Bloom: A Thrilling Start to this Speculative Fiction Trilogy [MG Review]

Summary 💬

The invasion begins–but not as you’d expect. It begins with rain. Rain that carries seeds. Seeds that sprout–overnight, everywhere. These new plants take over crop fields, twine up houses, and burrow below streets. They bloom–and release toxic pollens. They bloom–and form Venus flytrap-like pods that swallow animals and people. They bloom–everywhere, unstoppable. Or are they? Three kids on a remote island seem immune to the toxic plants. Anaya, Petra, Seth. They each have strange allergies–and yet not to these plants. What’s their secret? Can they somehow be the key to beating back this invasion? They’d better figure it out fast, because it’s starting to rain again….

Goodreads

Review ✍🏻

This post primarily reviews Bloom. As I have since read Hatch, I’ve included some notes on that at the end.

Upper Middle Grade

Prolific Canadian author Kenneth Oppel’s new trilogy, The Overthrow, is a great example of middle grade crossover. I’d call it more specifically upper middle grade or lower young adult, referring to the age for which it is most suitable. The darkness and violence in Bloom (including a character hung by a vine on page) stood out to me. But other elements mark it as upper MG. You get acne and marijuana references. You get 15 year old protagonists. One hangs out with a grade 12 and feels inferior. (“And she already felt like a dull little moth around Tereza’s bright butterfly.”) The publisher recommends Bloom for ages 10 to 14.

Contemporary Setting

Bloom explicitly takes place in Canada, with the primary settings being Salt Spring Island and Vancouver. I used to get annoyed at familiar settings as a kid. I wanted to experience far off, distant, unfamiliar places in my fiction. But now I find it kind of fun to read about a location I know. There’s even a Scotiabank reference. 😛

I read this at the end of April. With the pandemic, I found myself recognizing similarities between what was happening around me and what was happening in the book. Those moments where disaster slowly unfolds around the world felt acutely stressful. And it’s in the little things as well – a headline that references the economy shrinking as unnatural allergies hit workers, a character buying extra canned goods just in case…

Characterization and Friendships

I loved the representation of friendship between Anaya and Petra. You see how their rift came from a reasonable misunderstanding. It can be tough to be a girl in middle school, worrying about friendships. Reading about both Anaya and Petra’s perspectives shows how each girl caused damage. I initially thought the book would be predominantly Anaya’s perspective. But Oppel quickly draws a full picture of Petra and her concerns, flaws, and personality – not just from Anaya’s perspective. Petra, a ‘pretty and popular’ type of character, is a rare kind of protagonist in middle grade, let alone speculative middle grade. It’s refreshing to read her POV.

I also found Seth and Anaya’s so wholesome. I will be displeased if it turns into romance. (And if there is a love triangle – lord help me.) I appreciated the portrayal of Seth as a kid living in foster care. It breaks the mold you often see of foster kids in middle grade.

Biracial Protagonist

Some minor signifiers throughout the story indicate Anaya’s mom is of Indian heritage and her dad is white. Anaya’s biracial identity is not a central part of the story. Oppel’s not writing about a particular experience of a youth of colour. I understand there are ongoing discussions about whether or how white writers should include characters of color. I think Oppel is on track in including characters of colour in his scifi thriller but not writing about what it’s like to specifically be a person of colour in that context. However, please remember that I am a white reviewer continually learning about representation, particularly in middle grade, so take my words with a grain of salt.

SciFi Thriller Echoes Vandermeer

Her first thought was that someone had jammed a stake into the dead patch. She went closer. From the muddy earth, a black shoot jutted a full foot high.

It was sturdy, its sheath bristling with a spiral of tiny hairs. The very tip of the plant was pointy.

This thing hadn’t been here this morning. She would’ve noticed it.

Which meant that it had grown a full foot in a matter of hours.

In the dead patch, where nothing grew.

Bloom, 8%

Oppel strikes a perfect pace in Bloom, kicking off with a gradual but quick takeover by terrifying plant life. “Jeff Vandermeer for young uns”, I thought, with the plant (and occasional body) horror. Oppel writes highly effective imagery of how the plants grow and move and threaten and harm. Chapter 8, in which a rescue takes place on a school sportsfield, is particularly intense. Here’s some imagery that Seth sees on TV:

Farmers staring out at blighted fields. Forests of black grass where their crops should have been.

Cows and sheep their faces streaked with blood from trying to graze on the spiky grass.

A huge bonfire, somewhere in the world, somewhere poor, spewing yellowish smoke over a village.

A makeshift tent filled with coughing people on stretchers.

Bloom, 30%

I enjoyed the intriguing little hints and backstory and recurring dreams about Seth, Petra, and Anaya’s differences and abilities. Those hints combined with the upbeat pacing of the story compelled me to finish it in two settings as I pieced together what was going on. And that ending? “WAHHHHH AHHH AHHH AHHHHHHHH” was the note I made.

Hatch

I have a lot less to say about Hatch. Generally interesting if the first book already hooked you, I felt it suffered from second book syndrome. The first half dragged for me. But by the end I was sucked in again and ready to see how it all ends in Thrive.

The Bottom Line 💭

Another hit from Oppel, Bloom is a must read for scifi fans, especially those who enjoy fast paced, danger imminent stories with out-of-this-world elements.

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Read an excerpt
🍂 Author website
🍂 Interview @ MG Book Village
🍂 Reviews: Laurie and Kathie @ Bit About Books, Sierra @ Books. Iced Lattes. Blessed.
🍂 Related: Other middle grade works by Oppel I’ve reviewed include The Nest, Inkblot and The Boundless. My dad and I discussed his YA novel Every Hidden Thing for Family Reads.

Have you read anything by Kenneth Oppel? What are your favourite middle grade stories about alien invasions or dystopic experiences?