EVERGREEN

Release Date : 2024-01-16

Duration : 8 hours 40 mins

Publisher : Recorded Books

SYNOPSIS

This is the latest novel from Devin Greenlee, a high school teacher who loves creating LGBTQ+ novels he wishes he had had growing up. Seventeen-year-old Dryad Quill wants to break free from tending the family’s magical garden and experience the outside world. Unlike his mother and sister, he’s yet to develop the magic to protect himself. His overprotective mother fears humans are a danger to him, especially with his lack of magic and peculiar green hair. When the family’s magical garden has been invaded and Quill’s catches his new neighbour Liam on the building’s fire escape, Quill is quick to see Liam as the culprit. Quill initially finds Liam irritating and untrustworthy. But when Liam proposes they spend time together in the outside world, Quill sees an opportunity to break free from his sheltered life. What follows is a budding romance between the two young men that has consequences in the form of an ancient evil emerging from the garden. Soon, Quill’s entire world is crumbling before his eyes, and he regrets the day he set out in the human world.

REVIEW

This fast-paced urban fantasy is a unique reimagining of The Secret Garden. The world-building is quick and easy to follow. Quill is a complex character that evolves as the story progresses and is very likeable. His conflicting mindset between his personal freedom and his loyalty to his family and their legacy plays a central role in the novel. The story is also a very unique and refreshing take on a young LGBT relationship, with the characters coming together in the midst of a fantastical dilemma. The dramatic conclusion leaves a lot of questions unanswered with the characters’ lives forever changed, and the story could have benefited with a bit more detail and closure. Narrator Michael Crouch, a master at narrating YA novels, brings the story to another level with his upbeat and engaging performance. His portrayal of Quill is both introspective and dramatic, accurately matching the contrasting sides of the character. If you’re looking for an original urban fantasy that’s extremely easy to listen to with excellent narration, definitely consider this one!