Far From The Tree Joaquin Quotes

As he trespasses the stairs and the kitchen, the smell of victory is patiently waiting on the other side, unraveling what was truly waiting for him all this time. “Far from the Tree”, written by Robin Benway, brings focus to a boy named Joaquin, a foster child growing up in countless foster homes his whole life. He comes to a realization that he has 2 biological siblings named
Grace and Maya, and begins to talk to them as well. His life has always been bordered with foster care, and this makes Joaquin extremely detached from his sisters, since they were white and had already been adopted with loving families. Joaquin has amazing foster parents, but he is not prepared to be adopted like his sisters. Throughout the book, Joaquin goes through

Joaquin's character in the beginning of the book expresses his isolation and his lack of confidence. The story begins with Joaquin’s initial character being reserved and unenthusiastic when he interacts with his foster parents. Page 32: “They weren’t just words though. Joaquin knew, in a way that he knew every true thing, that if he spoke those two words, they would reshape him. ”This passage emphasizes the thoughts that flow in Joaquin’s head relating to his foster parents and whether or not he should refer to them as “Mom” and “Dad”. His lack of self-esteem is proven in this passage because he does not possess the courage to call his foster parents Mom or Dad, no matter how much he loves them, and even if he desperately wants to. This is because of a past trauma that left him doubting his own character, as well as feeling hurt and abandoned. While he may find it difficult to find trust in others, the greater challenge lies in Joaquin trusting himself. He broke up with Birdie to distance himself from her because he felt that he wasn’t good enough for her. “And Joaquin had the horrible, terrible feeling that he would never be able to give this kind of life to her. There was no one to tell

Joaquin had a foster home with alcoholics as well and he’s had a sister part of the LGBTQ community like Maya. This proves that Joaquin empathizes with Maya and is starting to open up more towards both of them.
However, due to his overthinking and doubt, he still isn’t prepared to tell Grace and Maya about his experiences. As Joaquin moves down his new road, open-handed and uncertain, he comes across an unexpected opportunity, one in which he must acknowledge his weaknesses and reveal the past he has kept concealed all this time.
Joaquin undergoes a lot of emotions and grief, as well as outbursts of rage and fear. He discovers that it is alright to rely on people at the end of the book, and he feels less isolated in the company of others. Joaquin defended Grace by pinning Adam to a wall. This unleashed unexpected anger and fear in Joaquin that he could not control on his own. He ran in the hopes of forgetting what had happened. Page 250: “That’s my sister, okay! You think it’s cool to talk to my sister like that? Do you?!” This passage expresses his sudden burst of anger and protection towards Grace which really helped him let out his true emotions. It was also as if it was