THE GIRL IN THE GARDEN by Kamala Nair

In the middle of the night, Rakhee Singh leaves her engagement ring and a note to her fiance stating that she can't marry him until she resolves something from her past in India. We are then taken back to Rakhee, when she is a child living in Minnesota with her parents whom she calls Aba (father) and Amma (mother). Her home life is fairly normal until her mother starts getting letters from India. Amma decides to take Rakhee to visit her family in India the summer Rakhee is eleven. At first Rakhee is miserable and homesick but begins to enjoy spending time with her cousins and exploring. She discovers that there is a garden that the children are forbidden to go into. Her Amma acts differently, cries a lot and seems very close to a man named Prem. Rakhee realizes there are many family secrets and she wants to know what they are.

This is a brilliant coming of age story that kept me captivated until the end. Nair is an amazing writer and storyteller. The writing was beautiful, lyrical, poetic, the story poignant, mysterious, and mystical. It has overtones of a fairy tale and mystery, with a hidden garden and a secret girl that lives there.
But Rahkee learns that life is not a fairy tale and there are real adult decisions and secrets behind everything.

I loved Rakhee and seeing things from her point of view. The novel was beautifully descriptive, but not overly so, and made India come alive for me. Nair creates interesting characters; her aunts and uncle, all trying to do what they think is best for the family and it's reputation. The fact that this is her first novel makes it all the more amazing and this is one of the best novels I have read this year. Don't miss out on the fantastic novel. I can't recommend or gush about it enough.

my rating 5/5