Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Killer plants take over the Earth in gripping series start.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In BLOOM, tall, stubborn black grass begins to pop up all over a small British Columbia town. That's about the time Anaya, an acne sufferer who's always been allergic to just about everything, suddenly feels and looks better. And it's the same time her childhood friend Petra, allergic to water since the age of 11, can stand under a rain shower without breaking out in welts. And when a boy in their class named Seth helps his foster father burn down the black grass, which is suddenly everywhere on their farm, Seth is the only one who can inhale the smoke without getting sick. It's this strange immunity that turns the three teens into heroes when massive pit-like plants try to devour students at their high school. It draws the interest of Dr. Weber, a scientist with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, who would like to run some tests.
Is It Any Good?
This sci-fi-horror novel in which three teens are mysteriously connected to a massive plant takeover of the Earth is both a thrilling page-turner and a little extra frightening in today's times. Readers are given a cliffhanger to start when one of the teens, Anaya, swoops over a remote island on a helicopter to find her dad, a botanist studying strange plants. It's clear the plants have taken over and everyone is in danger before the story pushes back just two weeks. A lot happens in those two weeks. The plants go from a simple nuisance to human-eating/strangling/burning/gassing. And Anaya and two friends, Petra and Seth, go from teens with strange ailments to the only ones strangely immune to the plants.
It's a relief to leave town with the teens for medical testing. Bloom touches on the confusion of the plant takeover, the masks people wear for severe allergies, and the people who are no longer safe in their homes from the plants, but doesn't linger on these aspects. Readers follow the teens through their testing and their shock at what they find out (no spoilers here). It all sets up a nail-biter of a finale back on that helicopter trip and the next exciting chapter of the trilogy.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how you see Bloom after the coronavirus pandemic. Do you think it changes what you pay attention to in the story? Are some parts harder to read than others?
How do the adults in the story manage the crisis? What difference does it make that Petra's mom is the police chief, Anaya's dad is the botanist studying the plants, and Dr. Weber had a son similar to Seth?
Will you read the next two books in the series? What do you think will happen to Anaya, Petra, and Seth?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Topics : Adventures , Friendship , School ( High School ) , STEM
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Knopf Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : March 10, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 18
- Number of pages : 320
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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