As a lifelong fan of Bradbury's DANDELION WINE, I've felt that no one could ever write a better "summer in a small town" piece of fiction. Lesley Kagen has proven me wrong. This is the coming-of-age story you've been looking for your whole life.

Well... I read reviews and they were all AMAZING! They referred them as this book being something like where the crawdads sing. Dont get me wrong. Every book is not for everyone. But i loved the crawdads book. I was ecstatic to be an early reader on this book. For me, it took until 71% of the book before anything happened. The writing was ok, i didn't feel anything for any of the MANY characters. It wasn't even a slow burn or what the point of the book was. I guess it wasn't for me.

Thanks NetGalley and Alcove Press for this ARC.

Wonderfully descriptive coming-of-age tale about three girls in the 60's. I fell in love with this book and the characters as they rode around their small town in the summer heat on their bikes, eating homemade food, snacks at the five-and-dime, and fighting with the local boys. Among their favorite things to do is sneak across town and spy on the patients at the asylum. The locals are in a tizzy because a child murderer is being housed at the asylum, but the trio of girls isn't worried....until the night some of the patients escape. This book has it all....nostalgia for lazy childhood days, humor, adventure, mystery, and peril. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Every Now and Then by Lesley Kagen was such a treat. I love Lesley’s writing and have read almost every book she has written. She has this ability to capture a time and place in the voice of someone who is in the midst of growing up and learning about life.

I melted right into this story, enjoying the vivid details of 1960 and what small-town life was like through the eyes of young Elizabeth, known as “Biz” to her friends.

The story is told as if Biz is an old woman reflecting on the summer she and her best friends try to figure out secrets surrounding the local mental institution.

Take a look:

The summer of 1960 was the hottest ever for Summit, Wisconsin. For kids seeking relief from the heat, there was a creek to be swum in, sprinklers to run through, and ice cream at Whitcomb’s Drugstore. But for Frankie, Viv, and Biz, eleven-year-old best friends, it would forever be remembered as the summer that evil paid a visit to their small town–and took their young lives as they’d known them as a souvenir.

With a to-do list in hand, the girls set forth from their hideout to make their mark on that summer, but when three patients escape from Broadhurst Mental Institution, their idyllic lives take a sinister turn. Determined to uncover long-held secrets, the girls have no idea that what they discover could cost them their lives and the ones they hold dear.

Six decades later, Biz, now a bestselling novelist, remembers that long ago summer and how it still haunts her and her lifelong friends in Every Now and Then, a story about the ties that bind us, the timelessness of grief and guilt–and the everlasting hope for redemption.

Though I liked the book from beginning to end, I think it picked up during the second half when I couldn’t put it down! I was eagerly reading, anxious to see what would happen next. If you haven’t read any books by this wonderful author, check out Whistling in the Dark, one of my favorites.

Comes out on October 6, pre-order here!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Biz, Frankie and Viv are 11 years old in the summer of 1960. They run wild over their small town. In the midst of a heat wave, 3 escape from the town's mental hospital, throwing the whole town into an uproar, and changing the girl's lives forever.

My thoughts: I wanted to like this novel, but it just fell flat for me. The action didn't really start until 75% in, and before that it was mostly the girls doing what they're told not to and calling one another names. There was no natural arc to the story. It never really built up steadily, but went from back story to action to nothing. While I appreciated the girl's friendship, and some of the racial tensions, I wasn't impressed by the story.

I realize the novel takes place in 1960, but I found the fact that the adults let the girls run around a mental hospital basically without censure to be highly unbelievable. Also, having lived in a small town myself, I know nothing like that is ever a secret, so everyone would have known. There were a lot of unbelievable things, but that was the most wild. And if you don't buy into that, the rest of the story just falls apart.

A most enjoyable book. Perfectly describes childhood in the 60s in a small town, both the idyllic and the challenging times. A great study on friendship and thoughtful handling of racism and mental health. I loved the fact that the girls were naive, exactly how they would have been in that era. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author. Thanks to netgalley for an advanced copy of this lovely book.

“Every now and then”, an author comes along who becomes the standard by which you judge others. Lesley Kagen can’t be defined by a simple genre...there is nothing simple about her talent, or the incredible tales she weaves. At first glance, Kagen’s ‘Every Now and Then’ may appear to be a lighthearted coming of age tale, but don’t mistake the light feel for fluff.. There is something here for everyone, as in Kagen’s characteristic style, heavy issues are deftly interwoven in a quick-paced story that is both poignant and totally engaging. Racism and mental health are weighty subjects, but in the skilled hands of this author, this story flows. When you get a great story, action, meaningfulness, “real” characters, atmosphere...all intertwined without once bogging down...that is excellence.

This was a great coming of age story set in the 60s. I loved the adventures these 3 girls had growing up in their small town.

I really enjoyed this book. Very refreshing. Thanks to Net galley for my advanced ebook copy.

One of the many things I loved about this book was the 60's humor! I laughed out loud so many times, but actually felt like the main character Biz was living my childhood. A little naive, a lot know-it-all. I'm sad the book is over but love the way that it ended. If you love small-town friendships and southern charm, this is your book! If you love suspense and spent your summers tooling around town with few boundaries or limits, you will recognize yourself and possibly your town in this lovely book! You know the age where you're fearless? And you are just sure that what's 'for your own good' couldn't possibly be...read this book! You will not want to put it down! Spend the summer in Summit with Biz, Viv and Frankie! You will not regret it!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my honest review. I really enjoyed Whistling in the Dark, and I enjoyed this one as well - I found the two quite similar. This novel took place in the summer of 1960 and was narrated by an 11-year-old girl, Biz. Biz and her two friends have been intrigued by a local mental institution all summer, and the novel is about what takes place after a known child murderer is placed into the institution.

Very good, but I felt at times that the writing was almost too good, if that makes sense - the author got so caught up in making everything into a metaphor or a “beautiful” turn of phrase that I got a bit lost, particularly at the beginning. I think the copy I read definitely needs a bit of editing, then it would be perfect! Would recommend this to fans of Diane Chamberlain and Where the Crawdads Sing.

Every Now and Then is memorable, captivating and impossible to put down! I love the main characters, 3 young girls, and the story of their lives and friendship. I predict this book will be on all best sellers list!

A gorgeous and moving coming of age story set in 1960’s Wisconsin. Three 11 year old best friends are looking forward to a summer of freedom and fun, but instead they encounter the darkest part of human nature when three patients escape from a local mental institution. Sixty years later, one of the girls, now a novelist, recounts the story of what happened.

I loved this one it is a multi layered family drama that this author is so good at set in the sixties and followings three girls as they face life’s challenges.

This book was amazing. It takes place in the sixties and it's about the families of three girls we're best friends growing up in their little town. One of the girl's father is the doctor of the Town. Her mother passed away giving birth to her so her aunt lived with her and her dad making sure that she raises her sister's child to be a respectable woman. The three girls are only 11 years old so the story takes place in summertime of one of their best Adventures yet. I love stories that are tolls in different time frames like this one being the sixties. This book was so great I loved it and it's in my top favorite books

Every Now and Then by Lesley Kagen. Thanks to netgalley and alcove press for the e-arc for an honest review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Three best friends have a summer they’ll never forget in their small town in the sixties. Enthralled by the local mental asylum, they gossip with the staff and spy on the patients. All this changes when three patients escape into their town.

Every Now and Then doesn’t come out until October, but when the ARC was sent to me, I couldn’t wait. This was exactly the book I needed. Coming of age stories are my favorite genre, and this was one of the best of it’s kind. You really get into the mind of the characters and remember the innocence, adventure, and thrill life was at that age. The blood-sister friendship between the characters, their banter, and love-fights are so heartwarming. Like my favorite coming of age books, there’s so much humor involved with the girls and their worldview. Add in the adventure and excitement of a small town asylum in the sixties... Kagen has hit it out of the park again, like she did with Whistling in the Dark. You’re going to want a copy of this in the fall, and some tissues because you’re left with tears from this heartwarming tale.

“A warm breeze ruffling oak boughs on a moonless night or the late rain rumbling down the tracks or a dog barking two streets over can be all it takes to bring back the long-ago summer evil paid a visit to our small town and took our young lives as we knew them as a souvenir.”