The Garden

Nick Newman (adult pen-name of Nicholas Bowling) is most notably know as the author of several children’s novels including Witchborn and In the Shadow of Heroes, but his adult fiction debut, The Garden is a chilling dystopian with a startling premise. Two elderly sisters have not left the borders of their garden in decades. They have no concepts of what lay beyond the walls, only their mother's dire warnings. Evelyn and Lily rely on their mother's almanac and it hasn't steered them wrong. But the eerie and lonely monotony of isolation has taken a toll on both of the sisters. When a young boy breeches the wall they are shocked. They haven't seen another living person in ages. What should they do with him?Can he be trusted? The sisters begin to question their loyalty to the land and to each other. What is outside the garden walls? This cli-fi (climate fiction) dystopian is dark and evocative. Hauntingly narrated by Nicolette McKenzie, whose childlike voice and deprecating prose perfectly encapsulates the two sheltered sisters. Verdict - Fans of Gray Gardens and climate fiction will enjoy this claustrophobically captivating tale about two sisters who must decide if the garden walls are a prison or a sanctuary. - Erin Cataldi