Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me a copy of this audiobook! I was really excited to read this book because the description and cover had me hooked. Unfortunately this book was just far too confusing and I guess it just wasn’t for me. I would like to try something else by Ruthanna!

The world in desperate need of acute climate change and a group of disparate people is aided by extraterrestrials facing similar issues at home. The book is a bit of a slog but is a new thinking in a first-contact book.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was definitely a slow build but still pretty interesting. Very detailed- enough to get confusing at times- but the narrator was easy to listen to.

I can absolutely see why some people didn't enjoy A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys. It's longer than it really needs to be and it focuses more on character development and interaction than moving the plot forward at a swift pace. Even so, I enjoyed this one! I like stories about different life forms getting to know each other, exploring their similarities and differences. I think the vibes of A Half-Built Garden are somewhat similar to The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet in that way, but A Half-Built Garden is a first contact story and the stakes are much higher. I can't say if I would've grown bored with A Half-Built Garden if I'd read a physical copy, but I can say that the audiobook was done well and kept me engaged and intrigued by the story and its characters even when the plot was dragging a bit. If you're interested in a queer first contact story that's character-driven, you might enjoy A Half-Built Garden too!

I'm making the executive decision to DNF this at 30% in. It feels like it's been dragging on forever and the narrative isn't getting anywhere. I don't care about any of the characters... the only personality that they have in sight is being virtuous and judging anyone who doesn't share the same values as them.
I usually love sci-fi and first-contact stories, but this one is making me hate reading.

Most parents of littles are likely not looking for representation in their reading, especially with their few moments of down-time. They want out of the their head. And that's fine, this book isn't for you. It's for you in ten years, when your child has grown up a bit, is more independent, and you've gotten yourself back on a good sleep schedule and can look back at the absurdity of the demands of child rearing and laugh. As in, "yes I'll go communicate with the aliens, but I need to schedule it around naptime".

Loved the book's exploration into the definition of family, but think it should have explored the definition of plot as well. Might not be enough action for die-hard science fiction fans, but an interesting introduction for newcomers.

Judy, a member of the watershed networks dedicated to living in symbiosis with the recovering planet, stumbles upon aliens. These aliens are intent to removing humans from an inevitably dying planet to live in harmony with other aliens in space. And so Judy enters into discussions with the aliens and other humans living in a non-planet centered lifestyle to try to maintain agency for the humanity in the negotiations.

This is a good book for discussion. There are so much really interesting topics in this story with very progressive family units, gender identity, and social structures and a push and pull on a totally new perspective on first encounter with aliens between the extremes of climate activists and deeply rooted capitalists. There is a lot to think about when it comes to how society chooses to live with itself, others, and the earth. It was also really interesting to put parenthood right in the middle of all the negotiations between the species.

However, I didn't really like this book. The first encounter scenario seemed so preposterous, that it just felt like a device to talk start having these discussions about humanity and the choices it has. The entire book also felt purposely and blatantly preachy, which was exhausting and retracted from the enjoyment of the plot, such that it was. There is a lot of dwelling on topics which completely stopped the narrative momentum, which made it hard to enjoy the book as well. It might have worked better as a novella. Overall, thoughtful but I didn't enjoy it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of the audiobook!

Incredible! Amazing! Fantastic! Showstopping! I loved every minute of this heartfelt, quiet scifi. It's so hopeful and has so much care for humanity and the Earth. Amazing queer and Jewish rep.

Very good book, very solid audiobook - I only said that we wouldn't get a copy as we don't actually do audiobooks, but we will definately look at getting a physical copy. Thank you so much for the opprotunity to read it!

A Half-Built Garden is dystopian science fiction. Aliens come to earth and humanity has to decide how to respond. I thought this book addressed some very interesting philosophical questions.

I enjoyed this book and have been thinking about how to describe it. So here we go:

• the concept of gender identity, sexuality, and pronouns are fully explored in this book. Different cultures in the book had different ideas about each, but the humankind and alien kind described in this book and light years ahead of where we are now.
• family pods to help raise children? Yes please! It takes a village after all.
• matriarchal aliens!
• space ships (obviously)
• lots of science/tech included in the story
• pretty clean human/alien seggsy times
• in the audiobook, herb is pronounced with a hard h. That’s really my only complaint about the audio. 🤣

Thank you so much to NetGalley and tordotcom for allowing me to listen to this audioARC. All opinions are my own.

An excellent story wonderfully narrated. A recommended purchase for collections where softer SF is popular.

I found this to be mostly entertaining and I thoroughly enjoyed the first encounter with the extraterrestrials and the dissection of the definition of family. I also appreciated the fact that gender identity was so explored.

That being said I didn’t really care for how much nursing was brought up. I am a mother and one who is very comfortable to nurse my child but I don’t need it to be a focus of a book. Additionally, the book was a bit aloe through the middle.

The world building in this book is rich but confusing. I loved the natural world and celebration of humanity that lived so clearly alongside the technology of the aliens. Overall a solid but long sci fi adventure!

This was a thoughtful science fiction with a fascinating, hopeful version of a possible future for our planet. We follow Judy, a queer Jewish mother and representative of the Chesapeake Watershed Network, as she, and her wife and child, make first contact with an alien ship that has come to "help" humankind take the next evolutionary step and leave planet Earth. The aliens make the argument that life on a planet is unsustainable- with limited space and resources- and it is the inevitable evolution of an intelligent species to abandon their planet and expand into outer space. But Judy and many other humans of the various watersheds are not ready to abandon the planet they have worked so hard to save from corporate and government greed. Humans have much left to learn about living in harmony with their environment, and each other, before taking such a massive next step. This beautifully crafted novel explores themes of climate justice, gender expression, corporate manipulation, forced assimilation, and the inspiring ways that humankind can fight for a better future

There were witty comments scattered throughout the story that I enjoyed. I appreciated that the author emphasized such natural things - breastfeeding, babies, the land - and then juxtaposed them with the aliens and their technology. I also liked that they were rebuilding the land they had destroyed. However, it was really heavy handed on the gender pronouns and the parenting, which ultimately became exhausting. I think I would have liked the book more had it been shorter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.

3.5

A literary take on first contact with a queer Jewish main character. This reminds me a lot of Cadwell Turnbull's The Lesson in that they both are more studies of characters and explorations of themes that just so happen to use first contact/aliens as their base.

I loved the way Emrys built up the alien cultures with just as much care as she built the various human communities in this near future world. The differing ideologies among the humans and the aliens were so well crafted and I liked seeing the way each group's cultures and beliefs impacted the plot.

While this is a first contact story, it plays out more as a family drama. Our main character, Judy Wallach-Stevens's primary goal through the whole book is to keep a habitable Earth community for her and her family's children. At times, this dragged the narrative a little as Judy's internal monologue would be concerned with nursing her child or clean diapers and while I appreciate that being a valid concern, it didn't really work for me.

I did as a whole like the exploration of parenthood and family structures throughout the book though. Judy lives within a polyamorous family structure and the aliens have a largely matriarchal society. Even within the human communities, the watershed networks where Judy lives have a different concept of gender identity than the descendants of the corporations.

This is a story that makes you think. It's about decision making, sustainability, power, and so much more. It's an ideas driven book and I think it would work very well as a book club selection.

A Half- Built Garden is a quiet climate fiction, first contact story with big ideas, questions and extremely deliberate with it's story telling.

Imagine yourself in 2083. Earth is ecologically ravaged and recovering from the greed of capitalism. You encounter an aliens made up of two separate species that have banded together in search of more species. They are elated to have reached Earth just on time to save you. Except you don't need saving or at least some groups on earth feel this way.

I do want to emphasize that this is an extremely character driven, near future sci-fi book. If you want action this will not work for you. If you want any semblance of a plot... walk away. If you enjoy slow burn books with a diverse cast that explored motherhood, polyamory , gender identity, decision making, diplomacy, power, greed, restoration and much more RUN don't walk to your local bookstore.

Reminiscent of Becky Chambers, this will be the hopeful scifi you were looking for.

Have you read Dawn? Do you wonder what it would be like if it was written by Becky Chambers instead of Octavia E. Butler? This is it.

The set up is great! Aliens show up and inform us that we have reached a level of technology that can no longer be sustained by a planet and we must take to the stars if we want to survive. Our main character takes issue with this as she and the rest of humanity (mostly) have been working very hard to live sustainably on the planet. Diplomacy and hijinks ensue.

A hopeful future for humanity and first contact with aliens are very much my buzzwords, but this book didn't work great for me. It is kind of slow and the main character rubbed me the wrong way. She comes across as holier than thou and it is irritating. I found myself disagreeing with her at times where it felt like I was supposed to find her position obviously correct. Maybe I'm just personally too excited by the concept of space exploration that I find it hard to sympathize with a character who wants to stay home and recycle.

I did really love a lot of things about this book though. I particularly loved the portrayal of family where it is considered normal and necessary to have four adults coparenting children and all living together as a family unit. Yes, please!

Overall, this really reminds me a lot of Becky Chambers. Personally, I tend to find her style nice, but a bit over the top with the preachiness and "niceness." But I know that works for a lot of people and I think those people will love this book just as much.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Tordotcom for the audio arc.

Sexual violence? No. Other content warnings? Kidnapping

There's some interesting things going on here, but too much was left unexplained in the world-building, so I found it odd and confusing. Also, I appreciate what the author tried to do with gender, but it seemed too rooted in 2022.

Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book. I got about 15% into it and still have no idea what is going on. It seems like aliens have made contact with earth. I picked this up expecting a sci-fi novel but all I got was chapters and chapters on which characters identify with which gender. I think this book was totally miss labeled as a sci-fi. Because sci-fi requires detailed world building. All of the details in this novel are very vague, except for which gender each person (or alien) identifies with. No explanation to the mesh receptors they wear, no clue what the watershed network is, and absolutely no background story to how the world is governed. I really wanted to like this one but it’s def not for me.