Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Sometimes, not having a fence is what can make good neighbors. The London house Winston rents shares a dilapidated back garden with the house next door, recently bought by Bernice. Their feud starts even before she moves in, mostly fueled by Winston’s grief as he watches his workaholic boyfriend drift away and newly divorced Bernice’s desperate attempt to provide a stable home for her son. Winston starts receiving envelopes with images from the garden’s heyday, inspiring him to start cleaning it up, for himself but also to bother Bernice. Interspersed throughout are flashbacks about Alma, the previous owner of Bernice’s house, and Maya, an immigrant who rents the house next door with her husband. As Alma begrudgingly lets them help in the garden, they grow to become like family, and they proudly open their garden to the whole neighborhood. In both time lines, caring for the garden helps the characters recognize that they also need to care for one another and themselves. With a strong sense of place and diverse, well-developed characters, this endearing story celebrates the power of community to help navigate the joys and disappointments of life.

Publishers Weekly
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Adams’s delightful sophomore novel (after The Reading List) revolves around a garden shared by two London houses and the relationships formed by the tenants who tend to it over several decades. In 2018, 30-something Winston lives alone at No. 79 Eastbourne Road, heartbroken after his lover and roommate, Lewis, moved out. Winston is also troubled by the steady noise of renovation projects next door at No. 77, and develops a grudge against his haughty neighbor Bernice, whom he dubs “The Queen of Sheba.” The garden long ago went to seed, but over the course of their yearlong feud, they begin receiving mysterious letters and photos of previous residents posing in the plot during its prime. Eventually, they forge a plan to resurrect the garden together. A parallel narrative beginning in 1972 follows No. 79 tenants Maya and Prem, who move in as newlyweds, and their brusque neighbor, Alma, who softens after Maya gives birth to her daughter, Hiral, and the women bond over keeping up the garden. (Maya and Alma are pictured together in the photos received by Winston and Bernice.) The simple story is carried along by seamless time shifts and insights into the rewards of unexpected friendship. Gardeners will be especially pleased. Agent: Hayley Steed, Madeleine Milburn Literary. (Apr.)