Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy. I appreciate that this book is clean, and I can have copies on my classroom shelf. The themes of grief, family, friendship, and gardening/life cycle can all be discussed. The back and forth emotions of orphaned children and all the manifestations of their feelings are shown beautifully. Thank you for a happy ending!

Lyrical and beautifully written, this is a lovely version of a timeless story. Young readers not familiar with the original will still adore this book and its character. Recommended.

A BIT OF EARTH is a charming and beautiful read that focuses on the meaning of home, and does so with so much heart. While still feeling realistic, the book does an excellent job of capturing an everyday kind of magic in the small things that we truly enjoy doing. It deals with love, loss, grief, and identity in such an authentic and hopeful way that will resonate with so many kids (and adults alike!). It isn't always that one book can be a masterclass in gorgeous but accessible writing in verse AND prose, but that is definitely is the case here. The sections in verse do a wonderful job of getting into Maria's feelings and have brilliant and heart wrenching lines that will leave a lovely mark on readers, and be there for them when they need it most. Maria is such a smart, dynamic, and relatable protagonist. It feels impossible not to like reading from her perspective, and seeing how the garden allows her to slowly open up to those who become her friends, and this new place that starts to become a home. Overall, A BIT OF EARTH is the type of book that reminds you how magic reading can be, and will stick in your heart long after turning that final page.

This book is an absolute masterpiece! Riazi has such a command of language -- the chapters in verse are particularly wonderful, and I don't normally love verse -- and I was completely drawn in to this world and characters. I remember being a little underwhelmed when I read The Secret Garden in college, but this hit the way that I wanted the original to hit for me. So much heart, so enchanting, and I can't stop crying over it. And now I want to go garden (or at least read in a garden...) Highly, highly recommend this book.

Omygoodness this book just has my WHOLE HEART and left me in tears!! Y’all need this book!🥹❤️❤️

Genre: Upper MG
Ages: 11/12 and up (im an adult and obsessed🥳)
PREORDER before the March 2023 release day- preorders help authors!!

Screening: mentions of a period, and brief mention of violin/rabab (I consider it perfectly clean for the age group!)

Maria Latif’s parents have died, and she is shipped from home to home- most caretakers complaining of her surly grumpiness. When she lands with her parents’ friends in New York, she expects it’s just going to be another disappointment. But she discovers a secret garden in the yard that brings her and some friends together. Can the bit of earth she found bring her the family she deeply yearns for?

From the moment I began reading this book, I fell in love. Grumpy Maria is SO amazingly real, and it is so refreshing to read about a character with complex emotions and strength that truly feels so accurate for a tween portrayal! I loved her and rooted for her the whole book and by the end I was in tears and just wanted to reach through the pages and hug her!

I loved the theme of found family in the book- and how family isn’t always those by blood, but can often be love from friends and strangers that feels the most like family!

Omygosh all the Bengali and Desi references, cultural aspects like mendhi and dress, and the beautiful descriptions of flowers and food just warmed my heart! I love how Maria is proud of her culture and treasures it!

Islam is mentioned a lot, with Maria wearing hijab/dupatta, and praying her prayers! I loved the way it was part of her identity and not preached or brushed off in any way, just existing as her identity❤️

The writing of this book is as GORGEOUS as a flower- and the verse and prose alternating worked so well to move my heart!

This book deserves all the stars and awards!!! Def a must have, and one I will be recommending to all my ELA middle school students❤️

This was stunning and I can’t wait to buy this for my classroom as a physical copy.

This is a retelling of The Secret Garden. When Mari loses both her parents she’s bounced around from family members till landing in the care of a friend of her parents. Mari is self described as prickly and looks to hide away in a garden that he off limits. What develops is a beautiful tale of grief, friendship, and family.

Such great Desi representation too!

I will be the first to say that "The Secret Garden" was one of my absolute least favorite 'classic' children's literature, so all the more praise for Riazi for doing such wonders with the source material that I fell instantly in love with her retelling.

The magical, lyrical way in which the author speaks about emotions - about the power and validity of feeling 'prickly' - is so true and authentic. The ways in which the main character Maria battles against the feelings of others by hiding her own feelings from herself was such a wonderful arc to watch slowly unveil to a beautiful, tearful, standing-up-and-clapping conclusion.

The glimpses into Desi culture were so beautiful and tender and incredible - not just recalling the tastes and smells of foods and drinks (I had to google how to make a noon chai based on the incredibly tantalizing descriptions but also the powerful notes of emotional connection!) - but the ways in which Riazi talks about the families - the frustrating, but the caring - and how conflicting feelings are both valid even as they fight against one another. It made me yearn for family time so so so keenly.

This is a book that would hurt you to miss out on. Cannot recommend it enough.