Thank you to MBC Books / St. Martin’s Press , #partner, for an advanced copy of The Forest Becomes Her in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Published: July 14, 2026
Summary:
The perfect choice for your next book club. Julie Carrick Dalton’s The Forest Becomes Her is a gorgeous, hopeful novel about three women from different generations navigating the complexities of family, the impacts of our choices, and our deep connections to the natural world beneath our feet.
In historic, bucolic Concord, Massachusetts, a centuries-old forest has been removed to make way for a new, eco-friendly housing development. The locals are upset by the destruction, but out-of-towners like Hazel Stoddard are flocking to put down roots in their new guilt-free dream homes.
Soon a tragedy leaves Hazel unmoored in her new life, and she begins to feel the pull of the absent forest. Hazel is not alone—her neighbors, real estate agent Stella Flint and teenage environmentalist Polly Bauer, each have their own trauma and relationship to the land. The three women are drawn together to save the last remaining oak tree, or they risk losing themselves to lingering shadows that only they can see.
In The Forest Becomes Her, Julie Carrick Dalton brings hope and reverence to this lush celebration of multigenerational female relationships, the ever-evolving female form, humanity’s connection to our changing world, and the mysteries that still exist in nature.
My thoughts:
I knew going into this book I was going to love it…I just didn’t know how much, nor did I realize how relatable it would be.
A beautiful story about the power of female relationships, history, and nature, this story blends climate fiction, family drama, mystery and a little magic realism into a story that I know I won’t be forgetting any time soon. Touching on grief, loss, memory, the importance of history and the ties to the nature, this is a book that begs to be discussed. I loved the three main characters, the ones we follow as the story progresses. At different stages in their lives, I felt they were all at different cross-roads and there were definitely things I could relate to with each of them.
I loved how they all found a common goal to unite them, and in turn, that ended up helping them more than they realized. I didn’t expect this book to be as heavy as it was, though there are some whimsy parts, too, which I loved. It is atmospheric, all-encompassing and reminds us that our choices, especially when it comes to nature, have consequences.
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