One Two Three by Laurie Frankel was beautifully written and immersive! A combination of the tenacity of Erin Brockovitch and closeness of The Identicals. I completely lost myself in the story of the town of Bourne and the Mitchel sisters Mab, Monday and Mirabelle. The audiobook is superb with each sister gaining a voice from a talented narrator!

The sisters are triplets born right after a chemical company has leached dangerous chemicals into their town’s water supply. The story tells how the sisters come together to take on Belson Chemical in this retelling of David versus Goliath.

One Two Three written by Laurie Frankel, narrated by Emma Galvin, Jesse Vilinsky, Rebecca Soler

Pub Date: June 8, 2021

One, Two, Three is what the 16 year old Mitchell triplets have been calling each other since they were little. Mab is One, neurotypical & able-bodied and told that “it’s the least she could do” so often she feels guilty for being born “normal”. Monday is Two, neurodivergent, autistic & the town’s librarian. Mirabel is Three, born with a brilliant mind but her voice & body is disabled except for one hand, uses a power wheelchair & adaptive alternative communication device. They products of their fiercely compassionate mother, Nora. The story is told in alternating chapters by the triplets & we follow them as they attempt to solve, break open a 17-year-old case that has affected the entire town both in the past and immediate future.

In the very small town of Bourne, devastated by a chemical company that poisoned the water & leaving most of the residents & pets dying of cancers, congenital birth defects & in financial despair & unemployed after the company abruptly left without as much as an apology. The town is desperate for change. Bourne adapted by creating a disabled-friendly town with ramps for every building. Frankel making it obvious that the residents aren’t ableist – they treat each other with respect & care but there are things that can be done better. “Bourne is a good place for Monday and a great place for Mirabel.”

This is a very slow-burn character-driven mystery that can feel very drawn out as readers stayed inside the protagonist’s minds. Ultimately, I loved listening to each character’s inner voice, especially Monday. She’s literal & can be quite hilarious. “As I have said—and as should be obvious—stupid people need to read books in order to get smarter, but unfortunately people who like books are usually smart already, and stupid people do not read”. The audiobook narrator for Monday did this character complete justice & an excellent job! Lab, Monday & Mirabell are all courageous girls, but I just love Monday – she’s truly brave in so many ways.

It is about environmental activism & the search for justice that examines human frailty, hope, & redemption. The very heart of this story is about family particularly, sisterhood – loyalty & love for one another.

Thank you @henryholtbooks for this physical ARC & @netgalley @macmillian.audio for the audiobooks where the three narrators brought this story to life! I appreciated that there were 3 distinct narrators for this book.

One Two Three by Laurie Frankel is a truly delightful and unique book full of quirky characters that stole my heart. I found the eco-warrior and social justice themes so important for our times and superbly told through the distinct and idiosyncratic voices of teenage triplets Mab, Monday and Mirabel. They are known as One, Two, Three and live in a forgotten small town called Bourne, which was almost decimated 17 years ago when its water was contaminated by a chemical plant. I was riveted by the David vs Goliath plot and found myself cheering the girls on as they fought for justice for their small town against the greedy and callous big corporation.
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🍃It was an immensely enjoyable experience to listen to the audiobook because the narrators for each sister did a phenomenal job in personifying these fully developed, distinct and memorable characters and depicted their uncanny bond so well. Even Mirabel’s computerized voice box was full of character and I found each of them equally endearing. I would highly recommend this audiobook and rate this 4.5⭐️!
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Laurie Frankel does it again! I really enjoyed this book and the small town of Borne. I love how Frankel showcases characters that are of underrepresented communities. I love how the sisters work together to save their small town. While their sisters work together, they also have their individual stories and character development. This was my second Laurie Frankel book and she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

I loved This Is the Way It Always Is and this new book didn’t disappoint. I’d summarize the story and its appeal this way : triplets on a mission, three distinct characters, wordplay. The story unfolds in three rotating voices. For me, the joy was in these three characters.

Posted expanded comments on instagram June 6. Review also posted to B&N.

I received an ebook and an audiobook, so my netgalley review is duplicated.

One Two Three is such a delightful and also poignant read. I thoroughly enjoyed it - for so many reasons! It's the story of triplet in a town experiencing the ongoing impacts of a hazardous chemical site. Frankel excels in the character development of the sisters, as well as the rest of the characters in the town, bringing the experiences and struggles to life. While a work of fiction, the story of town that has lost its primary workplace and the devastating effects of environmental hazards is informative and illuminating.

I listened to the audio version of the book. The casting and narration was spectacular! Emma Galvin, Jesse Vilinsky, and Rebecca Soler breathed life into the sisters and the story.

I really liked this story! The Mitchell Triplets have a special place in my heart and I loved the alternating perspectives. I think that really added to the depth of the story!

One thing with the audio was that there was an echo that made it sound like a robot was reading it and it was difficult to listen to. I tried changing my listening device and earbuds but nothing helped. Hopefully this is resolved in the final audio!

This is a compelling story that is well presented on the audiobook. I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publishers. My review is voluntary.

One Two Three is an extraordinary story of a town’s tenacity to fight a corporation that has knowingly been polluting their water for years. Because of this issue, the town residents have developed serious illnesses, diseases, or even died. We follow triplets, Mab, Monday, and Miribel, and their mother, Nora as they fight to save the town (again) when the company comes back to try to rebuild. I loved this little family. They are so passionate, scrappy, and brave as they fight to do what they can with so little.

One Two Three felt like being dropped into this town as they struggled. I felt like I was in the home with the triplets when they planned how to save the town. I was in the bar with the town as they gossiped. I was in Nora’s clinic listening to her patients open up. The writing was immersive and the characters were so well-developed.

What was most heartbreaking about this story is that the issue of a small town being negatively affected by chemical pollution is not unheard of, it’s actually happening. We see it in the news often. What we don’t see is the long term effects that the population brings. We don’t get to follow the residents and see how they struggle physically, mentally, and emotionally. This story brought that to life.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for the ALC. One Two Three is out now!

📚 Book Review 📚

Brief synopsis: The townspeople of Borne are all faced with adversity due to a plant that was creating a harmful material in town. The Mitchell sisters (triplets: Mab, Monday, and Maribel) do their best to shut down the plant as it tries to reopen. While they each have their quirks, each sister is filled with determination, grit, and love of each other.

💭 As I finished reading One Two Three by Laurie Frankle, I was left feeling empowered and love for the characters.
💭 This book has Erin Brockovich feels throughout (and I LOVED that movie)
💭 This book could be read by Young Adults and adults! It has the typical 16 year old emotions/characterization, but it also empowers women and girls to fight for what is right even when everyone might not be on your side.

Thank you to Netgalley and McMillion Audubon for the pre-released audiobook.

*posted to Instagram (christinasreadingadventure) and on Goodreads (Christina E.)

I’ve been listening to this one on audio via netgalley and I have LOVED the narrator/book/characters/literally everything about it. I am about halfway through so can’t offer my full opinion yet but UGH highly recommend the audio version👏🏻

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Literary Fiction
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞: Family/coming of age/romance
𝐏𝐮𝐛. 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: June 8th, 2021
𝐌𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: it’s going to be 5 stars no doubt⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.00

Quick synopsis:

Three hysterical, brilliant, and witty triplets fight against an a horrible chemical company that has poisoned the water source in their small town. The chemical that riddles the town of Bourne results in tragic, absolutely horrific, medical consequences to nearly everyone who cannot afford to leave.

The triplets:
One is typical, and her name has one syllable: Mab. Two is on the spectrum, and her name has two syllables: Monday. Three cannot eat, speak, or walk, has the full use of only one arm and hand, and is a genius: Mirabel.

The Mitchell girls' father was one of many from the town of Bourne who died before the poisoning of the water supply became so severe that the factory producing it, the town's single employer, was shut down. Since then Bourne has been nearly evacuated; everyone left is disabled and/or unemployed; you still can't drink the water or even risk more than a few seconds in the shower. The triplets' mother, Nora, has been trying unsuccessfully for years to mount a class action suit—and now the Templeton family, who owns the factory, is returning to town with plans to reopen🤬

My thoughts:

Such a quirky book. I actually really love this one and in no rush finishing it. Books that make you laugh out loud, especially over such a tragic topic, are SO rare to find. ONE TWO THREE is a GEM👏🏻. It is clever, charming, and on message.

I absolutely ADORED this book -- weaving together themes of family, community, belonging, and the evils of capitalism is no small feat, and yet I'm not surprised Laurie Frankel pulled it off, given the other works I've read from her. Since the book is narrated by three sisters, I thought the audio was key to enjoying the book as much as I did -- it let each individual personality shine and formed a full picture of Mab, Mirabel and Monday in my mind. I will read (and hopefully listen to!) anything Laurie Frankel writes!

I really liked her first book and felt like this one had some of the same magic. The plot reminded me a bit of Erin Brockovich but a lot more intense. I did think it was good and liked the perspectives of the three sisters but it just felt a little more flat than her previous book.

After loving Laurie Frankel's This Is How It Always Is, I jumped at the chance to read this book. However, this one just didn't do it for me. Despite an interesting subject, I just could not get fully invested in the characters. This could possibly be because it took me a while to distinguish the separate characters and their personalities and POVs just blended together so I spent more time just trying to keep them straight.

PROS
* Love that Laurie tackles hard but very real issues
* Enjoy that she keeps her characters real and captures their ages (teens feel like teens, adults feel like adults ... if that makes sense)
* Love that she deals with real life issue and problems (disabilities, community, family dynamics, corporations, etc.)
* Switching who tells the story in each chapter to get a different POV

CONS
* The three main characters having multiple names. Although it was explained, I had to keep reminding myself who's who
* Normally listening to an audiobook helps when there are different perspectives, this time it actually confused me more. Maybe this book is better when read
* Mirabel communicates through an AAC device. The audiobook really captured what that is like because of the robotic sound, but hearing Mirabel's inner thoughts read normally threw me off. I mean, it was an awesome way to show that just because she can't communicate through speech she is just like everyone else in her mind, but when listening it became a distraction
* I thought the intention of the subject was great, but sometimes there was a lot of words and not much happening with them

Overall, this one just wasn't for me; but can't wait to see what's next from this author.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

I so enjoyed the premise of this book. I found the characters fascinating. I love the interview with the author at the end detailing how she came up with the names and narrators. I thought the narrators were fantastic and I could always tell who was talking at any given point. This is not a book I would normally pick up for fun in a bookstore with such a deep topic but I would totally recommend it to a friend. What a lovely story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

After two unique and interesting books, Laurie Frankel is now an auto buy author for me.

I love a book about a small town and the people on it and the town of Bourne is full of fascinating characters. This book premise reminded me of Erin Brokovich, but with it’s own unique spin.

Audio is the way to go with this book. The triplets being narrated by three different narrators was perfect and fully immerses you into the story.

This book is thought provoking, memorable and touching. Definitely one that will be on my mind for awhile.


Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the #gifted audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVED This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel so I was excited about this one but it just was a miss for me, I found myself very boring and I couldn't really keep track of the triplets as they seemed to just have the same voice. I can tell she tried to make them distinct but I still had a hard time keeping track so maybe it was just me?Other than that, this was just an okay read that I thought about not finishing quite a few times but had to push through.

The narrators did do a great job bringing the story to life. Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillian Audio for the advance audiobook.

3.5 stars. A well written character driven book that’s impactful and heartwarming. The story is told in three perspectives and the characters are so well developed, you can easily tell them apart. Coming from a small town, I could totally relate to some aspects of this book and I was rooting for the whole town. I did find the story to be a bit slow but I’m sure other people will appreciate it being told that way. The narration was great! I recommend checking this one out.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. I loved the relationships of the triplets who the book was centered around. Loved all the characters and I LOVED the ending. I wish it didn’t end I’d love to hear more about everyone’s lives!!!

Everyone knows everyone in the tiny town of Bourne, but the Mitchell triplets are especially beloved. Mirabel is the smartest person anyone knows, and no one doubts it just because she can’t speak. Monday is the unofficial official town librarian (even though there’s technically no library). Mab’s job is hardest of all: get good grades, get into college, get out of Bourne.

Seventeen years ago, the tiny town of Bourne was national news when its water turned green, caused by runoff from the town’s biggest employer, a chemical company. The company shut down, but there was no escape for the citizens of Bourne. Over the years the problems multiplied: pets died, local businesses closed, cancers multiplied, children were born with birth defects, people died.

The girls have come of age watching their mother’s endless fight for justice. But just when it seems life might go on the same forever, the first moving truck anyone’s seen in years pulls up and unloads new residents and old secrets. Soon, the Mitchell sisters are taking on a system stacked against them and uncovering mysteries buried longer than they’ve been alive.

The book is alternately narrated by Mirabel, Mab, and Monday. I really enjoyed their different perspectives, although it added to the length of the book (a hefty almost-400 pages). I ended up alternating between the audio and hard copy and that worked very well for me.

I really enjoyed Frankel’s previous book This Is How It Always Is, and once again the author made me laugh, cry, rail against the world, and ultimately question my assumptions about everything.

Highly recommended and approved for your next #bookclubpick!

Thank you @henryholtbooks for the #ARC and @macmillianaudio and @netgalley for the #ALC wonderfully narrated by Emma Galvin, Jesse Vilinsky, and Rebecca Soler.