Far From The Tree by Robin Benway was the most surprising book to me of 2023 thus far. I’m not the biggest YA reader, so going into this one I wasn’t itching with anticipation. However, from the first page, I was locked in and there was no dragging me away. In fact, I finished this one in 12 hours. Now, this review will be unique. The way the plot and characters are revealed is honestly such a work of art that I’d be doing both you and the novel a disservice if I went into detail about it without giving you a warning. I went into this novel completely blind, meaning I had no context behind this book except for the fact it was Young Adult. Honestly, I feel like that’s how it should be. So, if you’re just looking for a recommendation, here it is. Go read this book. Now, if you don’t want to know anything about the plot stop reading this instant because this review will have some slight spoilers littered throughout it!
Okay, hopefully, if you’re still reading, it’s because you don’t mind reading some things about the novel before reading it. If this isn’t you, this is your last warning to stop. Now, let’s begin. In the barest form, this book follows three teenagers as they navigate life after being separated from their birth mother through adoption and the foster care system. Grace, Maya, and Joaquin have recently found out the three of them share a biological mother. Joaquin went into the foster care system at such a young age that he doesn’t remember his birth mother at all. Grace and Maya were both put up for adoption before they were born. Throughout the book, the three of them come together as siblings and create a unique bond separate from the families they’ve come to have.
One of the strongest points of this novel is the characters. They’re written in such a real and raw way that it’s hard to believe they’re just characters in a book. Grace’s situation gives her such a unique outlook on their situation that she is easily my favorite character. Maya is your classic rebellious teenager. When her emotions get too strong or she feels misunderstood, she lashes out at those close to her. Joaquin has trauma that keeps him from fully opening himself to relationships. The three of them have distinct feelings and emotions that match the scenarios they find themselves in. Plus, the decisions they make, even though they make dumb ones or ones that hurt instead of help them, make sense for their characters. It’s clear these choices are made based on what that character is currently feeling.
It also helps that the events that take place throughout the book are realistic. I can imagine myself back in high school and seeing a friend's parents go through divorce because of alcohol, or seeing a teen mom be abandoned by the baby daddy. This novel is not a work where things seem to happen just to add something to the plot, because the plot is working organically. I think one of the things is dislike about YA and why I never read it is because of the over-dramatization of certain events or the general predictableness of it all. Benway does a really good job at making the events sensible. There weren’t any twists that shocked me or felt out of place because this isn’t a thriller novel; it’s a realistic, contemporary fiction novel.
I also have to praise the novel for the way it navigates some serious topics. It covers adoption in a broad sense from multiple points of view in such a beautiful way. Benway never wrote a scene or conversation that seemed to dumb down any of the logistics or emotions that surround it just because it’s a novel for young adults. It displayed all of these tough topics like teen pregnancy, alcoholism, and racial identity in a transparent way. I think this is what teen or young adult literature should be like, no censors to allow the reader to step into another’s shoes for a moment and see the challenges they have to navigate from day to day. It also allows the reader to see characters going through similar situations as them or seeing someone with the same frame of mind. A character they can connect to.
All in all, this book is a SAVE for me. Put it in your library, add it to your student’s summer reading list, purchase and send it to a friend despite their age. It’s one of those novels that just needs to be experienced. (This was also one of the handful of books that made me tear up at some point, so that is very, very telling). As always, let me know if you read this one and what you thought!
Xoxo,
Wednesday
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