Reviews

A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys

metafish42's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

devrose's review

adventurous hopeful reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I first read this book in print a year ago; this reread was in audio. I loved it just as much as I did last time. 

lauralauralaura's review against another edition

4.5

I found myself so charmed by this book of climate hope and alien first contact and family. There is so much imagination about how the world and the universe could look. There is a real morality, and empathy, and persistence and hopefulness. This could go comfortably alongside Becky Chambers Wayfinders series. 

pannamarchewka's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

midwesternvisions's review against another edition

Felt like I got attracted by an interesting first contact story with cool near future post ecological disaster. Loved those parts. Did not at all care for what felt like a forced romance plotline that dragged the story down. 

sooflo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

neera_exlibris's review against another edition

slow-paced

5.0

treyhunner's review against another edition

Gender, sexuality, climate change, parenting, religion, inter-species symbiosis, inter-species relationships, corporations, governments, communes, and more.

I enjoyed this book, but it did feel like there was a LOT going on sometimes. Occasionally rabbit hole on a particular topic went a bit deeper than felt warranted. For example I appreciated how much gender played a role in this book, but some of the discussions about gender signaling and pronouns felt very lengthy. I imagine if this were made into a movie those discussions wouldn't make the cut and the viewer would simply be expected to pick up on those elements of world building (there would be more showing of how different societies handle gender and less explaining of it).

I also wished some of the characters had a bit more depth at times. At times this felt a bit like a long short story. I still enjoyed it though.

I appreciated the reference to Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower that was thrown in somewhere: "All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change."

I do wish the aliens were more *alien* (like Octavia Butler's Dawn). That would have made some of the alien-human contact moments much more challenging to write though.

rshelley's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

haileyybean's review

challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0