Far from the Tree--"A fantastic book, but a tear-jerker for sure"

Title: Far from the Tree

Author: Robin Benway


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Sixteen-year-old Grace has just given her baby up for adoption.  Desperate to connect with someone who knows how she feels, Grace decides to search for her birth mother and finds two half-siblings, Joaquin (who has spent his life in foster care) and Maya (whose volatile parents are getting divorced). Together, the newly-united siblings search for their mother but also learn about love, belonging, and what it means to be a family.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): I downloaded this e-book to give me something happier to read while I took a break from the intense angst of Call Me by Your Name.  Ha, ha, ha, the joke was on me--I read Far from the Tree--and cried and cried and cried.  A fantastic book, but a tear-jerker.

Grace experiences the most hurtful bullying I've ever read about when she returns to school after her baby's birth.  Joaquin breaks up with his girlfriend and tells his foster parents not to adopt him because he is so afraid he'll hurt them.  His story from his past was heartbreaking.  In the midst of her parents' divorce, Maya pushes her girlfriend away, fights with her sister, and attempts to hide her mother's alcoholism.

All the characters have issues they overcome, or learn to deal with realistically.  When they finally meet their biological family--no spoilers, but more crying from me.  In the end, they all learn what it means to belong to a family and all the plot points are resolved.  The last line of the book caused me to sob so loudly I scared my cat, who ran away from me (so much for comforting me, animal!).

I recommend this book, but it is not a book to distract you from romantic angst. Now I have to find another book to distract me from the book I picked to distract me from the first book.


This book is on the 2018 Rainbow Book List.


My final takeaway: My goodness, I loved this book. I will have to see how I feel after a while before I add it to my teddy bear list, because it--oh man, now I'm crying again. 😭


My favorite quotes:  

• "We're basically sinning ourselves through religious school. It's great" (e-book pg. 50).
    
• "'Finally,' Maya sighed.  'You two are zombies, you know that? You're both being so weird.'
  . . . 'And I'm actually a zombie,' Joaquin replied. 'My secret is out, I guess.  God, I feel so much lighter.'  He took a deep breath and sighed it out, which made both Grace and Maya laugh despite themselves" (pg. 241).
    
• "And I finally learned to ride, but I wouldn't let them take the wheels off because I liked that feeling, you know?  They caught me every time.  That's what it felt like with Grace and Maya.  Like I was falling, but then I didn't. They were there" (pg. 279).
    
• "'Sometimes, family hurts each other. But after that's done, you bandage each other up, and then you move on. Together. So you can go and think that you're some lone wolf, but you're not!  You've got us now, like it or not, and we've got you. So get in this f***ing car and let's go!'
  Grace looked at Joaquin.
  Joaquin looked at Maya.
  And then he got in the f***ing car" (pg. 327).

Other reviews: Kirkus and Los Angeles Times


This book is available in the Greensboro Public Library.