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NetGalley Review of Where the Wildflowers Grow

Posted on March 5, 2026February 24, 2026 by caritagardiner
Screenshot 2026-02-20 at 9.20.45 PM

title: Where the Wildflowers Grow

author: Terah Shelton Harris

publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

publication date: February 17, 2026

pages: 496

peppers: 3 (on this scale)

warnings:

  • death (before)
  • violence
  • abuse and neglect (before)
  • rape (before)

summary: When Leandra/Leigh Wildes' transport bus goes off the road, she sees the opportunity to walk away from her incarceration into freedom. Unfortunately, she can't walk away from the bonds of her past. In her journey, she lands at Wildflower Farm, where she meets Jackson, Tibb, and Luke. From them, she learns to love, both them (in very different ways) and herself.

tropes:

  • horrible childhood
  • redemption
  • working the land
  • learning to love herself
  • instand attraction
  • bad past girlfriend

what I liked:

  • Jackson, Tibb, and Luke are all great characters
  • Leigh's journey to self-discovery
  • flower/small-town politics

what I didn’t like:

  • sometimes preachy

overall rating: 4 (of 5 stars)

As always, you can click on the photo above if you want to buy the book.

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WHAT I DO

I serve as a class dean and teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while deaning, teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

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Read my recent “Why” Wednesday Blog Posts

  • NetGalley Review of Villa Coco
  • 388. Why Not “Could Potentially”
  • NetGalley Review of You Won’t Forget Me
  • NetGalley Review of The Valencia Expat Club
  • 387. Why Give Speeches
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