I absolutely loved this book! It addresses some major issues and discrepancies that still exist in public education. As an educator, I did not realize the scope of how many schools are experiencing integration, and the blatant racism that still exists in the hearts of so many Americans in this century. School integration was a topic that I did not know much about prior to reading this book, but I was fascinated by this story, and it prompted me to delve deeper into these muddy issues that are at the heart of inequity. I read this book so quickly, and applaud the brave work of this author. I absolutely loved the narrative, and highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Minotaur Books and Author Katie Ganshert for a free copy of this book.

This was a very powerful story. I thought it was going to be just about racism, but it really isn't. This story is about a woman who believes that she isn't racist, but discovers that she is.

Camille is the wonder mom of the school. PTA mom extraordinaire, she strives for the best. That does not include the kids from South Fork attending their posh school. While there are two strong supporting characters with their own stories to tell, Camille is the one with the true epiphany at the end of this journey.

Anaya and Jen have their own different, yet intertwined stories. Showing how hard it can be sometimes to overcome even the smallest obstacle.

What a good read!!! The author took a hard issue, racism and brought it to us in this book with grace and maturity. Wow. Amazing. This book will stay with you once you have turned the last page. Each main charecters gives to this book in various ways. Other subjects are tackled in this book and this book will make you think a little bit longer. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

This brilliant book ranks as the best book I've read in months! Katie Ganshert births a marvelous group of characters. Each one vital to the depth of emotions that run through a community when forced to integrate two school districts. Racism pitted against living out one's faith and beliefs caused this reader to search my own heart and mind. The players all have a voice revealing the angst behind their actions. The parents, teachers, and students affected, create dramatic statements. What would you do in their situations? This timely and delicate subject makes No One Ever Asked a must read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing an ARC of this novel. This timely novel explores the current state of race in America. A primarily poor/black school loses its accreditation, and students that attend there are allowed to choose to attend a neighboring primarily upper-middle class/white school. Inspired by an actual event, the author explores the masks that many don't even realize they are wearing. Told through multiple perspectives, this one will make you think, challenge your notions of yourself and others, and develop great respect for an author who writes from the heart.

No One Ever Asked was a bit difficult for me to really get into. The main characters take time to cross paths. However, all the details and background before their encounter with each other are absolutely necessary, so I made my peace with it but I wish it could’ve been done in a simpler and shorter way.

Readers see all sides and perspectives surrounding the racism issue when it concerns school kids. We see from the eyes of those who are in the receiving end as well as those who are giving it out even without realising that’s what they’re doing. Kids of different coloured skins could go to the same class, same school, receive the same lessons from the same teacher and have absolutely different lives. The coloured have to give it everything they’ve got and more to disprove stereotypes; They could do exactly the same thing as white-skinned people but still come off as the bad guys. Readers get to understand that they don’t have the luxury to stand up for themselves without coming off as a threat. However, at the same time, they have to speak louder in order to be heard. It’s forever a game of tug-o-war where there’s no winning.

Despite the initial snail-pace that was totally on me, I wholeheartedly loved No One Ever Asked. Katie Ganshert’s writing is powerful, enlightening, and No One Ever Asked is a truly worthwhile piece of fiction that is recording the working progress of humanity concerning the racism affair.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy.

No One Ever Asked is a very well written novel. A great plot and well developed characters. I love this author's books and this one did not disappoint. I highly recommend this book.

The author tried to do too much with this book, and in doing so, was unable to give any of the themes justice. By having so many characters with so many problems, the focus was split too many times, and the reader is left feeling ragged.

This book challenged my thinking and left me doing some serious soul searching. In today's society where racial tensions run high, I think this novel should be required reading. If we stop to assess our true feelings, we may find our attitudes towards race may not be what we have always claimed they are. I applaud Katie Ganshert for tackling such a difficult but important topic.

An interesting and moving story about two families caught up in a somewhat racist community. A school that is predominately black loses its accreditation and some of those students are bused to an all-white school. The story centers around the school, but also with two families, one white and one African-American. Through a variety of events the two families come together in different ways and finally, learn to accept one another.

Having taught in North Carolina in the late 1960's during the middle of desegregation, I found this book very interesting. I taught in an all black school where the only integration that had taken place was the teaching staff. It was close to a military base and over half the teachers were military wives who would leave as soon as their husbands were transferred which meant some classes might have 2 or 3 teachers in the same year. My husband was discharged from the service in March, but we had made a commitment that I would complete the school year with my class. I later taught in Texas at the beginning of enforced desegregation where children were bussed to different schools in order to equalize ethnic ratios.

Having lived through this, I feel that Ganshert definitely did her research and was accurate in her portrayal of the happenings during this time period. She navigated well between the turmoil, prejudices, and discrimination that took place then and continues now. She challenges the readers thinking as she follows the three main women characters through the happenings in their area as one lower income school district is closed when it loses its accreditation and another wealthy district must absorb many of its students. Each of the women grows in their understanding of their own prejudices and beliefs. This book deals with hot button topics that are still a brick wall for many people today. Ganshert stepped out of her comfort zone and in so doing made me consider my own thinking. This book made my 2018 favorites list.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from Random House through NetGalley. Opinions are mine alone. I was not compensated for this review.

No One Ever Asked by Katie Ganshert
My one main regret about this novel is that I read a digital copy which I cannot share, because this is definitely a book to recommend and pass along to reading friends. I think a paperback copy to loan out will find a permanent place on my book shelf.
Katie Ganshert details the lives of three different women in a school district. Jen, an adoptive mother of a girl from an African country, Camille, an active mom of three children, and Anaya, an African American who is a first year teacher in an affluent school district. The author portrays the struggles they share: a challenged marriage, difficulties in adoption, racism, diabetes and even sexual harassment.
Ganshert weaves a complex, multi-layered tale that mirrors real life problems. Her characters are real and relatable. By the end of the book, each character experiences growth and hope.
My one disappointment was that although the women would have claimed to be believers, Christianity didn’t seem to impact their behavior very much. The church or the Bible didn’t seem very relevant to the answers to the problems they faced despite having Bible study groups pray or verses occasionally quoted. And maybe this is part of the problem: a vibrant faith isn’t impacting problems in society today.
Katie Ganshert brings these challenges to the forefront in a powerful way by using fiction. It is my hope that this book will stimulate conversation and change. She has given me much to ponder.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for this, my honest review.

I have no words. Just tears and a swollen heart. I knew this would be an emotional read when I picked it up, but after having heard so many rave reviews I thought I was prepared.

Not even.

This book undid me so many times—sometimes in the little things, but other times in scenes that will stay with me forever.

In the author’s note at the end, Katie Ganshert says, “Story is a powerful medium. It speaks to hearts in ways facts and articles cannot. Through it, we get to live someone else’s experience. We get to put on someone else’s skin and walk a mile in their shoes, which makes it the best possible breeding ground for empathy.” Well, they’d better be sturdy shoes, because you’ll walk a lot further than a mile in this book. And you’ll probably need to stop and have a few quiet sobs along the way—although, if you’re anything like me, you won’t be able to put the book down while you do. It’s the kind of story that compels you to keep reading. Even when I told myself to put it down (and occasionally managed to follow through), I’d find my thoughts drifting back, then suddenly I would be in the middle of another chapter without even realising I’d picked up the book.

The overarching story is gripping in its own right, but it’s the three point of view characters and the very different perspectives they bring that gives this story maximum impact. All three women are brilliantly drawn—genuine, yet flawed—and through their individual struggles and the way their lives intersect, we’re given a convicting picture of the subtle and not-so-subtle ways we judge others and make assumptions about them and their lives, particularly when there are racial differences involved. And that climax—wow! The prologue gives you a hint of what to expect, but you really have no idea who’s involved until it happens, and that carries a powerful message in itself.

This is an eye-opening read and so well written. You’ll be convicted, you’ll cry, and you’ll come away changed. But whatever else you do, make sure you pick this one up!

No One Ever Asked is not a light book. It deals heavily with the topic of prejudice and discrimination based on the colour of a person's skin. There are instances written of how a boy was shot dead by a policeman for playing with a toy gun (this was in the news), but when a white boy actually ends up shooting his friend in a mad tussle he gets off with counselling. Where a white boy can come and go in a neighbourhood, Darius (Anaya's brother) has the cops called on him by Camille's neighbours. All because he wanted to visit his friend's (Camille's daughter) house. The feeling of fear that these people live with is palpable. It is a living, breathing entity in No One Ever Asked. Camille and her gang fear for their school - if the averages would go down, about the sort of students that would get transferred in and their influences on their own children. Anaya and her family fear if even their everyday actions could rain hell on their lives. Jen doubts her own worth as a mother and fears for the well being of her child. Each of these characters is justified, yet they are all prejudiced in their own stand. Do they get over these fears and prejudices is what No One Ever Asked has managed to ask.

No One Ever Asked will manage to touch a few nerves here and there. It doesn't matter if you are living in America or Australia or India. Each country comes with own set of prejudices. But today, I can write I know that fear. I can sense it. It is now palpable in everyday life. Where once there was a sense of safety there is now a sense of being preyed upon - because of your religion or your sex or what have you. Recently there was an incident where someone cancelled a cab because it was driven by a Muslim. Of course many justified it while an even more number looked down upon it and made a meme of it. There are distinctions in everyday life that divide us. And those dividing factors are the ones that No One Ever Asked makes us think about. It is a book that will make you feel and then introspect.

This book is mainly about prejudice and racism. The author did an amazing job of showing both sides and how it changes/affects everyone. How EVERYONE struggles with stereotypes and how we all have our own hardships. She pinpoints that the hardships in life do not have to make you a hard and unloving person. You will never be free or happy when you have hatred in your heart. No matter your impression of a person, you have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. I loved the character development and how attached I grew to all of the characters. While I have a hard time getting in to anything other than murder mystery, I loved this book!! I have really grown to enjoy this reading genre. With that being said, I would highly recommend it to any and all ages/ethnicities/readers.

I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the opportunity!

Thought-provoking novel on hidden racism and its harmfulness. While reading, I laughed and I cried.

I highly recommend the book.

Beautiful conclusion.

I'll admit, I was terrified to read this one, which is why I went for it in the first place. A white lady from eastern Iowa whose bio says she "loves Jesus" and is writing about race? One that takes place in suburban St. Louis, with a bunch of white ladies whose biggest concerns in life seem to be their marriages, PTA meetings and high school sports? Oh wow, this could be loaded...

I chose to read this book, also, because it hit pretty close to home for me for a variety of reasons - and sure, yeah, okay, I wanted to see what she had to say. I live in a reality where race, appropriation, etc. are discussed a lot, heavily and intellectually. I have friends who've adopted black children from Ethiopia and Tanzania. I knew the Hart family, too, the two white women whose van recently went over a cliff and into the Pacific ocean, taking with it the six black children they'd adopted (and whom the media ripped to shreds afterward).

So here's the deal: this white lady did well here. I think, for the audience she will probably reach with this book, that she has brought some of the basic issues of race in this country to light in a way that will pack a. gentle but solid punch for those who are still somehow oblivious to the fact that the United States is as racist as it has ever been and don't yet understand why #blacklivesmatter. I also think she's done well with not shoving a religious viewpoint down anyone's throat. There are a few "familiar" references to Bible verses here and there, but overall, it's a very "What Would Jesus Do" kind of thing that points to people just loving and being kind and helpful toward one another, accepting our differences and finding our common ground.

This book makes you look at things with a different perspective and empathy for others. Very well written, a timely book.

I wanted to love No One Ever Asked, as so many did. My negative review is not a testament of the book itself, as I think it was just not for me. I struggled to get through the many characters being weaved into the story at the beginning. It reminded me of the pilot of a drama on television where it is awkwardly showing you everyone you need to see, exposing that those people will be important at some time, but that time is not now. I did not enjoy how many stories were represented in this book. I thought it got muddled and confusing. Again, I think this was just not the book for me.

In the times we live in, this book struck a nerve that I think everyone should feel deeply.  From racism to attachment issues with adoption, this book hits some strong points. I have come to expect not just hard topics, but a well written novel by Ms. Ganshert. I was not disappointed. This will be one that I would recommend as a book club read, book group or anything like that, as you will want to talk about it with someone. 

You won't want to miss this book. You know how you can't stop thinking about a book after you read it? This is one of those. 

I obtained this book through NetGalley and the publisher. The opinions contained herein are my own.