This is a story of teenage love gone awry, and the consequences for all involved.
It revolves around Ella, her boyfriend Jude, and her mother Helen.
Something devastating happens to Ella and Jude involving his brutal father, and Ella ends up in prison as a teenager, pregnant and alone.
Six years later, she is released and tries to rebuild her life without Jude, without the child she gave up at birth, and with a felony conviction.
But there are so many secrets that Ella and her mother must keep and soon it's hard to outrun the past.
There are many compelling characters in this story (especially Ella and her mother), I did find there were a bit too many story lines and coincidences that didn't always seem believable.
But because of the two main characters, the book did hold my interest and I thought the ending was hopeful and realistic.
Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy, this review is my own opinion.

I enjoyed this new offering by Caroline Leavitt. Days of Wonder is a novel about choices, loss, betrayal, and remaking your life.
I've read the author's books in the past, and I like that she is not afraid to step out of the "typical" plot. This book was wonderful, and I'd say perhaps my favorite of hers. So many issues and topics are touched on, and she uses different narratives to give us fully realized characters. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I didn't, but it's that what humans are about?
I highly recommend this book
Thank you to Algonquin Books, NetGalley and the author for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

The novel begins with twenty-two-year-old Ella Fitchburg in 2018 being released after serving six years of a twenty-five-year sentence for the attempted murder of her former boyfriend’s father, a prominent judge. Haunted by her past and the painful memories of Jude with whom she had dreamt of a future but who disappeared from her life after her arrest, Ella is desperate to locate the daughter she gave birth to and was made to give u for adoption while in prison. Complicating matters further is the fact that she does not have a clear memory of the night of the attempted murder and is unable to locate Jude, who might be able to shed light on the events of that night. Her mother, Helen, who works in a dress shop and loves her daughter, wouldn’t hesitate to relocate so that both of them could start afresh. Despite her mother’s protest, Ella secretly embarks on a search for her daughter. Ella, who earned a college degree while incarcerated, finds it difficult to secure employment on account of her criminal background but when she is offered a job in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where her daughter’s adoptive family is located she decides to hide the truth about her past, and accept the offer and moves to Ann Arbor without Helen, who is aware that Ella has found her daughter. Helen’s life hasn’t been easy and she has endured much hardship to raise Ella as a single mother. With Ella trying to move on, Helen, whose life revolved around Ella, is now compelled to take stock of her own life and confront the painful secrets from her own past so that she might be able to move forward and experience everything that life has to offer as well as repair the cracks that have begun to appear in her relationship with her daughter. The narrative follows both Ella and Helen as they embark on their respective journeys of self-discovery, catharsis, healing and hope.

Shared from multiple perspectives across past and present timelines seamlessly woven into a fluid narrative Days of Wonder by Caroline Leavitt is a poignant read. The strength of this novel lies in the character development and the sensitive, realistic and compassionate depiction of complicated family dynamics. I loved the writing, the complex characters and the emotional depth with which the author has tackled several sensitive topics. The characters are flawed yet realistic and though you may question their choices, you can’t help but feel invested in their stories. The revelations pertaining to Ella’s conviction gradually come to light as the narrative progresses. I wasn’t completely satisfied with how this aspect of the story was tied up and felt it could have been explored further. You might have to suspend disbelief at certain junctures in the story and needless to say, you will feel a lot of emotions as the drama unfolds. I thought that the plot point concerning the adoptive family wasn’t quite necessary, but this does not detract from the overall reading experience.

Revolving around themes of family, love, loss, guilt, abuse, healing and forgiveness, this is a compelling read that I would not hesitate to recommend.

This was my first time reading this author and I look forward to exploring more of her work.

Many thanks to Algonquin Books for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I love Caroline Leavitt, but I had a tough time with this book because the characters did not live for me — they did not feel three dimensional and the ending and twist felt very forced to me. The book focused on Ella, a young woman in love with her boyfriend, Jude, who has a father who does not approve of her. She ends up getting convicted of the father’s murder and giving birth to Jude’s baby before she is incarcerated and giving the baby up for adoption. The book follows Ella after she is released from prison and tries to restart her life and find her daughter.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a free advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #AlgonquinBooks (and Caroline Leavitt!) for this deep and captivating novel. This is a story about families and how intimately and inexorably human lives are interconnected, It is a novel about love, secrets, shame, and perseverance. It's also a book about class, wealth, power, and the everlasting consequences of decisions (for better and for worse). Most of all, it's a story that illustrates the beauty and grace that are born from even the toughest and bleakest situations
Helen, Ella, and Ella's first love, Jude, are the primary characters through which the story is told and the plot lines move seamlessly forward and back in time. This allows the reader to travel with these characters to various locations and also to see the "befores and afters" of choices made and secrets withheld. It's a perfect example of life being in the journey, rather than the destination.
As a reader, I had a wonderful time interacting with the author via IG and Twitter. She is (somehow) even kinder and more personable than the characters she's created and her love of writing (and enthusiasm for sharing that love with her readers) has been such a pleasure to experience.
This is an incredibly well-crafted novel and there were some side characters (Mouse and Henry for example) who stole my heart. The ways in which ALL of the characters were portrayed allowed for vivid sensory and emotional connections and the stakes of the story were tangible throughout. You will root for these main characters (and the well-represented supporting cast).
Thanks again to everyone (including the Algonquin rep, Katrina) who got this book into my hands. What an absolute pleasure it's been!!

Book: Days of Wonder
Author: Caroline Leavitt
Rating: 5 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Algonquin Books, for sending me an ARC. This is the second book by this author that I have read. I must say that I am very impressed with this author’s work. Caroline writes these stories about people who find themselves in very difficult situations. Her books are about healing, moving on, real human moments. If you are looking for an author who does all of this so well, I highly encourage you to check out her work.

In this one, we follow Ella, who has just gotten out of prison. When she was fifteen, she was charged with the attempted murder of her then boyfriend’s father. Jude’s father just happened to be an important judge. Ella confessed to the crime and found herself being tied as an adult. While she was in prison, she discovered that she was and knew the baby was Jude’s. She was forced to give the child up for adoption. It has haunted her. She wants to see the child and know what could have been. Life after getting out has not been easy. She is a felon and doesn’t think she will be able to start over. Her mother, Helen, believes that her daughter has been given a second chance and needs to move on from what happened. Ella can’t. The thing is she doesn’t remember what actually happened on that day that forever changed her life.

I love Caroline’s writing. She does such a great job at capturing the human side of her characters. We are given these characters who are very flawed and have a past. Yet, she manages to write them in a way that makes you want to cheer for them. She makes them human. She shows us people at their worst and lowest. She reminds us that what is painted by others is not always true and may be the opposite. She gives us people who have paid the price for the mistakes of others. This is what makes is so hard to eat out of her books. You want to see these characters make it. You want to see those who have wronged them pay for what they have done. It can make it very difficult to get through her books though.

The emotional element of her writing makes it very difficult to put her books down. I like how her books makes me feel. It gives me all of the feelings, both the good and the bad. What I am getting at is that I want to feel something when I am reading. Caroline does this. She pulls me in and leaves me breathless. It’s just so engrossing and engaging that it makes it difficult to put down.

I just got all of the feelings while reading this one is what I am getting at.

This book comes out on April 23, 2024.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/Quc-zTk83Vs

This is not a feel-good story, but really a devastating story about the unique ways family can hurt you and love. Ella spends 6 years in prison for attempted murder, a crime she can't remember committing. When she's released, her mother, Helen, just wants her daughter back. Ella just wants to find the daughter she had to give up while imprisoned. What follows is a heartbreaking story of love and loss told between multiple points of view and timelines.

We jump between Ella, Helen, and sometimes Jude, as well as the past and present. Ella is still a felon, but she is free with no probation or parole since her conviction was overturned. She tries to find her daughter, but the adoption lawyer is no help, so she sneaks a peek at the lawyer's computer and discovers her daughter is in Ann Arbor, MI. Once she finds a job and moves there, she stalks the family that adopted her daughter and eventually befriends the mom, Marianne. Meanwhile, Ella's mom Helen is carving a life for herself in New York City and coping with the loss of the community she grew up in.

My favorite part of this book was that much of what Ella goes through is what a lot of incarcerated people go through. She is railroaded into a confession without an adult or attorney present. While incarcerated, she is coerced into giving up her child. When she does get out, there is almost no support, and she has a hard time finding a job. It's clear that Ella would benefit from therapy, but there is hardly any mention of her needing help. It's so tragic and real. Helen's storyline is similarly heartbreaking; when she fell pregnant with Ella, her Hasidic Jewish community cast her out. The loss of her family and her faith has marked her ever since. Watching her mother unravel that trauma and start rebuilding so many years later was so touching.

Honestly, I could have done without Jude's POV. Don't get me wrong; he also dealt with tragedy, but he was written like my least favorite book characters. The plot just happened to him, and he didn't really further the story along. Even after the horrific abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, he doesn't cut him off. Instead, he allows his father to persist in his life for far too long. Also, he felt like he was the only character that got a hard happy ending, and that bothered me.

If you like slice-of-life stories, I think this would be for you. I liked the story, but it just wasn't for me.

Thanks to Algonquin Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5

Secrets never stay secret, and when they are revealed the damage they cause can be worse than had they never been secret.

Secrets abound in this novel, hiding the truth and separating people from those they love. The story is an emotional roller coaster of loss and guilt, finding love and losing it. But in the end, when the truth is revealed, healing begins and love finds its home.

Ella and Jude were teenage soul mates. Jude had secrets, the secrets of his mother’s death and his father’s alcoholic abuse. As Jude becomes close to Ella and her mother, his father pushes to separate them, finally taking a job in another city. The young lovers stay awake for days, inseparable, dreaming of ways to stay together.

When Jude’s father nearly dies, Ella is arrested for attempted murder. Neither Ella nor Jude have clear recollections of what had happened that fateful night when Jude’s father was poisoned. Only Jude’s father knows the truth, and he uses his power as a judge to place the blame on Ella. Jude does not know that she was pregnant, and was coerced to give the baby up; she was sentenced to twenty-five years and could not take care of a child.

With an early release, Ella is intent on one thing: finding her daughter. She gets employment by lying about her felony conviction and moves to Ann Arbor, stalking her daughter until by chance she meets the adoptive mother, and befriends her. Her daughter’s adoptive family looks perfect from the outside, but it is far from a happy family. Can she protect her daughter?

When Ella’s secret past is revealed, she is poised to lose everything.

This emotionally charged novel is a page turner, and although coincidences and melodrama abounds, it will appeal to a large readership.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book.

This book packs a wallop. There are several story lines all closely entertained and the unpicking takes some time.
I wondered what Ella had done to have been in prison and then the first bomb Leavitt dropped.
I thought Helen was very patient. I really didn’t care for Jude because he let Ella take the full brunt. While that’s explained in the story, it’s still no excuse.
I found the judge to the lowest of the low and a completely reprehensible person.
I tore through this book and while some parts of it made me angry, most of it was just sad.
The ending is hopeful because no matter how much life slaps you down, you have. to keep getting up and keep going.

Caroline Leavitt's latest novel is recommended for discussion groups who like to dissect the plot and characters in novels. Readers will probably need to suspend their disbelief in this fascinating story of a 15 year old girl, Ella, who, over a three-day period, is brought into the police station for questioning without her mother or a lawyer present, coerced into signing a confession, and sentenced to 20-25 years in prison for attempted murder of a prominent judge. The story plays out against the back story of Ella's mother, Helen, who as a young adult was exiled from her Hasidic community after she was raped by a stranger. There are other incidents in the novel that will spark lively discussion of how writers construct their novels and what makes a plot and characters believable, or not.

Rarely does a book leave you as heartbroken and then heart-mended as Caroline Leavitt’s beautiful new novel, Days of Wonder. Helen’s life revolves around her daughter Ella’s happiness and when Ella falls in love with Jude, Helen accepts him wholeheartedly and offers him a safe haven away from his abusive father. But when Jude’s father, a respected judge, is poisoned and nearly dies, Ella is coerced into confessing although she has no memories of that night.

After years in prison, Ella decides to reinvent herself as an advice columnist. She immediately seeks out her daughter, who she gave birth to in prison and gave up for adoption although she desperately wanted Helen to raise her. As old feelings of hurt and anger are brought back to light, both Ella and Helen have to learn to reinvent themselves - and to accept their past mistakes with strength and grace.

I am so grateful to NetGalley for granting me the ARC of this unforgettable novel about loss, redemption and love.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest novel by the wonderful Caroline Leavitt. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Ella and Jude were teenagers in desperate love for the first time in their young lives. While Ella's mother, Helen, is supportive of their relationship and treats Jude like one of her own, Jude's father, a powerful judge, is opposed. When Ella is accused of the attempted murder of the judge, her world comes crashing down. She discovers she's pregnant in jail and Jude is nowhere to be found. When she is released, she wants nothing more than to be reunited with the daughter she gave up.

I absolutely loved this book. It is beautifully written, gripping, tense, and will make you feel all the feelings. It covers love in so many aspects - that all consuming angst of first love, the love of friends and family, the special mother/daughter bond, and eventually mature love. It's about second chances and being able to trust others with your secrets. These characters felt real and I was so invested in their stories. This is my new favorite book from Leavitt - must read!

A book about love in all its forms, Days of Wonder is a beautiful and engrossing story.

As teenagers, Ella and Jude find an all-consuming love, which is torn asunder when Ella is arrested for trying to murder Jude’s father. When she learns she’s pregnant soon after going to jail, she is coerced to give the baby up for adoption. She’s released from prison after serving only six years and goes looking for the child she gave up.

Trying to move on, but deeply stuck in the past, Ella, the daughter of a single mother, yearns for her independence and the love she’s not sure if she deserves.

Deeply layered, this book breaks your heart and stitches it back together again.

Thank you to @netgalley and @algonquinbooks for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved the premise of the book and was looking forward to it, but it did not work for me. It read like a YA love story for both the daughter and the mom storylines, at times almost like a fanfic type of romance with the amount of melodrama and unnecessary tragedy. The dialogues are stiff and the plot keeps jumping between the timelines which didn’t always work in my opinion.

The book is written from the point of view of Ella, her mother Helen, and Ella’s ex - Jude.

A lot of bad decisions are made on all sides and it is tough to root for the characters at times because their motivations are flimsy.

The whole Jude + Ella = Forever love story is incredibly cringey. He tells her, “you are a thoroughbred, those girls are just carousel ponies.” What the hell? Way to make a girl feel special without putting down others. He reads her personal journal without permission. They don’t sleep for weeks intentionally while trying to spend as much time together as possible. I’ll leave other details out to keep this spoiler free.

One thing I agree with Jude’s father on is that those two were obsessed with each other and it was not entirely healthy. And Jude’s “being in love” with Helen? I think there was a better way to say he was missing his mother. Speaking of - the mother bit is straight out of a bad movie and fits too neatly into the “tortured rich boy” narrative. “His live looks perfect, why is he so sad?”

It was difficult for me to finish it. That said, I’m sure many people will enjoy it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

Really engrossing book with intriguing characters. I have read other books by this author and they are very character driven. This one is no exception.

We start the book with Ella being released from prison early after serving 6 years of a 25-year sentence. She was convicted as a teenager for attempted murder of her boyfriend Jude's father. She lives with her single mother Helen. Ella holds a secret that no one in the media knows--she gave birth to a baby in prison which was put up for adoption. Now Ella wants nothing more than to reconnect with her daughter that she gave up under duress.

The tale unfolds with going back and forth between the present and the past for both Ella and Helen. We learn about why they behave the way they do, the things that happened in their pasts shape the people they are and are becoming. There are a few clunky parts to the story--I thought the reveal of what happened to put Ella in prison was left too late in the book. The ending was too pat and perfectly wrapped up. You do have to suspend some disbelief about how Ella finds and gets to know her daughter. Yet despite those drawbacks, this is still a very compelling book with a captivating story.

There are so many layered themes to unpack in this book, as both Ella and Helen are multi-faceted characters. There are themes of loss, love, religion, acceptance, rejection, abuse and forgiveness. If you're looking for a meaty, intriguing book this one will probably hit the spot.

DNF. I may try to revisit this later on but the writing style is not working for me and I’m not interested in what is going on. There is nothing objectively wrong with this but it may just not be the right time for me at the moment. I can still see many people enjoying this.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I enjoyed this but there are some heavy themes throughout. The book is fairly short but it packs an emotional punch. I found myself debating if this will get better or worse for the characters as the story progressed.

Loved the character layers and depth. The Jewish rep was unexpected and I appreciated that. I also always applaud when an author accurately depicts a medical situation (this one involves a cardiac med and I ALWAYS love the detail accuracy as a nurse)

I recommend if you need a quick but heavier read to feel something.

Be aware of possible TW: adoption/foster system, arson, sexual content, exploitation, rape

Helen, Ella, and Jude all tell this story of mothers, daughters, obsession, and drama. Ella and Jude fell madly in love as teens but then Jude's father (you can almost see a twirling mustache) is poisoned by foxglove grown at Ella's apartment house and she ends up in prison-setting off a chain of events as Ella hunts for and locates their daughter Carla who has been raised by adoptive parents. Helen wants nothing but the best for Ella, Ella wants to be with Carla, Jude has started a new life with a wife and baby on the way. There are some time line issues, some things are a bit implausible, and it bothered me a bit that Ella never looked for Jude, only for Carla and that Jude didn't reach out to Ella before....no spoilers. Regardless, this had me turning the pages to the neatly tied ending. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I’ve been a huge fan of Caroline Leavitt’s books going on at least twenty years if not more. When I first discovered her brilliant novels, I quickly read everything she’d written and then eagerly awaited her next novel. Every time I learn she’s coming out with something new, I cannot wait to read it and immediately add it to my Goodreads list so I have something to look forward to.

Her latest is Days of Wonder and it doesn’t disappoint. With her special way of getting the reader attached to the characters, your heart breaks a million times as you love and care for the people in this book.

Here is the plot:

As a teenager, for a moment, Ella Fitchburg found love—yearning, breathless love—that consumed both her and her boyfriend, Jude, as they wandered the streets of New York City together. But her glorious life was pulled out from beneath her after she was accused of trying to murder Jude’s father, an imperious superior court judge. When she learns she’s pregnant shortly after receiving a long prison sentence, she reluctantly decides to give up the child.

Ella is released from prison after serving only six years and is desperate to turn the page on a new life, but she can’t seem to let go of her past. With only an address as a possible lead, she moves to Ann Arbor, Michigan, determined to get her daughter back. Hiding her identity and living in a constant state of deception, she finds that what she’s been searching for all along is a way to uncover—and live with—the truth. Yet a central mystery endures: neither Jude nor Ella can remember the events leading up to the attempted murder—that fateful night which led to Ella’s conviction.

Like with all of her books, this one is deeply layered and keeps you fully engaged. I highly recommend it! Out on April 23.

Ella found her true love at the young age of 15. She and Jude were immediately drawn to each other, and attached at the hip from that moment on. While Ella’s mom treated Jude as her own, his father was vehemently against their relationship. He certainly had his own secrets to keep though, secrets that led to an attempt on his life. An attempt that Ella was blamed for and jailed for the past 6 years. Now that she is out, she is determined to find the daughter she had to give up for adoption while she was behind bars.

Whew! This is a book about love, heartbreak, motherhood, loss, hope, family, guilt, innocence, and so much more. This is not a light read by any means, but dang was it fantastic. Leavitt just has such a way of weaving a story. I will say at the beginning, I didn’t really feel like any of the characters were all that likable, but as the book goes on I fell in love with each and every one of them. Ok, maybe there was one exception, though by the end I still disliked them, but more so pitied them, which is kind of worse to be honest. The first half moved a bit slow, not in a bad way, but once I hit 50% I finished this book in one sitting and stayed up way past my bedtime to do so. I am always blown away by Caroline Leavitt’s books and this one was no exception!