The cover of “The Garden of Small Beginnings” makes for a light and positive read - and the truth is that, even though it deals with some rather unpleasant topics, this book by Abbi Waxman turns out to be a breath of fresh air. It's definitely a good summer read that leaves you with a smile on your face and the urge to try something new.

Filled with humor, tips on gardening (not only throughout the book, through the characters, but also in the chapter tabs, where the author shares some tricks), and an interesting approach to such a heavy topic as the abrupt death of a man who is a husband, father, friend, brother, and more.

Photo: twistsandtropes (via Instagram)

Through strong, independent, female characters who are shaping the women of the future, the story unfolds between gardening classes, a community garden, and the surprise of having so many things in common with strangers. It sounds cliché – and the truth is that there are points that are in fact predictable – but between a tragic beginning and a happy ending, very important messages are reinforced: the importance of education, freedom, and friendship, the need to find an activity that makes us detach from the world, the certainty that we are not weaker for asking for help, the breaking of stereotypes (because fairies are not only for girls, right?), and the certainty that everything gets better and brighter.

Throughout the chapters there is, of course, the romantic element that we already associate with summer books, but “The Garden of Small Beginnings” is more than that. After all, Lilian, Annabel, and Clare could be our next-door neighbors.

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