The Last Garden is an incredibly moving story. Such a fantastic debut from author Rachel Ip, exploring themes of war, recovery and the way nature can bring us rays of hope in the darkest of times.
Zara has a beautiful garden which she tends to brilliantly. She shares her space with many, allowing children to play, donates what she has grown to people in need and all while a war is happening in her city.
The garden is a place of joy and one of distraction too from everything going on around her and others too. But the situation gets worse and the garden needs to be locked up.
Amongst the wonderful artwork by Anneli Bray we see stark differences between the cities darkness and the pockets of colour in the garden. For months the garden remains untouched and readers are shown how the war impacts on the young children’s lives, including having to leave their beloved homes. But a day does come when they are all able to return. What will be left of Zara’s garden?
Together Rachel Ip and Anneli Bray have created an outstanding read. The book is available now in hardback and come April 15th will be publishing in paperback also.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. All words and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.