The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen

Title: The Gardener

Author: S.A. Bodeen

Age Group: Teens

# of Pages: 240

My Rating: 4.5/5

Mason was attacked by a neighbour's dog when he was young. He now has a disfigured face but uses it to his advantage to help others.

One day, he plays a DVD of his father, who he has never met, in a room full of comatose teens. Then something happens. A girl wakes up from her dazed state. And she's in trouble.

The girl is part of a terrible project where teens are genetically altered to live without food or water. Mason will do everything in his power to save the girl from her horrible faith. But will he succeed?

The Gardener is the type of novel that brings up a lot of controversy. One of the big themes in this book is regarding food shortages in the near future. I don't know if anyone would agree to have this experiment done to their children or themselves because I sure wouldn't.

I really liked how this novel is clearly different from the rest in YA fiction. It's an exciting adventure that is unlike any other. Mason is not like other male protagonists. From what I see most of the time, the main guy would be handsome one way or the other. For Mason though, that is not the case as a childhood accident left him unable to get reconstructive surgery. Although it is a huge physical flaw for him, Mason doesn't care and lives his life like any other teen. I like that a lot about him and he's also intelligent to boot. He saw the girl to be incredibly beautiful and it really stuck out how drawn he is to her.

I highly recommend The Gardener to sci-fi lovers. It's a gripping read that brings out situations that you will think about throughout the entire book.

Review copy provided by Henry Holt and Company.