“It’s amazing how much you can miss people you only got to be with for one tiny little perfect bit of time”

Sixteen year old April Sawicki hasn’t had the easiest life. Her mom is gone, she lives in a motorless motor home, and her dad has moved on to a new family. It’s 1994 when she decides to leave town with just her guitar and a stolen car. Music is the only constant she has and now she has to lean on it more than ever.

I’ve been a huge fan of Allison Larkin since I stumbled upon her books almost a decade ago. I’m so excited she’s finally getting the recognition she deserves. While her previous books are more lighthearted and carefree, I am not the least bit disappointed in this new release.

This book is about what happens when you want more than you’re born into. April has never felt like she belongs anywhere or with anyone and you can feel that yearning as she moves from place to place. The more the story continued, the more I felt for April and wanted happiness for her. There’s always a sense of underlying sadness though. Even in times of contentment, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop again.

I love that this book takes place in the 90s, in a time when it’s easier to disappear as many times as you need to. It’s a grittier, more anonymous time period that plays a big part in the story.

I finished reading this book in tears but they were somehow tears that warmed my heart. I’m happy that I get to keep all of April’s people now too. I would easily accept a sequel just to keep them in my life a little longer.

Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for my copy of this book. It’s on shelves now!

“ ‘I think maybe everyone is scared to be alone,’ I tell her. ‘Maybe when you get down to it, that’s why everybody does everything. Maybe all we’re doing is trying to be less alone.’ “

April Sawicki is living in a trailer with her deadbeat, mostly absent father. She’s 16, failing out of school, and picking up shifts when she can at Margo’s Diner. But she has her guitar, which is all she needs to give her hope for a better and brighter future. Until one night, after a huge fight with her father, she steals a car and a ring and heads out to see what she can make of herself. Despite being so young, April is talented and determined to be more than she was born into.

You know how, when you’re scrolling through bookstagram, you notice books that seem to be dominating everyone’s feed? You see them so much you slowwww the scroll to read up and see what all of the fuss is about. And if it’s overwhelmingly good feedback maybe you add it to your tbr? Or maybe you go right to Amazon and hit *buy now*. Whelp, I’m here to tell you that this book was exactly that. And I could not be happier that I fell for the hype and read it because 😍. My heart.

“ ‘I may be a lot of things,’ she told me once… ‘but I’m nothing if I’m not honest, girlie. I just don’t see the point of telling it any way other than how it is.’ “ My thoughts EXACTLY.

There is really nothing that I can say in a review that can do this book justice. It’s beautiful and raw and real and worth every single 5 star review it gets. It is one of those books that I wish I could unread so that I could go back and read it again for the very first time. 💞

Thank you to Netgalley, Gallery Books, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Available now!

I was in a reading slump most of July. It was not a good month for me in general. This book pulled me out of it and I absolutely loved it. @allielarkinwrites is a beautiful writer (add her backlist to your TBR if you haven’t already). The characters in this book are so real and I feel like they’re people I know in real life. I’m still thinking about them. I was sad to leave them at the end. I absolutely recommend this book!

My Review:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/ 5 stars

I absolutely loved this coming of age novel from Allison Larkin. It gave me Where the Crawdads vibes - with the main character April, growing up in an environment where she had to fend for herself at a young age. There are people she encounters in her life that are strangers who she either chooses to keep or move on from. Since she is so estranged from her family including her father who has already moved on to another family and left her alone at a mobile home, she finds trusting new people extremely difficult. I was rooting for her throughout the story and Larkin did an amazing job bringing you to April’s raw emotions and sense of loneliness. By the end, I was nearly in tears. Loved this book!

Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

What an unexpected, tug at the heart strings story that shows how we impact people’s lives and how they impress on us. A family isn’t always blood relation, it can be found in the unexpected. I enjoyed April’s story even the heartbreaking parts.

While I was given an advanced copy from Netgalley, I also chose this as my BOTM for July 2021 paid for with my own dollars.

The People We Keep is a soulful heart warming novel where I really didn’t wanted the book to end and be a companion on the journey of 16 year old April.

Thank you Simon audio, Gallery books, and NetGalley for the complimentary audiobook / galley in exchange of my honest review! No wonder this was a BOTM for the month of July!

After an argument with her father, 16 year old April, a young song writer leaves her hometown of Little River, with no destination in mind. Along the way she meets good and bad people, some become her People, her lifetime friends and some teach her a lesson.

I listened to audiobook and the narrator Julia Whelan has a very soothing voice, which made listening to the story of April very tranquil and compassionate!

The ending was heartwarming that made April’s struggles and vagabond life so worthwhile. Please, please read this beautifully written book narrating the journey of a lonely girl and how along the way she finds her People To Keep!

Unpopular opinion alert! I was not a huge fan of this one! I have only seen rave reviews and it currently has a 4.35 on goodreads.

I generally enjoy plot driven books and this one is completely character driven. We follow April as she escapes her small town at 16. She has horrible family life and nothing to her name. She travels from town to town meeting people and beginning to set down roots until she finds a reason to move on to the next location.

I found this story repetitive and I even got annoyed with the MC. She seemed immature to me. She ran anytime things got scary or difficult instead of owning up to the truth or facing the situation. Multiple times she was surrounded by people that truly cared about her and she just up and left them. I stopped feeling bad for her and started feeling like she was the reason she was in the boat that she was.

Overall this was a 3/5⭐️ read for me.

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Sometimes we can’t help who some of the people are around us, but we can always choose the people we keep close.

What a likable character! April is a singer/songwriter who is simply trying to find her way as she travels from one town to the next, chronicling her life and the people she meets by writing songs.

Will she ever find a place to stay and people who want to stay with her?

I loved this writing style, and really felt like I was right there for April’s journey. Expected but satisfying ending. This is one that will have you reflecting on the people you choose to keep in your own life as well as the ones you let go.

Thank you, Net Galley and Gallery books for this ARC.
A high schooler named April is basically orphaned by her living parents and is raising herself in a motor-less motor home, so she decides to leave town in a "borrowed" car, with hopes of becoming a singer/songwriter.
I just wanted to give April a hug and to tell her that "she is worthy, she is loved, and she is safe" for a good majority of the book! I felt so many emotions for her.
I was fully immersed in this story and could vividly picture the settings. I will definitely be on the lookout for more from Allison Larkin.

This book did not disappoint as an incredible summer read. It was heavy and heartbreaking but also so very hopeful and happy at the same time.

@allielarkinwrites created the most beautiful character in April, the protagonist of the story. April is sixteen when the story begins, and the teacher and mother in me found her story so difficult to read and yet so compelling that I couldn’t stop.

This was one of those kinds of books where my shirt was drenched when I finished reading it from crying. 😂 As I was reading the last third of the book, all of my family members kept walking by asking, “Are you going to be all right?”

NO, JUST NO, I am not all right. 😂 This book ripped my heart out because I fell in love with April, and I wanted so much good for her. The characters Larkin writes into her story are so compelling—some utterly despicable and some so very much worth keeping. 🥰

If you love character-driven novels, this one is for you. If you are an artist of any sort, this one is for you. If you love people, this one is for you.

I love the mix of the beautiful and the broken in this story so much, as it is such a true reflection of our human experience. So, so good. Read this one, friends!!!

Let me pick myself up from the puddle off the floor and give you my thoughts on this wonderful book and it's author. I have never met a book by Ms. Larkin that I did not love. She has such a way of writing these characters that surround our main character with such love and such grace. They become this lovely ragtag family of people that embrace each other and just leave you feeling so good and so very teary-eyed!

Poor April is a teenager with crappy parents. Her mother ran off when she was young and her dad has abandoned her alone in their trailer to live with a woman and her son. She has Margo, an ex of her father's, who works at the diner and is a kind of mother figure to her. She also has her guitar and her music which she takes with her when she leaves one day. Her travels take her to Ithaca where she meets some people who become friends but she hasn't exactly told them the truth about herself. This causes her to leave again and she ends up in a not-so-happy place until she meets Ethan at a park. He befriends her and she finds some short-lived happiness.

You just want her to be happy so badly! I am reading along thinking please, please, let her feel as if she belongs forever somewhere. This story really is about how our families are what we make them. Some people are just given a crappy hand when it comes to blood but that doesn't mean there isn't someone out there that will love you for you. Allison Larkin gives us a warm place to fall and a book that you won't want to put down.

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for a copy of this wonderful book.

April Sawicki is just trying to find her place in this world and where she belongs. Her mother was the first to leave her at a young age. She left her hometown in search of something more, spending the majority of her life on the road, in between open mic nights and performing where she can just to survive. She has never been taught to stay - only leave when things get tough.

What she finds is a place to belong with people who do care and want her in their lives - even though it has taken her a lifetime of learning how to accept she is wanted and matters. This book will definitely pull at your heartstrings. Thanks to NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗲 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽, by Allison Larkin was such a surprise to me. I'm generally not a huge fan of this type of fiction, but somehow, this raw, heartrending narrative grabbed me and just wouldn't let go. April was such a wounded, beautiful little bird and I couldn't help but root for her from the get-go. Of course, that didn't keep me from getting incredibly irritated with her decisions along the way.

Ms. Larkin has done a tremendous job of creating a protagonist that was both strong and incredibly unsteady - a product of her unfortunate upbringing. Larkin leads her readers on a roller coaster of emotions, creating endearing characters that stay with you long after the final page is turned.

So, if you're looking for a novel that is as compelling as it is disheartening, charming as it is frustrating - this is the one for you. It will leave with a feeling of gratitude for your loved ones, along with a desire to run and hug your most treasured family and friends.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for gifting me with this advanced reader's copy!!!

As someone who believes in the power, draw and connection of found family, I loved the connections between these characters. A complex story with depth in its characters, it felt weighty without weighing me down.

The turbulent journey of April, a sixteen year old teen left by her parents to fend for herself in the world, was heartfelt and interesting. This young, talented singer/songwriter battling her fear of attachments and trust, as well as poverty, yet finding wonderful people along the way, which help her grow, trust, be weary, develop and create was quite fascinating. Thank you to the author, Allison Larkin, publisher and NetGalley for the e-copy for review. All opinions are my own.

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

April Sawicki dropped out of school at 16 and is living alone in her Dad’s motorhome, while he lives his life with his “new” family. When she runs away, she finds herself on a journey to discover what she wants out of life. As she moves through the world, she meets many different people, all of whom give her a sense of belonging at the time. She documents her life in songs, along the way learning that where her life started does not have to be the deciding factor in who she is and who she becomes.

A beautifully written story about discovery. Learning the lesson that people are in our lives for a reason, sometimes for a long time and sometimes a short one, but that there is meaning in both. Strong characters that will tug on all your emotions. I was so pleasantly surprised by this book, as I did not love it at the beginning, but by the end I was sad it ended.

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin is a truly masterful book that has a heroine who will not soon be forgotten. April Sawiicki has had a life full of disappointments with little redeeming good. She has been abandoned by her mother literally and effectively abandoned by her father, At 16 years old she lives alone in an old motor home and supports herself with occasional handouts from her father and the earnings as a part time waitress where she has been working long before she was legally allowed to work.

She reaches her final breaking point when her father fully cleaves to a new family and leaves for good. April ends up in Ithaca as a 16 year old runaway, she lives in her car in freezing temperatures and tries to find a way to survive. She rebounds from these overwhelming hardships and creates a found family of amazing friends. Unfortunately, her past and her own insecurities make this newfound happiness much too fleeting. What follows is a journey of discovery and growth as April crisscrosses the country trying to find the love and security that has never been available to her.

April will stay with you long after you end The People We Keep. You can not help but be drawn into wishing she can finally find some type of peace. I would be remiss if I did not share the true delight I felt in the characterization of April and those true original characters that Larkin creates to surround April with the love she has long been denied. Despite the hard issues this book tackles it is truly riveting and joyful. Do not let this one pass you by.

I was provided a free advance reader copy from Gallery Books in exchange for my honest review on Net Galley. The opinions shared in this review are my own.

A coming of age story set in the mid-1990s when songwriters and performers were sought after and inspired people. April is a talented guitarist and songwriter who doesn’t fit in well in her small town. Her home life isn’t the best so she takes off to find her people.

What she finds is that she’s stronger than she thinks and that there are kind people if you just let them in.

BOOK REVIEW: The People We Keep by Allison Larkin

Fabulous story centered on a girl adrift in search of finding & choosing to belong... Brought back memories of Kya (Where The Crawdads Sing)... ✨😎✨

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All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Books, Lifestyle & Home Ideas for Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

The Gist: At age 16, aspiring musician April Sawicki runs away from her toxic family and begins a journey to find a place and people of her own.

What I Liked:
- This is a beautiful story about the power of found family, and is also a lot less dark than I thought it would be going in. This ends on a heartwarming note and made me want to go hug all my close friends immediately.
- The 90s music references were very fun.
- I really related to April’s inner voice. She is both incredibly naive and wise beyond her years, and it was a joy to follow her on her journey.

What I Disliked:
- The beginning is a little slow. This book takes a minute to find its rhythm.
- The pacing between sections is a little strange. I can’t really point to one specific thing, but I do think the time jumps were a bit abrupt. I would have liked more details about April’s life in those in-between moments.

Recommended for fans of: Coming of age/fresh start stories like How to Build a Girl, Mosquitoland, etc

CW: Domestic abuse, abandonment, poverty, adult/minor relationship, drug use, homophobia, sexual assault