There was a lot going on in the book - dealing with grief, family issues, romance - but it all worked perfectly. The pacing was spot on as well. I loved the little breaks in between the chapters of little gardening tips for different vegetables. I just really adored this book with its heartwarming story and cast of characters. I now want to find a gardening class and have one in my backyard

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! Yes, this is a romance that deals with moving on after the tragic loss of a loved one, but I really quite liked the bits on gardening. The characters and dialogue were very natural and true-to-life.

The Garden of Small Things is a truly delightful read. It is perfect for a book club. What a discussion there will be over all the gardening hints and of course, the camaraderie between sisters and friends is perfect. There are sad moments, too, but so is life--full of grief and happiness at each turn. Abbi makes you marvel at the blessings of small things each day.

Note: clearing old books from before 2019

This is the only remaining ABbi Waxman book that I have not read and I recently purchased a copy so that I can. I have not been disappointed yet, so have high hopes.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book has been on my NetGalley shelf for ages. I honestly don't remember how this book even came to be on my shelf. When NetGalley did their #Reviewathon, I knew that it was time to get this off the shelf and read it finally.

I tried to read this book as a digital book, but I couldn't get into it. It was then that I decided to get the audiobook from the library. Once I switched to the audiobook, the story came alive, and I started to enjoy it. The story took some time for me to get into, but once I was 20% into it, it finally found a good pace. The narrator also did a phenomenal job and added a 1/2 star to my rating.

The characters were well crafted, and the plot was slow but steady. I enjoyed seeing all of the characters interact and loved the sisterly love between Lilian and Rachel. I could easily relate to both of them at various times. Though I loved the characters, I couldn't help but want to read more on the relationships that evolved. All in all, I liked the book, but I wish there were more to it. The story was enjoyable, but it didn't capture my attention like some of the books I read.

Review:

What I Liked:

Writing Style. Waxman's writing style was easy to follow and enjoy. I love a novel that has writing I can easily get lost in and this was one of them. I will be checking out her next novel!

Plot/Setting. The plot wasn't crazy, it was a simple story about a widow/mother and her life but that is what made me enjoy it. The whole garden class story line was a great aspect of the novel that was fun to read about. It focused more on Lilian's day to day life, work, and taking care of two kids. I was unsure if I would enjoy a novel about that but I did!

Characters. This was a character driven novel with a side of plot, my favorite kind. I love a novel that only comes from the main characters point of view but still manages to have great side characters. Waxman did a great job of crafting characters that I kept wanting to read about. I would love to see a novel from the point of view of any of the side characters.

Romance. I'm a fan of slow burn romance and this hit the spot. There was attraction but no instant romance instead it progressed over the whole novel. It also helped that the love interest was a great character.

I recommend checking out this great contemporary adult novel even if you are not a fan of the genre.


Rating:


5 Stars Out of 5 Stars

I wasn't able to finish this book, so I decided not to review it on my site or any of the major retailers/Goodreads.

Four years after the death of her husband, Lilian is still grieving. But she doesn't have much time to mull over her grief with two young daughters, a supportive sister who is always at her house, and a demanding job that now requires her to take a gardening class every Saturday morning. But the gardening class turns out to be a good thing as she meets new friends and possibly a new love.
This is a funny, light and enjoyable novel. I sympathised with Lilian and her grief over her husband's death created the few emotional moments throughout the novel. What I liked most was Lilian's two young daughters, Annabel and Clare, who were funny, very smart, and nothing got past them. (NP)

WHY DID I LISTEN TO THE GARDEN OF SMALL BEGINNINGS BY ABBI WAXMAN?
The Garden Of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman has SUCH A PERFECT COVER. I mean, it is bright and colorful and my eye is immediately drawn to it. Apparently this audiobook is also a hot commodity at my library because I had to put a hold on it. Eventually, I got blessed by my hold coming in. Of course, beyond the cover this book appeals to me in that sometimes I just need to read books about grown ups living grown up lives.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
The Garden Of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman follows main character Lilian Girvan. Lilian is an illustrator with a publishing company in LA. She is also a widow, her husband died in front of her eyes in a car accident in front of her house like three years ago. So, Lilian is a single mother with two little girls to raise. She had a little bit of mental breakdown and her sister stepped up to help out.

Anyways, the driving motivator behind this book is that Lilian has been sent by her company to take a gardening class. The company believes will enhance her illustrations for an upcoming seed catalog. Lilian ends up really developing some great friendships in the class, finds a little bit of romance, and really finally moves forward in a life that seems to have been stuck. I don’t know if “women’s fiction” is still a thing, but this would qualify. And honestly, I loved every minute of it.

HOW DID I LIKE THE GARDEN OF SMALL BEGINNINGS?
I absolutely enjoyed The Garden Of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman. Lately I have not been 100% satisfied with the audiobooks I have been listening to. This book, though, is fantastic. The characters within the book are very well drawn. They are developed and interesting and feel three dimensional. No flat characterization here. Then there’s the blooms of a romance, but it is not the entire book.

Also, yes, there’s a little bit of drama, but it isn’t overwhelming or unrealistic. I just loved how everything played out — from the plotting, to the class and the different students and how they really form strong social bonds. I liked that these people really found support and friendship in each other despite coming from different backgrounds.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The audiobook of Abbi Waxman’s The Garden Of Small Beginnings is narrated by Emily Rankin. Emily is the PERFECT narrator for this book. Her voice is exactly how I would have imagined Lilian’s to be. I felt like this audiobook was so much better than what I have been listening to lately. It was easy to follow along with. I did not get bored or distracted while reading. This book is one that I feel so confident in recommending for people to listen to. It’s such a charming audiobook.

I loved this book..... I felt every emotion under the sun while reading this. From the laugh out loud humor, to the honest portrayal of motherhood, to the crushing experience of grief... this one took me by complete surprise and I can't wait to see what she writes next. 4.5 stars.

A quiet, lovely novel about new beginnings and the people who allow us to make them happen.

Grief, Gardening, and Great Humor!


To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I read the synopsis for this book.



I’ve read books that have dealt with the grief process, how to books on gardening, and light, entertaining books full of great wit and snarky dialogue. But the thought of all these things put together in a coherent, entertaining format seemed a little far-fetched.

A plant needs three different things to grow; seeds, soil, and food (ie sunlight and water). Combined, these three seemingly different materials can produce amazingly beautiful plants.

Sometimes an author is also able to take seemingly different topics and produce a truly wonderful piece. This is the case with The Garden of Small Beginnings. Abbi uses the story of Lillian, a young widow of two small children who is working through the grief of witnessing the tragic death of her husband in a car accident, as the seed planted in the premise of learning to grow a garden. She then waters the plot with a healthy amount of wit and humor to produce an amazingly entertaining and thought-provoking story.

Little did I know that when I started reading this book that it would provide inspiration and encouragement for me personally. Shortly after beginning the story my oldest son’s high school teammate and friend was killed suddenly in a car accident. Abbi’s wonderfully, witty lines and clever analogies were the shot of humor and encouragement I needed on more than one occasion as I personally dealt with the shock of this young man’s death and the pain of my friend’s grief over losing her child. I truly believe that I was given this review as a gift from God.

Whether you are dealing with your own grief or just looking for a great story, The Garden of Small Beginnings is worth reading!

I enjoyed the humor in this book. Most books with this subject matter, a young widow with children, don't take a humorous approach. And it was done nicely in this novel - in that you could still feel the pain the family felt from their loss - along with the laugh out loud moments.and not having the comedic bits go overboard.

I loved the vibrant and realistic characters in this novel. Everyone who picks up this book will be able to walk away with something meaningful. There is an important message about how life can be bittersweet, yet you have to choose to look for the good.

A lovely story with believable and enjoyable characters, this is a quick read that will stick with you. It may even make you want to take up gardening as a new hobby!

3.8 - enjoyable, but completely far-fetched in how quickly that garden grew! Otherwise, a good beach read.

Please find my review here: http://www.apagebeforebedtime.com/2017/03/the-garden-of-small-beginnings-by-abbi.html

After getting a recommendation from Heidi, our long time bloggy friend from Rainy Day Ramblings, I knew I had to pick up The Garden of Small Beginnings. I’m so happy I did because it was charming, fun, and full of laugh-out-loud humor!

Lilian lost her husband in a tragic accident four years ago, and hasn’t really moved on. Not that she’s in a deep depression, this story is far from depressing, but she hasn’t really begun living life for herself since. Her world is about her two girls, seven-year-old Annabel and five-year-old Clare. Her younger sister Rachel figures heavily into her life as well. All it takes is a gardening class to shake things up. Thrown together with people Lily wouldn’t normally have mixed with, learning about plants, soil, as well as each other. The class instructor Edward Bloem, makes the class come to life, and his enthusiasm for growing things and life in general is contagious.

Even though this story is about a widower coming to grips with her loss and living for herself again, it’s lighthearted for the most part, and really positive. Like I said, this book was super funny, and a pretty realistic take on life with small children. I live in northern Los Angeles, and a lot of times the life pictured in movies or books isn’t close to my experience, but I think the author captured a more authentic representation of Los Angeles area life.

I received a copy, but I ended up listening to the audio version, and I enjoyed the narration. Emily Rankin had great comedic timing, given that much of the story is humorous observations and situations, that was important. The only voice I wasn’t super keen on was Edward’s. The accent sounded like an old German professor, instead of a handsome man from Holland. At any rate, it didn’t hamper my enjoyment of their romance.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer jerjen

Lili is a widow with two small children. She lost her husband in a car accident and she is just trying to get through life the best way she knows how. She has her daughters to raise, a job to go to and dog to take care of. What more does she need?

She has a job at an illustrating company, and she has been assigned to work on a vegetable campaign. Her boss has signed her up to take a gardening class, so she can get up close and personal with vegetables. She agrees to go and her life is not the same after she takes her first class. She makes friends with the other students in the class and she thinks the instructor is easy on the eyes. With her new friends, her children and her sister taking the class, she learns a lot about gardening and even more about life.

The characters are well rounded, well developed and three dimensional. Lili is sarcastic, witty and very down to earth. She is a strong woman who has had her share of heartache. After suffering from a nervous breakdown and thoughts of suicide shortly after her husband died, she has pulled herself together. With the help of her sister, Rachel, she is raising her children and carrying on with her life. I enjoyed getting to know all of them better. I really enjoyed the bickering and banter between Lili and Rachel, it seemed very real to me. The children added a lot to the story and I enjoyed spending time with them, also. In fact, the cast of characters were a delight to meet and get to know better.

This is a story about love, loss, seconds chances and growing stronger in the face of adversity. The author is very talented in her writing and she had me laughing and crying in the same chapter. There were a lot of times that I laughed out loud. I do not think that is an easy thing to do and I think this takes a special talent. The author did a wonderful job taking a very sad and serious issue and writing about it in a heartwarming and insightful way. She wrote about it with humor and realism.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well written women’s fiction. If you want a book that will make you think, make you laugh and that will stay with you after you finished it, give this book a try. There was some language contained in the book that would not make it suitable for young adult readers, in my opinion. To me the language just made it seem more realistic. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this author. I hope I do not have to wait too long.

You would think that a novel about a woman recently widowed by her much-too-young husband's horrific accident and her sudden entrance into the world of single motherhood would be too sad to read. I may have put this one aside except for the vivid colors on the cover drawing me in. This book couldn't be too depressing with a cover like that, so I gave it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised by the light humor the author gave to the story, convincing the reader that even in our darkest moments we can find something to laugh about.

Lillian is a book illustrator, a single mom to two delightful daughters, a sister, and a daughter to a painfully critical mother. She is just beginning to get the hang of living life without her husband with the help of her sister who spends many evenings enjoying Lilian's cooking and playing with her nieces. Lilian's employer offers her the opportunity to illustrate a vegetable encyclopedia and decides it would be good for her to take a gardening class to get up-close and personal with the vegetables she will be drawing. Lilian, her sister, and the two girls all attend the weekend classes and find joy in new friendships, delicious food, and maybe a new future full of surprises.

Lilian's sense of humor is light and laughable. Her descriptions of drawing whale penises or her snarky thoughts about the hunky garden instructors will keep the reader laughing and wanting more. Waxman created funny and likable characters (even the overbearing mother) and you want each of them to find their way in the story. Waxman will have you laughing in one chapter and thinking deeply in the next with bits of wisdom mixed with emotion.

Yes there is a bit of romance to this story, but it is handled maturely and not overdone with details that will cause you to cringe or skip paragraphs. Lilian shares true feelings as her heart begins to reopen and her fear and trepidation about the future is real. This quote from Anais Nin fit so perfectly with Lilian and her feelings, "There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful that the risk it took to blossom." Lilian has to decide if the risk is worth taking to feel joy once again.

Another fun feature that I enjoyed in the book was that each chapter started with a vegetable. There would be an illustration, much like what I expect Lilian would draw, and an explanation on how to grow that particular vegetable in your garden. Of course, each description has a bit of humor included like not planting strawberries where you have recently planted tomatoes, peppers, or eggplant "because it freaks them out" or radishes need lots of sun and if they don't get it, you'll have to go out and buy them and "lie about your horticultural prowess".

The book comes with discussion questions at the end and would make for an enjoyable book club choice. Its lightheartedness is refreshing to read even amidst the grief that permeates their lives.