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The Groves

A Novel

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The Groves

Written by: J.V. Lyon
Narrated by: Shannon Purser, Jerrie Johnson, Chelsea Rendon, Renee Rapp, Tanis Parenteau, Molly Quinn, Aisha Dee
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About this listen

For fans of campus novels from Tartt and McCarthy to Real Life comes this captivating debut novel following a diverse cohort of socially influential queer women students as they investigate the darker side of their picturesque New England college.

Returning to rural Vermont for her senior year after time abroad, New Yorker Daphne Howard just wants to make it to graduation. She’s still processing the sting of her social circle moving off-campus under the thrall of Serena Vigil, a talented poet from Texas who happens to be Daphne’s nemesis. But when a gruesome story overheard at a local bar leads Daphne to consider an unusual artifact discovered on campus in a new light, friends, lovers, and others unite to confront the collision of present and past, political, and personal.

The Groves introduces listeners to an unforgettable ensemble of characters: a college-hopping drifter whose journalistic instincts drive the group’s investigation, a Virginia equestrienne turned intersectional feminist, the only Black lesbian majoring in art history...and more make up this eclectic, sharp-witted cast.

Through the shocks and revelations of one momentous year, these bright 20-somethings on the cusp of independence fall in and out of love, make plans and change course, and learn from each other what it means to be yourself.

Please note: This production contains strong language and mature themes. Discretion is advised.

©2022 J.V. Lyon (P)2022 Audible Originals, LLC.
Literature & Fiction
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So Very Wordy

Needed an editor to prevent author from trying to be clever. The readers are well cast and easy to follow.

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Story and characters lacked depth

This book seems like it would have been right up my alley, and it’s clear that it was written by a smart person who put effort into it, but neither the story nor the characters managed to feel engaging to me as a reader. It’s hard to put my finger on why, exactly, but I think partly it’s because the author tells us a lot of things about the characters explicitly rather than letting their thoughts/actions show us who they are more subtly. It’s almost like the characters were designed as a bingo card of two-dimensional identity representations, but not given any real humanity.

Sex and relationship drama alone does not make a work of fiction engaging, and it feels like the author threw in huge dollops of this in the hopes of balancing out the political themes. Instead, it’s like the characters are all just shuttled rapidly back and forth between two very coldly, technically presented facets of their lives: their identity and sex life.

Similarly, the story seems to fall flat - I got the impression that it too only served as a backdrop/conduit for identity and justice issues to be mentioned, but that the characters were moved though the mystery technically rather than emotionally.

As I said, the author is clearly intelligent, and I might be interested for her to have another go at writing fiction with these themes if she could get a better handle on the art and subtleties of fiction writing.

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Skip it

This story went in circles. Character development wasn’t great. So much just seemed irrelevant and some unfinished. I rarely give a negative review, but this was a painful listen.

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A beautiful & real story of university culture

This book is masterfully written, both in its artful and poetic prose and in it's authentic undertaking of liberal university culture and white feminism. The striking but genuine tale is one known to many QT/BIPOC students today, and the author does not fail us in their retelling. My only criticism is of the performance (and really, of casting) - the actors were good, but save for two speakers (who happened to be featured the least) they all sounded fairly similar, which was surprising and confusing given their diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. Even the woman with a southern accent was bard to tell apart.

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