The story follows Walter, a boy who struggles with making friends, and how he copes with the loss of the older brother he greatly admires. When Posey moves in next door, her spunk and confidence lead the new friends on adventures. They are soon joined by an eccentric man called Banjo, and team up to help him on his "bodacious adventure". This book deals with grief, courage, grit, and friendship, and is a wonderful early middle grade novel!

O'Connor delivers another tale that masks its depth in simplicity, and gives the readers relatable characters who are truly just normal kids.

This book was fine, but the story itself wasn't anything that surprising or extraordinary. I normally don't have any trouble finding something relatable with middle grade stories, but I do think I was a little old for this one.

Incredible story about being different and finding friends who make you feel valued. Walter Tipple is dealing with the loss of his big brother, Tank, during the war. He has a recurring dream about his brother returning for Walter's birthday celebration. When Posey moves in next door, she shares the secrets to friendship and tells Walter it is OK to be different. The two meet Banjo who has a hot air balloon and the adventure begins. Although it is difficult to lose a brother, life goes on and we have to learn to live without them.

I enjoyed this book. It was sweet and I loved the friendship between Walter and Posey. The portrayal of grief was spot-on and appropriate to how an elementary age kid might handle or think about grief. I have put this on my list of books to order for my 2 elementary school libraries. I definitely think some of my students would love this book.

Gorgeous story for upper elementary readers. With a cast of quirky but endearing characters, this is a solitary of friendship and courage and finding your own place.

Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and NetGalley for an eARC of Halfway to Harmony. All opinions are my own, as usual.

I can't believe it's taken me this long to read Barbara O'Connor, such a popular name in middle grade literature, but this book was no disappoint! Halfway to Harmony is a perfect balance of heartbreak and important lessons, as well as goofy characters and imaginable plot points. My one critique would be we were left out of a very important conversation between the main character Walter and his parents. I can't explain what the conversation was about (spoiler), but it was definitely an emotional experience I would have wanted to round out the story. I will definitely be picking up more books from Barbara O'Connor and I think you should too.

TW: Grie

Walter Tipple is grieving the loss of Tank, his older brother who went to war but will not return home. Walter is not sure how to navigate the change, but he knows he wants to keep his brother's memory alive. And then he meets Posey, the outgoing and friendly new girl next door. She's brash, fun and pushy in a good way.
While exploring the nearby woods, the pair discover Banjo, an eccentric man on a bodacious adventure. Together, the trio works together to help Banjo achieve his dream. In the process, they grieve together and grow together. Walter even learns how to become a better friend and manage bullies at school as he sees his brother's world.
This book made me laugh out loud. The characters each came to life on the page and are honest and real with each other. I appreciated how Walter could talk about his grief with his friends and came to find healing through their adventure.
While the book is a fun and easy read, it contains real-life situations, including war, death, and mention of characters using cuss words.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the third Barbara O’Connor book I’ve read (the elementary battle of the books team I co-coach is responsible for the other two) and this one falls in the middle of those. The story is sweet and hits home for many children (and adults). Walter Tipple lives in rural Georgia with his mother and father and all three are mourning the loss of his brother, Tank, who left for the Army and died (I assume) in action. When spunky Posey moves in next door, Walter finds a new friend, and when they discover hot-air balloonist Banjo, who has crash landed in the woods, adventure (and growth) ensues.
Could this story happen-possibly. Is it a little far-fetched? Yes. Will middle grades students like it-quite likely.

Posey and Walter are friends thrown together by an assortment of surprising events in the town of Harmony, GA. These friends move through the summer sharing Nuggets of Knowledge and practicing Rules for Making Friends while trying to locate a missing hot air balloon. With characters that remind me of Mo and Dale in Three Times Lucky, Halfway to Harmony is a story to savor. I’ve read it twice already and can’t wait to read it in print! Thank you to @netgalley and @mackids for sharing a digital arc.

This is a story that will tug at your heartstrings. I loved the characters, including the dog! Walter is missing his brother, and struggles to move on without him. When he meets Posey and Banjo, he sets off on a new adventure that leads him to find his own voice.

Barbara O'Connor's books never fail to pull me into a world filled with quirky characters who are searching for friends and a way for them to have a satisfying life, and always, there is a dog involved. Halfway to Harmony doesn't disappoint. Walter a young boy who struggles to find friends, meets Posey, his new neighbor, and his hopes for a great summer and a possible friend soar. Walter's been grieving for his older brother Tank and missing all that they used to do together when Posey arrives. Feisty and scrappy, Posey and her three-legged dog Porkchop come on strong and Walter isn't sure that his hopes for a new friend will materialize after all. But fate has a way of stepping in and Walter's life takes a turn for the better when Banjo arrives, and he and Posey decide to help him on his "bodacious adventure." O'Connor's writing creates wonderful characters with such distinct and often eccentric personalities, that I can easily picture them and almost hear them talking. I love the language of the story and the picturesque setting in the piney woods of Georgia. This is a wonderful story about a friendship that develops in a very unique way and how friends learn to stick up for one another. Life can bring us struggles, but it is up to us to find a way to turn them into joys. As with all of Barbara O'Connor's books, her newest one becomes my instant favorite. This one is at the top of my list.

Such a beautiful story of bravery and friendship. I loved the growth both Posey and Walter experienced in their quest to help out Banjo with his balloon and his bodacious adventure. I loved the side story of Tank, and the suspense of his last letter to Walter. It did not disappoint.

An unlikely trio of misfits come together to make one dream come true in this feel-good middle grade fiction.

Ten-year-old Walter is spending a hot summer lonely and grieving the loss of his older brother, when his new neighbor, Posey, an outspoken girl with a three-legged dog and all the confidence Walter wishes he possessed befriends him, things are finally looking up.

When the friends come across Mr. Jubilation T. Fairweather (a.k.a. Banjo) in the woods and learn of his dream to enter a hot air balloon race, they begin an adventure of a lifetime.

A small southern town filled with unforgettable characters, tender moments, and laugh-out-loud fun, this is story is an instant classic that families will read together for years to come.

There are few books I can recall with characters so unique that I have no comparisons. A fantastic tale of grief, loss, and hope. Of unlikely friends and making dreams come true. I can't wait to share this with my children.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

While I enjoyed this middle grade (but by no means middle school) novel, I found the intended reader difficult to find. I saw another reviewer put the for 10+ but I don’t think many of my middle schoolers (ages 11-15) would grab this because the protagonist is so young. It could have worked a bit better with the intense themes of loss, depression, war, etc. if the protagonist had been just a little older. Few of my tweens will read about a ten-year-old and, as the other reviewer pointed out, the themes work for a more mature audience. Otherwise, I loved the quirky characters and whimsical pull from grief.

A boy, a dream, and a truck.
Walter and his parents are grieving the loss of Tank, who joined the army and never returned to Harmony, Georgia. Tank’s younger brother, Walter, is drifting along the Chatahoochee River floating on his own despair while nightly tangled in a recurring dream. A new neighbor from Tennessee, Posey, moves in next door and just might be the kindred spirit Walter needs.
Posey is a gutsy girl with a three -legged dog named Porkchop and a near photographic memory. That phenomenal memory is an integral piece to the puzzling relationship that develops between Walter and Posey. Readers are treated to or maybe bombarded with trivia from Posey’s favorite books, Nuggets of Knowledge and Caesar Romanoff’s Rules for Making Friends. Walter and Posey become involved in the rescue and recovery of a man “that fell from the sky,” AKA “Banjo!” As the “not so subtle” Posey shares “rules for making friends” the lines of Walter’s anger and grief are slowly erased.
Readers’ hearts will ache at the quest for “normal” love and acceptance, motherly hugs and real smiles, that Walter is praying will return to his family since Tank “left.” Walter’s hopes and dreams for the future soar amidst a hot air balloon race and back to school nervousness. Meanwhile, Banjo’s eternally positive approach to life and quirky expressions along with Posey’s font of knowledge, helpful friendship hints, and determination will have young readers rushing online for a copy of Nuggets of Knowledge and practicing rules #1-7 for making friends.
“Good grief and grits” grab a copy of Halfway to Harmony for a chance to hear Tank saying, “Blow out them candles, little man, and I’ll show you my world.”
Your new friends will thank you for reading Halfway to Harmony.

Goodness I am a sucker for a Barbara O'Connor novel.
Walter and his family are all experiencing grief in a different way due to their brother Tank leaving for the army without saying goodbye, and now a goodbye will never get to happen. Trying to navigate life after losing sibling is tough, being with parents who lost a child is even tougher.
Then a new kid enters the story, Posey, who is real quick to teach Walter a thing or two about life and how to snap him out of this fog of life he seems to be floating in.
A tale of friendship, bravery, grieving, healing, and so much more.

Another timeless treasure from beloved Barbara O'Connor. Walter and his parents feel incomplete without his older brother. Their hearts are sad and Walter feels lonely, until, that is Posey walks into his life. They befriend a man named Banjo where the three continue to dream big and take adventure to a higher level. Your heart will hurt and feel for Walter and his family, and you'll fight for him to the end.

This book explores grief through the eyes of a 10 year old boy whose brother is killed at war. An unconventional girl moves in next door and through a series of adventures, pulls him out of his shell. The story explores the complicated relationship between family members who are left behind and who are grieving in their own way. One of my favorite parts of the book however, is the eccentric Banjo character. He is so fanciful and I wondered consistently throughout the book if he were not a figment of the imagination of the characters. His optimistic, yet churlish attitude is infectious and all the characters are similarly impacted by him over time. This was a feel good book, and a lovely exploration of what it feels like to be alone and some wonderful advice about how to take responsibility for your own actions that may solve this issue! (Oh...and the nuggets of wisdom sprinkled throughout the book were an absolute delight!)

I am grateful to have received an E-ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group through NetGalley.

What can I say? Barbara O'Connor did not disappoint with her new middle grade novel out in January.

Walter and his family are grieving. Each member of the family is dealing differently with the loss of his big brother Tank. Tank left for the Army without saying goodbye, and now Walter is navigating life without his brother and the huge hole left in his family as well as his heart.

In waltzes Posey, the girl who moved in next door, and her three-legged dog. Posey is direct and bossy and determined to teach Walter a thing or two about life. She snaps Walter out of his melancholy and leads him on adventures that are going to turn the summer into one he will not forget.

Like O'Connor's other stories, Halfway to Harmony is filled with characters that wiggle into your heart and plan to stay a while. A tale of friendship, bravery, believing in yourself, and healing from loss, this will be another popular Barbara O'Connor title on our library shelf. I can't wait to share it with our middle grade readers, especially those who championed Wish as our Maud Hart Lovelace Award Winner for 2020.

Walter is bored because his big brother went to war and never came home. He and Tank did everything together and had fun. Now he has no one to have fun with...

Macmillan's Children's Publishing Group and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published January 12.

Then neighbors move in next door and they have a girl that's about his age. They play together and have adventures. One day on the way to the river, they find a dead man. They intend to call 911 when they hear a moan. He's alive but has a broken ankle.

They find out he was flying a hot air balloon, but it's nowhere in sight. He goes to the hospital for his ankle treatment and Walter and Posey search for his balloon. They find it but they can't move it.

Banjo returns with a cast and asks them to get his balloon out of the river. Walter has been dreaming about his brother and he hears him say he can do it. So he and Posey go and with lots of effort get back up on the bank by the bridge. They hide it so no one can see it from the bridge.

Then they have to use Tank's truck to retrieve it. Walter gets grounded right before the race but luckily it ends right before and he can see the race.

He and Posey get a treat, they get to ride in the balloon. Will they be able to retrieve the keys and win a new truck?

There was plenty of action, Walter learns to accept the death of his brother, and Banjo comes a courting. It's a good read.