Far from the Tree

FAR FROM THE TREE weaves together important issues like adoption, alcoholism, & teenage pregnancy with an almost heartbreaking honesty. There's romance too (from all three characters !!!!) & it's very adorable, but never the full focus of the plot. Instead, this book builds on quieter, more subdued themes, like family (obviously) & finding your way back to the people you love & learning to accept them.

“You can't just push family away. You're always going to be connected to them.”

Robin Benway is great at characterization & she manages to successfully bring all three of them to life, as well as the numerous minor characters that step in & out of the story

amazing emotional depth

“Grace didn't think she could handle seeing them, hearing them shout about the water, without thinking of what Peach might look like at that age. Just seeing a baby on TV made her change the channel. It was like her heart was being stabbed with the most immense kind of love, and regardless of its source, the pain was still too much to handle.”

Grace's kindness, her steely inner strength, & courage after giving her baby up for adoption still makes me want to cry

real

true

“You're my big sister. I don't care where you came from and I don't care what you look like. You're mine, you know? I don't have anyone else except you.”

f/f relationship

“To call Linda and Mark Mom and Dad on purpose would mean that Joaquin's heart would form into something much more fragile, something impossible to put back together if it broke, and he could not—would not—do that to himself again. He still hadn't managed to pick up all the pieces after last time, and one or two holes remained in his heart, letting the cold air in.”

also

I love how he has such a positive recovery arc in the end, especially one that makes sure to cast therapists in a positive light

deep breath

unexpected and tender, full of emotional heart