Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

I have read a couple of children's books but not middle-grade books. So that makes "The Best Liars in Riverview" my first middle grade read. The author had given a vivid picture of how a 12-year-old child would feel when he/she thought they doesn't fit with others.

Aubrey and Joel were very close best friends from childhood. When Joel lost in the woods, Aubrey took it as her responsibility to find him. This story is written in a first-person pov which I like. It made me know what exactly Aubrey's thought process was and how much she struggled to find out who she was.

In her journey to find her friend Joel, Aubrey thought of her moments and conversations with Joel. So basically Joel didn't appear in the story till the very end. But still, his character was so well explained through Aubrey. Their friendship was so heartwarming.

I loved the side characters Aubrey's friend Mari and Aubrey's sister. They were so supportive and understanding of her. This story also expressed how a parent's mindset affects and changes a child. This was such a good and heartwarming read.

This book had the feel of Because of Winn Dixie crossed with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. A classic story of adventure and friendship and the desire to run away from everything. Kids will connect with this middle grade story about how we all have our secrets.

Aubrey’s friend Joel disappears into thin air and she was the last one to see him. The whole town is looking for him, and everyone is questioning Aubrey but she can’t tell the truth about what has really been going on. She and Joel built a raft and now the raft is missing. Planning on running away had been just a game, right? But now it seems Joel actually did it. But as the events that set it all in motion begin to come to light Aubrey is faced with sharing the truth of what she and Joel has been dealing with.

Young readers will connect with the struggles often faced at this age of communicating with parents, bullying, figuring out who they are, and keeping secrets as they try to protect their friends. They will love reading this as Aubrey muddles through her problems and struggles with making the right choices.

I thought the author did a masterful job with the slow reveal of information throughout 80% of the book. The main character, Aubrey, struggles with truth, with revealing things and with understanding things about herself that confuse her. At the same time, with her best friend missing, and truth that she knows that could help him, a big thing about this book becomes lies of omission.
I wish, even in the denouement, the author could have preserved that same tone that they had throughout the book. However, as the reveals come, the tone shifts into a bit of preachiness that put me off, unfortunately. I felt really saddened when the tone shifted because of how much I loved the book up until that point. Perhaps, as this is the author's debut novel, this is something that will improve in future novels which I very much hope because I really did love so much of this book.

It has become a widely accepted truth that middle school is difficult for kids socially, especially for kids who are in any way different. We aren't surprised to find that this is the scenario in this book - bullied kids who are keeping big, essential secrets for fear of worse bullying. It's more than just peer difficulties, though. It's societal disapproval, feeling like you are a disappointment to your parents. These are huge questions to consider in a middle grade novel but Thompson handles them well, never making Aubrey out to be a perfect kid. Aubrey is pushing everyone away, keeping secrets they know to wrong or dangerous. While this is not a book for everyone, if a kid is struggling reading a book like this one could help.

This was a good book that can be quite nerve racking to read as a parent: one kid goes missing, another takes off to look for him, and oh the anxiety I felt while reading this.

There are so many topics talked about in this book, and although I get the fact that Aubrey was trying to protect herself as well as her friend, I wanted to shake her and tell her to just tell the truth already (that mother thing again!!). I wanted to hug her and tell her to be true to herself and then punish her for lying!

This is a middle grade novel and so well done for audiences of all ages! It flows nicely, kept me guessing and page flipping to figure out where Joel is!

And keep in mind, a lie of omission is still a lie!! 😯

Aubrey and Joel are bosom buddies, kindred spirits, BFFs. But both of them have secrets that they won't even tell each other. Their community of Riverview is not the most open or tolerant of people who are different. Even when Mari Clark-Espinoza and her moms move to town, Aubrey and Joel still feel like outsiders. Planning to run away from Riverview seems like fun to Aubrey, who never takes these plans seriously. Joel, however, has a different mission. When he carries it out, Aubrey doesn't know who she needs to protect. Is it Joel, is it herself, or is it the people who love them?

Lin Thompson has created an exceptional story in The Best Liars in Riverview. However, only hearing the story told through Aubrey's voice limits its power somewhat. There are so many characters who play a role in Joel's disappearance and Aubrey's search for him, and yet their perspectives are not explored at the level of depth that I think the story deserves. While Aubrey is a multi-dimensional character, seeing this experience through the eyes of more characters would have added to the depth of the text.

*Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
This book was a beautiful tale of finding yourself, finding friendship, and finding your place in the world. Aubrey is trying to help find their best friend Joel, but they might be hiding some things... Not just things about Joel and his disappearance but about themselves as well. This book takes place is Riverview, Kentucky. Based on what I read, it is a pretty conservative town and both Aubrey and Joel are Catholic.
This book felt extremely personal to me. I grew up with a boy best friend. While I identify as a girl, while Aubrey doesn't. I remember getting to that age where our parent didn't want us having sleepovers and not quite understanding that. I watched as people teased him and bullied him for being too girly and only having girl friends much like Joel gets teased in this book. We didn't have the kind of conversation Joel and Aubrey have until we were in college. This book is really well written, it is clear that Lin Thompson understands the minds of kids. I liked that the audience is slowing figuring out the mystery along with the story. I liked the relationship Aubrey develops with Mari and her sister.
The only reason this isn't a full five star for me is I was often frustrated by Aubrey's lack of communication and her refusal to ask for help. She was stubborn to a fault and at times that got in the way of the plot.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Best Liars in Riverview

Author: Lin Thompson

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: f/f parents, Black characters, Latinx character with anxiety, Trans questioning character, Trans character mentioned, Non binary character mentioned with they/them pronouns, Black gay character.

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, mystery, contemporary, LGBT+

Publication Date: March 8, 2022

Genre: MG Mystery

Age Relevance: 8+ (child disappearance, religion and religious trauma, sexism, toxic masculinity, bullying, homophobia, running away, gender identity, racism, anxiety attacks)

Explanation of Above: The book deals with the disappearance of a child who has run away and later on shows another character who runs away. There are a lot of issues that the children deal with including bullying, homophobia, sexism, toxic masculinity, and racism. There is religion in the book, but also some pieces that show some religious trauma. The book also shows characters questioning their gender identity and sexuality in a very beautiful and age appropriate manner. There are also small anxiety attacks shown.

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 336

Synopsis: Aubrey and Joel are like two tomato vines that grew along the same crooked fence—weird, yet the same kind of weird. But lately, even their shared weirdness seems weird. Then Joel disappears. Vanishes. Poof. The whole town is looking for him, and Aubrey was the last person to see Joel. Aubrey can’t say much, but since lies of omission are still lies, here’s what they know for sure:
For the last two weeks of the school year, when sixth grade became too much, Aubrey and Joel have been building a raft in the woods.
The raft was supposed to be just another part of their running away game.
The raft is gone now, too.
Aubrey doesn’t know where Joel is, but they might know how to find him. As Aubrey, their friend Mari, and sister Teagan search along the river, Aubrey has to fess up to who they really are, all the things they never said, and the word that bully Rudy Thomas used that set all this into motion.

Review: I really loved this book so much! The book spoke so much about identity and finding who you are and acceptance. The book had also had a lot in it about the outdated expectations of gender norms and falling into traditions that the characters parents expect them to fall into. The characters are all well developed and, while it doesn’t look like it in the first few chapters, the book has a great amount of diversity in it. The book has amazing world building and pacing as well. The book is gorgeous and so impactful and I can’t wait to see kids get this book and read it.

The only issue I had with the book is that I wished that the adults had more of a reckoning when all was said and done. The adults had some issues that weren’t resolved in the book, which directly affected their own children who were the main characters, and it feels a bit incomplete for some of the adults to not do more at the end of the book to condemn the wrong they did.

Verdict: It was excellent! Highly recommend!

The Best Liars in Riverview is Lin Thompson's wondrous debut novel of friendship, belonging, found-family, acceptance and hope both in oneself and others.

I was so glad I was given an opportunity to review such a beautifully written book with vivid world-building, characters that the reader will undoubtedly relate to both for good and bad reasons. The Best Liars in Riverview is a tale that will stay with you, and make you smile and perhaps cry - I know certain things within the book especially in regards to Joel's life had me crying and longing to hug this poor boy who is bullied from all sides for being simply who he is, even as he works so hard to work just who he is.

Everyone in life at some point or another, and even sometimes several times during their lifetime will ask one question. 'Who am I?' and more and more, that question is being asked earlier in life and this middle-grade book explores how hard, and emotional that question can be. It can be especially hard for children such as our protagonists, Aubrey and Joel, when they're surrounded by adults who have been unable to help, guide or protect them from those who see being 'different' as something to condemn. I think how Lin Thompson writes how the two handle such issues as race, religion, sexuality and gender is incredibly well done and weaves them into the tale so that it is realistic of the issues children (and adults) face on a day to day basis.

If a child is struggling with that age old question but specifically in regards to their gender and/or sexuality and you wish to remind them that they're not alone, The Best Liars in Riverview is a book to give them.

I truly look forward to more from Lin Thompson in the future, and schools/public libraries? You need this on your shelves as diversity matters especially when children are young.

This story is told by a 13-year-old in Kentucky, finishing 6th grade and sorting through the year that she and her best friend just had, her own questions about her gender and identity, and philosophical questions about truth, trust, and supporting others even when you're in pain. Her best friend has gone missing, though she thinks she knows where he is, and why, though she's not ready to talk about it. It felt like such a privilege to be in this protagonist's head and to hear how she's trying to make sense of herself, her relationships, and the world. It rings so true, and it makes me want to put this book in the hand of every pre-teen and teenager I know. It's such a tender look at how hard it is to grow up--harder for kids wrestling with questions of their gender or sexual orientation, but resonant for anyone who feels like they are not quite who the world wants them to be.

It also evokes such a strong setting. The summer heat, the sounds and scents of the woods, the slick of sweat--it all enveloped me in such a welcome way. There are stories of a child's disappearance that are wrenching, bleak, ominous. This is not that. This is a coming of age that feels like a beautiful guide for those living it or for readers like me who are looking back on those years, it's a fond tribute.

It was a pitch perfect, gorgeous debut, and I can't wait to see what Thompson does next.

A Big Thank you to TBR Tours & Beyond for allowing a place on this tour and to the Publishers for sending me a Netgalley Arc of The Best Liars in Riverview by Lin Thompson.

I want to congratulate Lin on her amazing debut novel she gave great beauty and eloquence in her writing to discuss a subject everyone faces at some point of who they are and who they want to be.

I loved the characters of Joel and Aubrey and the description of being like tomato vines that grew along a crooked fence alongside each other was so apt it showed the reader that both characters knew they were different in some way from the other kids but weird enough to accept each other.

I would of like to see more scope on the school and how they dealt with the bullying of Joel as I feel this played a huge part in what happened next.

As for Aubrey I understood that Aubrey was having internal battles over who she was and how she saw the world but I do feel that her actions were very questionable to say the least. This is the main reason why I had to give this book 4 stars and believe that this would be an ideal pick for a Book Club as there was so much to unpack.

I really enjoyed this book - the characters and their travails kept my interest. I rooted for the kids, understanding how confusing everything is in middle school. I could relate to so much of that confusion, even fifty years down the road from middle school.
The setting of the story, mostly the quiet woods of Kentucky, was well written. It was easy to imagine the dappled sunlight and the peace of being among the trees.
The parents were not caricatures of real parents - for the most part they seemed to want was best for the kids, even if they didn't always understand what that was.
I would recommend this to middle school students.

“Confession is a word that can mean a couple of different things.”

I love books about nonbinary kids who have supportive families — wish fulfillment for a lot of us, I think! — but sometimes you’re not so lucky. Aubrey and Joel are both growing up in a world where their family and community is not so supportive, and I think that’s really important. This book takes place during the summer, and while I was reading it during the false spring of February, I really felt that. I read this in one or two sittings — it’s very short! — and it was honestly quite hard to put down.

Not to be kid-lit on main, but this book is full of heart. If it interests you at all, you should read it, or share it with a kid who might be interested in it. It’s worth it.

Okay, so honestly the issues this book picked up were amazing and the plot was amazing, and talking about middle grade kids trying to figure out who they are was amazing, but that's about it.

Plot:
I loved it. But I just think that even if middle grade kids are going through stuff both in school and at home, they don't just run away, because in my experience they're also scared of the outside world. So personally, I think it would have been a better high school book- especially as freshmen, since the author could have included so many more things.

Characters:
Look, I get that Aubrey, the MC was sad, and she was dealing with stuff herself. But in the end, her character fell a little flat, and I just couldn't empathize with her.
As for Joel, the author just didn't tell us enough about him- all we know is that he was bullied and had issues with his father and he was Black. There was little to nothing about how he was except that he was good at hiding things.
Mari was my favourite characters as she was really sweet!

Writing Style:
This was literally the downfall of the book, since it didn't really make me feel anything. The characters and the plot had so much potential, but the writing style was a flatline.

The thing with this book is that it could've been amazing, but it isn't something I'd ask someone under the age of 12 to read, despite it being the target audience. It's just a little too heavy, and for kids with a low attention span- it just won't work.

I would recommend you to read it if you're in high school or just entering high school, since it does explore excellent topics and self-discovery.

I like the perspective of this book--I've read other juvenile chapter books about kids exploring their gender identity, but most of them are doing it in a safer environment that Aubrey and Joel. In this book, Aubrey and Joel are both unsafe a lot of the time--kids at school feel free to call them nasty names, administrators at the school do nothing, and their parents are generally not supportive. And so coming out is more complicated for them than it is for the protagonists of other kids literature I've read. That's so important because so many kids who are exploring their gender identities are unsafe--and it's important and useful for them to see their experiences in literature. I also really liked the short chapters--the book is really cerebral without a lot of action, but the short chapters and the nonlinear timeline makes it a fast-paced read.

What an absolutely beautiful book! The feeling and description of the friendship between Joel and A was so well done. The author was able to lyrically express a lot about the south and opinions in this setting about LGBT folks through A’s voice and experiences. This has a very important place on middle grade shelves today as it tackles found family, identity, and bullying. The pacing and level of suspense was just right and the wilderness added a little more adventure.

The Best Liars in Riverview is a fantastic middle-grade novel about two kids trying to find themselves. Aubrey and Joel are best buds, they do everything together, but things start to change and one night while camping something happens. Words are said and Joel leaves the campsite but does not go home. He is missing. The story is told in the present day with Aubrey looking for him in the woods and in flashbacks to show what happened to them at certain points. Along the way, Aubrey starts to find themself and realizes that maybe they are not what everyone expected. I love the growth of the characters and the kindness shown among them. It is a well-written book I am certain will be a hit. I look forward to reading more by this author.

With THE BEST LIARS IN RIVERVIEW, Thompson adds to the growing selection of middle grade books with trans main characters. Readers are invited into Aubrey's (now a bit strained) relationship with their closest friend, Joel, as well as how their religious upbringing impacts them as a trans person. This book places you right by Aubrey's side as they compete with their growing lies and the mysterious disappearance of their best friend.

The Best Liars in Riverview is a delightful, contemplative middle grade read that explores identity through the lens of Aubrey, a middle-schooler who is wrestling with life's biggest question: who am I? Aubrey is best friends with a boy named Joel, who is one of the only Black kids in their small Kentucky town. So when Joel goes missing, everyone turns to Aubrey, who is not only his best friend, but also the last person who saw him. Aubrey and Joel have both been dealing with complex issues of identity (race, gender, sexuality), and have not found adults willing or able to help them or protect them. So it's no surprise that Aubrey decided to head out on their own to find Joel.

I loved the way this book let Aubrey explore their thoughts and feelings, and I especially enjoyed the many references to Catholicism. I think a book like this might be exactly what a young queer kid needs to read, especially if they're in a rural/conservative/religious setting. This is a highly recommended read for middle grade library collections.