"A Town with Half the Lights On" is a debut novel by Page Getz and I can almost guarantee it won't be her last. It was an enchanting first novel with engaging characters and an intriguing setting. It really gives hope that people power through in a righteous cause and can actually change things for the better. This book was filled with so much heart, creativity and the writing style was just brilliant! Page takes the reader on a journey into the lives of several unique characters living in Goodnight, Kansas. Each character speaks in their own unique voice thru exchanged emails, letters, journals, and the town newspaper, "Goodnight Star." The writing is fast paced, witty, clever, and also very humorous. It was just so heart warming and delightful. It's for sure a must read as far as I'm concerned . I highly recommend it,.. especially to lovers of small towns, epistolary writing style and quirky characters. I didn't want to put this book down... I wanted to spend more time with these characters! It was just a beautiful story of second chances in a unique format! I couldn't get enough of!
I LOVE love love an epistolary novel, and there are so few of them, and far fewer executed this successfully. I've only read one other epistolary novel that I enjoyed this much. The nice mix of emails, editorials, letters, and more kept me intrigued and so invested in the story. I think that’s what I love about epistolary novels... they add an interest or intrigue through the different media forms. "Daisy Jones and The Six" by Taylor Jenkins Reid was the only other epistolary novel I've read and enjoyed just as much.

I will forever cherish these characters. I really loved the story of this family that doesn’t fit in in the beginning but slowly they learn to. It’ was just so full of heart, hope and positivity. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did! Happy reading y'all! A huge thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Page Getz for allowing me to read and review this arc with my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and Page Getz for the ARC of this book.

Part 1 took me 4 months to read. Parts 2 and 3, combined, took a few days. The -1 star is really just because I found the pacing and structure of Part 1 to be difficult to get through. There are so many characters to keep track of, and we don't stay with any of them for very long. Part 1 felt like reading a new fantasy series, except without a map or character list to guide you.

But I'm glad I didn't DNF! This is a cosy story about a family who comes back to a small town. We follow as they figure out who they are and where they fit in, in this historied town. The family is imperfect, but honest, and trying. Very sweet read.

The story moved slowly; perhaps it needed to be more closely edited to tighten it up.
The Solvang family, Scarlet, Sid and Harlem, newly arrived from Brooklyn to Goodnight, Kansas, Scarlet's home town which she left 25 years ago and never returned. Scarlet's father left her the farm and the farmhouse and that's where they are living.
Sid's deli has gone belly-up, they are broker than broke, not only in money but their spirits are also broken. The story unfolds in a series of e-mails, newspaper clippings, journal entries. While interesting, this also makes keeping track of the story line somewhat difficult. There are eccentric neighbors. Disco, aka Glitter Girl, becomes Harlem's best friend, i.e. they are both outcasts in their small community. The May Day Diner is about to close and if it goes, the community will die. Scarlet takes up cooking at the diner and never leaves the kitchen. Sid's cooking mojo seems to have gone, but maybe it has just taken a leave of absence.
Harlem is convinced her grandfather has left her a treasure and it's up to her to discover it. There is the evil employer - a tire factory which does a bang-up job of polluting the environment and underpaying its employees. Small towns share a lot of similarities, people love their community, people hate their community.

I loved the characters, especially the Solvangs, and the way the story unfolded was super engaging. The mixed media format was such a fun touch, and that ending was brilliant. I would rate this a 4, because in felt long drawn out in some parts.

I really did not care for this book. The whole book was made up of emails shared between people and headlines in the towns paper. This writing style is just not for me…I felt myself getting more annoyed as the book went on than anything…

This book has quirky characters that you fall in love with and hate to see the book end! Would make a great book club selection! Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

this was such a heartwarming and quirky little novel that i did not expect to like as much as i did. foregoing the traditional literary structure, the story unfolds entirely through letters, emails, journal entries, the local newspaper and other written documents. despite this, i could really see it as a Netflix film (not derogatory) that'd be perfect for when you're sick, stuck indoors or just in the mood for a comfort watch. and honestly? go in blind - i had no clue what this was about beyond 'New Yorkers move to Kansas and impulsively buy a diner' and thoroughly enjoyed unravelling the mysteries as the story progressed. certain characters were a little hokey at times but maybe I just haven't met enough people from the South

Ich kam einfach nicht in die Story rein. Die Art der Erzählung im eMail Stil war anfangs verwirrend, weil man ständig überlegen musste, wer nun gerade an wen schreibt und wer wie mit wem verwandt ist. Dadurch kam die eigentliche Story zunächst schwer durch.... das hat für mich den Lesefluss gestört und hat mich irgendwann abbrechen lassen...obwohl die Story an sich vielversprechend war...

DNF at 25% . Unfortunately, this storyline did not work for me. I tried listening to the audiobook version and found the storyline really hard to follow.

A Town with Half the Lights On is a unique, heartfelt read with a charming small-town setting and a creative storytelling style. I was pulled in by the warmth of the characters and the gentle humor that runs through even the more serious moments. The format adds something special, making it feel personal and intimate without ever being confusing. A lovely, quiet surprise of a book—I'm glad I picked it up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early copy.

While this won't be a book for some due to the format, I found it an interesting way to share different aspects of the storyline. The story presents many challenges to the characters and offers a glimpse into a small town that's struggling. Thanks #NetGalley #Sourcebooks

Thank you to the author, Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My apologies for the delay in posting, I have had continuing familial health challenges to contend with in the past months.

This epistolary novel was... a lot. The premise was good, but much of time it seemed as though the author was determined to pack in everything but the kitchen sink in terms of plot devices and themes. As a result, I found it dragged a good bit, and at the end of the day it was too much quirk for me.

(3.75 stars)
A Town With Half The Lights On is a charming fish-out-of-water story that takes place in very small town, down-on-its-luck Goodnight, Kansas, somewhere near the Missouri border.

The Solvang family needed to get away from Brooklyn, New York, after a disaster created by chef dad, Sid, at his family’s decades-old delicatessen. They wind up moving to Goodnight where mom Scarlet grew up, a place she thought she’d never return to (she’s also a chef, concentrating on baking). Scarlet inherited her father’s home in this dying town. It comes complete with a few alpacas. Their daughter Harlem struggles to fit in but eventually becomes friends with another teen girl, Disco, who also definitely doesn’t fit in with the very traditional and very Christian population. (The Solvang family is Jewish but only in a very surface way. I was actually a bit surprised that the locals referred to them simply as the New Yorkers or the outsiders; I was prepared for much worse.)

The book is a patchwork narratively. It’s basically an epistolary novel. There are lots of emails, articles in the local newspaper (gossip rag!), letters to that newspaper, notes passed in class between the two girls, and more. This led to a lot of repetition of email addresses, for example. The email addresses were pretty funny/characteristic of the person though, which made it easier to remember who was emailing who. Examples: Sid is “BrooklynCalling@Zoomail.com”, the local pastor is “HumbleServant@GoodShepard9street.com”, the feisty waitress at the diner, Bailey, is “HellRazor@Shotmail.com”, Harlem is “TorturedSol@Zoomail.com”, and another townsperson is “HolyRoller316@prairienet.com.”

While I really enjoyed the story, some of the plot was pretty predictable. Outsider saves the town diner and rundown hotel, local factory owners don’t care about their workers or the town’s environment, and so forth.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this epistolary novel. I actually haven't ever NOT liked an epistolary novel. The characters in this were great, and the plot moved along in letter format.

A wonderful debut that left me smiling and excited for more from Page Getz!

The story follows the Solvang family who leave/are forced out of Brooklyn and settle in Goodnight, Kansas. The Solvangs struggle to fit in with the quirky community that is fiercely protective of its struggling town. Slowly, the Solvangs begin to integrate into the community and even begin finding a new purpose. As the Solvangs accept their circumstances, the town begins to accept them and the result is a heartwarming story of community, found friendships and small town shenanigans.

The story took me a while to get into because of its format. Told exclusively through emails, journal entries, newspaper articles and even messages in a bottle, I had a hard time figuring out the main characters and how everyone is connected. Once you settle in though, I loved the story and loved watching each character find a renewed energy and positive growth. Lots of self-transformation in this one and I found myself really engaged with the story.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read an early copy provided through NetGalley.

“... it was a simple pot of soup that saved my soul.”

I am so glad I took this trip to Goodnight, Kansas and was able to hang out at the May Day Diner with the Solvang family!! There was a LOT going on in this little town. All the heart-warming folks, and their care and concern for each other left me with a comforting sense of nostalgia for the close knit neighborhood I had growing up in Michigan. In the end, good neighbors are good neighbors no matter how our politics may lean; as long as our compassion for each other remains.

I’m so happy to have had the chance to read this Advanced Reader’s Edition e-copy of A Town with Half the Lights On by Page Getz; thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark.

I absolutely loved this story set in Goodnight, Kansas, a small town with a fun mix of different people who all have their own little unconventional personalities. I watched everything Bridgerton on Netflix, so when I saw the blurb on GR towards the bottom that said, "Told through diary entries, emails, school notes, and an anonymous town paper of the Lady Whistledown variety," I knew it would be the book for me!

I loved the epistolary format, especially that so many different types of entries. The norm is usually only a monologic epistolary format where one character tells his/her story via diaries or letters, etc. But with so many different types of entries, this one brought to life the little town of Goodnight. (Might I add that because I watched and loved Bridgerton that it honestly helped me picture the anonymous author of the town paper.)

Sid Solvang's story also resonated with me since I, too, am a "failed chef" aka "can't cook homemaker." And Solvang is a wonderful little Dutch town that we love to visit. Although, there's no relation to Sid, it did catch my eye and made me wonder even more what was going to happen to his career after he up and left the Big Apple for little ol' Goodnight. A huge change! I was interested in the entire book the entire time.

This was so cool. Never read a book in an epistolary format before, not like this anyways. It gave a unique style and perspective on everything that happened.

I adore epistolary novels, and didn't even realize this book had this format until I started reading. Unfortunately I didn't connect with this one as well as I'd hoped, but I still enjoyed it overall. I respect how difficult it is to fully develop characters and their growth in this format, yet I did want more depth from them. I also listened to this partly on audio, and it was more confusing that way with the multitude of characters, plus hearing the entirety of each email address each time there was email correspondence got irritating. It definitely would have been better if I read solely the print/e-book version. It took me a bit to get into the story, but once I did I ended up enjoying following along with the small town drama and troubles with themes of corporate greed, neighbors helping neighbors, second chances, and food!

I liked the format, but I had a hard time getting into the story and couldn’t keep track of who most of the characters were