This book went from two perspectives of Matthew and Nabila. The first half of the book for me, went a little slow and picked up in the second half. It chronicles their friendship, and how Nabila would look out for Matthew. Nabila went to save Matthew from himself at the end, but would she really be able to do that?

Tldr; incel terrorist sympathy is crazy, my guy, do not pass go do not collect $200 do not write about it if the final takeaway is not “these people are all fucking terrible”

Review w/ spoilers:
Matthew and Nabila are twenty-somethings former incidental childhood friends who recently reconnected. Matthew was an intensely bullied kid who is still bullied and isolated as an adult. Nabila had a structured healthy childhood and maintained a literally unbelievable naiveté into adulthood about people having shitty lives, especially considering how smart and dedicated she is to the long terms effects of climate change. As an adult, Matthew, unknowingly desperate for friendship, does not realize he’s part of an incel terrorist group that is convincing him to “train” in Belgium. He and Nabila run into each other (after not having talked in years) and he honestly starts overwhelming her with friendship. Nabila gives Matthew a mildly unkind rejection, and, you guessed it, that was the spark that lit the flame for him to go to Belgium to be with his “real friends”. What I didn’t buy is that Nabila had SUCH intense guilt from how she rejected Matthew that she FLIES to Belgium to help him come back after he says he doesn’t like his new crew. Matthew’s new friends were as mean as anyone else (they shot him just bc they could) and “force” him to “fight for the cause”. At the nth hour (Matthew ready to m*ss m*rd*r a crowd), Nabila figures it out and despite trying to stop him with a “they can’t make you do this, come with me”, HE DOES IT. Who gives a shit if he didn’t hit anyone bc a cop figured it out first, chases him down, and k*lls him? Are we supposed to feel sympathy for an unintentional semi-unwilling international incel terrorist?? The cops having absolutely no idea why she tried to help him felt very… meta/ironic/on-the-nose bc yeah I had the same fucking thought. Nabila’s final takeaway was that he had died trying to protect her and how the next day she was going to tell her friends over drinks she had a great trip bc they wouldn’t understand otherwise. Girl WHAT???????

Finally, climate change was randomly included theme. Absolutely unnecessary. Opinion coming from a climate change scientist.

While I would not recommend this book, I do think the author is a good storyteller and could write a book loved by all without… all that.

The narrator did a great job.

Thanks to Netgalley, ECW Press Audio, Menaka Raman-Wilms, and Alison Deon for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rooftop Garden is a very imaginative and thoughtful meditation on what we owe each other and will do to belong or please others.
A very unquestioning, credulous to the point of gullible boy gets a sort of pity friendship from a girl classmate who witnesses his humiliation by the other boys in their class. They begin spending time on the rooftop of her high rise and create an elaborate fantasy around being trapped there after climate change has flooded their city.
The escalating stakes of the fantasy and their relationship are juxtaposed in alternating chapters with the present day where they are barely speaking but he reaches out after falling in with a pro-male cult/movement whose true nature is only revealed to him after he is already in too deep.
The story does a great job showing how what is presented may just be a part of the whole, but the need for acceptance can often suppress the curiosity to ask more, even at one's own risk.

This book was longlisted for the Giller prize and it certainly merits this recognition. The narrative follows Nabila and her complicated relationship with a childhood friend. Nabila was a well-rounded little girl with loving parents while Matthew's childhood was fraught with abuse and neglect. Throughout adolescence and into adulthood, Nabila feels a sense of obligation toward Matthew, which ultimately leads her to travel to Berlin in an attempt to help him escape a group of dangerous radicals. The author uses trees to symbolize Matthew's aloneness and the need to be part of a larger group (forest, friends, family) to flourish.

I'm not sure how the themes tied together but this was such a compelling story and such a great performance by the narrator. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook!
I don't usually like flashbacks but the friendship from when the main characters were kids really helped build the need for them to try to help each other as adults. I was so heartbroken by the way Nabila shared her ideas and dreams with Matthew, who clearly didn't have an easy time in life.
The descriptions of Berlin in this future time were also really interesting. I'll be thinking about this book for a while.

Unfortunately, I can't say that I felt connected to this story. The premise is so intriguing, but the execution fell totally flat for me. It wasn't a super short book, but it felt like more of a vague outline vs something that really drew me in. I would love to see someone else try to tackle this premise, even though I don't see myself ever sympathizing with the incel crowd.

Deeply moving and unsettling. A disturbing insight into how little it really takes for a disillusioned young person to become radicalised.

The flashbacks to the rooftop garden were somewhat touching. I felt for Matthew, but equally Nabilla who was also just a child.

That Nabila held onto such love for a childhood friend whom she’d lost touch with, that she travelled to Berlin to try to safe him seemed far fetched yet also completely believable.

The writing was excellent, as was the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

Trigger warnings for abuse, domestic violence, bullying, assault, assault with weapons, radicalisation and terrorism

I would have liked more integration between the climate change and terrorism plot lines but Menaka has done a masterful job of pacing the downward spiral of matthew's ( a young man with a learning disability) decent into radicalisation and the desperation of the only person who cares for him.

A deeply sad story exploring the human side of incels… only to make our incel character not completely detestable the author had to keep his reasoning ability/thinking pattern at the level of a young child, even as he became a young adult. While the friend matured mentally as she ages, he does not — and this is not explained, beyond him having an unhealthy home environment and mean sisters.

📚 Series or Standalone: standalone
📚 Genre: literary fiction
📚 Target Age Group: adult
📚 Cliffhanger: no

✨ Will I Reread: no

💕 Characters: 2/5
💕 Writing: 4/5
💕 Plot: 3/5
💕 Pacing: 3/5
💕 Unputdownability: 3/5
💕 Enjoyment: 3/5
💕 Book Cover: 3/5

Thanks, NetGalley, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.