The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair (Psychological Fiction)

The Girl in the Garden, is a psychological fiction book written by Kamala Nair which depicts the redeeming story of a ten year old girl (Rakhee Singh) as she is disrupted by problems in her personal life. Tension builds between Rakhee's parents to the point where Rakhee and her mother take a trip to India. They head to Kerala (a state in the south of India) and stay at her family's ancestral estate. From here Rakhee begins her adventure with her three cousins and learns all about her family's secrets after sensing some trouble. While venturing alone, Rakhee finds a hidden and blocked garden where she finds a young girl all alone. When Rakhee unveils the secret after spending time with the girl she finds how she is related to this girl. She questions her mother as to all the big secrets that expose a dark tale to everything. She learns about her mother’s problems, how the girl came to be, and her family's twisted history.

This book is a very engaging story where the author has narrated the story in a way that makes it easy for the readers to visualize and get into the life of an Indian-American girl trying to explore her roots. You can feel the emotions and that makes the characters in the story more real and human. I enjoyed the book because of the cultural references which made the portrayal a bit more authentic. Overall, it was an interesting read - a family drama, hidden secrets, and a girl exploring answers not readily provided by the adults in the family that ends with a dramatic conclusion. I would recommend this novel to everyone but especially young women who are sure to relate to the emotions of the narrator and protagonist trying to figure out all the family secrets. Even though this is a debut novel, it’s a gripping read and I look forward to reading the next book by Kamala Nair. I hope that anyone who reads it enjoys it as much as I did.

Reviewed by Smera T. Grade 7