Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Budding landscape architect Luisa MacGregor is stuck in a rut - she hates her boss, she lives with her sister, and she is still mourning the loss of her husband many years ago. So when she is given the opportunity to take on a parcel of land in a deprived area, she sees the chance to build a garden that can make the area bloom.
Arriving in the rundown seaside town of Collaton on the north-west coast of Cumbria, she realises that her work is going to be cut out for her. But, along with Cas, a local PE teacher, and Harper, a teen whose life has taken a wrong turn, she is determined to get the garden up and running.
So when the community comes together and the garden starts to grow, she feels her luck might have changed. Can she grow good things on this rocky ground? And might love blossom along the way…?
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK via NetGalley for my copy of The Forgotten Garden to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Sharon Gosling’s previous book, The Lighthouse Bookshop, was one of my top books of 2022. I adored it from start to finish so I couldn’t wait to read this new book, The Forgotten Garden. It’s another wonderful read with the themes of community, friendship and coming together to give support in the darkest of times when people need it the most. I’ll admit from the get-go that it didn’t have quite the same affect on me as The Lighthouse Bookshop and to be honest I think any book would have difficulties living up to my very high expectations after I had finished that book. But still, I really did enjoy this one as it took the reader down a path into a different sphere, that of nature and gardens and their healing power and their ability to unite people from different backgrounds and varied ages and all walks of life as they learn that through working together you can achieve anything. Nothing is easy for the characters as they go through a wide range of experiences but the fact they have to struggle to come to terms with what they are dealing with in order to try and make it through to the other side means that they are all very well written and their development and the manner in which they alter and adapt over the course of the story made this a joy to read.
Luisa MacGregor is a budding landscape architect used to standing in her boss Marianne’s shadow even though she is the one who has the best and brightest of ideas when it comes to garden design. When yet again her ideas seemed to be overshadowed by Marianne even though she knows what she has proposed would be perfect, well she reaches the end of her tether. She receives a phone call from Owen, her husband Reuben’s godfather. He is a property developer who has a piece of land that is not fit for commercial development and Owen knows that it had always been Luisa and Reuben’s idea to set up a community garden scheme. Said idea never came to fruition as Reuben passed away and Luisa has been dealing with her grief and firmly putting any of their excellent ideas firmly to the back of her mind. Luísa’s life had stalled since tragedy hit it and it never really got going again. Instead, she has just been meandering along but with this offer from Owen, is now the time for Luisa to embark upon the next stage of her life? Doing something she is passionate about and fulfilling a dream that she had long shared with Reuben.
Luisa is reluctant at first but decides to visit the site and see what potential it could have. After all, being handed such a golden opportunity she can’t just turn it down immediately and especially seen as she is tied to a job that really has no hold over her heart. Collaton, a rundown seaside town, is the location of the site which is nothing but a wasteland as it was once a former factory. The descriptions of the area are pretty gloomy and dark. It’s like the land that time forgot with nothing beautiful or inspiring about it. The surrounding area is rundown, and it appears as if it is a low-income area with trouble and strife very much run of the mill. But this plan for urban renewal makes Luisa strongly believe that she could make something wonderful for the people who already live in the area. Growing plants could change lives. Something so simple could achieve so much but that’s only if she has willing volunteers to help her and given the nature and feel of the area Luisa isn’t so sure that can be achievable, but she is willing to give it a try. She will use Reuben’s life insurance money to get the project off the ground and from this point on you can see that there is a fire and determined spirit about her that once ignited will prove challenging to quash.
Sharon Gosling introduces the reader to numerous characters apart from Luisa and they all go on to play vital roles in the overall plot and themes explored within the story. It could have been a case that there were too many characters and their stories would have become difficult to follow but instead there is a lovely, real and natural flow to everything that I felt meant everyone and every event that occurs slots in perfectly to the story. Cas runs the local gym for teenagers who have nowhere else to go. But like with everything in Collaton, he has an uphill battle to keep the gym open with a distinct lack of funds not to mention all the different problems that the teenagers have. The gym provides an outlet for them and Cas is a remarkable character. He is a teacher in the local school and has really empathy with the situations his pupils find themselves in which also really helps him when it comes to running the gym. I adored Cas as a character. To me he was just like a giant teddy bear that you would want to embrace you and have you feel that everything was going to turn out all right no matter how difficult things appeared. I admired the way he dealt with all the rage of characters and misfits that he encounters through his work at the gym. He gave them a safe space and made them feel welcome and valued and none more so than troubled teen Harper.
Harper has had to become an adult way before her time. She has to care for her younger brother Max whilst her father is an alcohol fuelled daze most of the time and at the same time try and keep up with her studies. She loves anything to do with cars and engines and it’s easy to tell there is a bright future ahead of her in this area. Nothing is specifically said about Max but I could tell from the way he was written and how Harper acted with him that he was someone who did have something that made him need to adhere to strict routines and regulations. He harbours a little secret which when it does come to the fore proved to be very heart-warming and pivotal to the overall plot. Harper loves him dearly and does her best for him but it’s not easy trying to balance school and home life when the responsibility for everything lies solely at your door. She is under enormous pressure and this came across in her gruff manner but underneath it all you can see that she does have a heart of gold. If given the chance like the flowers in the garden she would grow and flourish and turn into a wonderful person.
Cas insists as part of Harper’s community service that she must help Luisa with the garden. A tentative friendship is formed but I sensed that one wrong step from Luisa and Harper would throw up her defensive walls once again. Luisa struggles to get volunteers to help herself and Harper with the garden and the entire community seem to be against the project. There are several dark and sinister things that occur and at times the book took on a murky feeling and in a way it’s good that harsh and grim topics aren’t overlooked. Rather, they were handled in a good way that slotted in well to the overall story. It’s not all dark moments by any means more so the light outshines the gloom and Luisa keeps going with her project to show that that the garden can become addictive and therapeutic and in doing so she helps herself as well. It shows that a sense of community can be built and through people coming together a difference can be made. For all involved, Luisa, Harper, Cas and so many more they go on an inspiring and heart-warming journey that provides you with an enjoyable read that has you looking forward to the next story from this very talented author as you soon as you reach the final word.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
ReplyDelete