This story follows April, a girl who struggles to find her place in life. Basically orphaned, she tries to make her own way. Every time it seems she will figure it out, life deals her another blow. It’s a beautiful, heartbreaking journey to find her place and people,

Wow... what did I just read? Why do I have to leave April, Carly, Margo, and Ethan when I just fell head over heels in love with them?

April Sawicki grows up in abject poverty and alone. Her mother walked out and her father is a dirtbag who does nothing for her. At 16, she lives alone in a dumpy motor home and has one person in her life who truly cares for her - Margo, her boss.

But she can sing and play guitar. So out of desperation, she takes her act on the road. She’s charismatic and charming when she wants to be, but after her upbringing, she is understandably hesitant to let people in. When she finally decides to open up to others at one stop or another, the book transforms from a sad, heavy feel to one of hope. The characters are rich and real all the way around... and April. I was both in love with her and angry at her for the choices she makes. It was like a real relationship!

This book is a gem. Absolute five-star! I don’t usually compare authors, but it has the feel of a Taylor Jenkins Reid story - and that’s quite a compliment.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing an ARC.

I cannot say enough good about this book as the author has really captured the real feelings and experiences of April after she is abandoned by her mother and consequently emotionally and physically abandoned by her father. She relates the experiences of her life in her music and finds that family is defined by the people who bring meaning and love into her life. Her experiences are raw and through this she finds meaningful and lasting relationships. There are so many life lessons in this book and it is surprisingly uplifting.

This book is stunning! The main character is gorgeously developed by Allie Larkin. Her journey twists, turns, and pivots; at times it is magical and at other times it is heartbreaking. The People We Keep transcends the new adult genre, inviting nostalgic thirty- and forty-somethings to enjoy it as well I can't wait to reread and discuss this book with my book club!

I'm still very emotional from this book. Although emotional might not be the word I'm looking for. I'm still shell shocked. I feel like I was right there with April, walking with her and literally watching it all play out in front of my eyes. I don't think I have ever felt this emotion or felt this connected to a character like April. She just finallly had enough and takes control to find herself.
Her journey is inspriting. I wish I had her soul, her drive etc when I was a teenager. She was such a strong, yet broken character who I was rooting for the entire book.

Allison Larkin has created a unbelievable novel here. This is a raw, rough, beatiful, and timeliess book that is probably already my favorite book from 2021.

Thank you so much to Gallery Books, and #NetGalley for this opportunity to review this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

April is 16 years old, a budding singer/songwriter and living alone in a motorless motor home in Little River, NY.
Finding few prospects ahead of her and fewer reasons to stick around, she sets out for a wide open world of possibilities.

What’s ahead for April includes plenty of loneliness, heartbreak, and painful decisions. But, she also cobbles together a life for herself and people to treasure.

Not all the parts of April are likable, but she is sharp and scrappy—really special. Allison Larkin writes her story so beautifully and real. I felt like I was right there, along for the ride.

There’s a point in the story where April feels so broken and says she just wants to matter to someone. Larkin’s writing made her matter to me, just as I think she will to so many other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As I am not a huge fan of character-driven novels, when one truly connects with me and moves me, I tend to be very impressed. Although I am a fan of Allison Larkin from her past novels, this one is a departure from those penned under her Allie Larkin name. The People We Keep is much more Literary Fiction than Women's Fiction in my opinion and it is executed extremely well. With a female protagonist that the reader can really support and root for, even through all her faults and missteps, the novel develops the main character and those around her extremely well and with true care and emotion.

I was riveted by this book from page one. One can't help but want to follow along with April on her journey to find her place and safety in the world that has never provided her much of either. I loved the people she meets along the way and how she examines her own self through her interactions with them. I also deeply appreciated that the book only encompasses a few years of time, rather than a long stretch of April's life that would've made it harder to put all the pieces together, in my opinion. While upon completion, I was still left with a few questions, I didn't mind have them left unanswered. Sometimes loose ends can truly benefit a story and I feel like they do in this case because, all in all, this book has quite a satisfying ending.

I am sad that I will now have to wait for Larkin's next release but I am so happy I can include her in my barrage of reliable authors that put out beautiful pieces of writing time and time again. I really hope people will add this one to their reading lists as every page of April's story is beautiful and so human.

The PEOPLE WE KEEP is an unflinchingly realistic story about vulnerability and human connection.

April, our self-sufficient but deeply lonely protagonist, has fended for herself from a very young age. She's been disadvantaged at nearly every turn and abandoned by parents who treat her as an inconvenience.

Driven to a breaking point, she leaves her hometown with nothing to lose and no safety net, in search of something better. We see and feel her struggles, and eventually see her turn to her passion for music as a means of getting by.

I (incorrectly) expected this book to romanticize the life of a musician, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Larkin took a more nuanced approach. The first half focused very little on music at all--April's characterization and development were undoubtedly the central focus.

I'd especially recommend this to anyone who likes character-driven stories. Larkin's characters are beautifully written--as complex and realistically flawed as people generally are.

THE PEOPLE WE KEEP is raw, insightful, and stunningly well-crafted. I really look forward to reading any of Larkin's future releases, because this book is exactly what I hope for every time I pick up Literary Fiction.

I'd like to thank Gallery Books and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book, because an honest review was the smallest of prices to pay for a new favorite book!

This was an interesting journey! I liked that the story wrapped up neatly, and we knew what happened to all the characters in April's journey. I felt like it started slow and struggled to grab my attention initially, but by the end quarter, I was invested and wanted to know how everything would resolve.

This is a difficult story, beautifully told. Readers follow April throughout three deeply formative years of her life. The story begins as she runs away from an abysmal and abusive home at 16, through the hard realities of a life that forced her to grow up fast. The story is difficult at times as we feel for this child who deserves so much more than the hard life that is laid out before her. Faced with so many obstacles and challenges - as frightening as they seem - April always overcomes.

The story begins in 1994 and is wonderfully, and sometimes heartbreakingly, nostalgic for those of us growing up at the time - recalling the fashion, music, and frustrations of pay phones. Of phone numbers and notes kept in spiral bound notebooks for safekeeping, and measuring out distances on maps with a strand of hair as April travels from her home in western New York to Florida and back.

In reading this work I felt deeply for April, walking with her as she tries to run from her past wounds, even as it creates new ones. The title of the book continues to be evocative and relatable as she walks away from her abusers and finds the people that love and support her unconditionally.

Overall it was an okay read. The first half was pretty slow some things got interesting but also boring. The writing style felt kinda dull to me.. This book was a very raw read.

Wow, this novel blew me away! The People We Keep by Allison Larkin absolutely knocks it out of the park! The People We Keep is labeled as a New Adult novel which I can completely understand being that the main character, April, is 16 years old, but I also want to mention that most 40 year olds haven’t been through half of what April has so for me I feel it’s a mix of New Adult/Adult Fiction. Throughout the novel I was so riveted by April’s journey to find what she’s never had...belonging! April finds out early in life that blood doesn’t always equate family and that relationships you choose are sometimes way more meaningful than anything you could have been born into. The People We Keep is a 5 star novel that had me at hello! I cannot recommend this novel enough and I look forward to diving into anything Allison Larkin comes out with next!

A very beautifully written book about a girl striking on her own as a musician and finding her own chosen family. I really enjoyed April's broken yet strong character and this book flowed really well for me! Overall this book was heartbreakingly beautiful full of pain but also glimpses of love.

This book punches you right in the heart. I was captivated from the beginning with the story of April's life and journey. The language is so beautiful and each character feels like someone that you know based on how they are described. The title really says it all-and the lesson of the story is that you are not alone, not even if you think you are. I would recommend this to anyone who needs to get sucked into a story or needs a book for a cathartic cry!

We are a collection of stories, memories, chance encounters, and mistakes. We are the choices and the people we keep along the way. Allison Larkin reminds us all of this in her beautifully written novel that sweeps us into April’s life. April’s loneliness is felt profoundly throughout her journey, which makes each of her encounters with the people she meets along the way even more impactful. April’s love for Bob Dylan, the ocean, and her fortitude will stay with me for a long time. The book is divided into three parts that mark a pivotal turn in April’s journey. Although April’s life is filled with many misfortunes, the real magic is in the joy that Larkin paints despite it all. Being a super sentimental person, I couldn’t help but cry in response to April’s triumphs and will think of her and her people for days to come.

I really fell in love with the main character of this novel. At 16, April is alone, officially abandoned by her mother and cast aside by her father who is eyeing a new wife/ new life/ new family with no room for the one he already has. Rather than stay trapped in a small town with no future, she strikes out on her own, piecing together a life while traveling from place to place playing gigs where she can find them. Along the way, she meets people worth "keeping," but is scared and unsure, and never feels she is "enough" for someone to really care about. This is a lonely, sad book, with moments of joy that will take your breath away. As I was reading, I thought several times that she reminded me of the main character in Kingsolver's The Bean Trees, so it was a small thrill to watch this character pick up that novel and start reading it. Nothing more than that is mentioned, but it was exciting to me....lol! This novel is ultimately uplifting, but you'll be sad when it ends. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

April is 16 and trying to figure out her place in the world. She's been dealt a difficult hand, but she's determined to be better.
This is such a beautiful story about love and loss. About what matters most.
I loved this book so much I couldn't put it down. I think everyone should read this story. It speaks so much truth about family, friendships and finding yourself.
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery publishing for this ARC.

April showers bring May flowers... we go through the tough times to find the sunshine. Having grown up poor in the town of Little River, NY, April Sawicki, a "careless man's careful daughter" (to borrow from Taylor Swift), has learned there are people who will help you and people who will pretend you don't exist. By the time she turns sixteen, April knows all too well that life can beat you down, but maybe the trick is too keep moving to put distance between yourself and all the horrible things that life can throw at you. You have to look for the safe harbors, and that's what she does, with her guitar and the songs of experience, as she travels the eastern corridor of the United States. There are things you keep and things you leave in the past, but all those parts make a person. Make a life. Make the flowers bloom when you've just about given up on the sunshine.

Allison Larkin allows the brutality of life to run its course, but there is tenderness and sympathy to remind us that the world isn't so terrible. We can choose to embrace what's good, and put miles between ourselves anything that blocks out the sun. I cannot wait to own a copy of this book - as it says in the author's note - this was a book Larkin needed, and she's not the only one. Thank you for such a hopeful story.

Holy shit. Welcome to my new favorite book.

I'm going to try to put into words what this book meant to me...but words seem hard right now.

It's just been a minute since I fell this hard for a book and its characters

I've just finished reading this masterpiece; my mascara is running down my face and my eyes are puffy from sobbing. This book was everything to me.

F...this book was so lonely. I am not sure if I've ever met a character as lonely as my beloved April. I fell so in love with her, almost immediately, and with all the people in her life.

I am truly at a loss for how to review this book. I am also at a loss with how to go on without this book in my life.

Cue the major book hangover and my utter despair for being done with this book.

The biggest thank you ever to Gallery Books and NetGalley for blessing my life with a copy of this ARC. And an even bigger thank you to Allison Larkin for writing this truly beautiful story.

Our friends become our chosen family.
It’s only January, but I am confident this will be in my top list of 2021. I connected with April, the main character, and found it easy to root for her even when she didn’t make the best decisions. She had real character growth, which is admirable for someone with her background. It took her a few years to figure it out, but what 16 year old with a mom who abandoned her and a crappy dad who never even celebrated Christmas with her would have their head on straight? I wouldn’t say this was necessarily a feel good novel - there is too much pain in it. However, there was so much love and hope at the end that it buoyed my spirits. I wanted to keep reading about their little journeys together. This story reminded me a little bit of “Where the Heart Is” in how it asks us to understand and root for imperfect characters. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this excellent ARC of the book.