,386,844,1983,387,2374],"book-author":[2939],"book-illustrator":[],"book-series":[5895],"book-publisher":[],"book-genre":[],"book-source":[],"book-format":[],"class_list":["post-12144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","tag-african-american-literature","tag-african-literature","tag-black-literature","tag-nigerian-american-literature","tag-nigerian-literature","tag-road-trips","book-author-tomi-adeyemi","book-series-into-shadow"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/book_thegarden-header.png?fit=1080%2C540&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12144"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34174,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12144\/revisions\/34174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12144"},{"taxonomy":"book-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-author?post=12144"},{"taxonomy":"book-illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-illustrator?post=12144"},{"taxonomy":"book-series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-series?post=12144"},{"taxonomy":"book-publisher","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-publisher?post=12144"},{"taxonomy":"book-genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-genre?post=12144"},{"taxonomy":"book-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-source?post=12144"},{"taxonomy":"book-format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-format?post=12144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}