Moongarden /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Moongarden blooms with heart and adventure. A stellar update of The Secret Garden , woven with a little science fiction, a lot of magic, a vibrant heroine, and a plucky robot sidekick to rival R2-D2." -Victoria Aveyard, New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen

The Secret Garden meets The City of Ember as an unlikely heroine confronts loneliness and crippling parental expectations, finding her seed of courage to weed out an intergalactic government conspiracy tied to failed climate change policy in this STEM-inspired series starter.

Centuries ago, Earth's plants turned toxic, rendering life on the planet impossible, and humanity took to space to cultivate new homes. Myra Hodger is in her first year at an elite school on the Moon to train and develop her Creer in math as a Number Whisper-like her famous Number Whisperer parents. But she's crumbling under the pressure, she doesn't fit in, and worst of all, the tattoos that signal her Creer growing aren't developing. In her heart, she knows she doesn't have a Creer, and soon, everyone else will, too.

Wandering the school while cutting class one day, she discovers a secret lab hidden behind one of the unused classrooms, and beyond that, a secret garden overflowing with plants. Dangerous toxic plants.

But as Myra learns the garden isn't a threat, she begins to wonder if she does have a Creer-one that died out when the Earth did. If she wants to learn the truth about the garden and herself, she'll have to hurry. There are those who'll do anything to take these secrets to the grave.

Re-envisioning The Secret Garden for a new generation, Moongarden introduces a dynamic heroine who just might grow a revolution.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

By 2448, it has been revealed that certain professions (scientists, doctors, and others) are intertwined with magic, and schools have cropped up all over the solar system in order to sort out and further students' abilities. Myra, the daughter of brilliant mathematicians, is assumed to possess strong Number Whisperer magic, but the truth is that she doesn't have a hint of it, nor does she have an interest in that prestigious path, and it's only a matter of time before the academy discovers her secret. It's not until she stumbles upon a carefully concealed garden that she feels the thrill of magical abilities. But how could this be? Plants have been outlawed for centuries, after Earth's flora poisoned the atmosphere and forced humans to flee to other planets. Myra realizes that the mystery of the garden may be the key to solving problems of the world--and to uncovering the truth about herself. This Secret Garden retelling, the first in the Plotting the Stars series, works beautifully in its new space setting, and though no knowledge of the original book is needed, familiar readers will delight in recognizable characters and struggles. The storytelling is immersive and engrossing, touching on environmental issues, class structure and prejudice, and the struggle to find one's truest self. Readers will be eager for the next installment in this marvelous, magical universe.

Kirkus Book Review

It's 2448, and Myra discovers that the world of plants and growing things might exist outside of history texts. Twelve-year-old Myra Hodger is a struggling first-year student at the exclusive Scientific Lunar Academy of Magic, where students begin Creers in science, technology, and the magic that accompanies them. The calling of an individual's Creer is reflected in Inscriptions that appear on the skin. Myra's parents are well-known Number Whisperers, mathematicians whose passion distracts them from Myra's growing awareness and worry that math is not her Creer; she has yet to see any sign of mathematical formulas appear on her skin. When Myra's exploration of the school during one of her frequent hours of class-cutting reveals an astonishing hidden garden, she is drawn to the plants growing there in a profound way. But plants are now forbidden--billions of people died during a worldwide toxic mutation of plants on the Old World--Earth. The survivors live in settlements on several planets, and food is manufactured according to formulas that are now malfunctioning. Debut author Barry smoothly incorporates contemporary--and perhaps perennial--issues of elite education, pressure to succeed, corporate corruption, class divides, systemic prejudice, and environmental depredation while delivering a boarding school story in a believable off-world setting. Most characters read White. Nicely realized, intriguingly complex, and well set up for sequels. (Science fiction. 9-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Michelle A. Barry grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, and was later cajoled over the border into Connecticut by her future husband. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, freelance writer and editor, and marketing professional. She currently lives in Connecticut with her charming husband and their two delightful children. Moongarden is her first novel.