Mixed-race Leila has lived in and around Philadelphia all her life, in different foster homes. There have been two constants in her life: her best friend, Sarika, and the voices that only Leila hears. But now things are changing: at 16, she's been adopted by a loving, caring biracial family, and her world of friends is expanding, thanks to her involvement in environmental clubs. Smith's novel is an odd jumble of genres: conventional romance, fantasy (dryads figure prominently), and mystery. While not wholly successful at uniting these elements, Smith's empathetic portrayal of an outside-the-box teen's search for her real identity will hold readers. Philadelphians will likewise enjoy the informed and loving portrait of their city. Contemporary cultural references, texts, and message boards firmly establish the setting, and the powerful environmental message will speak to those teens working to preserve our planet.

An adopted teen hears voices on the wind that beckon her to an abandoned grove in a nearby park where she learns unimaginable secrets about her origins.Leila, a brown-skinned high schooler with thick, curly hair and seasonal affective disorder, has an unusual connection to nature. She doesn't know who her birth parents are or where they were from, but after years in a group home and foster homes around Philadelphia, she has found a permanent family with Jon, whose race is not mentioned, and Lisabeth, who is cued as black. Leila struggles to open herself up to her new parents. Sarika, a South Asian-American girl she befriended in the group home, is the only one who knows that Leila hears voices, which she fights to suppress. Through her passion for the environment, Leila meets a cute park ranger who helps her find the grove of trees that becomes the most important environmental cause she's ever had to fight for. Readers will feel for Leila; her emotions around her family history are raw and real. The secondary characters are less convincing, and the fantastical aspect of Leila's connection to nature may leave some readers confused about seasonal affective disorder. An unusual work of magical realism. (Fiction. 12-16)