Thank you for an advance copy to The Floating Girls. This was my kind of book and had all the traits I look for in a story: a southern location, a little dark with mysteries to be solved, a very strong young lady from a hard done family, coming of age and some humor. I did compare it to Where the Crawdad's Sing and though it held it's ground. I also though Kay had the character traits that I remember Scout having in To Kill a Mockingbird. I especially liked not being able to figure things out. It kept me guessing. I was surprised this is the author's first book. I enjoyed the writing style being in first person. I would recommend this book and thank you again NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for granting me an advance copy.
Leslie Ponder

The Floating Girls is a mystery/coming of age story set in the sticky swamps of Bledsoe, Georgia. Kay Whitaker lives there with her poor family which includes two brothers, an older sister, a Mom who spends a lot of time alone, and a Dad who tends to be angry and lazy. Kay doesn't think much of most of her family. They also don't have a lot of friends.

All of the kids are restless but Kay is the one to act out. One day she wanders farther away than usual and discovers a new neighbor. A man and his son, who is Kay's age, have moved back home after spending years away. When Kay's father finds out he is angry and warns her away from them. Kay is very defiant though and increases her efforts to get to know them. Soon family secrets begin to unravel amid rumors about the drowning death of the boy's mother years ago. And then her sister goes missing.

The Floating Girls is the perfect book to read in Summer. The descriptions are well done and you find yourself immersed in the story. None of the characters are particularly likeable though. Kay's actions seem a little over the top. She thinks mean things about her brother and sister. I also found her type of thoughts concerning certain adults slightly disturbing and not necessary for the story. Sarah-Anne, Kay's sister, is portrayed unfairly. I don't like the things Kay said about her nor do I think a certain thing Sarah-Anne is said to have done was necessary to include in the story. It was too much to pile on a character like that.

There are a couple of different mysteries to solve but everything is slowly revealed in a confusing way. This is probably due to the narrator being a child but even the other children around her know things about it. The motivation of some of the characters is not entirely believable. It's hard to see how the situation was allowed to develop. The ending and the last reveal is disappointing. There's no going back to learn the how and why so it makes no sense. I don't think there's a logical explanation anyway.

I think a lot of readers will like this and it's just a case of this book is not for me.

Readers will enjoy meeting twelve-year-old Kay's Whitaker who lives in the marshes of Bledsoe, Georgia with her family: her father, Clay, who bemoans working only when he has to; her mother, Sue-Bess, who quietly mourns the death of an infant daughter; Peter, the older, protective brother who cannot wait to be free of his family; and Freddy, who longs to attend science school. Readers will enjoy Kay's funny, yet honest narrative, including her plans for how many husbands she plans to have. Kay is part Addie from Paper Moon and part Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird. The Floating Girls is a good summer mystery with well-built characters and solid setting in a poor Georgia community.

and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"The Floating Girls" by Lo Patrick
was a well written novel that completely held me captive throughout the entire read.
It was part coming of age story, part heartbreaking family drama & part murder mystery.
I couldn't believe that this was the author's debut novel.
I would love to read what the author decides to write next.

The Floating Girls by Lo Patrick was just not a good fit for me - perhaps it would be for someone else. Patrick tells the story from the perspective of Kay, a twelve year old girl buried deep in the backwaters of Georgia with her family. When she meets Andy Webber, a boy her own age who's also hiding deep in the marsh with his dad, her active imagination quickly goes into overdrive with new adventures. But the reappearance of Andy and his father dredges up the death of his mother and sets Kay's life and her family spiraling out of control. Kay is without a doubt a completely rebellious child that does whatever she wants, and it doesn't matter in the slightest whether her parents have told her not to do those things. She was in many regards very obnoxious to me, but as the reader will find, it's difficult to discern whether this would have been Kay's personality no matter what, or if much of it is due to the way she was raised. I also felt like it was difficult to discern whether the author was deliberately muddling together the investigation into Emily Webber's death, the disappearance of Kay's "odd" sister, and the fallout on Kay's family so that it felt like trying to process very adult problems from the perspective of a child, or if it was just a muddled mess. There isn't any new evidence that comes to light in Emily's disappearance, just the return of her family, so this storyline, on top of the missing person investigation, and in addition to the storyline of Kay and her brothers trying to figure out what to do with themselves feels like too much going on without everything smoothly being interconnected. Patrick does try to eventually connect all the pieces together but it never really feels like a natural "unintended consequences" story for me. Patrick does do a fantastic job of creating a setting for the story that feels both believable and unbelievable, and weaving that in to how it shapes Kay's personality and her interactions with her family and other people. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The humidity literally wafts off the page as your read this story set in nowhere Bledsoe, Georgia according to our precocious 12 year old narrator.

<img src="https://i.gifer.com/GPZK.gif"/>

Kay often reminded me of young Scout in <u>To Kill a Mockingbird</u>. What a provoking young lady: always with some scathing remark or comeback. In fact, the entire family is a set of misfit oddballs.

<img src="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/MinorImpossibleAngelwingmussel-size_restricted.gif"/>

The author worked hard to convince us that there was something "off" about Sue Bess and Sara Anne. They were not quite all "there" as the author would put it. Conversation was neither of their strong suits.

<img src="https://c.tenor.com/Sdy6kCEqeTkAAAAM/morticia-addams-addams-family.gif"/>

Kay often had me in stitches with her wit and her long-suffering comments about how each member of her family was sent to destroy her sanity. It was one tribulation after the other. Her infatuation with her young neighbour, Andy, leads to the ultimate destruction of her family unit.

Parts of this story were very well written, but what brought this story down to a 3.5 for me was the constant harking back to things that had already been discussed to death at great length: her mother's emotional and mental vagueness and her addiction to bodice ripper romance novels, her older sister's silence and her inappropriate "touching" behaviour, the death of her baby sister Elizabeth, her strange brothers, her father's inability to hold down a job. We revisit these themes over and over and over again, like a sidewinder snake making its way across the sand.

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At one point I suspected that Kay was really Andy's sister, and that Sarah Anne was Andy's mother. I also couldn't make heads or tales of what the author meant by Andy's skin colour. She likened it to the colour of syrup. Depending on the timing of the harvest, syrup can be quite light in colour and texture, while a late season draw will produce a darker brown coloured syrup.

I have to say that I was very disappointed with that ending. Frustratingly, Kay's constant interruptions left the reader with no idea as to what the Sue Bess was going to say about Sarah Anne when Kay and her brothers visited their mother in jail. The story had such promise at the start but then fizzled into such a strange, unsatisfying ending for me.

I would still recommend this one for its quirky characters and many witticisms, but be prepared for a zigzagging story line. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

It is flabbergasting to me that this is Lo Patrick’s first book. The writing is exquisite, the characters well-drawn and the plot is breathtaking. Meet 12-year-old Kay Whitaker, our rough and tumble heroine with a huge, outspoken personality whose always getting into trouble. She lives with her very poor and mentally unfit parents and siblings in a rural Georgia swamp. Kay stumbles upon a boy about her age living in a nearby house and she gets more questions than answers when she asks her parents about him. Undeterred, Kay goes to great lengths to solve the mystery and unwittingly uncovers some terrible truths that were never meant to be uncovered.

Kay is one of the most interesting and evocative characters I’ve encountered in fiction. As others have noted, she’s probably most closely matched to an unfiltered version Scout Finch. I fell in love with her, felt empathy towards her and at times wanted to strangle her. Above all else, she is strong and she is a survivor. The story is incredibly suspenseful and took on a life of its own as I was reading. The slow burn, twisty plot delivers more than one surprise. The descriptions of the Georgia swamp setting bring readers right into the bug-infested mugginess and the writing is so engaging that you will not want to stop reading. On so many levels, this is a sublime debut.

The Floating Girls is the debut novel by author Lo Patrick. It’s being published by Sourcebooks and is set to release on July 12, 2022. It can be categorized under several genres. It’s a mystery, crime fiction, southern fiction and coming-of-age story. It’s a family drama that takes place in the wetlands of Georgia in a small backwoods town called Bledsoe. It’s the story of the Whitaker family. The father Clay is a useless man who doesn’t like to work. The mother Sue-Bess is a strange woman that I believe is suffering from depression caused from the death of her new-born daughter Elizabeth. The children are Peter, Freddy, Sarah-Anne and Kay. The story centers around and is told from Kay’s perspective. Having never been to Georgia, I enjoyed the descriptions of the area in which they lived. Hearing about the moss hanging from the trees and the high-healed house on stilts out in the water is not something I’ve ever seen. With the authors descriptions, I could picture it all in my head. One thing that I thought was amusing that some readers might take offense to is Kay’s personality and love of cuss words. She’s always got something to say, she doesn’t hold back and gosh can that girl swear! This was a sad story as the kids were dealt a crappy life especially after the sister Sarah-Anne goes missing. It is a story that I enjoyed and would recommend to others. It was the part at the very end that left me feeling a little confused. I’m not sure I completely understand exactly what happened between Sarah-Anne and Andy, but I think I do. This is a story that will stick with me for a very long time. I’d like to thank Sourcebooks Landmark for accepting my request and NetGalley for the arc to read and review. I enjoyed reading this and I’m giving it a 4 star rating!

Some books stay with you long after you read them. This story by Lo Patrick is one of them.

Kay lives in Georgia with her dysfunctional family. All Kay is yearning for is someone who is not in her family to connect with but her father forbids her. Still, while out wandering around, she meets a new friend Andy. After Kay's sister goes missing, secrets about her family come out.

This is a great coming of age story as well as a heartbreaking family drama. It's a perfect summery read.

This is a slow burn of a Southern Fiction Mystery.
Kay Whitaker is a pistol! She is an exuberant, curious and observant 12 year old living in a raised house in marsh-filled backwoods Georgia. The youngest in the family, she is forever looking for friends and thing to do when one day she comes upon a new boy her age living in the bayou, When she shares the new about her new friend Andy however, her parents forbid her from seeing him. We all know what happens when you forbid a precocious tween from doing something though...

Kay finds out quickly that Andy and his father are tied to her family as is the mysterious death of his mother.
Before she finds out more, her strange sister goes missing and she and her brothers are surrounded by investigators in the thick of the summer. Who took her sister, why are her parents so secretive, what do the townspeople know that Kay and her sheltered brothers do not? If you like a slow burn, a hot and humid Georgia setting, and a charming and sharp witted tween heroine, then The Floating Girls is for you! #Sourcebooks #Netgalley #Netgallyreads #TheFloatingGirls

"The Floating Girls" follows a young girl named Kay as she navigates family secrets and mysteries in a desolate Georgia marsh town. I enjoyed that this book was from Kay's point of view. It felt like things were happening around her that she thought she understood but didn't quite. I felt the same as a reader. Kay is such an interesting character. At once she seems grown and independent, but she's also just a naive child. The setting of this book is so important and it adds so much depth. The marsh itself, Kay's ramshackle house, and even the ghost town of Bledsoe itself all add so much to the loneliness of the book. So often Kay just wants someone to notice her. But in this place where everything feels like it's already gone, she never really gets what she wants.

“The backwaters of Georgia hold many buried secrets. But they won't stay buried forever.”

I put my nightmares of trying to get through Where The Crawdads Sing in my back pocket and jumped in with both feet on the assurance that the main character was like Scout Radley. While I didn’t love this slow-burn character-driven book, it grew on me. I was immediately impressed and lured in by the atmosphere and location of a part of the world I’ve never seen. Bledsoe, Georgia and stilt houses in the marsh sound intriguing. I loved the tenacity of twelve-year-old Kay (yes, she is like Scout Radley) and the moments her actions brought a smile to my face. The author’s choice in telling this story from her point of view was perfect. Kay’s childhood isn’t ideal, bordering on neglect, and I could understand her longing for adventure in the marsh and her anger at the limitations placed on her. I loved how Patrick used flawed, broken characters to drive home her themes of struggle, loyalty, family, friends and secrets.

I had difficulties with the swearing, pacing and the ending. I found myself skipping sections to find relevant lines to help with unravelling the mysteries and will admit that in doing so, I must have skipped the parts deemed ‘wickedly funny.’ When I finally got to the last page, I couldn’t believe how the author chose to end it. I love fast-paced stories that keep my mind active and guessing as much as I love police procedurals and psychological thrillers that end neatly. I guess I’m just not one to enjoy slower-paced character-driven stories!

This dark family drama had potential; however, despite the fabulous setting and pugnacious protagonist, it didn’t hold my attention.

I was gifted this advance copy by Lo Patrick, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Ooph.

I wanted to love this book as the synopsis sounded like something I would enjoy but I absolutely hated reading this book. The world building was done really well but everything else was a hard pass for me. I did finish but mostly out of annoyance.

I'm so so sorry to the author but this was absolutely not the book for me.

Thank you to Net Galley and SourceBooks for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Wow this is one of those books that stays with you forever. After I finished it last night, I just sat with my kindle in my hand and thought about what I just read. So many different threads to follow and all told by an amazing 12 year old girl named Kay. This is a coming of age story for Kay living in the swamps of Georgia. Her family is very poor, Kay's mother suffers from a mental illness, and Kay's older sister barely talks and doesn't leave the house anymore. A new family moves in deeper in the swamp and Kay is so excited to meet Andy. Andy and his dad had lived here before years ago and Kay's family forbids her from hanging out with Andy. Andy and Kay's family are entangled from years ago and there are a ton of secrets that are exposed. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and Kay. She is someone you feel for but she is strong and sassy. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Great novel at a look of childhood in backward Georgia. Very descriptive and brings me into a world fully believably’
Very well written, thank you!

This book was everything I look for in a story. We have a location in the south, there a few mysteries to be solved and we have a very strong young lady, from a hard done family, coming of age. It couldn't have been more perfect. It is told in the first person perspective of twelve year old Kay and I adored her, she was funny, had a strength beyond her years and didn't suffer fools. This is a skillfully crafted story that encompasses several themes, including love, friendship, loyalty and the secrets that we keep. Each of the well-drawn characters are broken in differing ways, and their lives have been complicated and damaged by events often outside of their control. At times, this is a dark tale, but Lo Patrick does weave some humour throughout the proceedings - so it's not all doom and gloom, there are still some laughs to be had.

What I particular liked about this twisting, turning story was that it wasn't easy to foresee where the lives of the main protagonists were heading. Along the way there are some surprising reveals and there are certainly no dull moments. This is a clever, unpredictable tale that includes complex characters that leap off the page, they were fictional entities that will stay with me for a long time. What a fabulous debut, all the stars!

The Floating Girls by Lo Patrick is a gorgeous coming of age piece of literary fiction. We are immediately swept away by the beautifully immersive details about living in the wetlands of Georgia. We meet Kay at the young age of 12. She has already lost a sibling, and her sister barely speaks. Kay's father does not like her to wander into the marshlands to meet other kids. Kay's mother is suffering from mental illness. Kay is a hilarious young girl, who longs to connect with others her age. Her perspectives about the world around her will make you laugh out loud.
'Grown ups love to talk about the weather.' Isn't that the truth!
In the midst of Kay's pre-teen adolescence, she longs to find the truth about why her sister Sarah-Ann doesn't speak and why her mother is put in jail for something that happened ages ago.
I loved the way this southern fiction flowed. It kept me hooked from the very start. The dysfunctional family dynamics are so intriguing, and listening to Kay tell this story is like living it through her eyes. A five star read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lo Patrick and SourceBooks for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5

Twelve-year-old Kay Whitaker lives in the wetlands of Bledsoe, Georgia with her parents and is the youngest in the family with three older siblings, fifteen-year-old Peter, Freddy who has an aptitude for science, and Sarah-Anne who hardly speaks and we assume is developmentally challenged. Their life at home isn’t the most fulfilling, barely able to afford the most basic of necessities. Their father has a temper and is for the most part unemployed and their mother hardly interacts with any of her children except for Sarah-Anne. Kay’s youngest sister, Elizabeth died shortly after birth and is buried under an oak tree in their front yard. Her mother has never been the same since. Kay is mostly bored and lonely with no friends to spend her time with. Venturing deeper into the marshlands on her own, she discovers a house on stilts and meets its occupants- Andy Webber, a boy her own age and his father Nile. She is eager to befriend Andy, even developing a crush on him. But her father warns her to stay away from the Webbers, an order the rebellious Kay promptly ignores. Andy Webber’s mother Emily had drowned in the marsh years ago under mysterious circumstances and it was originally suspected that Nile was responsible for it though nothing came of the suspicions and they had left the area and have recently returned from California. As the story progresses, it is revealed that the Whitakers and the Webbers were not unknown to each other and have a history. When Kay’s sister Sue-Anne disappears without a trace, many lies and secrets that the adults have been harboring rise to the surface and change the lives of everyone involved irrevocably.

Initially, I was drawn to the story, the immersive setting and the interesting characters. The tone of this novel is for the most part dark and depressing with an intriguing mystery woven into the narrative. The characters of Kay and her siblings are very well-written as are some of the passages. However, despite its promising beginning and interesting premise, I was disappointed with the way the story progressed. The vivid imagery of the backwaters and marshlands, that is almost perfect in setting the backdrop and tone of the novel, quickly becomes repetitive and largely redundant with the author constantly reminding us how hot, humid, marshy or cold it is. The narrative slows down considerably and drags through the middle of the novel till the end. Some of the supporting characters’ reactions and behaviors in grim situations read more like caricatures than real people. If the author was aiming for some humor to offset the depressing tone of the novel, it did not work. I did not find any part of this novel “wickedly funny” as described. My heart ached for the Whitaker children and their miserable childhood with parents whose attitude towards them is negligent bordering on abusive. I can also see how that would harden their hearts and compel them to act like adults. Kay, our principal character, is mature for her age in part and behaves like a rash, insolent child in others. She tells it like it is unlike her siblings, which lands her in the face of her father’s wrath more than once. Her dialogue is mature for someone her age, riddled with profanity (which is fine up to a point after which it’s headache-inducing). I also felt that some of the decisions taken by the police and Child Services in the interest of the Whitaker children simply did not make any sense. The plot is riddled with holes and the resolution of the “mystery” was vague and left me with more questions than answers after such a long drawn build-up.

Lo Patrick's The Floating Girls has potential, I will admit this much, but unfortunately falls short in its execution. However, mine is a minority opinion and I would request readers to go through the other reviews before deciding on this novel. Having been intrigued by the summary, I truly wanted to love this novel and its characters and it pains me to give such a low rating to such a promising premise.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Floating Girls is an extremely well written story. Lo Patrick did an excellent job of making Bledsoe, Georgia and all the characters jump off the page. It was an amazing story that slowly drew me into it. Many times while reading, I was on the edge of my seat wondering what could possibly happen next. The twists and turns of this story will keep you guessing.
If profanity bothers you, I would recommend avoiding this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I just couldn't connect with this book - I found it very strange. It's set in backwater, coastal Georgia and told mainly through the voice of 12 year old, Kay, and revolves around her odd family and a neighbor boy she befriends in the marsh. The descriptions are incredible, you can feel the anguish in the characters and the area.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.