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.

Our Little World tells the story of Bee Kocsis, a girl growing up in suburbia, whose seemingly mundane life is disrupted by two tragedies.

It is a hot summer day on Deer Chase Lake when Bee’s next-door neighbor, toddler-aged Sally, disappears. Despite a comprehensive search, Sally remains missing. Bee is bereft and confused; she doesn’t get enough details from adults and tries to puzzle together what happened. This true crime leaves an indelible imprint on her childhood.

We also know early in the book that Bee’s younger sister, Audrina, has passed away. The sisters’ relationship is complex. Bee feels as much love as jealousy, and that jealousy triggers guilt. It is not until nearly the end that we find out what happened to Audrina. Through the slow build, I became more attached to the sisters’ bond, making it even harder to read about Audrina’s passing.

This book explores feelings and relationships in a way that I found sad, poignant, and real. I was rapt, even as the book grew sadder. 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a first book this was good but I wasn’t crazy about it as many of the other reviewers. There’s a missing child, as there is in so many other books, and two sisters close in age who love and resent each other in equal doses, and with the child the day she vanished. Most of the story, told in the older sisters voice, talks about her relationships with her sister, parents and peers. But it seemed like we went over the same material again and again. We’re told from the beginning her younger sister is going to die which detracts from the surprise of the actual death. I could not become invested in any of the characters, which make the book so so in my eyes.

5 stars doesn't do this book justice.. Karen Winn took me on an emotional rollercoaster and I have never finished a book feeling so completely satisfied. From beginning to end I felt connected with Bee, her sister Audrina and the disappearance of their 4 year old neighbor Sally. Karen Winn has such a way with words that she just draws the reader in and makes them not want the story to end. I can not praise this book enough and HIGHLY recommend everyone pick up their own copy to enjoy. A very special thank you to Karen Winn, Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Synopsis of book:

July 1985. It’s a normal, sweltering New Jersey summer for soon-to-be seventh grader Bee Kocsis. Her thoughts center only on sunny days spent at Deer Chase Lake, on evenings chasing fireflies around her cul-de-sac with the neighborhood kids, and on Max, the boy who just moved in across the street. There's also the burgeoning worry that she'll never be as special as her younger sister, Audrina, who seems to effortlessly dazzle wherever she goes.

But when Max’s little sister, Sally, goes missing at the lake, Bee’s long-held illusion of stability is shattered in an instant. As the families in her close-knit community turn inward, suspicious and protective, things in Bee’s own home become increasingly strained, most of all with Audrina, when a shameful secret surfaces. With everything changed, Bee and Audrina’s already-fraught sisterhood is pushed to the limit as they grow up—and apart—in the wake of an innocence lost too soon.

I requested to read and review this book for free from Dutton Publishing an Imprint of Penguin Random House. This book has lots of mystery, drama, innocence and reality. This reality heart breaking drama. Will make you rethink life and the people around you. Do you really know your neighbors or your family. Can you truly know what a brother or sister or very close friend is going through. Every person handles a suitation differently. Who are we to say which way is right or wrong. Trust is an interesting thing. This book is for a mature reader and can be ready anywhere.

I enjoyed this debut novel, it had a quirky preteen Stand By Me (AKA The Body by Stephen King) angsty feel with a female protagonist.

If you're craving a police procedural or a fast hard-boiled investigation, this isn’t for you.

This novel is a little bit mystery, a little bit domestic drama, but most of all it’s a coming of age story. Get ready to live inside the mind of a young girl trying to carve out a space, a way to feel seen in her small town, in her school’s social circle, and even within her own family . . . amidst the disruption of change, new neighbors, and the shared trauma of a missing child.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Dutton for an advanced copy of In Our Little World for my unbiased evaluation. 4 stars

This is a strong debut novel by Karen Winn. It is a novel about small towns, adolescence, and sisterhood. I was drawn to this book because I love coming of age novels and this one did not disappoint.

This is a book about small towns, and their secrets and struggles, and how they pull together in the face of adversity. The reader is drawn into the lives of 12 year old Bee and her 11 year old sister, Audrina, and the small community of Hammend, New Jersey in the 1980s. The picture that the author paints of the time period and this fictional town readily evoke feelings of nostalgia.

This is positively a book about adolescence; the interlude between childhood and adulthood. Ms. Winn does a great job of demonstrating what an awkward time it is to be a middle schooler - the desire to be noticed, to be popular, to be the center of attention, to experience newly found freedoms, and the yearning of a first love. However, this is also a book about sisters; their love and adoration mixed in with their anger and jealousy. I never had a sister, but I believe that this story will definitely resonate with those who do.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin Group Dutton for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book in return for an honest review. Publication date: May 3, 2022.

This book is set in a small town. In NJ mid 80s era.The main story is about two sisters and the dynamics of the family along with their neighbors after a tragic event at the lake. The little girl across the street goes missing. The effects on each person from
this event color everything that happens from that moment on. Maybe difficult subject matter to some.

This book was pretty incredible. I know this is Karen Winn's first novel, but it her writing is absolutely amazing! I'm not sure how she did it, but this book was honestly better than I was expecting.

Our Little World is written in a past tense form; meaning the main character, Bee, is reflecting back on her life when she was about 12 years old and telling her story. Immediately, we know that two people have died in Bee's life that were close to her when she was younger, so this was basically her story telling what happened within the time frame of about two years.

The plot was actually really captivating. I was surprised that I wanted to know what happened to Sally and Audrina. I liked how the book was split into two parts: the first about Sally and the second about Audrina. The story describes how even what seems like a small decision at the time, can actually have huge consequences.

Bee... I hated Bee at times. But I feel like I was supposed to hate her at those time. It was weird reading from her perspective and learning what she was thinking when she took certain actions, but still hating her at the same time. Actually, most of the time I didn't like Bee... but occasionally I would like her. I actually think the author purposefully made me not like her, but I was still okay reading from her perspective... if that makes any sense.

Now the ending... here is the spoilers so stop reading here if you don't want to know what happens. SPOILER After I finished the book, I just kept thinking about Jimmy and Audrina. About how he supposably was there when they got the call that she was hurt. I feel like that wasn't an accident and maybe he had something to do with her death. I'm so glad that Bee's mom came home when she did because I think something bad would have happened to Bee if she didn't. While the ending left me with slightly more questions about Audrina, I was still happy with the way the book ended.

Overall, I would recommend this book to others because it was extremely fascinating, and the author is an incredible writer.

This was so good. Hard to put down. The kind of mystery I like! Lots of issues raised like how children blame themselves for bad things that happen. Also good descriptions of adolescent troubles like popularity, secrets, father’s infidelities, insecurities and different relationships. I will be watching this author closely.

This book is literally a trip down your memory lane to remind you of your own teenage years!

It takes your breath away, touching your heart deeply, making you remember complex years of your childhood, sibling relationships, your search to find the place in social circle, your attempts to find your own path!

It’s about grief, guilt, resentment, second thoughts, sacred bound of sisterhood, jealousy, sibling rivalry, being the favorite of your parents, death, diabetes, family secrets, crime, friendship, the words stuck in your throat, your mistakes, first love, first kiss, thin line between moving on and stuck in the same place mentally and physically…

This is seventh grader Bee ( Borka) Kocsis’ story: starts in 1985, small town New Jersey, where she lives with her family including parents and one year younger sister Audrina who is the favorite child of the family.

Audrina is everything Bee dreams to be: she attracts everyone, getting the spotlight at the social gatherings, knows how to communicate and make friends. She’s pretty, nice, social butterfly as Bee is tomboy, bookish, reserved. But as a big sister Bee always cares the deep bounding she has with her sister.

When new neighbors move across the street: a family with two children: Max who is at the same age with Bee and 4 years old Sally, the balances between two sisters’ relationship slowly change.

Four of them start hanging together. But their latest trip to the lake ends with a compelling tragedy: Sally gets lost! Bee finds the piece of charm bracelet of Sally. The bracelet belongs to Audrina but she gives it to Sally at the same day she got lost even though Bee requested that bracelet from her sister before. Resentment she felt made her kept the bracelet piece to herself without giving information to the police officers who were looking for Sally!

Bee doesn’t have any clue how keeping that treasure to herself will cause the estrangement between her sister and the disappearance of Sally will change her life in the social circle in the high school.

As she drifts apart with her sister who is acting erratically, she makes new friends, having crush on Max who still deals with guilt feelings to leave his sister behind and witnesses his mother’s peculiar manners around people!

The author’s gifted storytelling skills made me drawn into this book. It was incredible and I honestly couldn’t put it down till the end!

Absolutely my favorite historical fiction of the test and I highly recommend this genuine, heart wrenching, honestly written story!

Special thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This book drew me in right away, and I couldn't let go. It's one of those you find yourself slowing down as you get near the end, not wanting it to end. Two sisters, all the issues that come with that, but adding the 80s into the mix, took me back to those years. When a young girl goes missing, the summer for Max, Audrina, and Bee changes and turns into a time they never could have anticipated. This was a book I won't soon forget. Thank you to Penguin Group, the author, and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up to four.

Our Little World, which takes place in the 1980s, takes us on a journey exploring adolescence, family and peer relationships, and loss.

I grew up in 70s and 80s, and Adam Walsh is permanently seared in my mind. We walked the line of being free to explore on our bikes until the streetlights came on, while also being aware of missing kids on milk cartons and that the larger world outside our neighborhoods could be a scary place.

The novel is largely centered around the disappearance of young Sally.. the fear, the guilt, seeing the effect on adults and others in the community. Concurrently explored is the relationship between the two sisters- the push and pull, jealousy and love that exists in all sibling relationships but perhaps more acutely between sisters.

Overall it was a good read but there were a few things for me that just... hung out there. This isn't the kind of book that ties things up neatly and I think I expected it would be.. which is more my issue than the author's! Life isn't like that, after all.

I enjoyed the book taking place in the 1980s- nostalgia for sure!

Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Our Little World by Karen Winn is a heart-wrenching tale of two sisters amidst their sibling rivalry and yet deep love and responsibility for each other's well-being. Set in a small town community where everyone thinks they know and care about everyone's business, the coming-of-age sisters share the trauma of a missing or maybe murdered neighbor and more trials and tribulations that families encounter. This novel has many twists and surprises that keep you guessing and reading to the end.

A 4 year old goes missing while swimming at the lake. She was with her mother, her brother and Austrian and Borja, the girls who lived across the street. This book chronicles the summer that it happened and follows the girls into the high school years. This book was well-written, had many “things” happening but was a tad slow for me, focusing on the lives of teenage girls. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
Fall in love with two little girls - sisters - who have a love/hate relationship as only sisters can have. Feel the love - feel the sisters fights over silly nothings. Feel them grow apart as they each are interested in different things. And when a child goes missing while they are all swimming at the swimming hole - feel the fear.
A story so unique you will be pulled into it from page one.

Our Little World by Karen Winn is a sorrowful story of loss, love and tragedy. It is told in the first person by Bee, a 12 year old on the cusp of adolescence. We learn in the prologue that her 11 year old sister will die and much of the narrative delves into the complex relationship between the sisters, Bee and Audrina.

The initial tragedy is an abduction of a 4 year old girl named Sally from a lake in a small New Jersey town where everyone knows everyone else. This puts everyone on alert, and despite the intensity of the search party, she is never found. Later on, she is known as 'Lake Girl'.

I love the way the book portrays 11 and 12 year old girls and their cliques. first loves, and attempts to understand what it means to be on the cusp of adulthood.

Ultimately, this is a book about family, especially sisters. They fight, make up, say the ugliest and most lovely things to each other and find themselves inextricably bound to one another. The back story of the parents is also interesting and we learn the price that is paid by keeping secrets.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

Bee is a wonderful narrator and very perceptive for her age. My only quibble with this novel, and it's a small one, is that sometimes it came off as a YA book.

This story is set in a neighborhood cul de sac in the 1980's, when the children would gather together during the warm summer days to play, swim, and explore. Max and Sally are new kids to the neighborhood and sisters Bee & Audrina quickly become their good friends and swimming partners. One summer day, little Sally goes missing when the group are all at the lake swimming. The community is shocked and searches and an investigation are underway immediately.

Life in their homes becomes more difficult, and Bee finds that her relationship with her sister Audrina becomes much more strained and uncomfortable. The book focuses a lot on the relationship between the young sisters, as well as the ongoing impact of Sally's missing status.

While a good mystery, this book was a little slow for my preference.

This was a beautifully written coming-of-age novel with a lot going. It’s not the type of story that will have you smiling as you turn the pages but one that captures your heart and makes you feel all the emotions until the very last page. It emphasizes how tragedies can change relationships in unexplainable ways, the complicated bond between sisters that’s ever-changing, and how we all make different life choices that impact those closest to us. While the story was written from the perspective of only one of the sisters, Bee, I do love how the author gave us insight into Audrina’s thoughts and feelings through her diary. I also liked how the ending showed Bee reflecting on her childhood as an adult and all possible questions I could have had were left answered. This one will stick with me for a while!!

Read if you….
-want a nostalgic read that accurately captures the 80s
-have a sister and cherish that bond
-live in a tight-knit community
-are interested in a small-town mystery with family drama
-liked the Lovely Bones

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 5/3/22

I truly loved this novel! I loved the writing and was drawn right in to the community!
It's a story of two sisters, their family,the New Jersey neighborhood they live in and their relationship as sisters, including fights, taking each others clothes, jealousy, and secrets. There is nothing like sisters!
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The early eighties were a time before computers and cell phones and life seemed easier. Summers meant going to the town lake or pool, playing outside with friends and sleep overs.
But.. Was it as easy as thought?
There is an unexpected tragedy which occurs one summer within the neighborhood causing fear, heartbreak, distrust and pain. Can this ever be resolved and people move forward?

This is a well depicted story that brought me right back to this time in my own life. It has every detail that I remembered and loved and some times that I did not like. A part of life that readers will enjoy!
I will definitely be looking for Karen Winn's next novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for allowing me to read this ARC and provide my review.