By Nico
Henna has grown up surrounded by gardens and books on the tiny island of Earth’s End with her beloved papas. She couldn’t wish for a better life. But when her papa Niall falls ill, she journeys into the other Gardenia Isles to find a cure and preserve the life she’s grown up with. And she sees only one path to doing that: finding an almost mythological plant, the nightwalker.
Once, this odd plant, which can only bloom on an orange tree, was renowned throughout the Gardenia Isles for its healing properties. But after the blight that put an end to the Isles’ citrus trees, the nightwalker has become a legend—one that holds Henna’s only hope for Niall.
Henna enrolls at St. Basil’s Conservatory, the elite botanical secondary school where she’s traced the last known specimen of the nightwalker. Out of place among the elites of the isles—particularly since she and the other scholarship student, a witty, genderfluid troublemaker known as P, are instructed to look after wealthy student Lora’s every need—Henna’s mission quickly seems pointless.
But as she gets to know her new companions better and they become friends, Henna discovers that P and Lora might hold her only hope of finding the nightwalker, and of imagining a future for herself.
To be perfectly honest, I often steer clear of middle-grade books I know will make me cry; for that reason, I almost didn’t pick up The Girl from Earth’s End. But I’m so glad I did—even if only because the cover was so gorgeous I couldn’t resist it. I would be lying if I said this book didn’t indeed make me tear up, but it also made me laugh and hope, and I truly recommend it. Atmospheric and whimsical, Dairman weaves a thoughtful and lush world rich with history and life that brings to mind books like Greenwild. I adored Henna, but P and Lora were absolutely the standout characters for me in this book—they each have a unique perspectives and challenges that I don’t see often enough in middle grade fantasy, and their evolving understandings of themselves and each other gave the story extra depth.
This book is much more small-scale than many fantasy books; the world will not end if Henna fails, but honestly that made me love it even more. The personal quality to the stakes made me incredibly invested in the characters and every twist of the plot, and once I started reading I truly didn’t want to stop. I highly recommend The Girl from Earth’s End to readers ages ten and up who love quiet, thoughtful fantasy with beautiful worlds and characters you’ll adore.
Henna has grown up surrounded by gardens and books on the tiny island of Earth’s End with her beloved papas. She couldn’t wish for a better life. But when her papa Niall falls ill, she journeys into the other Gardenia Isles to find a cure and preserve the life she’s grown up with. And she sees only one path to doing that: finding an almost mythological plant, the nightwalker.
Once, this odd plant, which can only bloom on an orange tree, was renowned throughout the Gardenia Isles for its healing properties. But after the blight that put an end to the Isles’ citrus trees, the nightwalker has become a legend—one that holds Henna’s only hope for Niall.
Henna enrolls at St. Basil’s Conservatory, the elite botanical secondary school where she’s traced the last known specimen of the nightwalker. Out of place among the elites of the isles—particularly since she and the other scholarship student, a witty, genderfluid troublemaker known as P, are instructed to look after wealthy student Lora’s every need—Henna’s mission quickly seems pointless.
But as she gets to know her new companions better and they become friends, Henna discovers that P and Lora might hold her only hope of finding the nightwalker, and of imagining a future for herself.
To be perfectly honest, I often steer clear of middle-grade books I know will make me cry; for that reason, I almost didn’t pick up The Girl from Earth’s End. But I’m so glad I did—even if only because the cover was so gorgeous I couldn’t resist it. I would be lying if I said this book didn’t indeed make me tear up, but it also made me laugh and hope, and I truly recommend it. Atmospheric and whimsical, Dairman weaves a thoughtful and lush world rich with history and life that brings to mind books like Greenwild. I adored Henna, but P and Lora were absolutely the standout characters for me in this book—they each have a unique perspectives and challenges that I don’t see often enough in middle grade fantasy, and their evolving understandings of themselves and each other gave the story extra depth.
This book is much more small-scale than many fantasy books; the world will not end if Henna fails, but honestly that made me love it even more. The personal quality to the stakes made me incredibly invested in the characters and every twist of the plot, and once I started reading I truly didn’t want to stop. I highly recommend The Girl from Earth’s End to readers ages ten and up who love quiet, thoughtful fantasy with beautiful worlds and characters you’ll adore.
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