The Gardener

Apr 14, 2012 jo mo rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, 2010, thriller, own, flowers-plants-gardens, reviews, arc, non-caucasian-character, futuristic, horror, male-pov, family, young-adult, outsider-underdog-pariah, 2-stars

2.25/5
be careful what you wish for ...
with the first few pages, mason shares with us a crucial chapter in his life. the day the neighbor's dog bit him, ultimately leaving him with a lifelong scar. The very same day he's being told some shocking news from his single mother:

"mason. i know i've always told you your father was ... gone. but it's not true. he just can't be your father right now." (arc, p3)

having said that his mother plays a videotape, revealing a man from the neck down, who's readin...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Heather rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

I had a lot of problems with this book but one of the biggest was that I did not feel connected to the story at all while reading it. None of the characters felt real and it seemed like they were going through the motions as they tackled the big problems of the story. Which is understandable in some ways since those big problems make little sense. I honestly wasn't invested in anyone at all, partially because I didn't know how the book wanted me to feel about what was happening. Occasionally Mas...more

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Aug 09, 2010 Kara Cardwell added it

I figured I'd like this, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I knew what it was about from the book summary but I didn't know why the bad people were "growing" children. When I found out why, it was amazing that the reasons behind the experiments were something I'd been discussing in my science class (Too bad I wasn't still in school when I got my copy of the book).

I appreciated that this book talked about a realistic problem, one that becomes a bigger problem as time goes on. Because...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Elizabeth Turley rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4th-quarter

The Gardener By S.A Boden
340 pages
fiction

Mason comes across a girl with a group of three other kids. But they dont so look normal they have butterfly tatoos and scars on their legs and arms. His mother told him they are brain dead. But that could not be right because the pretty girl he just saw is looking straight at him and asking him questions. Now they must get away though because the Gardener is coming.

Can I just say I feel like I just wasted my time on this book? There was no plot! Other...more

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Jan 28, 2013 David Barajas rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Maybe I would find out her life was worse than death, but I wanted to know for sure before I made a decision like that." This story takes place in Melby Falls, and it is about a boy that is very good at biology. His mom works at trodyn, a huge company fighting against over- population. On his visit to his mom's workplace, one of her mom's test subjects runs out, and he accompanies her, but there is an unusual thing about her and her relationship to trodyn, and that is the mystery he is trying...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Anacca Renner rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Gardener
by S. A. Bodeen
Science Fiction
232 pages

Mason is a kid who has a bad past about the scar on his face. But after he meets Laila, everything changes. Laila is part of a special program at a place called The Greenhouse. Now, Mason and Laila on the run from the Gardener, who wants them both at any cost.

I really like this book for many reasons. One of them is the sort of "romance" between Mason and Laila. After a few bonding moments thorought the book, they really start to care for each ot...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Rachel Brown rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: unintentional-comedy, young-adult, science-fiction

The videotape of my father was never meant to be seen by me, and were it not for a chow mix ripping off half my face, the man might have remained only a mysterious void. But it was that day when I was five, that day of growls and blood and pain and screams, when I first heard my father's voice.

Growls and blood and pain and screams! You may think this makes me a mean person, but I read that bit and laughed. It's the "growls" that puts it over the top, I think.

Skip eleven or so years, and Mason is...more The videotape of my father was never meant to be seen by me, and were it not for a chow mix ripping off half my face, the man might have remained only a mysterious void. But it was that day when I was five, that day of growls and blood and pain and screams, when I first heard my father's voice.

Growls and blood and pain and screams! You may think this makes me a mean person, but I read that bit and laughed. It's the "growls" that puts it over the top, I think.

Skip eleven or so years, and Mason is a huge, horribly scarred teenager living with his sad alcoholic mother, who comforts himself in times of stress by watching the videotape of his absent father reading a children's book. One day he finds that his mother used to work at the very, very mysterious local biotech company, TroDyn, which she always warned him away from. He barges into her hospital workplace to confront her. There he ends up playing the videotape for four mysteriously catatonic teenagers, which wakes up one of them. She is amnesiac and unnaturally strong, and convinces him to help her bust out of the hospital.

A sequence of rather unsurprising revelations about TroDyn's secret project occur. (Not only is it tipped off on page two with a lengthy discussion about the possibility of human photosynthesis, but the front cover blurb is THIS GREENHOUSE... GROWS HUMANS.) One guess as to who the terrifying "Gardener" turns out to be.

I generally like the genre of "teenagers with special powers flee the forces that created them," so it was execution rather than premise that disappointed me. Mason has no personality. Amnesiac girl has no personality. The surprises are very unsurprising. Amnesiac girl doesn't get to do much other than languish for lack of connection to her telepathically linked vegetative cohort. It's not a terrible book, but it's flat and unmemorable.

I was, however, amused by everyone's OMG THE HORROR and "why would anyone want to do that?!" reaction to the very concept of photosynthesizing humans. Growing people in a lab is admittedly creepy, but in terms of all the many, many possible powers you might generate that way, photosynthesis is one of the most obviously useful and least destructive ones.

By the author of The Compound, which I didn't read as the shocking twist seemed obvious from the premise alone:

From Publishers Weekly:

Starred Review. Bodeen, acclaimed as the writer of such picture books as Elizabeti's Doll, turns out a high-wire act of a first novel, a thriller that exerts an ever-tighter grip on readers. Eli, the 15-year-old son of a billionaire techno-preneur, has spent the last six years with his family in the massive underground shelter his father has built, knowing that nuclear war has destroyed the world he knows—and killed his grandmother and his twin brother, who couldn't reach the compound in time. With nine years to go before the air outside will be safe to breathe again, the food supply shows signs of running out, but Eli's father has a solution—provided they jettison all morals and ethics. Repulsed and already suspicious, Eli begins investigating his father's claims, and sets up a family death match against a man who grows increasingly irrational and sinister but no less powerful.

There's no nuclear war, everything's fine, it's all a creepy experiment. Right?(less)

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Feb 22, 2012 Arthur Pengerbil rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reading Level: Grades 7-10

High school sophomore Mason has a fairly normal life, if you discount the ugly scar marring half of his hulky face; if you discount the disappearance of his father and his mother's drinking habit and tendency to require Mason to be her parent and not vice versa.

When Mason discovers that the Haven of Peace, the rehabilitation center his mom works at is not just for the elderly, but for brain damaged teens whose parents have given up on them in favor of experimentation o...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Shweta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-science-fiction

It is a delight to read books which subtly put forward a valuable message but make sure they never cross the line to become preachy. The Gardner was one such book. I hope the target audience views this book as a reminder of what may be coming to us in the next few decades. It deals with food shortage. A problem that we all know exists but I am not totally sure how many of us have really given a thought to it. The repercussion of over use of natural resources, our lack of foresight, which may in...more It is a delight to read books which subtly put forward a valuable message but make sure they never cross the line to become preachy. The Gardner was one such book. I hope the target audience views this book as a reminder of what may be coming to us in the next few decades. It deals with food shortage. A problem that we all know exists but I am not totally sure how many of us have really given a thought to it. The repercussion of over use of natural resources, our lack of foresight, which may in years to come become a curse to the civilization. S.A.Bodeen takes up this issues and gives the readers a power packed book .

Mason's story starts to intrigue the reader from page one. Mason is a boy who knows what he wants in life . But he isn't the arrogant ,snobbish kind.He is a kind hearted good kid who can go to any extent to help others. Sometimes by the way he talks about it , I felt he was pathologically helpful. It isn't a bad quality but it's something that is not often seen in today's fast moving world. Because they are so wound up in their own sweet world with school, co curricular ,peer pressure that it's too much to ask of a teen. But to Mason it is an inherent quality.This is what pushes him to take the decision of helping The Girl and sets the story in motion.

Though the Girl is an important part of the book it was Mason whom I came to like. He was a bit too good to be true but he got me involved in the story. His conviction , his intention in finding the truth and doing the right thing was the soul of the book. Sometimes the final part can make or break a book and this one had a great ending.

I loved the writing style. The suspense was built up well though it wouldn't surprise me if your guess comes right about the objectives of Tro Dyn as well as The Gardener .Author has planted enough clues all over the book. It's up to the reader to pick them up:)

I would definitely recommend this book to all the lovers of YA dystopian and science fiction. It's fast paced racy read and is totally worth the time spent reading it ..
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Dec 30, 2011 Sally rated it 3 of 5 stars

You'll only get the bad part if you read the book.

Good part:
- Themes: World hunger, war, etc.
It makes you wonder about the issues of the world and keeps you curious.
- Fast-paced writing to keep you reading.
- Good main character: Mason's a responsible, relatable guy who likes saving people (but not for the glory) and who is also very concerned for his future.

Bad part:
- Mason fell for Laila after he awakened her, basically. Then, his hero senses kicked in and he helped Laila run away. I think it s...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Samantha Boyette rated it 3 of 5 stars

A good quick read. I liked the compound so I was happy to pick up this book. It's an easy little sci-fi story with a few new twists. It does get a little preachy though, that's why I only gave it three stars. However, it doesn't get as preachy as a few of the Maximum ride books have, so that's something.

The basic premise is that we are destroying the world by our shear numbers and stupidity, therefore this crazy company is trying to grow humans who can live on sunlight alone. The bulk of the boo...more

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Dec 15, 2011 Lily K rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: any sci-fi fans who want an interesting and light read

Recommended to Lily by: school book list

Shelves: pretty-good-books

The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen was a book I found on my school reading list and thought it would be a decent read for when I was bored. I didn't think that The Gardener was going to be amazing or something I would read over and over again. I was half right. The Gardener was unique and something I had never thought would be interesting to me, but this was a book I couldn't put down.

WARNING, KIND OF SPOILER BELOW:
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The Gardener is about a boy named Mason who lives with his single mother,...more The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen was a book I found on my school reading list and thought it would be a decent read for when I was bored. I didn't think that The Gardener was going to be amazing or something I would read over and over again. I was half right. The Gardener was unique and something I had never thought would be interesting to me, but this was a book I couldn't put down.

WARNING, KIND OF SPOILER BELOW:
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The Gardener is about a boy named Mason who lives with his single mother, a nurse at a nursing home. Mason doesn't know who his father is and only has a tape of an unidentifiable man reading a children's bedtime story. One day Mason goes to visit his mother at the nursing home and finds out that she doesn't just take care of elderly people, she is also taking care of a few catatonic teens. When Mason's mother is out of the room he decides to play the tape recording of the bedtime story to them. What he didn't expect was for one of the teens, a cute, blonde, girl to suddenly wake up. But, as soon as she wakes up she falls right back asleep again. He tries to wake her up again and realizes that her awakenings are triggered by a certain line in the tape recording. Mason finally gets the girl to wake up and not fall asleep again, when he asks who she is she acts terrified and starts saying, "Don't let the Gardener find me." over and over again. After realizing how terrified she is Mason finds himself running away with the odd girl. On the way he picks up his best friend and the three of them decide to run away to his friends cabin. The two boys try to get the mysterious girl to eat but whenever she has anything she throws it back up. The next morning they realize that they are being hunted down by people who want the girl back and Mason has a feeling that these people aren't nice. The girl and Mason, minus the best friend (atv accident) go to find someone who can help them figure out what is wrong with the girl and why people are after her. They find an author who is doing a reading at a book store and when she acts frightened when she see the girl they know she is the right person. After the reading Mason and the girl get her to talk. She tells them that the girl was part of an experiment to see if they can make children autotrophs (beings that provide their own nutrients for themselves). The lady tells him that the hospital she used to work for was in charge of it and when she realized what they were doing she quit. Mason knows that his mother used to work for the same company and knows that she has something to do with the experiments. The lady warns them that if the girl doesn't get back to the gardener she will die because the experiment didn't work correctly. Mason decides to take the girl back to the hospital where he is shocked to find the one thing he has always wanted to know about. Having been seen by all of the employees and faculty in charge of all of the almost autotroph children they separate Mason and the girl who realize they love each other. Mason promises that he will not give up on her and she says that one day when the experiment is complete she will come and find him.

Wow. I'm really sorry that was so long! I ramble... :\ but I hope you find this interesting and decide to give it a try. It's only about 100-150 pages and a really easy and quick read. (less)

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Nov 10, 2011 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: slis-5425

Compared to Bodeen’s other dystopian offering, The Compound, The Gardener falls a bit short of the expected horror fest. The beginning is a bit clunky, plotwise; things happen a bit too quickly, a bit too easily. And the foreshadowing is *very* heavy-handed (witness Mr. Hogan’s ‘Soylent Green’ t-shirt). Mason learns about autotrophs the very day he meets the at-the-time nameless girl.

Though, while careful readers will be expecting the first twist when Mason meets The Gardner, the second definite...more

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Sep 14, 2011 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen, science-fiction, suspense, action, abduction

Mason visits his mom at the nursing home where she works. While he's there, he notices some teenagers are "living" there, which is unusual, given nursing homes are normally for old people. The teens appear to be comatose, except for one gorgeous girl who wakes up. She's able to talk to Mason, and he quickly realizes that these special patients may be in trouble. Before he can realize what is happening, Mason is helping the girl escape.

It turns out the hospital is not your typical place for medi...more

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Aug 20, 2011 Johnp rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

This starts out as a story about a single-parent teen who's Mom can't get over their deadbeat dad. When Mason visits his Mom at her job in the nursing home, things suddenly go in a different direction. One of her catatonic patients - a beautiful young girl - suddenly wakes up - and begs Mason to help her escape. What follows is something out of the Matrix - people begin hunting Mason and the girl, so they flee for their lives. They ultimately confront The Gardener - the man who's responsible for...more

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Jul 02, 2011 Sami rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Gardener is the second published book by S. A. Bodeen. I haven't read her first book, The Compound, before reading this uncorrected ARC. The Gardener is not an unknown plot to people of my generation. We grew up in the midst of 1980's and early 90's cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the original) and Captain Planet. Stories that were meant to make people aware of the effects of pollution and the effect humans have on the planet. The Gardner deals with famine and overpopulation rath...more The Gardener is the second published book by S. A. Bodeen. I haven't read her first book, The Compound, before reading this uncorrected ARC. The Gardener is not an unknown plot to people of my generation. We grew up in the midst of 1980's and early 90's cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the original) and Captain Planet. Stories that were meant to make people aware of the effects of pollution and the effect humans have on the planet. The Gardner deals with famine and overpopulation rather then pollution, but the end result is very much the same. The loss of the ability our planet will has to sustain the growing human population.

The premise of this story is very Science Fiction as it deals with using humans as guinea pigs in an interestingly unique plot to solve the problem of famine. Mason has never known his father, and knows that his best ticket to getting a college education is using his brains. When he goes to visit his mother, who works in a nursing home, to confront her Mason meets across a beautiful teenage girl who suddenly wakes from her coma. From the moment Mason meets her he feels an undeniable pull to protect her. This protectiveness leads Mason on a road to learn more about her, why she never drinks or eats, and eventually about his own past.

I felt that this novel was really interesting even for someone, like me, who doesn't read a lot of Science Fiction. It would definitely be a good choice for readers that enjoyed Candor. I also think that, on the note that the novel ended, there could be a lot that can be done in a sequel. I was left with questions, and wonder if Bodeen plans on follow this novel with another. I will say that I agree with other reviews in that there were lags in the novel, but as The Boy says all novels lag once in a while. The lag times in this novel didn't stop my interest in the story.

One thing I will say about the book was seeing a boy be that protective over a girl he just met. I know I complain night and day about how the Twilight series ended up going, and how Bella talks incessantly about Edward's looks and god-like abilities. The difference between that and Mason being protective over a girl he just met and has only known maybe 48 hours is this; he doesn't wax poetic about her looks every other sentence. He knows she's beautiful, and he says it, but he also knows how her looks and ways of making him melt aren't all that's going on in the world. It was very sweet to see a male character have a true affection for a girl rather then obsess about her looks. He knows next to nothing about her, but he wants to. It's that drive that makes him take every step he can to help her. Not in a love sick way, but in a very sweet and noble way. You know from other events in the book it isn't because she's a girl. It's simply Mason's personality.

Definite read for Science Fiction fans.(less)

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May 15, 2011 Ivy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Overall, this book earned a resounding "meh" from me. I didn't have any urges to burn it or anything, nor did it fill me with an unquenchable rage. I just found myself...disappointed.

Brace yourself, this is long. If you just need something short and sweet, skip to the end for the tl;dr version. If you want to hear everything... buckle up, I guess. I'm going to put it behind a spoiler warning, not because it has spoilers (anything that does will be hidden behind its own personal spoiler warning)...more

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May 10, 2011 Andrew Ambrozic rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book “The Gardener” by S.A. Bodeen is about a 15 year old boy named Mason, who lives with his single mother in Cape Cod. Mason’s family past is shrouded in mystery. Mason has never known his dad and his mom refuses to tell Mason anything about him except that he can’t be his father right now. Mason also doesn’t know much about what his mom does, except that she works at the Haven of Peace, which she says is a home for the elderly.
One day when Mason visits his mom at work for first time, he n...more The book “The Gardener” by S.A. Bodeen is about a 15 year old boy named Mason, who lives with his single mother in Cape Cod. Mason’s family past is shrouded in mystery. Mason has never known his dad and his mom refuses to tell Mason anything about him except that he can’t be his father right now. Mason also doesn’t know much about what his mom does, except that she works at the Haven of Peace, which she says is a home for the elderly.
One day when Mason visits his mom at work for first time, he notices a young girl named Laila in a coma like state. Once Mason starts to get board, he plays a short video his mom gave him of his dad reading “The Runaway Bunny”. This surprisingly wakes up the girl, and she tells him that she needs to escape because “the Gardener is coming”.
The rest of the book involves Mason, his best friend Jack, and Laila trying to escape anyone who wants Laila captured and brought back to the Haven of Peace. Throughout the rest of the book, Mason and Laila discover hidden truths about both their pasts that will change their lives forever.
The storyline constantly keeps the reader interested, with all the unanswered questions about Mason and Laila’s past, and the intense action with them trying to escape Laila’s pursuers. Every chapter of this book will make the reader want to read more, since there is never a dull moment.
Not only is the storyline extremely interesting, the characters are also very likeable. For example, Mason is a heroic noble young man, who is willing to help anyone no matter what the situation is. Like when he was in grade 5 and he helped a couple of grade 2 girls, when one of them got her foot stuck in a log in the middle of a forest. After he helped them he said, “The coolest part for me was just seeing the relief on the face of the grandma when she hugged the kids.” This shows that Mason is a good person because he doesn’t need recognition to feel good when he does the right thing.
“The Gardener” is a book that could be enjoyed by people of all ages and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good book to read.

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Apr 19, 2011 Jessie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

At first I really liked this book and I thought it would be very cool, but it got bogged down. I think that students will like it. The idea is that people who care about the human race are trying to solve the problem that one day we will have more people than food, and we will all starve to death. So their idea is to grow humans who can get their food the way plants get their food, photosynthesis. ****stop here for spoilers*****
Mason is smart and trying to get money for college. He could go to...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Any book that makes me look things up online or in print for verification within the first few pages - is my kind of book. Page 6 did it for me. As with most science fiction books there is an element of what is real and what could be real. Human autotrophs as a possibility - Wow!!! Could we be genetically modified to create our own food just like plants do?

Mason has never know his father aside from a DVD recording of him from the torso up reading The Runaway Bunny. After a tragic accident as a...more

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Oct 19, 2010 Alicia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: boy, dysfunctional, mystery, science

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 11, 2010 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

After viewing The Gardener's cover a few short weeks ago, I was so excited to get my hands on this novel. I was hoping for a great science fiction novel that possibly held a futuristic setting, or at least some type of futuristic element. Unfortunately, that is not exactly what I got.

The Gardener was almost nothing like I had hoped. Although the premise sounded encouraging enough, most of the novel focuses more on a cat and mouse type chase than actually uncovering the hidden secrets of the Gree...more

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Jun 06, 2010 Jeannie Mancini rated it 4 of 5 stars

Future Steps in Evolution for the Fate of Mankind

Although S.A. Bodeen’s new sci-fi thriller The Gardener is somewhat predictable in its plot layout due to the cover subtitle blurb telling you outright what the story entails, and is formulaic in its execution, this new novel is still an outstanding science fiction read for teens and adults alike. This thought provoking book allows the reader to think ahead to the future of the human race and to the many problems our descendants will face regardin...more Future Steps in Evolution for the Fate of Mankind

Although S.A. Bodeen’s new sci-fi thriller The Gardener is somewhat predictable in its plot layout due to the cover subtitle blurb telling you outright what the story entails, and is formulaic in its execution, this new novel is still an outstanding science fiction read for teens and adults alike. This thought provoking book allows the reader to think ahead to the future of the human race and to the many problems our descendants will face regarding declining food supplies caused by the increasing warnings of global warming and over population that are rapidly depleting the world’s resources.

Mason, a 15 year old biology enthusiast is raised in Oregon by a single mom who works at a mysterious facility called The Haven of Peace in which Mason has always been led to believe was a rest home for the elderly. He never knew his dad, the only experience of his father he ever had was a short home movie on a DVD that his mother gave him, that shows his faceless father reading to him from a children’s book, The Runaway Bunny.

One night while visiting his mom for the first time at the Haven, he finds a group of comatose like teenagers being cared for by his mother. As she steps away for a minute leaving Mason alone, one of the young girls wakes up while Mason is passing the time watching is dad’s DVD. The girl seems to have reacted and awoken by listening to the words from Runaway Bunny. Laila, an angelic like teenager girl, fascinates Mason, and as she comes to life she pleads with him to take her away from there, to help her escape, that the “Gardener is coming!”

From this point on this creative young adult novel becomes a fast-paced sci-tech thrill ride as Mason and his best friend Jack, hijack Laila to a mountain cabin and soon realize they have gotten in over their heads and have embarked on a terrifying journey into the world of genetic engineering, and a lab experiment gone haywire created by scientists hell-bent on solving the problem of future starvation on planet Earth. As both Mason and Laila uncover horrifying mysteries surrounding both their pasts that reveal clues of their parents startling involvement with a company called TroDyn, the reader is caught up in issues of right and wrong, morals and values amidst the world of biology and genetics, and will wonder just what is ethical when planning the future survival of our children and the generations to come.

The Gardener is enjoyable, fun, well written and creative. I give it high points for innovation alone. And, it appears, for once, a stand-alone book and not an installment of a multi-book series which in itself is a breath of fresh air!

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May 03, 2010 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Depending on how this book is pitched, it could either be science fiction or horror. The whole genetic mutation slant can totally be science fiction but creating a master race of kids that don't need to eat is kind of Children of the Corn-ish. Very creepy.

The plot was a little slow to start but once the robotic girl got involved, things got interesting. While I felt the writing dragged in some parts, alluding way too long as to what was all really going on, it kept me wanting to read until the e...more Depending on how this book is pitched, it could either be science fiction or horror. The whole genetic mutation slant can totally be science fiction but creating a master race of kids that don't need to eat is kind of Children of the Corn-ish. Very creepy.

The plot was a little slow to start but once the robotic girl got involved, things got interesting. While I felt the writing dragged in some parts, alluding way too long as to what was all really going on, it kept me wanting to read until the end, especially when Mason started to develop feelings for the girl whose name, for most of the time, he didn't even know.

Is that wrong of me? Here I stand, slamming those horrible "OMG I lurve heeeeeeeeeeem" plots where the MC's female and has known the dude for like 30 seconds. Mason's situation, on the surface, isn't any different. The main plot takes place over the course of about 24 hours. 36 at most. Yet by the end he's so compelled to make sure this girl is okay and drawn to her that he can't bear to leave her behind. But to me they are profoundly connected. To the outside world, they're both freaks: Mason with his scarring and the girl with her being, you know, part plant. Yet they understand each other and both see beyond that. Not to mention I think anyone would want to make sure a human they connected with was okay after finding out they're being used as a science experiment. I would think that's inherent. But does this make me a hypocrite? It's okay because it's a guy but not if it's a girl? Maybe it's okay because the girl doesn't berate Mason and treat him like shit? Maybe because she's not a stalker but merely pseudo-plant life seeking sunlight? Maybe because Mason isn't so fantasmagorically in love with the girl that that's all he talks about? Someone help me here.

The whole "world gone crazy" aspect is pretty damn creepy. The science they talk about in the book, the inevitability of the earth running out of food, is true. Like The Hunger Games takes reality TV to a whole new level, The Gardener takes sustaining human life to a whole new level. The scary thing is, who's to say this concept, of creating a race of people totally self-sustaining, hasn't been thought up already? Who's to say it's not in the developmental stages yet? It's freaky the lengths people might go to in order to survive. I liked that creepy aspect and I think because of the fact that it's thisclose to being real, it's even creepier.

The writing itself, I don't think, was anything to write home about. It was compelling enough. It got me from one end of the book to another. I wish I felt what Mason was going through more than be told what he was going through. While I liked his story, I felt he was a little hard to connect with at times, like the story was just being reiterated to me.

I didn't see the twist at the end coming, not entirely anyway. I have my suspicions about what the deal was with Mason's dad but they were only half right. Sort of. Still, I liked it. Not the most original of endings but I can deal.

Overall, a decent read but I think one that only needs to be done once. It has a good creep factor and the story will probably skeeve you out a bit but it'll lose it's luster if you read it more than once.(less)

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Oct 25, 2012 Pamela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

I borrowed the Gardener from the library, and as one might expect, I didn’t know what I was getting into. My friend was the one who actually found it. She said that I might like it because I want to be able to photosynthesize.

This book isn’t all about photosynthesizing though. Nevertheless, I really liked it because of three key points.

1) I didn’t know what to expect at the end, or even in the near future!
2) It was a quick read, not much details but enough so that you won’t be left out from the...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Grace rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. First, I open the book with a dubious expression. I'd picked this book from the library because of lack of good books on my hands, nothing more. And the fact that it says "This greenhouse... Grows humans..." on the cover, it scared me a little. Even so, I found the blurb intriguing so I borrowed it.

The beginning was captivating. Very. Since we're humans and armed with our human emotions, we immediately feel pity for this poor boy who suffered a dog attack. Oh, how pitiful it is. I particularly l...more First, I open the book with a dubious expression. I'd picked this book from the library because of lack of good books on my hands, nothing more. And the fact that it says "This greenhouse... Grows humans..." on the cover, it scared me a little. Even so, I found the blurb intriguing so I borrowed it.

The beginning was captivating. Very. Since we're humans and armed with our human emotions, we immediately feel pity for this poor boy who suffered a dog attack. Oh, how pitiful it is. I particularly liked how the author used that to win over the reader's sympathy for the main character. If the book didn't start out with that scene, I might not have liked Mason as much as I did. I might not have rooted as hard as I did. Because he seemed rather on the cold side at first. His size and demeanor both confuse me. I don't know what to make of him. Not really. On the other hand, I could tell right from the start that Mason was a smart kid in class. S.A. Bodeen makes that much obvious. Not so sure about his common sense, though, stealing a girl from some sort of metal institution inside of a old people house thing. (I'll save that bit for later.) He's also a pretty nice person, but you'd have to read on to find that out

Have to give it to the author. She's constantly throwing sorrowful scenes of Mason's life at you, trying to get you to sympathize with him. (Which is sort of ironic, when Mason says he hates it when people pity him.) For example, his drunk mom, phantom dad, a scar - the reminder of a dog attack, and a few other minors that I can't remember clearly but were definitely there. Mason's is a lucky guy, for someone so unlucky, if that makes any sense. I liked the author's writing style, and I honestly enjoyed her debut novel, so I supposed this one wouldn't be so terrible. It didn't disappoint.

So, enough sucking up. I'll list the few issues I had with this novel that stopped me from rating this a full 5 stars.

1) Seriously. Why would you want a piece of a father you've never had? And even if you did, why a DVD of his body? That's strange.

2) If you do want the DVD, fine. Take the DVD. Why would Solomon (Mason's dad) read that book, of all the books in the library? One for each kid in the Greenhouse. What are the chance that it just happens to be Laila? Honestly, the idea is rather far-fetched. Okay, might be coincidence. It does say that he never meant to send that DVD anyway. STILL.

3) Dude. You're in a place that your not supposed to be, surrounded full of creepy people that are just sitting there, unblinking. You can barely see them breathing. God! And instead of running, you decided to pop in that precious DVD and watch it? Oh, and then the girl comes the life. Since she's beautiful, you take her with you? YOU TAKE HER WITH YOU?? Mason, where's your common sense? Maybe she doesn't want to be there. But you, you should go. She's your mom's charge, for goodness sake. Are you crazy? (I suppose if Mason didn't take her, there wouldn't be much of a story to tell. He should have left, and Laila should have came running after him.) Ah, the manic things people do for beauty...

Otherwise, this book in its entirety wasn't the worst. Not really. (less)

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Jan 25, 2011 Amy M rated it 3 of 5 stars

Mason has lived in the same small town in Oregon his entire life. His mom works a lousy job at the local nursing home and often drinks herself into a stupor on the weekends. Mason has grown up believing his mother carries guilt for not being able to protect him from the dog who attacked and permanently scarred half of his face when he was 5 years old. At 15 and well-over 6 feet tall, Mason is an imposing figure, but he is quiet, intelligent, and kind. He often uses his size and appearance in pos...more Mason has lived in the same small town in Oregon his entire life. His mom works a lousy job at the local nursing home and often drinks herself into a stupor on the weekends. Mason has grown up believing his mother carries guilt for not being able to protect him from the dog who attacked and permanently scarred half of his face when he was 5 years old. At 15 and well-over 6 feet tall, Mason is an imposing figure, but he is quiet, intelligent, and kind. He often uses his size and appearance in positive ways, such as protecting kids at school who are bullied by cruel classmates. Yeah, he has a hero-complex and he knows it.

When Mason breaks into a cabinet in his mother's room and discovers things about her past that she has kept secret, he impulsively drives to Haven of Peace, the nursing home where she works the nightshift, and confronts her. While there, he finds that she spends her nights caring for several completely catatonic teenagers who do nothing but sit and stare. After inadvertenly awakening one of the teens, an eerily beautiful girl whose name he does not know, Mason is soon on the run with the girl.

As they flee, more and more questions arise as Mason discovers that the girl is far from normal, that his mother kept more than just a few secrets from him, and that everything is connected to TroDyn, the massive scientific research corporation that owns most of the town.

I listened to the audiobook version of The Gardener in just a few days. As with Bodeen's previous YA novel, The Compound, I was immediately drawn into the story and couldn't wait to learn more about the main characters. I really liked Mason and sympathized with him, but there were a number of moments that drove me crazy when he just wouldn't listen to those around him. I think part of it was meant to be his very stubborn personality, but the rest might have been the story needing to be fleshed out further.

This was a very quick read, slightly creepy, and had an interesting and a very relevant plot to today's society. I particularly enjoyed the fact that there was no concerete "this is right and this is wrong" ending. Bodeen does leave you to wonder just a bit about who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. I did enjoy her first book somewhat more than this one, but she's a great writer and I can't wait for her next YA novel.

cross-posted to Library Ninja
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Sep 25, 2010 Stacy/GirlsInTheStacks.com rated it 3 of 5 stars

Can you sayYA Twilight Zone? You know how an episode starts off normal and then, bam something unusual happens. That’s how this book is, creepy and just a little weird. Did I mention I’m fan of creepy and weird?

This is the story of Mason who stumbles upon the towns’ biggest secret. TroDyn has been using humans as test subjects – cultivating a garden of self-sustaining life forms, autotrophs.

I enjoyed this book. It was a well written, short and very succinct story, only 232 pages and easily a si...more Can you sayYA Twilight Zone? You know how an episode starts off normal and then, bam something unusual happens. That’s how this book is, creepy and just a little weird. Did I mention I’m fan of creepy and weird?

This is the story of Mason who stumbles upon the towns’ biggest secret. TroDyn has been using humans as test subjects – cultivating a garden of self-sustaining life forms, autotrophs.

I enjoyed this book. It was a well written, short and very succinct story, only 232 pages and easily a single days read. The ball was rolling by chapter three and from there it was a race to the end. What I am saying is that it packed a lot of punch.

Mason is a likeable guy. He is smart, considerate, caring big burly football player who happens to have a horrible scar on one side of his face. The scar is mentioned several times in the story I think as a way to flaw his character. He is not this perfect guy that swoops in and saves the day. Yet, he is a hero.

The girl, Laila is an interesting character. She is one of the autotrophs. The little insight into her character we’re given is enough to know she is smart, straightforward, strong, dependent (yes, dependent) and that she wants out. What develops between her and Mason is understandable, believable.

The plot itself is the biggest draw to the book. It is different and like I said earlier just a little weird. Once you get passed the “no way that can’t happen,” it sort of sucks you in and your flipping to see how it ends. Which leads me to the end, because it doesn’t end like you think it would. The ending (how many more times can I write that word?) is realistic. It’s also filled with ethical/moral issues (and environmental issues) which all ties back, again to the ending.

My one complaint is that the “authorities” divulge a lot of information to Mason, which seems unrealistic. Bodeen explains this in the book, but I wasn’t buying it. Realistic to me would be throwing him in dark place never to be seen again.

If you’re looking for something different then this is it.
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Jun 30, 2010 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: lone-star-2011, horror, sci-fi, ya

From the writer of The Compound....

When Mason accidentally helps a girl escape from the local nursing home, he discovers that there is much more to the local science lab than just environmental sustainability experiments. After running from guards, doctors and psychic teenagers, will he discover what is really going on? Who is this girl and why was she catatonic in a nursing home? And who is the Gardner that she is so afraid of?

Okay, this is the kind of story you really should read in one sittin...more

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Apr 29, 2010 Chelsea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mason is like many other teenagers - he lives with his Mom in a small town. Only his town is owned by a large corporation called TroDyn, which produces genetically altered plants in the name of sustainability. The only thing he knows about his father comes from a DVD of his Dad reading him a children's book. Other than that, he has never met the man before. Then one day he discovers his Mom is hiding her past from him and goes to confront her at Haven of Peace, her place of work. From there, Mas...more

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