Coming of age stories are like catnip to me, so of course when I saw the description of this debut novel, it immediately jumped to the top of my TBR.

Set in the 1980s, this book explores sisterhood, growing up, family secrets, crime, loss and Hope beyond tragedy. I thought the writing was stunning and I couldn’t believe it was a debut novel. If you’re like me and love a good coming of age story, make sure Our Little World is on your TBR!

This is a very complex story for a debut novel. With a lot of nostalgia in the early eighties, tragedy hits this small town. Nothing like this has happened here and the community doesn't know how to handle it. The story delves into the family dynamic of two sisters and their family caught up in the tragedy.

A very well written story by a new author to follow. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I honestly don't even really know where to start with Our Little World by Karen Winn. This is a debut novel, and I didn't think that showed at all because it was just so good and flowed so well. There is a tiny bit of mystery to it thanks to Sally going missing, but since you are seeing all of this through the eyes of a young girl, it really isn't about that mystery being solved. There was a strong focus on Bee and her sister's relationship, and Winn also really brought to life what it is like to live in a small community where everyone knows everyone's business, or at the very least the rumors. I was glad that even though Bee is our only viewpoint and so young, this didn't really feel like a juvenile read to me. I honestly would have placed it in the adult fiction genre if I didn't know any better, and I loved that.

Part of the adult feel of this book could also have been because I listened to the audiobook and the narrator Jesse Vilinsky is clearly an adult, so I was technically listening to Bee through an adult's narration. Either way, I thought that Vilinsky did a stellar job voicing this book, and there wasn't a moment I didn't enjoy with her 'behind the wheel' so to speak. There are some really messed-up things that happen in Our Little World, and I almost want to categorize it as a bit of a family saga/drama. It is definitely a coming-of-age novel as both Hilderbrand's blurb and the synopsis suggest, and it gave me so many complex feelings and emotions as I was listening to it. The pacing is slow to be sure, but I never found myself bored or wishing for more which I thought was a great sign. If you are at all interested in books like this, I highly recommend picking up Our Little World and preparing yourself for an emotional roller coaster.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A bit of coming-of-age and a bit of mystery combine in this novel that begins in the summer of 1985. Told from the perspective of Borka or “Bee”, as she prefers to be called, and the oldest sister to the beautiful, popular, and lovable Audrina, Bee reflects back on the summer that changed everything for her family. Tragedy strikes during a typical summer day at the lake with their neighbors the Bakers. The youngest Baker sister, Sally, goes missing. The idyllic New Jersey summer of 1985 changed the lives of Bee and Audrina forever. As Bee looks back on the years 1985-1986, she remembers the angst of being a teenager, the complicated relationship with her sister, and the secrets from that time that almost tore their family apart.

“It was a few seconds and it was a few hours and it was the rest of our lives.”

The first sentence tells the reader that Audrina and Sally die. But, it takes nearly the whole story to find out what happens to them. As we follow Bee and Audrina growing up in the close-knit New Jersey community, we know in the back of our minds that something terrible is going to happen. We witness the fights and hurtful words between two sisters and hope that those aren’t the last words said to each other. Those of us with sisters or siblings understand the friction, the annoyances, and the regrets in managing those relationships. As they try to overcome the summer that Sally went missing, never being left alone or free to roam outside, Bee remembers the summer that she became the closest to her sister.

“Was a family room still a family room when your family no longer existed?”

It was precious to read a story set in the 1980s, a time frame that I grew up in while remembering life before cell phones and social media. A time when we only had a landline and corded phones to talk to our friends. I remember the fear of Adam Walsh going missing and seeing a child’s face on a milk carton. What happened to those kids and what happened to Sally Baker? The Kocsis and Baker families can’t bear to imagine the worst, but after a year, how could she still be alive?

“Accidents were spilled drinks and items you knock over when you brush too closely against a table and the time Audrina crashed her bike. Accidents were not this. Accidents were not death.”

There are numerous family issues in the story as well including infidelity, alcoholism, secrets, and betrayal. Can any family recover from the events during the summer of 1985? For a first-time novelist, I thought the pacing of the story was particularly well done. The voice of teen Bee and adult Bee were authentic and the feelings Bee struggled with were easy to identify with. What child doesn’t want to keep a secret that might get her in trouble? What child doesn’t play out the pros and cons of any situation, wondering what her next move should be regarding boys, friendships, and especially when dealing with family secrets?

If you like family stories, sister stories (one of my favorites), a mystery, or coming-of-age, this novel has all these qualities. I was impressed with the story and find myself thinking of Bee quite often. I hope there is more to come from Karen Winn in the future.

I didn't live in the 80s but reading Our Little World made me feel like I could have. Winn has a talent bringing you into the story and really making you feel like you're a part of the world. Although the book isn't quite what I was expecting, I enjoyed it very much. It's a bit of mystery, family drama, and coming-of-age all wrapped up into one book.

My only complaint would be that the dialogue between the sisters felt a little unrealistic. Some things they said just read like something coming out of an adult's mouth, rather than a child. Other than that, it was a nice book.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Many thanks to Penguin Group Dutton and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion. I love the setting and reality of this novel! Highly recommend

What a moving debut novel by author Karen Winn. I don't usually gravitate toward fictional crime dramas (especially ones involving a child), but when the publisher reached out saying the protagonist, Bee, would capture my heart, I just couldn't resist. And boy was she right. Bee was such a captivating character, as was her sister, Audrina, and I felt every emotion right along with them. Throw in the 80s setting, the sisterly bond, and the coming-of-age uncertainties, and this novel was a definite win.

@kbookwriter did an incredible job in allowing the reader to experience the palpable fear of the community, and the genuine angst of the teenagers in the story. And despite having to put the novel down a few times because of the chaos of life, the story was SO vivid that I never forgot the characters or the situation they were in when I had to put it down. In other words, it was deeply affecting.

There was more to the narrative than just the overarching tragic mystery. The author delves into the themes of sibling rivalry, family dynamics, survivor's guilt, and the angst that children of immigrants experience (of which I have first-hand knowledge).

This one is definitely worth your time, my friends!

Many thanks to Dutton Books, Penguin Random House, and Net Galley for gifting me with this advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

For more of my reviews, please check out my blog at www.mamasgottaread.blogspot.com or follow me on Instagram at www.instagram.com/mamasgottaread !

Atmospheric and a realistic coming of age story.
Many thanks to Penguin Group Dutton and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am not sure how I feel about this one. I enjoyed it to an extent, but it was not what I was expecting. I need to process my thoughts and feelings for a bit…

A rec by Elin Hilderbrand brought this book to my attention. I read this over a weekend and it really held my attention. So interesting how the stories of 2 families on 1 suburban block in New Jersey are so enmeshed.

“We didn’t function in quite the same way as some of the other families in the neighborhood.”

This is an emotional story for sure, very heartbreaking. It’s a very well written debut novel that reflects on family dynamics and the relationship between two sisters. In a suburban neighborhood in NJ in the 1980’s, the disappearance of a little girl is front and center in this story. But there are other things going and secrets that are a burden for twelve year old Bee to understand. Her sister Audrina carries a different burden when she is diagnosed with diabetes. There is sibling rivalry and jealousy, but Bee and Audrina do love each other. There are parents who love their children, but make mistakes, who are at times oblivious to things happening and there are consequences from which there is no turning back. To say more would give too much of the story away so I won’t say much more. There’s a chilling epilogue, but yet there is hope that the memory of the love will sustain those who remain. I will definitely be looking for what Karen Winn may write next .


I received a copy of this book from Dutton Books through NetGalley.

It's 1985 in small town New Jersey, the kids ride their bikes to the pool or the lake to swim. Twelve year old Bee and younger sister Audrina Kocsis live on a cul-de-sac across from new neighbors Max and Sally. Our Little World is an interesting coming of age story where there are lots of secrets and sibling love and rivalry.

One day at the lake, young Sally goes missing. Who saw her last? Is she alive or dead? It tears the families apart and the small town where no had ever been afraid before. But it's the relationship between Bee and Audrina that is strongest in the book. The love they have but are unable to actually talk because they are both jealous of the other. Their bond is very strong but very complicated.

I liked the book but I couldn't climb into it like I like. The mystery of Sally seems to go on too long and I couldn't relate enough to feel invested in the characters. Tragedy on top of tragedy, maybe it was too much for me.

This is a coming-of-age/mystery book that made my jaw drop when the final revelation was given. The story is well balanced between the mystery and it's repercussions and the relationships of the people. In particular, is the relationship between the two sisters (one of whom is the narrator). I have two sisters and though our relationships are quite different from Bee and Audrina's, there are enough 'universal sisterhood' traits that I could easily identify from my own childhood.

This isn't a fast read - not because the pacing is slow, but because it calls out for thought in so many ways. It's not one to breeze through. The characters are so real and the situations complex that I was totally absorbed in the book.

I thought it was an excellent book.

Small town neighborhood in New Jersey in 1985. Brings back many memories of that time. Being young and experiencing Summer and all of its activities. Sisters and their relationship. Neighbors and the relationships between neighbors. A sad story too.

The complexity of sisterhood…

⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: It’s the summer of 1985 when four-year-old Sally goes missing. Everyone was there including Bee and Audrina Kocsis, sisters who rode there with Sally, her older brother Max, and Max & Sally’s mom. Then… everything happens. Life. A town in turmoil. A family that isn’t as together as it seems. Yup, Life. And it’s all it should be - good, bad, and tragic.

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: I love the simplicity of this book. It’s a taut tale of life sprinkled with immense tragedy. Winn foreshadows it. The reader knows it’s coming. And it still took me by surprise because Winn writes these pivotal moments WELL. One of those where you know it’s coming but somehow brush it aside until it comes back and smacks you square in the face. From the complicated pre-teen sister relationship of Bee and Audrina, fraught with petty grudges and perceived wrongs (oh the drama!) to the more serious issues of dealing with a lost child, one who may be gone forever, childhood disease, change, family… Winn covers big and small, simply. Honestly. With integrity.

This makes the book one that’s pure emotion, particularly if you have kids - because it touches on those deep fears parents bury down in the place they don’t talk about. Flawed, real-human-crafted characters round out my favorable aspects of this novel - no one is perfect (well except the one “perfect” girl in town, but she’s predictably boring) and that’s what endears them to you as the reader - authenticity.

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆𝗠𝗮𝗴𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

📚𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Contemporary Fiction/1980’s

😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: Those who love a traditional novel, it’s not fast-paced, but is so worth the ride!

🙅‍♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: if you’re looking for quick, easy reads. This one has complications, slow parts, etc

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for making me realize having a brother is pretty awesome, but I enjoying the pretend world of sisterhood immensely.

Our Little World was the sad story of a small town in New Jersey. Bee and her sister are experiencing all the things that come with summer. Days at the club, swimming at the lake and getting to know the new neighborhood kids.

Bee and her sister, Audrina, have an interesting dynamic. One seems to get all the attention, while the other seems to blend into the sidelines. What starts as a typical summer changes drastically when 4-year-old Sally goes missing one day at the lake. This tiny, innocent town is flipped on its side as they struggle to find Sally and eventually figure out who has done it.

Sisterhood, mystery, health issues, and family dynamics all come to play in Karen Winn's Our Little World.

Reading this book almost made me feel like I had a sister myself. The relationship between Bee and Audrina was believable and touching. Our Little World is a tough look at how tragedy touches families and ripples out to neighborhoods and communities and an accurate portrayal about coming of age in the 1980s. The characters are flawed but complex and forgiveable. I will look for more by the author in the future.

I had a bit of a hard time reading this book, but it’s not because it’s not a good book. It’s actually quite good. It’s just that I get restless easily, and this is the kind of book that’s more about the characters and their emotions than events. Actually, change that: this book is more about how a single event affects the characters, their emotions, and their relationships over the course of what seems like a lifetime to the main character and narrator, but what, in reality, is just a little over a year. Books like this take quite a bit longer for me to read than other books because they seem to sit quite still in a way, lingering in its own thoughts in a way I never do, and then I get distracted for a while before I remember to come back to the book.

So it’s not a fast read. Not at all. But it’s a worthy and good read.

I’d like to say I’ve got a good grasp on what to write for this review, but I don’t. Since it’s literary fiction and I don’t really identify with the main character in any way it’s not like I can tap into that. I guess here’s what I think I can say:

Sometimes things happen when we’re young and in our formative years that affect us and our decisions for the rest of our lives. It can skew our decisions, perspective, emotions, and relationships in innumerable ways for the rest of our lives. And Karen Winn does an amazing job in not only writing with sincerity and compassion how those ripple in the pond play out, but she doesn’t leave anyone out, either. I think her decision to set this story in a sleepy little town and to concentrate the story even further on one small suburban neighborhood was very wise, because it allowed her to concentrate all her energy and talent on ensuring that same sincerity and compassion was extended to every character involved in the story. Some authors might have felt compelled to add more to the story to make it a little funnier or a little more dramatic or to add more romance, but Winn made a decision to stick with what she had and it paid off. To add anything more to this story would have taken away from it.

My only sincere complaint was the epilogue. I didn’t think it was needed, at all. I would’ve rather the book been left alone, as it was, sans epilogue. If you go to read this book, maybe try reading the book and stopping at the end and then waiting a while before you read the epilogue. Sit with the story for a while before you go read the epilogue. Savor the story for what it is before reading it. I recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you, Dutton Books, for the gifted copy of Our Little World 🏡

Genre: Fiction
Trope: Coming of Age
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 5.3.2022
Star Rating: ☆☆☆.5

"How had I not realized this by now? The impact of small things. Small-very-big things. Each-in-the-moment decision leading to the next. Like rungs on a ladder."

I've gone back and forth on how to write this review because while I do think that it was a fascinating book, it failed to live up to the expectation/direction that I anticipated the story to go. Maybe that's my fault, I read the synopsis and didn't read many reviews, but I had the impression that there would be more of a mystery to Our Little World. There is some mystery as a child goes missing, and the two Kocsis sisters spend time debating what happened to Sally. But, it was not the focus of the book.

I also struggled with the tedious nature of the book and the dialogue between the sisters. While it is briefly addressed in the book, I had trouble that these girls acted like women and not children. The way they communicated with one another would've led me to believe that they were in their late teens (not in seventh grade). Maybe I'm looking into it too much, but it got under my skin a few times.

Our Little World is a coming-of-age novel involving a tragic event that inevitably shapes the sister's lives. It was a deep look into their lives and the cracks in their family following Sally's disappearance. It was a beautifully written debut, and I will be reading the next book that Winn writes.

⏮ 80's nostalgia
👯‍♀️ Sister bonds
👧🏼 Missing child
📖 Coming of age (with very little mystery)
🤍 Debut novel

❌ - missing child - I've had several people message me about the graphic nature of Sally's disappearance. While it is unsettling, I never felt like Winn went into a lot of detail about what happened to her. I don't want to give anything away, so DM me, and I'll explain if you're looking for more detailed information.

Sally Baker, a sweet little four-year-old, went missing in a blink of an eye. She disappeared from the beach where Bee Kocsis, her sister Audrina, and friends spent the summer of 1985.

Sally’s disappearance rocks the close-knit town. It’s easy to point fingers as to who should have been watching Sally, the mother, the older brother, or the community as a whole. Now people are on edge.

Bee becomes more popular at school as kids want to know the sordid details of the day Sally went missing. But Bee has a secret that is gnawing at her. She found part of Sally’s charm bracelet in the sand and didn’t tell the police that day.

When Bee is found to be hiding the bracelet, her family relationships become strained, even more than they already are, and it will be something she forever regrets.

As much as this is a mystery, I found it a compelling coming-of-age story layered with family drama. Told from Bee’s perspective, as a seventh-grader, you get the nostalgia of growing up with the raw emotions caused by fear, guilt, and sorrow.

Thank you @duttonbooks for the gifted ebook and @PRHaudio for the audiobook.