Summary
What’s outside Pleasant Grove?
Welcome to Pleasant Grove, a quiet small town where neighbor helps neighbor and doors are left unlocked at night ‒ an unspoiled paradise with one peculiar feature: It’s enclosed by a glass dome.
No one can leave. No one can enter. No one can survive beyond the dome.
But then, a visitor arrives from the outside. When 12-year-old Agnes Goodwin discovers a strange boy with no memory, she teams up with her best friends to unravel the mystery. Their extraordinary adventure will uncover a long-buried secret so monstrous it will threaten everything they know…and everyone they love.
Title: Pleasant Grove
Author: Jason Price
Publication Date: June 28, 2020
Genre: Middle Grade, Sci-Fi
Review
I really enjoyed this book! It was strange reading about a town that was in a bit of a lockdown when we’re in such similar circumstances now, but very fitting.
This book kept me guessing from page one. The characters reveal small things throughout the book, in the present time, or in flashbacks. Some things don’t seem to be significant until the end of the book when everything is brought together. The whole book I was trying to figure out what was going on and how these kids were going to fix things. I kind of got Stranger Things vibes in the sense of kids vs. the world.
Everyone seemed to be hiding something in this book, whether knowingly or unknowingly. That was part of the intrigue for me. The adults were hiding things, the boy outside of the dome had a mind that was hiding memories from him, etc.
It takes a few chapters to get to the “main storyline” of the book, but I didn’t mind. I could feel things building and could feel the plethora of secrets teasing me each chapter so I didn’t feel like things were dragging.
Overall, this was one of best MG sci-fi books I’ve read in a long time. This also feels like the perfect book to help get kids interested in reading sci-fi. I’d definitely recommend it!
Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Rating
To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Jason Price, go to his GoodReads profile. Buy this book on Amazon!
I really like the premise of this book. I’ll have to add it to my must-read list for sure.
If you love MG and mysteries, you’re sure to love this one!
This reminds me of the Blackbirch series with its characters that grow and reveal new things as the book goes on, and its inclusion of stranger things. The title says one thing, the writing another. 🙂
I’ve never heard of the Blackbirch series so I’ll have to look it up!
It is by K.M Allan. I just read the first book and loved it. 🙂
Good to know. Thanks!
That sounds like a really interesting idea and a good read all round. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for checking out my review!