oceanwriter's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I definitely did not expect to like a middle-grade book as much as I loved this one. What I wouldn’t have given to come across a book like this when I was a preteen. As I read, I felt I’d reverted back to my younger self, screaming, “This person gets it!!!”
Finley is silently struggling with anxiety and depression disorders, unable (and unwilling) to put a name to the feelings that she calls ‘blue days’. On top of this, her parents are on the brink of divorce. In a last attempt to salvage their marriage, they send Finley to her grandparents’ house for the summer. She’s never met them before nor the rest of her dad’s family. They don’t even speak about them. She wonders why now they’ve decided to make the introduction all while wondering if she is the reason her family is falling apart.
Finley’s only refuge is her notebook and writing stories about the Everwood. Once she arrives at her grandparents’, she quickly discovers the forest behind their house resembles the Everwood and soon deems it so. Reluctantly at first, she invites her cousins into the world she’s created but is soon glad of the decision, feeling for the first time in her life that she has real friends. Her friendships then expand to the Baileys, the neighbor boys. Unfortunately, her and her cousins’ friendships with them must be kept secret at all costs. Harts never associate with the Baileys. Why? None of the kids know.
Stories of the Everwood carry on as well as a project to clean up the Bone House, a charred and abandoned house nestled in the forest that no one wants to talk about either. Finley is determined to unlock the mystery of the house and the three people who once lived there. Whatever happened, she knows that it has something to do with why Harts and Baileys never speak. Asking questions gets her nowhere but trouble so she takes it upon herself to do research. She begins to wonder if the mystery of her dad and grandma’s feud is also connected. In discovering the truth about the Bone House, she believes she will also discover why she’s been estranged (and possibly even be rid of her ‘blue days’).
There is so much to this plot but it flows and connects magnificently. If not for Finley’s age and the ages of the bulk of supporting characters, I’d consider this a YA. It’s such a good representation of mental health struggles. It’s especially impactful given it’s centered on an eleven-year-old trying to come to terms with her ‘differentness’ as she also describes it. I felt so connected to Finley even if a lot of it was in retrospect. I also could appreciate trying to navigate a large extended family and trying to memorize the unspoken rulebook. Given it’s geared toward younger readers, there’s no shortage of character growth going around. I appreciated that the adult characters learned lessons as well. Emotional, inspiring, and adventurous, it was such a lovely read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
Minor: Addiction, Classism, and Child death
ethan_bridgesgarcia's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I’m sure I’ll get a lot of hate for this but my God! the longest allegory for depression in the world awarded goes to this book. Also why did it take forever to answer all of the mysteries? And why was it so flat? I didn’t enjoy any of the characters and the idea for a fantasy was very misleading. Almost DNF.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Classism, Mental illness, Addiction, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness
glacialis's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Mental illness
flordemaga's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
A thoughtful book that almost is magical realism, but what it really is is a complex look at family, love, secrets, and mental illness.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Child death, and Classism
christabelle_v's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death
olivia_piepmeier's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I can’t remember how long ago or even how this crossed my path, but I could tell from the description it felt very familiar. Having read it, it definitely lived up to that expectation. I mean, there was no major family secret drama in my childhood, just the concept of a kid having mental health issues but not knowing what it was, divorced parents, big imagination, etc. Honestly the mental health bit felt a bit too real sometimes. I wish I had this as a kid! It still felt satisfying to read as an adult from this perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child death and Death
laprismaluna's review
dark
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
cw: divorce from the perspective of a child, references to a past house fire, withheld cancer diagnosis in a family
I didn't quite know where to be in this book. I liked it, mostly because Finley Hart is a straightforward main character who's simply misunderstood; I liked the kids *immensely* because they loved interacting with the world Finley set forth. even the bailey kids adjusted to it instantly--the adults in this scenario were terrible, as is standard when it comes to tightly rooted families during divorce. they rarely bothered to understand finley and her love for the everwood. her writing was not just a coping mechanism, but rather her way of understanding the divorce and her depression/anxiety; the fact that the adults rarely bothered to frame her fixation as that led to them mishandling her emotional state. that's why i loved the kids tbh! they Immediately adjusted to it, whether or not it was a coping mechanism, bc they wanted to know more about a cousin they'd never really met. i really appreciate claire legrand's handling of finley and her depression/anxiety/feelings about divorce, and they were carefully crafted and true to finley's heart. I just wish that the story hadn't left her father & grandmother's issues to be politely folded into oblivion bc that's how this family tucked away all those secrets in the first place. them being brittle + vulnerable + at odds with themselves is how any of them received any closure, if any, and the implication of them telling the truth is more hopeful than likely (i recognize that the fire isn't finley's story and therefore doesn't need to be tied up, but the characterization up to now--of adults tied so strongly to their matriarch--doesn't earn the book's ending. regardless of the discussion on perfection and loving someone despite their flaws. the only reason they were honest is bc finley was insistent on finding out the truth! they spent the entire summer talking about her behind her back, ofc i'm not gonna trust that they'll tell the truth and change sldkfj)
the kids literally made this book thrived. the parents were barely helpful (also, finley's relationships with all her cousins was rlly sweet, esp w/ the oldest !! it was very full of heart and i appreciated that the others were patient with finley and looked forward to hanging out with her & her words & her stories). also grateful for the acknowledgment of class re: the hart family & the baileys but i also feel like that rEALLY should have been a bigger issue to acknowledge w/ her own parents re: how the whole incident was handled. either way this book was rlly emotional for me and i really value it bc of that.
I didn't quite know where to be in this book. I liked it, mostly because Finley Hart is a straightforward main character who's simply misunderstood; I liked the kids *immensely* because they loved interacting with the world Finley set forth. even the bailey kids adjusted to it instantly--the adults in this scenario were terrible, as is standard when it comes to tightly rooted families during divorce. they rarely bothered to understand finley and her love for the everwood. her writing was not just a coping mechanism, but rather her way of understanding the divorce and her depression/anxiety; the fact that the adults rarely bothered to frame her fixation as that led to them mishandling her emotional state. that's why i loved the kids tbh! they Immediately adjusted to it, whether or not it was a coping mechanism, bc they wanted to know more about a cousin they'd never really met. i really appreciate claire legrand's handling of finley and her depression/anxiety/feelings about divorce, and they were carefully crafted and true to finley's heart. I just wish that the story hadn't left her father & grandmother's issues to be politely folded into oblivion bc that's how this family tucked away all those secrets in the first place. them being brittle + vulnerable + at odds with themselves is how any of them received any closure, if any, and the implication of them telling the truth is more hopeful than likely (i recognize that the fire isn't finley's story and therefore doesn't need to be tied up, but the characterization up to now--of adults tied so strongly to their matriarch--doesn't earn the book's ending. regardless of the discussion on perfection and loving someone despite their flaws. the only reason they were honest is bc finley was insistent on finding out the truth! they spent the entire summer talking about her behind her back, ofc i'm not gonna trust that they'll tell the truth and change sldkfj)
the kids literally made this book thrived. the parents were barely helpful (also, finley's relationships with all her cousins was rlly sweet, esp w/ the oldest !! it was very full of heart and i appreciated that the others were patient with finley and looked forward to hanging out with her & her words & her stories). also grateful for the acknowledgment of class re: the hart family & the baileys but i also feel like that rEALLY should have been a bigger issue to acknowledge w/ her own parents re: how the whole incident was handled. either way this book was rlly emotional for me and i really value it bc of that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Death
More...