Imaginary friends are normal, right? Lots of kids enjoy having a special and secret friend who accepts them unquestioningly and indulges their fantasies in ways that affirm their unique identity.

For Sadie, dreamy and socially awkward, George is that special someone, a hot, swashbuckling, funny, complicated guy, a sort of dream date who allows her to live out the adventures in the movies and books she loves. Together, they are pirates, spies, soldiers, wizards. But Sadie is in high school, with a real life boyfriend, Henry, and a best friend named Lucie, who have often remarked on the fact that Sadie seems to be a world away, more interested in what's happening in her head than what's actually going on around her.

But no one knows about George and how she spends every moment she can with the love of her life.

Then disaster strikes and suddenly her parents realize that Sadie is slipping away from reality in some disturbing ways. Hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation after a car accident in which she breaks her leg and calls out frantically for George, Sadie tries to protect her relationship with her fantasy, only to confront the deeper roots of her break with the real world.

Chapters alternate between Sadie's adventures with George, mostly in flashbacks, and the painful reality of her hospital stay. She knows she must somehow let go of him, but everything about George is so much better than the rough edges of real relationships. Readers will be haunted by THE MUSEUM OF US, which offers a fascinating glimpse of the temptations of fantasy taken too far.

I enjoy young adult books in which teens' parents are portrayed as authentic personalities, and THE MUSEUM OF US did not disappoint. The relationship between Sadie and her parents has been complicated since they gave up their formerly footloose lifestyle in the wake of a traumatic event five years earlier. Hiding out in her bedroom in the family's basement, Sadie has had free rein to indulge a fantasy world her loving parents know nothing about until she winds up in the hospital. They are frantic and confused by their daughter's state of mind but remain constant in their loving support.

THE MUSEUM OF US will be published June 26, 2018. I received a free advanced readers copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Museum of Us
by Tara Wilson Redd
Random House Children's

Wendy Lamb Books
Teens & YA
Pub Date 26 Jun 2018

I am reviewing a copy of The Museum of Us through Random House Children's and Netgalley:


Let me start of by saying The Museum of Us impressive debut novel.


We have a way of letting secrets, even our own out.

Sadie loves her boyfriend whose a rocker named Henry, her best friend and and running partner Lucie but it is George she is passionate about, George who is her secret.


The only problem is George isn't real, he's her imaginary friend, the one she tries to keep secret from everyone.


Until an accident changes everything and she finds herself in for Psychiatric help, will she be able to let George go? Or will she hold on to him?


Find out in The Museum of Us

Five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Author: Tara Wilson Redd

Publisher: Random House/ Wendy Lamb Books

Publishing date: June 26th, 2018

Pages: 170

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

*received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*



Hello tis me back again with another review! I honestly feel super proud of myself because all I do is work and go to school and I felt stressed because I felt like there would be no time for me to read or upload on here. But I’ve uploaded at least once a day this whole weekend and I’m proud!!! On another note let’s start with this review, like usual I will post the Goodreads synopsis below.

Secrets are con artists: they trick you into letting them out.

Sadie loves her rocker boyfriend Henry and her running partner and best friend Lucie, but no one can measure up to her truest love and hero, the dazzling and passionate George. George, her secret.

When something goes wrong and Sadie is taken to the hospital calling out for George, her hidden life may be exposed. Now she must confront the truth of the past, and protect a world she is terrified to lose.

Okay so in my personal opinion I feel like the synopsis is a complete 180 from what the book actually is, and maybe the author tried to do that on purpose because she wanted a plot twist? (which there are a few). I do want to do an honorable mention that the cover is beautiful and I’m obsessed with it and the title. At some points in this book I was left confused and I was sitting there thinking “what the hell is going on right now” and I would have to go re-read certain parts so I did just want to put that out there. This book is a contemporary novel and it deals a lot with different types of mental illness, and overall I did think it was well written, but at some points I wished the author worded something differently or just didn’t put that part in the book because I felt like it was kind of cliche or could be offensive at some points (in my opinion it’s up to you all to decide). I did like the character Sadie a lot I felt like her character development was nice and I did like how the book talked about struggling with mental illness and that it’s not always easy to tell people about something and that you can’t be cured overnight by your significant other. Which is literally my LEAST favorite trope, I hate when YA books have a character that struggles with a mental illness and suddenly when they meet someone that person “cures them” and they feel better because that’s not how that works. Again I did like the character of Sadie, I felt like her character development was really nice and it didn’t feel rushed at all. I felt like the secondary characters could have been developed a little bit more because I felt like they were just thrown into the story with very little background or history so I felt like they existed just to exist. This novel is also character driven and because of that I felt like it was slower than other parts at times because this novel took a really long time explaining things. This book was only about 170 pages so it did make it a really quick and easy contemporary read. And without going into detail too much with the plot twists (because they are plot twists lol) when the first one happened it was very early on in the book which shocked me for 2 reasons because one, I was not expecting it hence why it’s a plot twist and two it was so early on in the book that I thought it would be later. This book is not what you would be expecting if you just read the synopsis so you’re in for one wild ride if you choose to read this.

Overall this book did give me that warm fuzzy feeling that contemporaries give me, and other times I felt my heart and soul hurt because what was happening was sad and I could kind of relate to the character. I encourage you all to read this book because I hope it can give you the warmth and comfort that I felt while reading it, or maybe you will hate it, but that’s cool because we all have our own opinions which is what makes us special!! I did enjoy this book, but I just don’t think it was the memorable thing that I am looking for, I’ve been reading a lot of contemporary’s right now and none of them really feel memorable or special to me I kind of think they’re just okay so I think I’m going to start reading the Mortal Instruments soon.

Secrets are con artists: they trick you into letting them out.


This book was not what I was expecting when I first downloaded it. The blurb that accompanied it was vague and mysterious and something about that intrigued me.

Sadie loves her rocker boyfriend Henry and her running partner and best friend Lucie, but no one can measure up to her truest love and hero, the dazzling and passionate George. George, her secret.

When something goes wrong and Sadie is taken to the hospital calling out for George, her hidden life may be exposed. Now she must confront the truth of the past, and protect a world she is terrified to lose.
I don't know why I was so drawn to this blurb, but it spoke to me and I wanted to read it immediately. And I'm so glad I did!

My favorite thing about The Museum of Us is the way it deals with mental health and mental illness. The entire book takes place over two weeks (another thing I really enjoyed was the compressed timeline) in the psych ward of a hospital. Redd's treatment of the hospital and its nurses and doctors is delicate. She doesn't make them into the enemy, not really. There are a few times that the institution is vilified, but the health care professionals are treated with respect. I find this to be extremely important, especially in today's world where conversations about mental health are still shaky and have to be approached delicately.

The Museum of Us addresses mental health head on. Without saying too much (because I don't want to give anything away), I love the way that Redd handles Sadie's character and Sadie's specific needs.

In fact, I love the way Redd handles all of her characters. She makes them individuals who are quirky and different and real. They're raw and they have flaws. But in typical YA fashion, they're much larger than life. They're beautiful and broken and they rely on each other. Unrealistic characters can ruin a book for me faster than nearly anything else.

The many pop culture references made this book timely, but in a way that it won't make this book seem aged in a few years. The references to Harry Potter make it feel modern, but Harry Potter will remain relevant for many years to come. Sadie also has an affinity for old movies and old music. Her love of Casablanca and other black-and-white films makes this novel charming and timeless.

Something that I loved about this book is its absolute quotability. I highlighted so many things in this galley that stuck out to me. The author has a way of saying very profound things in very simple language. Of course, I can't share many of them with you without revealing the plot, and I won't spoil the plot for you. It was too beautifully and expertly crafted for that.

The Museum of Us is shrouded in mystery and is completely unputdownable (yes, it's a word.) It's riveting. It's captivating. And I stayed up well past my bedtime to read it. I hope that you love it just as much as I did.

I recommend it to anybody who's open to conversations about mental health. But this book should come with a trigger warning: there is some minor discussion about cutting that I was not prepared for. If this is triggering to you, just know that it's minor, but it was triggering for me.

I started this one. Gave it my usual 50 to 75 pages, but just couldn't get in pulled into it. I won't give up on it. I'll likely read it again once it's published....but at this time, I just didn't seem to find that thing that drew me in. Likely due to the time of year I was trying to read it (during the holidays and I needed more fluffy less thinky kind of reads).
I think from what I've read, I could definitely recommend this to some readers. It seems to me readers of "We Were Liars' may enjoy this book.

This was so so good! I like the unreliable narrator, the twisty details, and the metaphors. I could understand the multiple view points easily - sometimes a challenge in this type of story. I thought it was handled well.

This is not at all what I thought it was going to be when I went into it. This book is about the trauma that we live with everyday and try to hide from others so we don’t seem “crazy”. It’s about how how we all deserve love and we are worthy regardless of what secrets we carry with us everyday, but ultimately we have to be the ones to let go of our past issues and move forward with life before we lose what is present and real right in front of us. It teaches us that you have to be okay with asking for help; it doesn’t make you weak. Instead, asking for help and seeking to better yourself makes your stronger than you thought. Although this wasn’t what I was expecting, it was still a good lesson. I was a little confused on what the heck was happening for about 40% of the book, but I eventually got there.

I have mixed feelings on this book. It was a quick and easy read that I ultimately found enjoyable, but it somehow lacked depth. This story was full of so many things I love to read about (mental illness, fandoms, friend and family dynamics) but I couldn't fully engage with the characters. I enjoyed the eventual reveal, but overall I feel that I've read this story before.

NetGalley granted me this ARC. I am very selective when it comes to requesting ARCs and I’m so glad I requested this one. This is one of the best debut novels I’ve read in quite some time. It surprised me how quick it sucked me in. I was hooked from the start and continued to keep my attention until the very last page.

I was able to relate to Sadie and found it refreshing to fins such memorable characters. Each one was developed in a way that made me angry and happy and a dozen other emotions! The story was easy to follow with really good lesson in it. I definitely recommend it!

The Museum of Us! Wow! It left me breathless, with a bit a sadness, and a great deal of exhilaration. Sadie was involved in an auto accident with her parents, and then five years later, she was driving and had an accident. She was whisked away to the hospital with a broken leg, calling out for George. Thus begins our relationship with Sadie, Henry, Lucie, and George. Sweet, sad, funny, poignant, there is something for everyone in this novel. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to be an early reader in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.

Sometimes you start reading a book and think you have a clue what you're in for and then it completely surprises you. That's how this book was for me. After the first few pages I thought I had it figured out. Thought I knew where this story was going. I had no clue.

This book hits very close to home. I really connected with the main character Sadie, as I think most readers will. The love for books mixed in with the escape of reality they provide was all throughout this novel. I loved the story, even though parts of it broke my heart. But what I love most, is how it is written. Sadie's voice is poetic and haunting as much as it is enchanting and captivating. Her story is tragic and beautiful in its own way.

I very much so recommend this book. It's unlike anything I've read before and I believe the story will stay with readers long after you've put the book down.

This book is something else and I think it’s one that might stick with readers for a long time after they’ve reached the last page because throughout my entire read I couldn’t stop seeing bits of myself in our main character Sadie.

It’s so hard to even write this review because there were many moments when I was smiling at something thinking, yeah I’ve been there or I’ve totally done that, and as it progressed into more of the reality aspect and what that meant for her state of mind is where I sort of had to sit back and wonder where I was in comparison to that journey. Thankfully I never took it as far as she did, but it’s easy to see how someone with her childhood and the trauma resulting from a car accident paired with little social interaction could lead to someone burying themselves in fantasy where they get to be the hero.

I appreciated the back and forth struggle that was presented throughout the novel but I do wonder at the ending. No spoilers, but to have one character explain the long and hard journey that awaits but then end they way it did left me unsure if it was supposed to be symbolic for acceptance or an actual overall resolution but as of my own interpretation I’m hoping it’s the former.

**thank you to netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**