Genevieve, a single mother, flies from New York to Port-au-Prince with her teenage son, Miles. The trip is meant to be an education for fifteen-year-old Miles-a chance to learn about his family's roots while coming to terms with his father's departure-but it's also an excuse for Genevieve to escape the city, where her life is dominated by her failed marriage and the daily pressures of raising Black children in America. For Genevieve, the journey is also a homecoming of sorts: An opportunity to visit the island she remembers from childhood and reconnect with family. But when the country is rocked by a massive earthquake-decimating the city and putting their lives at risk-their visit becomes a nightmare of survival.
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I blast the music to cover the sound of gunshots that fire only in my mind and not into the body of the boy beside me, who seems indifferent to vulnerability.- ONE
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(Knopf, 10 May 2022, e-book, 282 pages, borrowed from Glasgow Libraries via BorrowBox, #POPSUGARReadingChallenge, a book about a family)
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I really enjoyed The Garden of Broke Things. I had only basic knowledge of the earthquake that serves as the catalyst for events depicted in the book so I had zero expectations of where the story would lead. This is a short book and it fairly packs a punch. I felt like I got to really know the characters and their lives. The book is intense at times especially when the quake hits. I didn't want to stop reading this. It's a terrific book.