Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Mature read with twisty plotting and a fearless female hero.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In GARDEN OF THE CURSED, 17-year-old Marlow goes to a criminal gang's bar to break a curse for her client, Caraza's prima ballerina. Then, a harder task: returning to Evergarden, a place she hasn't been in the year since her mother disappeared, to let the prima ballerina know that the show can go on. Evergarden is beautiful, but it's run by the Five Families: the wealthy and most powerful gatekeepers of magical knowledge in Caraza. After delivering the message, she runs into Adrius, an old classmate and crush and the son of one of the Five Families, who's out with his friends. Condescension is thick in the air, so Marlow is surprised when Adrius tracks her down the next day. He tells her that he's been cursed to do whatever anyone demands of him and asks for her help. At first Marlow doesn't want the job. But when he asks her to gather intel with him on the very boat her mother visited the night she disappeared, she can't resist the offer. After some dangerous sleuthing, Marlow realizes that Adrius' curse and her mother's disappearance are all a part of the same complex mystery.
Is It Any Good?
This well-plotted, twisty fantasy-mystery introduces Marlow, a fearless female curse breaker whose quest for truth leads to danger and a bit of romance. In Garden of the Cursed, Marlow's job helping Adrius break his dangerous curse means that she has to stay close to him, so they pretend to date. She's pulled into a glamorous life that would easily tempt most teens to get lost in the spectacle, but steady Marlow stays focused. She eliminates suspects one by one and nears the truth about who cursed Adrius and how it's connected to her mother's disappearance. Pages fly by, and readers won't be sure of anything until the very end.
The downside of this wonderfully concise focus on plot is a lack of growth in the main character. Marlow's friend Swift admonishes her for never changing, and readers may feel the same way. Marlow barely acknowledges a devastating loss, leaves Adrius alone with his curse too often, and, though she pines for him a little, she doesn't worry about him as much as you'd expect. Still, when the final twists happen in the last few pages, there's no need for a compulsion curse to force anyone to pick up the finale. The spell is already cast.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Marlow's dangerous decisions in Garden of the Cursed. How does Swift talk to her about it? Do you ever call out your friends on their bad decisions? Are you as loyal as Swift regardless of what your friends do? Why?
The book's world is split into the "haves" (the powerful Five Families and their friends) and the "have-nots" (the inhabitants of the Marshes). How do some seek power in the Marshes? In a less divided society, do you think those gangs would exist? Why, or why not?
What do you think is next for Marlow now that you know two big secrets revealed in the last few pages? What about Adrius?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship
- Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Henry Holt & Company, Inc.
- Publication date : June 20, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 18
- Number of pages : 352
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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