The Society for the Promotion of Gardeners’ Welfare

£8.99

One teenage girl.
One stone.
One faerie king to hit where it hurts.

Those who visit the Garden, choose a stone from the Seelie road and go home to join the Society. That’s how it’s always been, until sixteen-year-old Jackie arrives and starts asking questions.

She’s the top of the stone-carrying elite, and the Society’s awe is embarrassing, but Jackie has bigger worries. Her baby brother is now a sneering blue lizard!

To release William, Jackie must destroy one of the Seelie king’s most ancient pacts. The only problem is that her confidence is flimsy at best, and she knows she’ll mess everything up.

With just one chance to save William, can Jackie fake some bravery or will he stay cursed forever?

If you like terrifying fae, LGBT storylines, and the fun reimagining of legends, then welcome to The Society for the Promotion of Gardeners’ Welfare.

Amazon Reviews

Menacing magic makes its presence felt from the outset. The stakes grow ever higher as teenage Jacq struggles to find her inner “strong and confident woman” whilst juggling fears, panic attacks, and some rather gory nightmares featuring “the ugly-beautiful eagle man” – all whilst stuck in the 1980s when you needed to run to the telephone box with a 5p to call a friend for help! A great page-turner with some unforeseen twists and (despite it being Book One of a series) a satisfying ‘ending’. Having said that, I’d still like to know more about the rather enigmatic Carlin, The Garden and The Seelie, so roll on Book Two…

I’ve never been a reader who gravitates toward the fantasy section (I never really recovered from being forced to read – The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at school). Still, I stumbled into The Society for the Promotion of Gardeners’ Welfare. Page-turning, clever, multi-layered plot quickly burst into an alternative kaleidoscope Universe—brilliant, equally challenging and captivativating storytelling. I was in from the start, rooting for Jackie and her stone-carrying chums as they plotted to discover a solution to release her wee brother William. I’ve already decided in my head that The Society…will make a fabulous animated movie and have fantasised about who will play the voice-over parts.

An excellent book for lovers of myth, magics and folklore – but also for parents of teenagers. The story takes the characters, and the reader, on a thought provoking journey into mystical realms and dark ethereal possibilities. Told from the point of view of a teenage protagonist and set in the mid 80’s, this is a book to make the reader reminisce, reconsider fashion choices and reflect on what might have been – or indeed what might still be – regarding ancient beliefs, archaic faeries and adolescent attitudes.
The garden does play a part in things, but not in the way one might expect … … …