Small-Town Chaos by Lenore Focht is a delightful memoir of small town life in rural Canada. Hint: it’s not glamorous. Lenore had been stuck in a dead end job until she trained to be a teacher. When she’s offered a position at a school in a remote small town with a population of 450, she reluctantly accepts, planning only to stay for a few months and then return to the city. That doesn’t happen. She marries Joe, her longtime boyfriend, and they buy a farmhouse on several acres outside the town. What follows has the makings of a TV home renovation show. There are angry birds, a flood, more angry birds, a beaver attack, bats and more. Lenore learns to rely on her eccentric, caring neighbors for help and companionship.

This portrayal of small town life is charming, thought-provoking and laugh-out-loud funny. The challenges of small town living, its isolation and loneliness are described here as are its joy and satisfaction. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Girl Friday Productions and Lenore Focht for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
Small towns are quirky and unique and Liberty fits the ticket. I enjoyed the funny stories about the wildlife in the farm and how the author built her courage to deal with dead or intrusive animals.

Both hilariously funny and heartbreaking, Focht writes a vulnerable account of her experience moving from the city to a small town. Her bold, honest narrative describes the good and bad of living in a small town where everyone knows your business and rally around you when times are tough. A realistic slice of life from this debut author.

Book Review: Small-Town Chaos
Raw, Honest, and Deeply Relatable

Small-Town Chaos is a beautifully raw and refreshingly honest look into prairie life, written with a vulnerability that instantly invites readers in. From the very first pages, it feels less like reading a book and more like sitting across from a good friend over a cup of coffee—one who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is.

What makes this book stand out is the author’s ability to balance humor with emotional depth. The tone shifts naturally between laugh-out-loud anecdotes and deeply human moments of sadness, hope, frustration, and excitement. It's a testament to the complexity of life in Saskatchewan, particularly the contrast between rural and urban experiences. The author captures the learning curve of adapting to rural life with a keen eye and a warm, self-aware voice that makes every page feel authentic.

At its core, Small-Town Chaos is not just about one person’s experience—it’s a mirror for so many who’ve lived in Saskatchewan, showing how shared geography doesn’t always mean shared experience. Yet, it’s precisely through these differences that the book finds its strength, unearthing the common threads that tie us together as people, no matter where we live.

If you're from the prairies—or simply curious about life there—this book will resonate deeply. It’s heartfelt, humorous, and unfiltered, and it leaves you feeling seen, understood, and a little less alone.

I truly feel like I could write the sister for this book; small town girl moves to the city. Although Lenore and I grew up in opposite, the memoir beautiful explains the horrors and blessings of small towns. The last chapter brought me to tears, as I read about the town Liberty rallying around Lenore’s family in time of intense grief and loss. The best “village” to raise a family truly is a small town, and she so beautifully explains why. The adjustment to farm life and all the challenges with everyone knowing all your business was comedic and relatable. Recommend this book to all who want a clear picture of rural life.