Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this arc in exchange for my honest review!
I wasn’t expecting for this book to hit as hard as it did, and found myself crying at many moments over how profound grief is, and how you never know when it will hit you.

Came for the Maine setting, stayed for the story that completely stole my heart.

Oof😮‍💨 This book was so much more than I was expecting in the most beautiful way. I’m a big fan of character-driven stories, and its books like this that are the reason why. Getting to know Liz, Mia, and Cricket over the course of this story was an absolute delight. The bond and fierce loyalty they had to one another was ironclad, and their camaraderie had me both laughing out loud and tearing up.

This was told through multiple POVs over a few different timelines. I loved the way this was done, and how we got so much background on Liz’s life before the events leading up to the current day, and how the brief flash forward at the beginning of the book sets the scene for the rest of the story. Yes this book is about soccer, but as someone who knows nothing about it, that did not hinder my reading experience even slightly. This ultimately was a book about family (both blood and chosen), and the sacrifices we make for those we love.

There are so many more things I loved about this story that I can’t even list them all here. This is a book that I know is going to stay with me.

This was profoundly heartfelt and well written. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to what else Dorey stein has in store in the future. Overall 4.5 stars!!

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was a new author for me and I really went into it knowing little about the book. I am glad I gave it a chance. The cover does not do it justice. I found myself so interested in women's soccer as I read this title and loved the perspective of what it might be like to work towards becoming a professional athlete. It is also a great story about family dynamics and the relationship between mother and daughters as well as between sisters. I really enjoyed this

This one was just an ok read. Too much soccer, not enough emotional depth. I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters, maybe because I never had an interest (bordering on obsession?) in a sport that was this intense, and so couldn’t fully understand the sacrifices these women made for the sport, and for each other - it all seemed rather selfish.

Sisters Cricket and Mia, and their single mother Liz, are incredibly close. When Cricket is young it becomes clear that she is a seriously talented soccer player. In order to make her dream of becoming a soccer superstar a reality, Mia must step up to become Cricket's caretaker while Liz takes on a second job to afford Cricket's soccer expenses. Flash forward and Cricket dream is just starting to come true, but now Mia needs her. Cricket has to decide if she's willing to return the favor and make a huge sacrifice for Mia.

This was an incredible story of sisterhood and sacrifice. The book immediately pulled me in and kept me engaged the entire time. I loved the way the relationship between the sisters grew and changed over the course of their lives. The backdrop of this elite soccer world was an excellent choice and felt like it added so much to the relationships between all of the characters.

This book took me through so many emotions, and is one of the only books in a long time that has brought me close to tears. I felt so attached to these sisters by the end of the book and reading about them making this incredibly difficult choices for one another really broke my heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Dial Press for the ARC!

This is not a book I probably would have picked up for myself but I enjoyed reading it overall. I liked the timeline of the book, how it starts and then bounces back to give the backstory/leadup and eventual aftermath of the initial chapter. I liked the character of each sister, and of Oliver. I will say that the relationship between the sisters, and somewhat the mother, made me a little sad because it felt very uneven. On the whole I enjoyed the exploration of the complicated sister relationship.

Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein is a reflective and emotional novel about two sisters testing their bond, their boundaries, and their ambition and reflecting on the complicated legacy of their single, young mother.

Told through the eyes of each sister, the novel paints an intimate portrait of the sibling bond. While the characters’ athletic and academic talents may be exceptional, readers will still find them deeply relatable. What stood out most to me is the authenticity, with the rising and falling of the plot, the hopes and flaws of the characters unfolding naturally over the course of the story. I lovingly describe it as a more earnest Gilmore Girls. The shifting viewpoints add complexity, allowing the reader to understand not only how each sister sees herself, but how she sees the other and their relationship, as well as their mother and their upbringing.

One critique I have is that, while the sisters take center stage, I found myself wishing for more from their mother’s perspective. Her presence is felt and beautifully described throughout the novel. Additional chapters from her point of view would have added even more emotional depth.

The writing style is reflective and thoughtful without being too heavy. Dorey-Stein balances emotion and introspection with lighthearted moments, making this a story you want to nestle into and stay with awhile.

I’d recommend Spectacular Things for readers who enjoy sibling dynamics, stories centered around ambition and competition, especially of the athletic variety. Eldest daughters will especially relate to this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Dial Press for the eARC!

I LOVED this book SO much! Dorey-Stein is a fabulous writer, and the story was so moving. I don't even like soccer that much, but I really enjoyed the soccer storyline(s). I loved the characters, especially Mia and Cricket, but also Oliver! The amount of emotion Dorey-Stein was able to evoke was stunning, but never felt manipulative. I know this will be a book I return to periodically, especially when I lose my mom. It's such a beautiful portrayal of family, love, dreams, loss, sacrifice, grief, soccer, and sisterhood! But also ambition and how/what you find your worth in.

This book is about love, family, ambition, and sacrifice spanning two generations - from the mom, Liz, to Mia and Cricket. A very inspiring read about the 3 women, and the choices they make to achieve their shared dream.

What a gift! This book was spectacular and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I absolutely loved this book. It was a great look at family secrets and how they play out mixed with the dynamic between 2 sisters and how their lives unfold. I saw a little of myself in both of them so that made this book relatable for me. It was fascinating to see how both girls overcame and dealt with hardships in their life. The character development was beautiful and the way every sentence is written makes it easy to follow as the story unfolds. This was a beautiful fiction read.

I seem to be in the minority, but this one wasn't for me. The novel is partly set in Maine, but there is no sense of place. The writing is a bit cliched and the book generally lacked the depth I was hoping for. This was my first time reading Dorey-Stein so I can't compare this to her earlier novels but decided not to finish this one.

Thank you to the Dial Press and Netgalley for this ARC. Unfortunately I DNFed this. I liked the premise and was intrigued by the story, but I really didn’t like the writing style. I was okay overlooking that but as soon as I hit the first flashback I couldn’t ignore it because a) I thought it got weaker and b) I didn’t care about the story as much anymore.

This book surpassed my expectations. Beautifully written.Not what I was expecting in terms of the soccer themes but the author does a fantastic job describing the game without being boring and the story moved along at a good pace.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

I love this book. I love this book in ways I wasn't quite sure that I would, but I think this might be my favorite book of the year.

Its a love letter to soccer, to be sure, but its also a love letter to sisterhood. Its probably one of the most realistic depictions of sisters and of so-called unconventional families that I have read in quite some time. The relationships between sisters, between mother and daughters, are so raw and real that you can't help but get lost in them.

The sacrifices each of the Lowe women made, whether they were known sacrifices or not, are so real and human, and the reactions to the sacrifices, or just the decisions that they each made, were equally as visceral. Nothing about this book felt over the top (unless it needed to) or not grounded in reality. Mia sacrificing for her sister's talent, Liz sacrificing for her unborn child, Cricket sacrificing for her sister, all if it was so well done.

For a while, I wasn't sure I would like this book as much as I did because it seemed Dorey-Stein was setting this up as a very cut and dry story, an If/Then sort of thing. But I was totally wrong and I'm so very glad for that. Each sister learned something important, about themselves and about each other. They learned that the end goal can always change, and achieving greatness doesn't necessarily mean happiness. You can reach the top of the mountain, but then what?

I just loved this book!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!

Spectacular Things is a story of a single mom and her two daughters as they navigate life and tragedy and their driving goal of the youngest daughter achieving soccer greatness.
I really didn’t read the synopsis of this book before diving in, and so I was hit immediately with the first couple chapters that start in the present before moving to the “beginning”. I was hooked from the beginning immediately moved to tears (I’m 41 weeks pregnant and it opens with some birth scares) at the situation facing sisters Mia and Cricket.

This story had so much heart, toughness, and love between imperfect family members. Definitely a five star read.

Also I’m not a very “sports” focused person, but I loved all the soccer training, strategy, and gameplay!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. I loved this book. Stepping out of my usual genre, I needed this reset. Great writing.

Thoughtful and quietly moving. This novel explores ambition, burnout, and finding meaning in the mundane. The voice was authentic, and while the plot was understated, the emotional resonance was deep. A gentle, contemplative read.

Man the characters in this book really go through it. There are a good amount of realities for these women and it’s refreshing to read a book where people really go through it but still come out the end relatively unscathed. I thought this was a deep, though provoking book and I think it would be a popular discussion novel. I will probably suggest this as a book for my local library to feature as I feel like a lot can be learned. Overall a good story, but probably not something I’d read again.

I really enjoyed this story! I liked how it was written in 2028 and then went backwards through their whole life and then back to the present day. Seeing everything that happened and how it would impact the present day was very interesting to see. I was very pleased with this book!