I just reviewed Our Little World by Karen Winn. #OurLittleWorld #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This book will be published May 3, 2022.

The book started off strong, with sisters Bee and Audrina, and then Sally’s disappearance at the lake but I found the ending a bit anticlimactic.

Themes include sisters, unsolved missing persons cases, guilt, secrets, jealousy and ultimately regrets.

Original review posted on GoodReads.

I plowed through this lovely, coming-of-age-against-a-backdrop-of-tragedy story, set in a small New Jersey town in 1985. Beautifully written with characters who came to life on the page, it felt like I was watching a film I couldn’t step away from.

Winn got the painful family dynamics just right. Borka, AKA Bee, is the awkward, slightly older sister of pretty and charming Audrina, the favorite of their parents and peers. The sisters grapple with jealousy, blooming adolescence, crushes, along with the curse and blessing of sisterhood, the shadow of illness and their father’s infidelity.

At the heart of the book’s drama is the disappearance of their 4-year-old neighbor, Sally, which turns their idyllic, happy town into a place of fear and suspicion. Secrets related to the little girl’s vanishing soon drive a deep wedge between the sisters, setting the tone for their family’s undoing. No spoilers, but don’t miss this book!

This was beautiful! Immediately you are drawn into the world of Borka (Bee) as she recounts a summer during her childhood when everything changed for her. The imagery of summertime was excellent and the dread of little Sally going missing kept off the page. Although I didn’t grow up in the 80’s this was just about exactly how childhood felt for me — long summer days at the pool, riding bikes with the neighborhood kids, etc.

This really excels at painting a portrait of these two sisters and how they come together and grow apart, all the while navigating issues of their own. We are told pretty early on that Bee’s sister ends up dying and having that knowledge while reading about their fights and then their tender moments really puts a different spin on how you feel while reading these things.

Sally’s disappearance is really the catalyst and then backdrop that threads throughout the entire novel and really helps ties a lot of different aspects of the story together. I will say the pace slowed way down in the middle but the beginning and end make up for this with the beginning being super engaging and the end wrapping up quickly (but not too quick!) I’m rarely a fan of an epilogue but this one was nicely done and necessary for this sorry.

I received an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

In the summer of 1985, the adorable, four-year-old, Sally went missing from a day at the lake. For hours, everyone searched in the water and then in the woods. She wasn't found.

If this had been in the big city, no one would have paid much attention. But this was Hammend, NJ, a town of 5,000. For days, neighbors were interviewed by the officers and there was shock throughout the community that something like this could happen. This became the talk of the town.

Sally's mother, Mrs. Baker, was the one that took the kids to Deer Chase Lake. She wasn't watching. Her 12-year-old son, Max, was swimming with his friend and neighbor, Audrina, a tad younger. And then there was her sister, Bee, same age at Max. Where was she and why wasn't anyone paying attention to this little girl they all loved?

The coming-of-age story was all about Bee and how she was able to adjust through relationships and struggles. Bee found part of Sally's charm bracelet she had been wearing. It was in the sand. She took it home and put it in her drawer for safe keeping. It was later discovered and her dad spoke to her privately about this. After admitting her guilt for hiding evidence that may have helped with the search, she asked if he ever did anything like this. He paused and said yes. He stole bread when he was a boy living in Budapest during WWII. "They were struggling -- we all were, once the Russians came. They took everything from us -- the Communists. Everything we worked hard for." This made me pause when in real time, Putin was invading Ukraine.

Everything in the book was carefully crafted to make the 80's come to life with Mrs. Baker selling Mary Kay cosmetics and driving a station wagon while smoking cigarettes. The kids played spin-the-bottle in the basement sharing a beer. When Sally went missing they used walkie-talkies. The sisters brought back memories of what growing up is like with competition, anxiety and love with a satisfying ending. It would be a good beach read.

My thanks to Karen Winn, Dutton books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced book with the expected release date of May 3, 2022.

I enjoyed this coming-of-age story set in the 1980's. It starts off on the day the neighbor child disappears. The child is the younger sister of Bee's friend, Max. And Bee and her sister and Max and his sister are at the beach with their mother when the girl disappears. Both families are extremely dysfunctional, but the book is still interesting and Bee is a likable character with a secret.

Our Little World is a nostalgic look at an imperfect family and an imperfect community set in New Jersey in the 80's. The story is told from the viewpoint of Bee, the older sister of Audrina. These two love each other but are in constant competition. This competition leads to many misunderstandings, hard feelings, pain, and guilt.

When a young neighbor, Sally, disappears, conflict between the sisters continues to grow, even as they both share in the sorrow and fear of what may have happened to her. Later, as another crisis arises with Audrina, and Bee discovers a devastating secret of her own, their lives twist in tragic ways.

I was surprised to learn that this was a debut novel; the writing was exceptional and the story itself kept me engrossed until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for my honest review. 4 solid stars.

The opening pages of this book led me to believe it would be plot driven. It is revealed early on that the narrator's sister will die, but context for her death is not shared. A new family moves in across the street, and their 4-year-old daughter goes missing at the community's lake and it is believed she was abducted. These two things alone are a great set-up for a novel heavily focused on plot. But this book is much more. Although these ideas dance around in the background, this is much more a coming-of-age story, a story about relationships, and how tragic events get processed by children. This is a solid debut novel and is very well written. My only wish is that I would have felt more connection with the narrator. As presented, I didn't like her much, and although I thought she was a "typical kid" in many ways, I found her lack of self-esteem a bit whiney. Perhaps I couldn't relate because I don't have a sister so close to my own age, and the intensity of the competition the narrator felt with her sister was foreign to me. All told though, this is worth your time. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

4.25 STARS

“Our Little World” is a coming-of-age story centered on the complicated relationship between two sisters, set against a backdrop of a small New Jersey community rocked by tragedy in the mid-1980’s. It’s reminiscent of a simpler, more nostalgic time, where summers were carefree and youthful innocence had yet to be tainted. It’s a beautifully written journey into the past that is also filled with plenty of heartbreak and turmoil, drawing out a myriad of emotions from the reader every step of the way. In addition, the author does an excellent job of shining a spotlight on dysfunctional family dynamics, along with teenage rivalry, angst, and insecurities, reminding us how childhood adversity impacts our lives and ultimately shapes our future. What a great debut novel by Karen Winn!

Bee, as she prefers to be called, and her younger sister Audrina, live in New Jersey. The year is 1985 and their world consist of friends, beach, fun, and the security of loving parents and home. But all that changes on a fateful day at the beach when a little girl goes missing. The neighborhood where the two sisters live is small, so everybody knows everybody. Suspicions grow and the sisters confide in friends and share thoughts about Sally, the missing girl.
The story centers around the two sisters and their hate/love relationship. They have secrets from each other but write those down in their diaries.
Bee sees something from her window that really upsets her, and she also has a secret she has held since the day Sally went missing.
I did enjoy the relationship between the sisters and could picture the whole story in my mind.
This book flows well, and I look forward to reading another by this author.
Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book truly blew me away. Everything about it was right up my alley. The time period, coming of age, mystery. This book was the perfect little package. The author truly tapped into the characters and their personalities. The added little twists gave the book the little push over the edge it needed to be truly amazing. I would wholly recommend this book and will look forward to future works from this author.

A coming of age story set in the 1980's small New Jersey town. What starts out as another normal summer for two sisters quickly changes with new neighbors who have moved across the street., A child disappearance and a teenager dealing with juvenile diabetes makes this story so compelling. The character development along with the writing will want you to read more by this author.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group, Dutton for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is an amazing book about life in the 1980’s in a small New Jersey town. It is about two sisters who are a year apart and the struggles of family life. The sisters have a loving bond most of the time, except when they do not. One day on a trip to the lake with neighbors a 4 year old girl suddenly disappears and all their lives are forever changed. The story is so captivating that I found myself actually believing it to be real. That is the mark of a great author.

All of the characters are thoroughly explained and you live their story through their eyes as the whole town reels from the child’s disappearance. When one of the sisters develops diabetes your heart breaks for all the family as they try to help her. Having a child with diabetes I could really relate to these problems.

I highly recommend this book to teens and adults. If you are a child of the 1980’s it will be a very nostalgic trip down memory lane for you. Karen Winn is a gifted first time author and I hope to read more of her books in the future.

If you are a Gen X, a child of the 80's, then you will enjoy reading this book. There is so much nostalgia, everything from dressing up like Madonna on Halloween to Strawberry Shortcake and denim skirts and leggings. I was taken back to what it was like to be a kid during the summer of 1985, the simplicity of life, and hopes for what the future may hold. The author's writing style is excellent, and so atmospheric. It is hard to believe this is a debut novel because it is so well done. This is a family drama with a murder mystery about a 5-year-old girl entwined, but the story really focuses on the relationship of sisters, Borka "Bee" and Audrina "Drina". Their relationship is pretty complex, which you start out knowing right in the first chapter of the book. Midway though the book, I told myself that this read like a YA novel, and I usually don't like that genre. I held on, though, and kept going, and I am so very glad that I did. I ended up really enjoying this, and I give it 4 stars. I highly recommend it to anyone who grew up in the 80's, or enjoys books about sisterhood. It ended up being a very emotional, heart tugging read, probably one of the best books I've read so far in 2022.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Pick this one up if you're a lover of 80s nostalgia, sister dynamics, missing children mystery stories and a problem to solve.

This was really enjoyable, but I have to admit at times it dragged, and I found my eyes skimming at certain parts to get to the ending.

All in all this was a good book and story and I liked the focus on being set in the 80s.

A snow day means a day off from school! I was able to stay up a bit later last night to read and then finish this gem this morning! I'm not sure where I saw this book recommended, but I requested it from @netgalley and was lucky enough to get an ARC! Had I not seen a recommendation, I would have likely skipped right past it. Of course, an @elinhilderbrand rec goes a long way, too!!

It's really a story of two sisters (ages 12 and 13). They have a very typical sister relationship - they're friends, but at the same time not friends. There's jealousy. There's animosity. There's love. Told from the perspective of the older sister, Bee, we do get glimpses of what Audrina's feelings are through diary entries. The story stems around the disappearance of their neighbor, Sally, who is 4. The aftermath that unfolds, and the events that follow, have a profound impact on Bee and her relationship with Audrina.

This is one of those books where it's better if you don't know too much. It's superbly written, easy to read, and the pacing is spot on. Set in the 80's, I was about the same age as Bee and Audrina so the references brought me back to that time and made me remember what the fads were at the time - Esprit bags, Cabbage Patch Kids, and jelly bracelets!

With a release date of May 3, add this one to your TBR!!!

I don’t know that I can write a review to do this book justice. The story is a beautifully written coming of age story. I felt so many emotions reading this one. I always love reading a debut author and Karen Winn did not disappoint.

In the summer of 1985, Bee never expects her New Jersey town to change drastically. When her neighbor, five year old Sally, goes missing at the lake, Bee and her family’s casual summer is over.

This book snagged me in from the very first page. While it is slow moving at times, I just got sucked into Bee’s life. I love a good coming of age story, especially when there are tragic situations that affect the character’s development. This book really was about family, and a pretty normal, suburban family in the mid 80’s. We are told the major events of the story at the beginning, so don’t expect any major plot twists. The heart of the take lay in the characters, and especially Bee and how she is affected for life.

“During the summer of ‘85 - back before everything changed - we were all alive, in our little world, our front doors less than one hundred feet apart.”

Our Little World comes out 5/3.

This book is about the deaths of two girls, which happened in very different ways. It’s set in the 80s and is narrated by one of the girl’s sisters. The focus is really on the narrator and how these deaths impacted her life.
The sisters’ relationship was very realistic. I wished for a little more happiness in the book, but life isn’t always happy.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

3.5 stars
Here’s my quick take review…

This book is for the 80’s girls, the lovers of nostalgia, the sisters, the girlfriends, anyone yearning for a simpler time and everyone who loves a good coming of age story.

There is a mystery interwoven, and there is a twist I didn’t see coming. I really enjoyed this book, but I did feel like the plot dragged a bit toward the end. I found myself skimming in places. But all in all, this is a book worth reading, and I’m so glad I did.

My thanks to @duttonbooks and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book before its May 3 publication date.

The novel takes place during the mid-80's, a time when I was a young mother raising four daughters. This was definitely a more “innocent” time, when compared to what we are living through today.

This cul de sac in New Jersey reminded me a lot of the suburb where we were living. Kids rode their bikes, played red light green light, played board games and generally soaked in the summer days. We also had a community pool where we spent endless days filled with swimming and playing in the water.

What I’m trying to say is that this book gave me back all of the “feels” of the 80’s, exactly as I remembered them. THIS BOOK TRANSPORTED ME BACK IN TIME AND IT WAS GOOD, UNTIL TRAGEDY STRUCK!!

Bee is one year older than Audrina, however Audrina is usually the girl in the spotlight. She enjoys clothes, polishing her nails and is starting to notice boys. Bee is a straight A student and spends a lot of time riding her bike and reading. She has a few good friends but is not one of the popular girls. She is jealous of the attention that her sister always seems to attract.

New neighbors move in from Boston, Max is Bee’s age and little Sally is 4. The mothers take turns taking the kids to Deer Chase Lake

One day, that started like every other, turns to tragedy when 4 y/o Sally goes missing from the beach. I FELT THE TERROR OF EVERY MOTHER’S WORST NIGHTMARE!!

The novel picks up the pace and we move through the teen years, into adulthood and all of the changes that these girls and their parents went through. Some sad things and some very good and unforeseen things. Relationships change, evolve and sometimes end, that’s the way life is!

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK:
The characters were wonderfully well described! The kids felt real and the adults were relatable. I loved spending time with them!

The setting of a small town in New Jersey felt authentic. I could picture the small lake and beach and feel the hot summer sun, not so different from Wisconsin.

The writing flowed well. There was no point where I felt bored, just excited to see what happens next. Incredible that this is a debut novel.!!

The blurb and other reviews may tell you more of the plot but I think it’s better to go in blind. I did and was glad that there was so much to uncover in this novel.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great storyteller, because this author definitely is very skilled at creating atmosphere and great characters! I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to read and review this title.