Synopsis

George, a fern, doesn’t appreciate being bought by Brenda at Home Depot. And he certainly doesn’t appreciate being trapped in her house of humans. He yearns to be with the plants outside in the garden.

With time, George learns to trust Brenda and think of her as his human. Then one day, tragedy strikes and George’s life will never be the same. What happens when a houseplant loses the thing he never knew he wanted? You’ll never look at houseplants the same way again.

Review

It’s not often that a story surprises me. But this one really did.

When I started reading The House Plant, I found it mildly interesting, but a bit slow. And then suddenly it sucker punched me right in the gut; I’m not a particularly emotional person, but I welled up and was genuinely moved by the story.

Ray does a fantastic job of reeling in readers and playing with their emotions. Yet this story is much deeper than one might imagine: it deals with loss, grief and resilience.

While some people have looked at George and Brenda’s relationship as Stockholm Syndrome (a fair comment), I would argue that it is actually something more pure, showing us that actually our first impressions may not always be correct and to give people a chance.

A short, bittersweet read that will touch your heart.

I was provided with a copy of the book by the author. All opinions my own.

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