Far from the Tree

I think my heart stopped a few times while reading this book. I consumed it in less than a day, because I honestly was drawn to the lives of Joaquin, Grace and Maya.

They each tell the story in alternating chapters, yet it flows together so smoothly, the concept of them being family seems right from the very beginning.

Each sibling is dealing with confronting how their past (both mistakes they've made and the fact that they were given up by their biological mother) meshes with their future that each isn't sure they deserve.

Grace's pain really rocked me to my core. I felt a heavy pit in my chest as I read her chapters and I found myself desperate to find some solace for her...however she didn't outshine Joaquin and Maya by much.

With dynamic characters, stunning and subtle plot twists, lovely supporting characters (Rafe!, Mark and Linda ❤), this is a masterpiece deserving of all the press and awards it's received.

Plus, it's just seriously enjoyable to read.

Fantastic book! I read Emmy and Oliver by this author and really enjoyed it, but I'm blown away by how the author stepped her game up even more in this YA novel about siblings, adoption, abandonment, and all the different forms of family. Not only was the writing stellar, but this author got inside the heads of three children affected by abandonment, adoption and foster care. Although I cannot relate on a personal level, I did experience having many foster children in my home growing up. Therefore, I was fascinated and highly impressed by Benway's ability to characterize the emotions and beliefs shaped by each of the teens current and past circumstances, but especially Joaquin's. Overall, this author was able to tell a story from three POV's and give it the fullness and depth that I love in my reading. I'm so happy I listened to some favorable recommendations and picked this one up.

I was very surprised that I enjoyed this book so much. Normally, contemporary books that deal with heavy topics don't appeal to me but this one had my attention from the very first page. I was genuinely invested in the story of each character from the start. I feel that they were all equally developed and no characters story was lacking. I hope that there is some sort of sequel or novella because I would love to see what these characters are up to 5 or so years into the future.

BOOK REVIEW:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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What does it mean to be a family?
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This story follows three different perspectives. Grace, Maya, and Joaquin. The only thing they have in common is their birth mom, and the nasty fact that they dip their fries in mayonnaise. All three children have grown up in very different households and are now discovering each other.
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It’s a brilliant dramatic read that will tug at your heart strings and leave tears building in your eyes. I would highly recommend this book! Happy reading everyone.

4.5 stars

Robin Benway has once again made me into a snot-ridden, emotional mess. The feelings evoked by FAR FROM THE TREE are mighty and it is unlikely that any reader would be immune to the emotional content of this read.

FAR FROM THE TREE is told from the POV of three siblings, Grace, Maya and Joaquin, each a biological sibling having just found one another. This book starts with a punch, the punch that is the impetus to these brothers and sisters finally meeting. In some ways, Grace, Maya and Joaquin were so different but their burgeoning bond was beautiful to observe.

"Grace was beginning to wonder if her sister was really a humorless robot, but she assumed that even robots knew how to send the winking emoji."

"But then they told me about you, too? And I was like. 'Get. Out.' I mean, its like insta-family, right? Just add water. Like sea monkeys."

Whilst this is about sibling relationships growing, it is also about the families surrounding these characters and each branch of the story line was rich and deep. I think I cried fairly consistently from 80% for a range of reasons. There is a sprinkling of romance in this book, just a sprinkling and honestly it was perfectly pitched and didn't overwhelm the real story here, which was the siblings and their connections.

I need to speak to the diversity in this book. This family had plenty of it but without trying too hard. There was definitely a theme of finding identity but there were so many stumbling blocks in the way. Anyway, I congratulate the author on the richness of character development.

I became a fan of Robin Benway with Emmy & Oliver, but FAR FROM THE TREE has solidified my fandom. These two books have moved me hugely, I'd say that this book was even more of an emotional read.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through Edelweiss, in return for a honest review.

Reviewed for Jo&IsaLoveBooks Blog.

4.5 Stars

I was a little worried when I picked this up, as I am pretty critical about books that involve children in foster care since I work within that field. I liked that this showed the emotional impact both foster care and adoption can take on an individual and a sibling group. So much of the story is what I see today in our youth within the system including their fear of letting go and letting someone into their lives.

This was much better than I thought it was going to be and I highly recommend it!

Wrap Up
October Wrap Up, Part Two
November 1, 2017
Wow, October has seriously flown by, I can't believe how quickly it's gone. Also, I was unable to find a job in the month of October so I read quite a few books, most of which came out in 2017 so that's cool, I guess. So in total, I read 24 books, for a total of 7,782 pages. Of course, part of that success is due to two of the three readathons I've participated in, but a lot of it has just been that unless I was interviewing, not a lot was happening. As usual, here are some fun charts I made that you can look at if you're curious!
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If I included one of these books in a Readaton post, I'll let you know and won't recap it again. Any relevant post is linked on the side. So, let's get started!

11. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Excellent book, loved it. See more the in Spookathon Wrap Up post.
12. Hamilton's Battalion: A Trio of Romances by Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, and Alyssa Cole

I have a full review of this book, which is a collection of three stories set during or shortly after the Revolutionary War. I adored each of these stories, but, of course, Courtney Milan and Alyssa Cole's were my favorite. Given that I'm already familiar with their writing and I don't love short story collections, generally, this is not a surprise. For detailed thoughts, please check out the review.
13. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Y'all, I gotta admit that all this drama surrounding Maggie Stiefvater lately has left a sour taste in my mouth, but setting that aside... The Raven King felt like a very satisfying ending to me, but also an ending that made me upset. I talked about it a bit in the Spookathon Wrap Up, so you can see more there.
14. A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole

I GOT AN ARC AND I AM STILL SO HAPPY ABOUT IT. This book was absolutely amazing and I just really can't highly recommend this series enough. I was so right to include Alyssa Cole in my Historical Romance to help you run from your problems list even though I hadn't yet read An Extraordinary Union.

This book is about Marlie and Ewan. Marlie is a mixed race, daughter of a former slave, who is living with her white family in the South during the Civil War. Ewan is the brother of Malcolm and Irish, fighting for the Union. Or more accurately, being a person who gets information via torture. Now, I have issues with the way this prospect is presented only because I think torture is actually unlikely to work, but that's easy enough to set to the side. I think this book explored so many sides about why, for example, poor white Southerners didn't always fight for the Confederacy and how dehumanizing slavery really was. People, slave owners, really didn't think of slaves as people. It wasn't that they thought black people were just less than them, they genuinely thought of black people as sub-human. It's such an appalling concept... And I'm so thankful that there are historical romance novels in the world that grapple with some of the darkest parts of our history and write hope back into our history. Because there is always darkness in the world and I think romance novels are just vital to helping us deal with that darkness. This review has turned more philosophical than I meant for it to, but, yeah, read A Hope Divided!! My full review will be posted on its release date, which is November 28, 2017.
15. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

I just honestly don't have many thoughts on this book so what you see in my Dewey's Wrap Up is really all I have to say. I liked this book much more as a child than I do now, but I can't even figure out why I liked it so much as a child.
16. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

A 4.5 star worthy tome that I discussed in my Spookathon Wrap Up and a little bit in my Dewey's Wrap Up so check out those for more information.
17. Dear Martin by Nic Stone

I can't really say much more here because I wrote out all of my feelings in my review of Dear Martin already. This book is absolutely a must read. However, on Goodreads, I managed to write a little more about the writing, but avoiding the content almost entirely, so I'll provide that aspect here.

This book is written in an intriguing way. There are, of course, letters to MLK, Jr. written by Justyce, but there are also chapters written in the first person, where sometimes Stone chooses to present dialogue in a way that more closely resembles a script than the narrative form most common in novels. For me, personally, I enjoyed this. I think that you are able to so clearly grasp what is happening and that tags for who is saying what can get complicated when a classroom discussion is going on. I imagine it is a stylistic choice some may disagree with or dislike, but I would hope they would still read the novel. It deals with so many themes, aside from just racism.
18. Truth or Beard by Penny Reid

Again, I discussed this 4 star read in my Dewey's Wrap Up so check that out for more information. I have, however, remembered one of the things that knocked this book down for me, which is that the main conflict keeping the couple apart is our heroine believing that she can't have a relationship with Duane and travel the world. I've mentioned before that borrowing trouble before you get to the trouble is one of my least favorite conflict devices and I just really hate reading about it because I think it's so dumb. So that's why this book was only a four star read because otherwise, Penny Reid is super funny and I adore her writing.
19. Haven by Rebekah Witherspoon

I will direct you to my Dewey's Wrap Up post because that pretty much says all I have to say about this four star read.
20. Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

So, basically what you need to know about this book is that I started reading it for the Try a Chapter Tag and then I didn't stop reading it. In other words, I loved this book so much it became an instant favorite of 2017 and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Basically, the book is about Grace, who is adopted and just gave up her baby for adoption, and her journey meeting her biological siblings and their stories as well. The book is incredible. Grace and her sister, Maya, were both adopted by great families, but her brother Joaquin bounced around from foster home to foster home, most likely because brown babies aren't as "desirable" as white babies. This book really walks you through what it's like for each of them and delves into who they are as they begin to form a relationship. It's a weird sort of Found Family vibe since technically they're all biologically related.

Additionally, Maya is a lesbian and her dad's reaction when she came out is the most precious and adorable thing. This book is full of quotes that I kept sending along to my best friend because I just had to share them. I need my own copy so I can highlight to my heart's content and fortunately, I'm already ready to read it again.

But before I forget to rave about the best part of this book: THE KIDS GO TO THERAPY AND THERAPY IS GOOD FOR THEM. Do you have any idea how amazing that was to see? Seriously, if you have any other books where therapy is good and written on the page, send me all your recs because I need as much of this aspect as possible. I just adore seeing that experience, especially since too often it's almost a trope to have therapy go horribly or for there to be an inappropriate relationship between therapist and client.

I wasn't sure if I was going to end up liking this book. I thought the beginning was a little slow and it wasn't until about 20% of the way through that I became invested in the characters and their stories. I really liked the characters and the different journeys they went on, both by themselves and with their siblings. Robin Benway did a good job in making the reader feel what the characters were feeling. I was angry at some points, happy in others, and heartbroken by some situations. This book was pretty emotional, especially near the end.

I really liked how this book was told. It was really effective to have the three siblings each have their own alternating chapters. I liked being able to see things from each perspective, although sometimes I would become invested in one person's story line only have to wait two chapters to see how it continued. The character development was also great. Grace, Maya, and Joaquin, all go through heavy stuff and they come out better in the end, especially Joaquin. His growth touched me the most. I really liked the heavy emphasis on family and staying together no matter what. While reading I was also pleased with the inclusion of therapy, and while some of the characters are hesitant to go and think it is unnecessary, they do seem to benefit from it.

Overall, this was a great book about family. I loved seeing the sibling relationship between Grace, Maya, and Joaquin develop and how they grew to love and lean on one another. And while I do think the second half was stronger than the first, it is still worth the read.

This was a fantastic book. Robin Benway really has created a treasure with this story.

The book moves between Grace, Maya, and Joaquin's points of view. Three siblings who have only just met and who have very different stories. This a book about heartbreak and love. It's about discovery and fear. And most of all, it's about the true meaning of family.

A must read. So far, my top pick in 2018!

This was an excellent book. I geared up in a couple of spots. I found it to be endearing. It’s about a girl Grace who finds herself pregnant and she puts the baby up for adoption. She to was adopted and her babies adoption draws questions about her own. She finds out she has a brother and a sister. This book is about families coming together. It is also about forgiveness.

Do you want to feel all the feelings? Then continue on with this book. Oh my goodness there were so many heart wrenching moments. The three siblings separate worlds crash together and it is amazing seeing them deal with finding themselves while finding each other. I love almost all the characters in the book but I could real a whole other book worth of Joaquin. (Also the cover art is beautiful!)

Far from the Tree is a well written novel about foster care, adoption, and teen pregnancy. The characters in the book are very realistically based, giving the book a very lifelike quality. With an intricately layered story regarding the discovery of pasts long forgotten, Far from the Tree is a book that I would highly recommend to readers.

The story had slow, stilted linear start but soon developed into a precious book of feels.
Bring tissues and be prepared for a family hug.
@crushingcinders
I was voluntarily provided with a complimentary review copy by the publisher.

Thank you thank you book for being so much better than the last one. This is the story of 3 biological siblings who find each other as teenagers and figure out life together. They are likeable and relatable and flawed. The book is heart warming and heartbreaking and fun and serious and yes I will gush about it.

Robin Benway is a master in the writing of this beautiful story. I especially love the parents and guardians of the three newly found siblings because they are not perfect but they love their kids and are not afraid to show them. I love the funny "dad" jokes of Grace's dad and the loving heart of Mark, Joaquin's guardian. It is nice to see parents portrayed realistically and family love to be so strong. I was moved to tears twice with interactions between Joaquin and Mark. Grace and Maya are multi-dimensional characters and I love them so much. I want to know more about them and wanted to start the book over as soon as I finished to get to know the kids even better. Lovely book and so deserving of the National Book Award.

A story of adoption, family, and love/acceptance told by three separate characters who are all biological siblings and have just found each other. I liked the alternating points of view and their stories were all great. There is something for everyone in this story.

This book offers a well told, insightful story of three teens who were put up for adoption by their mom. It alternates between the characters each chapter. Maya, Grace and Joaquin are different in some ways, the same in others, and all very likeable. The story can drag a little, and I found myself frustrated with the characters behavior sometimes, but it's a captivating read and worth it in the end.

This is the sweetest, most heartwarming book about families lost and found that I've read in a long time. I will absolutely be buying a copy of FAR FROM THE TREE for myself, because I loved it far too much not to own.

Achingly real story of three siblings, adopted or fostered by different families, only learning of each other’s existence as teens. This YA book should appeal to readers of all ages. This is one of my favorite reads of 2017.

Motherhood, families, trust, loneliness, adoption, and finding out where you belong are all the big, messy, beautiful themes that run through this FANTASTIC YA novel. I got so invested in the stories of Grace, Maya, and Joaquin as their stories interweaved-I couldn’t stop reading this once I started it. YA is a genre that is very, very rarely engaging or insightful to me as a reader, but this book is both-and more.
5 Stars. A must add to any school or public library YA section.

An easy read involving several teens and the emotions they experience growing up and dealing with their issues as adopted kids. A good story for anyone trying to find themselves, but probably especially relevant for someone searching for their roots/family.

I read Emmy and Oliver a couple years ago and really liked it, so I thought I would try another book by Ms. Benway. I believe she is my new favorite author and will soon be reading all of her other boo!s, too.

I am so happy this book is getting so many accolades and so much praise and I am so sad that despite the excellent writing and interesting premise, I just couldn't get into this story. Objectively the writing is great with three unique protagonists, a nuanced plot, and an engaging story.

In recent years my family has withered down to no one except my mom and it’s just hard sometimes to read about it identify with stories about these expanding families. It’s more bitter than sweet. Add to that my grandmother and her sisters spending five years in an orphanage as children (while their parents were still alive) and I just wound up spending the entirety of this book frustrated because of the baggage I was bringing to the story.

As the child of a single mother with an absent father who never gave a damn about me I have a lot of Feelings about stories where characters track down absent parents. It makes sense. It’s a genuine thing. I get it. But it drives me nuts still. Also adoption stories where siblings are separated because adoptive parents couldn’t possibly take another child infuriate me more than I can articulate. So yes. It’s a good book and I’d be perfectly happy to see it win lots of things. But I’m really not into it.

Even though parts were predictable, this story touched me really deeply and helped me put words to feelings that I think people in my life have felt. Even though it's my mom and not me that was adopted this story resonated with me so much.

A lovely and at times intense look at the lives of 3 children given up by their mother. Their lives become intertwined at what is a crucial time for each of them - as they each face struggles with their current family situations. Brought me to tears many times - it is a truly a beautiful and hopeful story of what it means to be family.

I think it's rare when a book is written from multiple points of view that I care about the characters equally, but I did with this one. Each story was unique, and I loved how they were interwoven. Wonderful book!

After a couple chapters I stopped trying to stiffle my tears and simply allowed myself to sob as I saw my behaviors and mannerisms (an adoptee) so accurately portrayed. If you are adopted read this book. If you love someone who is adopted read this book.

Every once in a while, you get to read a story the pulls your heart-strings apart and then slowly knits them back together. This books does just that in a masterful way! Totally recommend this novel for the teen in your life!

This book is so tender and touching, and gave me all the feels. It's a moving look at adoption and families and I did not expect to love it as much as I did. I know I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.

Every once in a while, you get to read a story the pulls your heart-strings apart and then slowly knits them back together. This books does just that in a masterful way! Totally recommend this novel for the teen in your life!

I purchased this book from the store to read. All opinions are my own. ????? Far From The Tree by Robin Benway. Guys!!!!! This book has such complicated emotions and family situations and love and anger and forgiveness. If you are looking for a book filled with emotion THIS IS IT! It will tear your heart out and sew it back all in the same chapter. Maya, Grace, and Joaquin are three siblings all with the same birth mother but live very different lives in their own homes. Struggling with adoption, love, lack of love, pride, and secrets they all hold close they find that family is family and forgiveness is important. **********For those of you that have read it, the car scene with the bow at Mark and Linda's did you cry too? I balled like a baby!!!!!!!

I like to read books that have won literary prizes, and when I saw that this one concerned adoption I knew I had to read it, because I am adopted.

This was a compelling read . . . the story of three half-siblings who share the same mother who abandoned each of them in turn. My story is much the same, except we only found on another in our 60's through DNA testing. In this novel, the two offspring who were adopted had access to limited information about their birth mother and her offspring which enabled them to locate their siblings. The children were two girls and one boy, all of whom are still in their teens during the book. The girls were both adopted at birth, while the boy bounced around from foster home to foster home.

Their experiences were each quite different. One girl is an only child (like me), the other is a brown haired girl in a family of red heads with a sister born to her parents a year after her adoption. The only child's family is serene; the other's family is chaotic with battling parents and an alcoholic mom. The boy's life has taught him to protect himself by being guarded and not letting himself care for others.

I liked what this book says about families, families by blood, by adoption, by fact, by friendship. I read it very quickly and cried several times. I think the author did a great job of exploring and exposing the raw emotions, questions and doubts that adoptees can experience. Every adoptee's story is different as this novel clearly demonstrates. The conclusion is full of hope and love.

Excellent quick read.