{"id":3123,"date":"2025-06-02T13:44:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T13:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3123"},"modified":"2025-06-02T13:44:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T13:44:57","slug":"book-review-the-glass-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3123","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The Glass Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The Glass Garden: A Novella<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Jessica L\u00e9vai<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Science Fiction \/ Horror<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9781941360873<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 132 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/strong> Lanternfish Press<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tAmazon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tBookshop<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Reviewed by Gabriella Harrison<\/em><\/p>\n

In which <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>an irresistible adventure to an exoplanet transforms into a moving story about the complexity of sisterhood<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lissy and her crew just finished a horrendous mission. Their reputation within the space-salvaging industry is wrecked. So when she and her boyfriend find something with the potential to cleanse their reputation and wipe all their financial woes away, they\u2019re quick to take it. But it\u2019s going to take her sister, an anthropology professor at a prestigious university, to make it happen. <\/p>\n

Despite the disaster of their last mission, the crew is eager to get started. Lissy\u2019s sister, Therese, is insistent on following due process. That would help them all in the end since she needs to publish about the discovery, but it doesn\u2019t win her any friends within the crew, especially since she is new and an introvert perceived as a snob due. <\/p>\n

Once they finally begin, it is immediately obvious that something is very wrong. The religious colony that inhabited the exoplanet before their arrival believed to have left fifty years ago for unknown reasons. The strange thing is that they left all their personal possessions behind. There is no evidence of a massacre. They\u2019re just gone.<\/p>\n

Things become even stranger when the rest of the crew finally see what they dub \u201cThe Anomaly.\u201d A glowing artifact with an indecipherable origin that captivates everyone who looks at it. While everyone is still figuring out what to do, one of the crew members becomes sick, and things really start to go downhill from there.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The Glass Garden<\/em> is a mystery-driven science fiction that unfolds over three days. On the first day, the crew arrives on the exoplanet, and The Anomaly is studied. The rest of the crew is introduced through Therese\u2019s keen eyes: handsome Carver, whose main purpose in the crew seems to be to sweet-talk people and maintain peace; Tsieh, a sharp-eyed skeptic and brainiac; and McArdle, the hard-to-please pilot and mechanical whiz of the crew. <\/p>\n

On the second day, they split into two teams; one conducting a proper in-depth study of The Anomaly and the other exploring the site where the previous colony stayed and trying to salvage anything of value. By the third day, they\u2019re barely hanging on.<\/p>\n

From the beginning, Therese is withdrawn, sitting at a corner of the ship\u2019s galley, sipping coffee and observing her new crew members while remembering times when she has felt left out: \u201c\u2026she had flashes of the first day of sophomore year, sitting in the cafeteria of a new high school knowing absolutely nobody, hoping someone would sit with her, terrified that they would.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n

With Therese, author Jessica L\u00e9vai aptly captures how easy it is to misunderstand an introvert who doesn\u2019t know how to join a conversation with strangers. Balancing out Therese\u2019s perspective is the equally nerdy Tsieh, who observes her reclusiveness as creepy: \u201cShe was probably listening, but not contributing, which was spooky as hell.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Then Lissy enters, \u201csplashing into the pond with all the subtlety of a rock thrown by a kindergartner.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> Lissy is her younger, more vibrant, and daring sister. As the story progresses, the sibling rivalry and her resentment toward Therese for their mom\u2019s preferential treatment toward her and repeated disregard of the career of a space salvager are evident. During one of their arguments, she remarks, \u201cYou never stand up for me when Mom tells me to get a real job or go back to school. It\u2019s obvious you think I\u2019m beneath you.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> Amid the chaos of their mission, interactions such as this ground them in their humanity\u2014a quiet reminder that beneath all the tension, they\u2019re still just people. Unfortunately, Lissy\u2019s sentiments rub off on the rest of the crew, and Therese must prove herself to belong.<\/p>\n

The alien cave system of the exoplanet is brought to life through tactile, sensory detail, especially when the characters peel off their masks and interact physically with The Anomaly. These artistic details create an immersive and emotionally evocative atmosphere that is both magical and menacing, evoking awe and dread in equal measure. For instance:<\/p>\n

\u201cOne wall of the cavern was lit as if from behind, and upon it were\u2026images. Like a stained glass window in an abandoned cathedral\u2026the images impressed on it reminded her of Tiffany lamps at the art museum, but more free, more alive. These were the flowers that watched martyrs put to death and grew exuberantly, mockingly, from their remains.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Despite its emotional resonance, The Glass Garden<\/em> leaves a few questions unresolved. While the ambiguity surrounding the sick crewmate is intentional, it doesn\u2019t exactly provide closure, and readers may find this frustrating. The lack of psychological buildup, such as Therese and Lissy\u2019s final decision concerning The Anomaly, can make some character decisions feel sudden, but in the novella form, these are likely to save space and allow for the reader to ponder the truth in the silence.<\/p>\n

Jessica L\u00e9vai\u2019s The Glass Garden<\/em> is a surreal and thrilling science fiction novella that prompts you to wonder what truly exists beyond Earth, and it succeeds greatly in balancing introspection and action. Therese\u2019s archaeological mindset provides a steady rhythm of analysis and reflection, while the unfolding mystery of The Anomaly keeps the tension alive.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tAmazon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tBookshop<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Thank you for reading Gabriella Harrison\u2019s book review of The Glass Garden: A Novella <\/em>by Jessica L\u00e9vai! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tBook Reviews<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tIBR Blog<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tResources for Writers<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The post Book Review: The Glass Garden<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Glass Garden: A Novella by Jessica L\u00e9vai Genre: Science Fiction \/ Horror ISBN: 9781941360873 Print Length: 132 pages Publisher: Lanternfish Press Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Gabriella Harrison In which an irresistible adventure to an exoplanet transforms into a moving story about the complexity of sisterhood Lissy and her crew just finished a horrendous mission. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}