The Garden Just Beyond

Gr 5 Up–Fourteen-year-old Magnolia Gartner generally flies under the radar in her exceptional family. The Gartners, a mixed-race family, including Maggie’s siblings Cornelius and Sir Pierce (he was knighted as a toddler) and cousins Bay and Clementine, are the caretakers of a magical garden whose edible plants transform diners’ lives. Maggie, who displays some characteristics of a person on the autism spectrum, yearns to make her own dinner and be accepted by her flamboyant family. During a competition to invent a product for the town’s shuttered factory, Maggie befriends Graham, her school’s “Mr. Everything” who cheerfully admits to having ADHD. Meanwhile, her dinner is a disaster, and Maggie starts to wonder about her family’s past and several strangers in her diverse town of Humble Hollow, NJ. Maggie is a sympathetic protagonist whose quiet disposition and wardrobe are delightful, as are her conversations with Graham and her overly perfect relatives. Leavitt floods readers’ senses with details of the struggling small town and its flora and fauna, as well as its over 50 official town holidays. While the flurry of foods and activities can be overwhelming, readers will be focused on Maggie’s plight right through to the final conflict. However, as everyone comes to terms with the past, the wrap-up doesn’t fully address Maggie’s complex family, and her resolution feels contrived.