Starred review from August 7, 2017
In an equally heartwarming and heart-wrenching story, three siblings separated in infancy find each other as teens. Grace, who has always known she was adopted, first learns of her brother, Joaquin, and sister, Maya, while unsuccessfully searching for her birth mother during a tumultuous junior year. Her open-minded adoptive parents support a reunion, and the siblings’ initial meeting is a success. During subsequent visits, they discover the things they have in common, as well as some painful secrets. Joaquin’s childhood has not been as happy as Grace’s has been, and his deep-rooted fears are affecting his current relationships. Maya’s home life has become chaotic due to fights and alcohol abuse, and Grace knows firsthand how difficult it is to put a baby up for adoption. Writing in a shifting third-person narrative that is both nonjudgmental and deeply empathetic, Benway (Emmy & Oliver) delves into the souls of these characters as they wrestle to overcome feelings of inadequacy, abandonment, and betrayal, gradually coming to understand themselves and each other. Ages 13–up. Agent: Lisa Grubka, Fletcher & Company.

September 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-Only child Grace was adopted at birth; when she finds herself placing her own daughter up for adoption, she begins searching for the bio family she's never known. She quickly discovers that she is a middle child, sandwiched between loudmouth younger sister Maya and older brother Joaquin, who has spent nearly his entire life in the foster care system. As Grace struggles to move forward from the loss of her daughter, she begins to bond with her siblings who have hardships of their own. Maya's adoptive family is not as picture-perfect as they seem, and Joaquin is on the cusp of something wonderful but is afraid it could all end in disaster. The siblings find themselves turning to one another and learning that family comes in many forms. Benway has created three unique and endearing characters who have experienced adoption in very different ways. Grace's story will pull at heartstrings, while Maya is relatable as a teen struggling with her relationships with her family and girlfriend Claire. Joaquin is scared and rough around the edges. With a well-imagined cast of secondary characters who add angst, humor, and depth, Benway adeptly leads readers through a tale of love, loss, and self-discovery. Expect to cry real tears at this one. VERDICT Well-written and accessible, this is a must-purchase for all YA collections.-Erica Deb, Matawan Aberdeen Public Library, NJ

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 15, 2017
Placing her daughter for adoption left a hole in Grace's heart; her adoptive parents can't fill it, and her birth mother's unreachable--then Grace learns she has siblings. Maya, 15, a year younger than Grace, was adopted by wealthy parents 13 months before their biological daughter, Lauren, arrived. Joaquin, nearly 18, a survivor of 17 failed foster-care placements and one failed adoption, is troubled when his current foster parents express a wish to adopt him. Grace reaches out, and the siblings soon bond. All--Maya especially, standing out in a family of redheads--are grateful to meet others with dark hair (only Joaquin identifies not as white but Latino) and weird food preferences (French fries with mayo). Still, each keeps secrets. Maya discusses her girlfriend but not her mother's secret drinking; Joaquin edits out his failed adoption; Grace, her pregnancy and daughter's birth. It hurts that her siblings have zero interest in tracking down the mom who gave them away, yet Grace persists. Chapters alternate through their third-person perspectives, straightforward structure and syntax delivering accessibility without sacrificing nuance or complexity. Family issues are neither airbrushed nor oversimplified (as the ambiguous title suggests). These are multifaceted characters, shaped by upbringing as well as their genes, in complicated families. Absent birthparents matter, as do bio siblings: when their parents separate, Lauren fears Maya will abandon her for her "real" siblings. From the first page to the last, this compassionate, funny, moving, compulsively readable novel about what makes a family gets it right. (Fiction. 13-18)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 15, 2017
Grades 8-11 Benway's latest is the engrossing multi-POV story of Grace, Maya, and Joaquin. Instead of dancing the night away at Homecoming, Grace is instead in the hospital, in labor with the daughter she's giving up for adoption. This life-changing moment leads her to find her biological siblings, Maya and Joaquin, and discover what contributed to their mother's decision to give them up for adoption. Maya, the youngest, was adopted into a wealthy family, but her mother's alcoholism creates tension. The eldest, Joaquin, has been in one foster home after another. At 18, he's finally found a family, but his misapprehensions about relationships jeopardize his acceptance of their love and desire to finalize an adoption. Benway plumbs emotionally weighty material with grace and some beautiful moments of self-realization, particularly when it comes to Joaquin. While some readers might wish for a deeper exploration of the three siblings' Mexican heritage and its disconnect from their adoptive families, the accessible writing and otherwise strong characterizations add to the story's appeal. Hand to fans of Sarah Dessen and Morgan Matson.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
Teenagers Joaquin, Grace, and Maya are half-siblings with the same biological mother. But they don't actually meet until Grace goes looking for them (and their birth mother) after she gives up her own baby for adoption. Benway's affecting multidimensional family story unfolds via the teens' alternating third-person narrations as they learn to trust one another with the secrets of their own complicated situations.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

★ "Family issues are neither airbrushed nor oversimplified. From the first page to the last, this compassionate, funny, moving, compulsively readable novel about what makes a family gets it right." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

★ "Equally heartwarming and heart-wrenching... Benway (Emmy & Oliver) delves into the souls of these characters as they wrestle to overcome feelings of inadequacy, abandonment, and betrayal, gradually coming to understand themselves and each other." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A sensitive exploration of what it means to be a family...With an abundance of warmth and humor, the novel continues to circle back to the message that love doesn't require perfection — that perhaps it reveals itself most fully when we don't quite get it right, but keep trying." — Chicago Tribune

"A brilliant exercise in empathy." — New York Times Book Review

"Benway adeptly leads readers through a tale of love, loss, and self-discovery. Expect to cry real tears at this one." — School Library Journal

"Far from the Tree is the kind of book that strikes close to a reader's heart. I had to know what happened to Grace, Maya, and Joaquin, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Beautiful." — Ally Condie, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of the Matched trilogy

"Far from the Tree is a touching story about the strength and love of unconventional families, and the unbreakable bond of siblings near and far. Robin Benway's characters are authentically crafted, full of heart, hurt, and hope." — Brandy Colbert, author of Pointe and Little & Lion

"A beautifully written story about the families we're born with and the families we choose, as well as the power — and potential pain — of that choice." — Bustle

"A deeply moving novel...The trials the three teens face are always confronted directly and never diminished; their relationships, both new and old, are complicated and beautiful." — Shelf Awareness

"Far from the Tree dives deep into themes of heartbreak and love, and presents a profound, emotional meditation on what it means to be family." — Brightly

"If you've even once wept at NBC's This Is Us, you particularly owe it to yourself to pick this one up." — NPR.org

"The book really is something special." — Wall Street Journal

"Readers will appreciate the explorations of family, stigma, and vulnerability. Benway is looking to follow in the Caroline Cooney footsteps of smart, realism-grounded stories." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books