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Garden of Angels (Lurlene McDaniel
It is 1974 and the country is still struggling to come to terms with the Vietnam War. In the small town of Conners, Georgia, Darcy has just started high school, her older sister Adel goes to weekend dances at the local Army base, and their mother tends her beautiful garden–the biggest and best in town. But Darcy’s world is soon changed forever when her mother goes to Atlanta for tests. The diagnosis is not good–breast cancer. There is so much Darcy wants to talk to her mother the war and what happened to the soldiers who were there; the feelings she is having for the new (and troubled) boy in school. But she can’t. So she finds solace in her mother’s garden. There she can help the flowers her mother planted bloom.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 13, 2003
35 people are currently reading
800 people want to read
About the author
Lurlene McDaniel
138 books2,730 followersLurlene McDaniel (born c. 1948) is an author who has written over 50 young adult books. She is well known for writing about characters struggling with chronic and terminal illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes, and organ failure.
Other places to find her are...
https://www.facebook.com/lurlenemcdan...
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/aut...
http://www.youtube.com/user/LurleneMc
Other places to find her are...
https://www.facebook.com/lurlenemcdan...
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/aut...
http://www.youtube.com/user/LurleneMc
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
July 22, 2018
This book was honestly like a nice cup of tea one has while sitting down to relax a spell. It was so hard to put it down and lucky, or unlucky depending on how you look at things, I was out pretty much all day yesterday where I had nothing to do but wait around for others. What perfect excuse to read is there?
This is a story based in a years between 1974 and 1975 where in Conners, Georgia there lives a family named Quinlin. The youngest daughter Darcy, aged 14-15 in this book, is our main character whose view we see the world change in. There are many life changing events that happen in this book but one that takes center stage is that the matriarch of the family, Darcy’s mother, is diagnosed with breast cancer. I liked how the descriptions of how the family handles the situation is played out. It’s very true that most times people come together. There were also moments of upset that scared the family members. Some were talked about and others were not, which as a Southerner and someone who knows people from this time period I can say they don’t share their feelings super openly. Overall, I felt the look at the family was nicely done.
Another aspect that plays a big part is the Vietnam War, which was going on and close to ending during this time. We get the civilian perspective from Darcy and the soldier perspective within this book and it works really well. There were mentions of how President Ford had offered pardons to draft dodgers. Like Darcy I remember being taught that this was a big deal since many protesters had rioted and burned American flags. I even saw some of the same clips mentioned in this book in my history class years ago. Many people had different opinions on whether we should be in Vietnam or if we could even make a difference. Others were seeing the effects done to those coming back with what we know as PTSD and physical losses. It was a hard war and I appreciated the look into a war most people tend to forget about. (Now if only we could get more middle grade or YA books written about and during the Korean and Gulf War.)
Another universal aspect was first love. This one seems to be more unrequited love as Darcy meets Jason Polwalski who is a bad boy misfit from Chicago. He happens to be the younger brother of a close family friend to the Quinlin family, so naturally Darcy tries her best to make him not feel like he’s been sent into exile and that he’s not alone in this town. The progression of their relationship is satisfying but also a tad incomplete for some people. McDaniel was trying to go for a realistic look on what happens in life. I was pretty fine with what she chose to happen for Darcy and Jason because they represented two different kinds of people. Some find our calling in life and some don’t, that’s life.
It would have been nice to have heard more on the medical process for treating cancer patients back in the early in 1974-1975. There were descriptions and events that painted a picture, and makes me glad there have been so many improvements in medical research within breast cancer and it's not something to whisper or talk in hushed tones about anymore. I assume Mrs. McDaniel was trying to keep the book realistic from the point of view of a 14 to 15 year old girl by not going into too much detail. There are many references to Darcy being really smart and wanting to help her mother, so it doesn't make sense that she wouldn't at least talk to the family doctor about what he knew about cancer as a form of research.
This was a nicely emotion stirring book that I'm glad to have been gifted by my friend. May her parents, who both died of cancer, rest in peace. My rating of this book is around a 4.25.
This is a story based in a years between 1974 and 1975 where in Conners, Georgia there lives a family named Quinlin. The youngest daughter Darcy, aged 14-15 in this book, is our main character whose view we see the world change in. There are many life changing events that happen in this book but one that takes center stage is that the matriarch of the family, Darcy’s mother, is diagnosed with breast cancer. I liked how the descriptions of how the family handles the situation is played out. It’s very true that most times people come together. There were also moments of upset that scared the family members. Some were talked about and others were not, which as a Southerner and someone who knows people from this time period I can say they don’t share their feelings super openly. Overall, I felt the look at the family was nicely done.
Another aspect that plays a big part is the Vietnam War, which was going on and close to ending during this time. We get the civilian perspective from Darcy and the soldier perspective within this book and it works really well. There were mentions of how President Ford had offered pardons to draft dodgers. Like Darcy I remember being taught that this was a big deal since many protesters had rioted and burned American flags. I even saw some of the same clips mentioned in this book in my history class years ago. Many people had different opinions on whether we should be in Vietnam or if we could even make a difference. Others were seeing the effects done to those coming back with what we know as PTSD and physical losses. It was a hard war and I appreciated the look into a war most people tend to forget about. (Now if only we could get more middle grade or YA books written about and during the Korean and Gulf War.)
Another universal aspect was first love. This one seems to be more unrequited love as Darcy meets Jason Polwalski who is a bad boy misfit from Chicago. He happens to be the younger brother of a close family friend to the Quinlin family, so naturally Darcy tries her best to make him not feel like he’s been sent into exile and that he’s not alone in this town. The progression of their relationship is satisfying but also a tad incomplete for some people. McDaniel was trying to go for a realistic look on what happens in life. I was pretty fine with what she chose to happen for Darcy and Jason because they represented two different kinds of people. Some find our calling in life and some don’t, that’s life.
It would have been nice to have heard more on the medical process for treating cancer patients back in the early in 1974-1975. There were descriptions and events that painted a picture, and makes me glad there have been so many improvements in medical research within breast cancer and it's not something to whisper or talk in hushed tones about anymore. I assume Mrs. McDaniel was trying to keep the book realistic from the point of view of a 14 to 15 year old girl by not going into too much detail. There are many references to Darcy being really smart and wanting to help her mother, so it doesn't make sense that she wouldn't at least talk to the family doctor about what he knew about cancer as a form of research.
This was a nicely emotion stirring book that I'm glad to have been gifted by my friend. May her parents, who both died of cancer, rest in peace. My rating of this book is around a 4.25.
November 11, 2011
I could go on and on about the plot, the characters, the many pages in this book but it would not really matter. What matters is that Lurlene McDaniel wrote an amazingly good book, like she always does.
This book is set in a time that happened before most readers were even born...I should know, I was born in 1989 and the book is set in 1974-1975.
The only thing I can complain about is why couldn't McDaniel pair up Jason with Darcy? I liked how Darcy experienced "first love" and "feeling like a woman" but I really longed to see them actually get together. And it saddened me, to no end, that in the epilogue, Darcy received word that, years after the story took place, Jason was killed in a motorcycle accident. I had hoped that Jason and Darcy would have found each other again, but I supposed that was not meant to be.
I'm the type of person that cries and gets sad when characters die in a book...well, characters I like, that is. This book is very good, but also sad.
This book is set in a time that happened before most readers were even born...I should know, I was born in 1989 and the book is set in 1974-1975.
The only thing I can complain about is why couldn't McDaniel pair up Jason with Darcy? I liked how Darcy experienced "first love" and "feeling like a woman" but I really longed to see them actually get together. And it saddened me, to no end, that in the epilogue, Darcy received word that, years after the story took place, Jason was killed in a motorcycle accident. I had hoped that Jason and Darcy would have found each other again, but I supposed that was not meant to be.
I'm the type of person that cries and gets sad when characters die in a book...well, characters I like, that is. This book is very good, but also sad.
May 29, 2016
This book was a tearjerker, but it is a good book for anyone to read. I love to work with flowers with my mom, and I have seen what cancer can do, so I could relate with this book. The story was well written and it never had a dull moment. This was the first book by this author that I have ever read, and it was great. The book is a sad, but it was very humbling and I enjoyed it a lot. Wonderful book.
June 26, 2022
I'm back from my book break!! This was cool and I liked the references to Vietnam War
December 13, 2023
I used to read Lurlene McDaniel books religiously. As a teenager, I wanted to make a difference in the lives of those with cancer. Young to old, rich to poor, anyone can be afflicted with this devastating disease. I lost my mother to cancer in 2015. Over 8 years ago.. and I remember parts as if it were yesterday. Grief is different for each of us. Mine is ongoing. I relived some of the emotions reading this book.. wonderfully written, as usual. Thought-provoking books are my favorite.. and this one is not short of provoked thoughts. The author does a very nice job setting the timeframe for the book, explaining the 70s in such a way as to bring back memories for many and yet sending the youngest readers to Google, to look up 8-tracks and cassettes. The emotions, loss, and life experiences in between the prologue and epilogue, however, are timeless.
June 5, 2023
I thought this was such a great book. It was so heartbreaking, but amazing at the same time. I loved the plot and characters of the story. Darcy is such a great main character and what she went through was tough. I liked how Lurlene put an epilogue at the end of the story so we know what happened to Darcy, her family, and friends. I won't say what is in the epilogue but my heart broke a little when I read what happened to one of the characters who I liked.
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September 20, 2008wow this book really touched me and made me want to cry. I felt like i was really there while i read the book, and become so attached to the main character. This book was one of the best books i read and i think every teenager should read this book. the time frame, the actions of everyone person, and the word choice was awesome.
October 11, 2011
This book is about a girl(Darcy) who has dreams of being the first one in her family to go to college. Unfortunately, her mother gets breast cancer. This book tells of how she struggles without her mother and feels lonely without her sister who leaves after marriage. Darcy now spends her time in her mother's garden and calms herself by listening to the angels there.
November 10, 2016
I really enjoyed this book, it really hit close to home because two years ago I had found out my grandmother had breast cancer and luckily she beaded :-). This author writes really great books with all types of medical knowledge I had no idea about.
September 9, 2018
I picked Garden of Angels off the library book sale shelf because it's cute, a smaller hard cover book, and then I noticed the pretty cover, so I had to have it.
My first Lurlene McDaniel book, I enjoyed this story. Good writing, a quick read, but with serious topics, bulling, friendships, boy/girl relationships, heartache, crushes, growing up, cancer, death.... This story takes place in small town USA, a Christian faith town. I'm not religious, so I'm usually not a fan of religious books because I feel most of them, at least the ones I've read, don't ring true to me, or it seems fake to me, and it doesn't go with the rest of the story. So I was glad that it wasn't over done, over played in this story, and it didn't seem fake.
Darcy is 14, her mother ends up having breast cancer. I had no idea what this story was about. I picked it up because I needed a short book to read before my library book came in, that I need to read for book club. This one was a hard one to read for me because presently my 49 year old younger sister is going through breast cancer. This story takes place in 1974, so basically if a woman got breast cancer back then, it was a ticking bomb, not so much today (2018), thank God! And thank God for advancement in science and technology! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
I was a teenager in the 80's, so I couldn't believe that a decade before, when the girls were on their monthly periods, they mandatory had to sit out for gym. That's ridiculous!
Another thing I noticed that has changed over the years. When a certain incident took place between the school bully, Darcy and Jason, it was off school grounds. The school bully bought it to the principal. But today that wouldn't fly, because today the school wouldn't get involved, as rightly so. It would be taken up with the parents and the police since it was off school grounds.
Kinda not sure how a syringe in a plastic container does not get noticed in the refrigerator for weeks without anyone questioning it, especially when Darcy's sister, Adel is cooking the meals.
I think I'd sooner not have had the Epilogue added to the end; it seems so rushed and didn't flow with the rest of the story.
It's not often I cry over books, but I found myself having water in my eyes in this one. More like a 3-1/2 stars than the 4 I gave up above.
My first Lurlene McDaniel book, I enjoyed this story. Good writing, a quick read, but with serious topics, bulling, friendships, boy/girl relationships, heartache, crushes, growing up, cancer, death.... This story takes place in small town USA, a Christian faith town. I'm not religious, so I'm usually not a fan of religious books because I feel most of them, at least the ones I've read, don't ring true to me, or it seems fake to me, and it doesn't go with the rest of the story. So I was glad that it wasn't over done, over played in this story, and it didn't seem fake.
Darcy is 14, her mother ends up having breast cancer. I had no idea what this story was about. I picked it up because I needed a short book to read before my library book came in, that I need to read for book club. This one was a hard one to read for me because presently my 49 year old younger sister is going through breast cancer. This story takes place in 1974, so basically if a woman got breast cancer back then, it was a ticking bomb, not so much today (2018), thank God! And thank God for advancement in science and technology! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
I was a teenager in the 80's, so I couldn't believe that a decade before, when the girls were on their monthly periods, they mandatory had to sit out for gym. That's ridiculous!
Another thing I noticed that has changed over the years. When a certain incident took place between the school bully, Darcy and Jason, it was off school grounds. The school bully bought it to the principal. But today that wouldn't fly, because today the school wouldn't get involved, as rightly so. It would be taken up with the parents and the police since it was off school grounds.
Kinda not sure how a syringe in a plastic container does not get noticed in the refrigerator for weeks without anyone questioning it, especially when Darcy's sister, Adel is cooking the meals.
I think I'd sooner not have had the Epilogue added to the end; it seems so rushed and didn't flow with the rest of the story.
It's not often I cry over books, but I found myself having water in my eyes in this one. More like a 3-1/2 stars than the 4 I gave up above.
December 21, 2020
This book was so good. It's not one of my favorites, but it definitely deserves a read. Honestly, the first time I saw this book I though it looked boring and that it would be awful. But I had nothing else to read and my mom insisted that I should give it a try. So, I (angrily) obliged. And...wow. I didn't regret a second! 😆
This book is such a heartwarming read. And it talks about first love, death (as so many, if not all, of the other books written by this author), and family. It will definitely make you cry, so, if you don't like sad endings DON'T READ IT. But, if you don't mind them as well as crying (like me), what are you waiting for?!
This book is such a heartwarming read. And it talks about first love, death (as so many, if not all, of the other books written by this author), and family. It will definitely make you cry, so, if you don't like sad endings DON'T READ IT. But, if you don't mind them as well as crying (like me), what are you waiting for?!
August 29, 2018
Why
This is another great book by Lurlene. About a family who's mom gets Brest cancer. The one daughter maries a guy in the service.I could go on but don't want to spoil things for the readers.
This is another great book by Lurlene. About a family who's mom gets Brest cancer. The one daughter maries a guy in the service.I could go on but don't want to spoil things for the readers.
July 29, 2021
I read this book about 13 years ago, back when I was Darcy’s (the protagonist and narrator) age. I decided to buy a kindle copy on a whim and finished the book in nearly one sitting. I’m happy to say the story holds up for me today; it still makes me swoon and smile and tear up.
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April 28, 2025Pick your Poison-Card suite-Spades: book with 'garden' in the title-1974 and in a small town in Georgia, Darcy and her family stuggle with her mom's diagnosis of breast cancer and the stark reality of the Vietnam War.
good story but sad
good story but sad
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2017
McDaniel sure knows how to tug at those heartstrings.
August 14, 2017
This book was sad and not much else, but it was also good. I read it in a few hours and I cried a bunch. 3.5 stars
July 2, 2018
very good book.
February 8, 2020
Warning! Will cause major tears!
April 13, 2020
One of the most touching books I have ever read. A friend recommended it to me and I'm so glad I read it.
April 9, 2021
The book was really sad but I personally liked it :).
September 19, 2023
loved it.
April 11, 2024
Slow and dreary
November 3, 2025
I read this book in 6th grade for a book report and it genuinely is one of the best books I’ve ever read. One of the first novels that I’ve wanted to pick up and read outside of school.
March 31, 2024
Easy read but be prepared for tears! Do not go into a Lurlene McDaniel book if you are expecting a happy ending. Written in the style of "Dear God, it's me Margaret" where the POV is a young teenager trying to make sense of the world between adulthood and childhood.
It did feel as if there were one too many story lines fitted into the book.
It reminds me of the touching article in the June 18, 95 article written by Jeff Pearlman called "Lynn's Garden" published in The Tennessean.
It did feel as if there were one too many story lines fitted into the book.
It reminds me of the touching article in the June 18, 95 article written by Jeff Pearlman called "Lynn's Garden" published in The Tennessean.
May 11, 2024
Very good, quick read.
January 17, 2017
...This one specifically will bring tears to your eyes...
Read more on blog.
Read more on blog.
February 20, 2019
This book was really good book to read. Towards end of the book the mom ends up dying from breast cancer and few mouths later one of the girls ends up having her baby and naming it after mom and her sister. Then few mouths or few years later the dad dyed with a stroke. And the other girl gets married and her husband Jason end up get really hurt in a accident and ends up dying as well. Berry was in the army for quit some time tell something happened to his leg and couldn't be in the army no more. But few years later he ends up running a successful business of his own. It's such great story. I would reccomend this book to anyone. I love reading book by Lurene McDaniel. Garden of Angels was such a sweet book. This book will make you cry in some parts of the book and some parts you just don't wanna put the book down. Hope you can understand this review of the book I have written.
September 25, 2012
I have this deep (and I’ll admit…morbid) fascination for stories with tragic characters or plots, and I’m not entirely sure why. I never really had to deal with friends dying for any reason during my childhood, so it wasn’t personal experience that intrigued me. Nevertheless, when my fourth grade teacher read us one of McDaniel’s books, I was hooked. There was something deeply captivating for me in the lives of these kids who weren’t sure they would live to see another birthday. This idea of never knowing what tomorrow may bring both terrified and enthralled me. The idea that kids could die struck some cord within me that I’d never really examined before.
For the most part McDaniel’s writing style hasn’t changed in all these years that I’ve been reading her books, but I have to admit that there was something different about Garden of Angels. While all of McDaniel’s books are heartrending and deeply emotional, Garden of Angels took it a step further. Not only was it based in the past, rather than the usual more modern settings, but this was the first book by McDaniel that felt personal. I noticed right from the beginning that this one was going to be different, but it wasn’t until the end of the book, in the author’s note to the reader, that I understood why it seemed so much more private than any of her previous books had been. That being said, it touched me more deeply than her other books have as well.
http://jenireadabook.blogspot.com/201...
For the most part McDaniel’s writing style hasn’t changed in all these years that I’ve been reading her books, but I have to admit that there was something different about Garden of Angels. While all of McDaniel’s books are heartrending and deeply emotional, Garden of Angels took it a step further. Not only was it based in the past, rather than the usual more modern settings, but this was the first book by McDaniel that felt personal. I noticed right from the beginning that this one was going to be different, but it wasn’t until the end of the book, in the author’s note to the reader, that I understood why it seemed so much more private than any of her previous books had been. That being said, it touched me more deeply than her other books have as well.
http://jenireadabook.blogspot.com/201...
April 19, 2016
Garden of Angels was... Well, A Lurlene McDaniel novel... Full of tragedy, the fight, the hope, the recovery, and all the trials along the way. The novel was placed in the midst of the Vietnam war in the southern United States and told of a small charming town and one of their own who faced a new challenge: breast cancer. Breast cancer at this time still had a lot to discover in treatment and McDaniel tells of the Quinlin family's battle with the disease. Through the support of a town, the beauty of gardens, the hope of love, and the possibilities of life, it is a story of learning, growing up, and finally, acceptance.
3/5 stars; Minus 2 stars not because it was a bad story in any sense, but rather because I could not relate as closely to the main character as I like to. Darcy Quinlin is a high school freshman and confused about where to follow life, and though I was in that position just five years ago, it's hard to readjust the mindset. The pain of fighting for a parent is real to me, however, and I always admire an author that can present the heart wrenching ways of the challenges that come with it. So much can change in the blink of the eye and I think McDaniel does a wonderful job at showing this while still showcasing the beauties of life, in the past, present, and future no matter no drastically different these times may be. Finally, a quick, easy read, and for once, I did not cry at one of her novels... Wonder if I've just grown.
3/5 stars; Minus 2 stars not because it was a bad story in any sense, but rather because I could not relate as closely to the main character as I like to. Darcy Quinlin is a high school freshman and confused about where to follow life, and though I was in that position just five years ago, it's hard to readjust the mindset. The pain of fighting for a parent is real to me, however, and I always admire an author that can present the heart wrenching ways of the challenges that come with it. So much can change in the blink of the eye and I think McDaniel does a wonderful job at showing this while still showcasing the beauties of life, in the past, present, and future no matter no drastically different these times may be. Finally, a quick, easy read, and for once, I did not cry at one of her novels... Wonder if I've just grown.
June 9, 2010
Although this book had an overall cute storyline and generally likable characters, I didn't particularly enjoy the book. If it says anything, I enjoyed reading it mostly because it had a fun plastic cover that made noise every time I turned a page--a perk of checking out library books!
Perhaps I am not Lurlene McDaniel's intended audience, because it seems that she has published several books of this very same nature, none of which look like something I would like to read. The plot was rather cliche and trite. It follows the story of young Darcy Qinlen whose mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. Darcy experiences her pain as she watches her mother suffer. This is another coming-of-age novel where Darcy finds solace and hope in caring for her mother's garden. Throughout the book, Darcy experiences despair, heartache, hope, and all the while finds (and loses ironically) her first love.
I didn't particularly like the writing style and I hoped that such an overwhelmingly emotional and sappy book would leave me crying and emotional myself--I didn't even shed a tear, which is not typical of me. If you're looking for a nice, quick read on the beach, then maybe this is the book for you. If not, maybe try something else.
Perhaps I am not Lurlene McDaniel's intended audience, because it seems that she has published several books of this very same nature, none of which look like something I would like to read. The plot was rather cliche and trite. It follows the story of young Darcy Qinlen whose mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. Darcy experiences her pain as she watches her mother suffer. This is another coming-of-age novel where Darcy finds solace and hope in caring for her mother's garden. Throughout the book, Darcy experiences despair, heartache, hope, and all the while finds (and loses ironically) her first love.
I didn't particularly like the writing style and I hoped that such an overwhelmingly emotional and sappy book would leave me crying and emotional myself--I didn't even shed a tear, which is not typical of me. If you're looking for a nice, quick read on the beach, then maybe this is the book for you. If not, maybe try something else.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews