This book sounded interesting, and I liked the idea of our characters working in the unclaimed baggage store. The execution was just slow and I couldn't get in to it. My students tend to favor sci fi and fantasy, but I try to throw in some regular fiction. I just don't think this would appeal to them.

I was initially drawn to the title because I am a sucker for pretty much anything set in the South, plus I was fascinated by the idea of the real Unclaimed Baggage Center in Alabama when I first heard about it many years ago, so I liked the idea of a book set at least partially within a similar store. It was fun to read about some of the shipments the characters encountered, even the mystery piece of luggage that provided a nice wrap-up for a portion of the story line.

Unlike some teen/YA books that are told from various points of view, the different voices in this novel rang true and helped develop the main characters. Nell's move to a new town reminded me of the different times throughout my school years that our family had to pick up and move (and leave friendships and other relationships behind) whenever my dad got stationed somewhere else (although Nell's family moves because her rocket scientist mom finds her dream job). Doris is strong in her beliefs even when they go against those of almost everyone around her, and Grant feels like he messed up his future and just might be an alcoholic. Their friendships deepen as they work at the store and navigate through life in a small town. Other potentially heavy topics, such as racism that is still alive today and an incident where a boy's words are believed over a girl's and she is shamed by an adult who should be a role model, are brought in but handled deftly.

Overall an enjoyable book. As a teacher, I would recommend for around grades 8 and up due to some of the topics.

ARC received from #NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable YA read with a nice mix of light-hearted fun and more serious issues. Some of the serious stuff tended to be a bit heavy-handed, but the light moments outweighed that. Definitely a good addition to a high school or public library's YA collection!

First off... cute cover!!!! i absolutely loved this book! It was so much fun to read! The plot was adorable and I found the characters immensely entertaining. This book is lighthearted and great for a summer read. This book was different in its own genre giving fresh insight to a genre that is already over saturated. overall i would highly recommend this book

All of the drama and agony of adolescence is covered honestly and poignantly in this book. However, it is also a fun tale of friendship and finding one's place in the world. The lost and unclaimed baggage that comes through the store in ways helps each character to see him or herself more clearly as friendship blossoms between 3 unlikely teens.

I really enjoyed this book. It was full of heart, and all three main characters were very relatable. I'm kind of obsessed with finding and shopping at a store like Unclaimed Baggage too. This will be a definite purchase for our library. Thanks, NetGalley, for the preview copy!

UNCLAIMED BAGGAGE by Jen Doll frankly has a horrible cover, but get over it and read this young adult novel about three friends who learn much about themselves and each other while spending the summer working at Unclaimed Baggage - a store which specializes in selling the goods left behind at lost luggage. Doris, Nell and Grant actually each have quite a bit of emotional baggage, but somehow that helps them to be accepting of each other and to transform in an endearing way as the story progresses. Doris is a free spirit, accepting of others and talented at finding lost items. Nell, a rising high school Junior, has just moved to Alabama from Illinois and is missing the love of her life. Grant was "Mr. Popular" and the star high school quarterback until his drinking was out of control and he was involved in an accident that injured his head cheerleader girlfriend.

I really loved the originality of the premise here and enjoyed the ready friendship that forms between Doris and Nell, eventually encompassing Grant. This is a "feel good" young adult novel that simultaneously tackles tough issues like alcohol abuse, sexual assault, and racism. UNCLAIMED BAGGAGE received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. I also agree with School Library Journal which says fans of Morgan Matson will enjoy this book [despite the cover]. There’s definite appeal for late middle school and early high school students. 4.5 stars.

First this is a young adult book. And it's a good young adult book. It's not the normal young adult book with all the sex and drugs. I'm not saying it's a clean cut book.
It takes place in a small town Alabama. Which I love since I'm from small town Alabama myself.
You get to see friendship thru the eyes of 3 teens. You get to see the ups and downs of being a teen.

Even if you don't normally read young adult, you should check this one out.

This is an incredibly fun read. I think most of us can relate to feeling like an outsider, and if that's also you, you will love Doris. 

All three of them are struggling, though. Nell is in a new town, Grant may well be an alcoholic (those online quizzes indicate yes, but he's not so sure) but either way, his life is falling apart and again, Doris is a liberal in a conservative, religion-is-the-best-thing-except-maybe-football town.

I love stories about friendship and stories where people are very much out of their element but then they adjust and end up loving where they are. This book has both of those elements (also personal growth). It's sweet and laugh out loud funny, but there are also heavy topics. It's a delicate balance but it works very well.

And while you will correctly call a lot of the plot, you'll still very much enjoy the ride. (Also, at least one thing will catch you very off guard.)

Recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar Strass Giroux for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this one, which is out TODAY! Doris, the lone liberal teen in her very conservative Alabama town, finds her summer going differently than she planned. She is joined at her job, which is working at a store that sells items left at airports, with two new coworkers. Grant is the former star football player who is sidelined after drunkenly scoring for the other team and then crashing his car. Nell is new to town from Chicago. The three find themselves becoming friends and finding themselves more than they thought possible. Highly recommend for readers in grades 9+.

It’s probably humanly impossible to not like a book with fluffy clouds and a little squirrel holding nuts on the cover. So far, I believe this to be 100% true.

‘Unclaimed Baggage’, while having nothing to do with now-endangered and very cute red squirrels, is just as adorable a book on the inside as it is on the outside, and if it’s that cover that draws you in (like it did me), so be it). It’s the goods inside though that will make you stay a while.

The title of the book is the name of the store that brings three new and unlikely friends together in small town Alabama. Doris has been working at Unclaimed Baggage for a while, and takes great pride in her work, unpacking suitcases that have lost their owners somewhere along the way on their journeys around the world, left at airports, unclaimed, unnamed. The contents of the bags are then sold in this unique store, which gets customers from all over the place, and even has an Instagram feed.
Nell is the newcomer, who has been made to move from the Chicago suburbs to this tiny Southern town, away from her boyfriend and BFFs, and at the start of the summer too. Forced to get a summer job by her rocket scientist mom, she fortunately meets Doris at the store.

And to round out the unlikely trio, we have Grant Collins, the hometown (but recently disgraced) football star, struggling with a drinking problem, having recently lost his girlfriend, as well as his way. His mom calls in a favor and gets him a job at the store, which is probably the best thing to ever happen.
Over the course of their summer (but barely a couple of my days) this trio is taken through a bonding experience like no other, and not only do they have infinitely a more exciting summer than I had, these unlikeliest of friends learn some big eye-opening things about the world.

Author Jen Doll is a smart writer, and beneath all the adorable quirkiness, she presents a whole host of issues that teens (and a lot of us, in fact), have dealt and might deal with: sexual assault, alcohol abuse (particularly how it’s accepted in certain groups in high school), grief and loss, racism, a particular brand of which is still especially pervasive in the South, as well as an expectation for everyone to subscribe to the same Christian dogma.
Doll also gives us these wonderful teen characters that challenge these issues in a way that I found, for a change, to be brave instead of obnoxious, to be thoughtful instead of preoccupied, and actually give us cause to be sympathetic to their faults (especially dear Grant).

One key element of this novel, underneath all that quirkiness which I just loved, is relationships, and since this is a contemporary YA novel, it’s worth noting that it isn’t filled with text conversations, and there are also positive family relationships in this book, with the parents actually feeling like real people. I’m finding this is becoming a rarity in my reading lately (is it really so bad to put that out there?). Additionally, the close relationship Doris had with her aunt Stella, who’s passed away, plays a big part in the book; the exploration of Doris’ grief and the influence she had on her, adds depth to this story and her character.

All of this though, is served up with heaps and heaps of Southern fried syrupy goodness and charm, or at least, a furry manatee, and suitcases with their own names. The ‘scenes’ at the store were so wonderful, I wanted more, with all these amazing artifacts and personal belongings from people all over the world ending up on their shelves with the teens wondering their backstories.

I also didn’t even mind the fact that Jen Doll uses the alternating ‘voices’ of Doris, Nell, and Grant, to tell the story, which is a writing device I was becoming tired of lately but in the case of ‘Unclaimed Baggage’, I found it worked well. The book is also divided up into the three months of the summer vacation, to give you a sense of time flow.

However ‘slow’ their (or anyone’s) summer went, I raced through this book. It is funny, quirky, thoughtful, and full of so much heart that I can’t help but love it to pieces.

A quiet, heartwarming, and quirky story. The story comes across as lighthearted, it deals with some serious issues harassment, bullying, alcoholism, racism. This is an unexpected gem.

I really enjoyed this YA book! This book follows three teens that, at the time, don't quite fit in their small town. The story touches quite a few important topics: alcoholism, sexual harassment, race, and religion. I felt like the author had a good way of addressing these topics in the story. I liked the changing of the points of view, it gave a better perception in to each character. Highly recommended.

This was good, solid YA. There was nothing earth shattering, the main characters were likeable (only one was flawed), and it ended on a hopeful note.

The story follows a teen who feels like she doesn't fit in (she is the town's only atheist, her best friend is Jewish and a lesbian, and the aunt with whom she was very close has passed away) the high school football hero, and a Yankee transplant during their summer break. They work together at Unclaimed Baggage, a store where the contents of unclaimed luggage from airports is sold.

While this book does have elements that include religion, alcoholism, homosexuality, racism, and sex, it only touches on most of them and there isn't much diversity - the gay friend is only known to the reader through letters, the African-American boyfriend only makes a brief appearance.

It was an enjoyable book, overall. Perhaps by touching on many issues, it was able to stay light in tone while encouraging the reader to be true to themselves.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fun, sweet book about friendship and finding self-acceptance. An out-of-place liberal in a small, Southern town, a Chicago transplant, and a former football star whose life is coming undone from an alcohol problem. Three people who couldn’t be more different brought together at the unlikeliest of places: Unclaimed Baggage, a store that sells items from the lost luggage found at airports. Although Doris, Nell, and Grant seem completely different, over one summer working in the store room at Unclaimed Baggage, they form an unbreakable bond that will weather anything life can throw at them.

This is a really cute book. I had some doubts at first about how quickly the friendship between Doris and Nell progressed (I would’ve preferred for it to be developed more slowly and naturally), but by the end the depth of the relationships between Doris, Nell, and Grant was one of my favorite parts of the book. I became very invested in the characters and their stories, eagerly awaiting to see what happened next—something I always especially appreciate in a split POV books, since that can slow the pacing sometimes. I also could’ve done without the brief interludes toward the beginning from the perspective of lost bags. That just didn’t seem to add much. But, overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and cute. And I appreciated how it acknowledged and even tackled some more serious topics—including ones related to life / culture in the South—throughout.

A good read for fans of contemporary YA looking for a cute read that tackles some serious issues— all while maintaining a light and cheerful tone.

I loved the concept of this book, as well as its dual meaning at times within the story. Doris, Nell and Grant have their own issues that they bring to Unclaimed Baggage one summer. While I enjoyed it, I felt that their issues were handled in a fairly surface way similar to an after school special or explicitly spoon fed to the reader in a way that read inauthentically

I received a copy of this book as an egalley in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

CW: alcoholism & Sexual Assault

4.5/5

This book surprised me in the best way. I really enjoyed all three of the character and loved seeing their friendship grow. It can be hard to carry a story over three POVs, but Jen Doll did it quite well. I enjoyed reading from the POVs of all three of them.

This book also deals with many social issues while set in a conservative setting, which was interesting to read about. I loved the conversations the three of them had about race, religion, homosexuality, and sexual assault. These conversations made the characters feel real and relevant.

It was also a nice surprise to see a relationship last for the entire book, which made the relationship that developed over the course of this novel feel more real and okay. I hate when 2/3 characters in a friend group get together and the other one is entirely fine with it, this book did not fall into that category, which was great.

I would honestly like a sequel with these characters to continue seeing them grow together and on their own.

I enjoyed this book, but felt there were portions where the pacing felt off, particularly towards the end.

A bit unsure about the premise, but curious enough to check it out, Doll uses her three characters all brought together as they work in a summer job at Unclaimed Baggage – the store that sells the luggage and contents of the bags that were lost and unclaimed from the airlines. Of course, the bags and the items they contain have unknowable stories – and Doll weaves some of the ‘possible theories’ of the origins to help these three work out their own issues and struggles.

Nell is the newly transplanted “yankee” from Chicago – moved just at the start of summer and leaving behind her friends and boyfriend, her mother has decided that Nell needs a job, and fortunately the first person she meets at the new job is Doris. Local girl Doris is singularly unique, with her own history of ‘mot fitting in’ and some embarrassing moments that she is trying to live down. When you add in her grief from the loss of her aunt Stella, and her determination to be a ‘connector’ for those who need it as a sort of homage to her aunt, the warm welcome for Nell, and the quiet sympatico of their political leanings (both being more liberal than the norm) these two are soon friendly, on their way to fast friends.

But all is not smooth waters there – enter Grant, the high school football star who’s reputation and issues are piling up. With his drinking finally brought to light, his stardom, girlfriend and way are all in jeopardy – but his mother quietly steps in and gets him a summer job with Nell and Cora. Cora and Grant have a history, most of it not particularly flattering to either of them, but in a move that is far beyond her years, Cora welcomes Grant into the little group with grace and style that shows her determination to change and the power of acceptance for Grant.

Unlike other stories that are YA in focus, these are three teens who aren’t texting and boy crazy, there isn’t a real “romance’ in the mix, no triangles and no posturing. Instead, as they unpack the cases and play about with stories and possible histories of the items, they also start to unpack their own issues, getting advice, support and even some solutions from the others. The mix of voices simply adds to the immediacy and ingrained nature of the issues they face – and none of the issues are small ones. Together the three deal with drinking and the issues it causes with double-standards and its place as in high school culture, sexual assault, grief and loss, racism and even the ever-pervasive Christian dogma that is omnipresent and often unquestioned (or questioned with piling on shame) that they all are facing, together and separately. Thoughtful and perceptive observations, conversations that mean something, and a true bond is built for these three, upending what seems to be a prevalent notion of teens not being interested or able to dissect the world and the forces that are often placed on them with unexpected consequences. My one issue with the story as a whole was the tendency to get a bit heavy-handed with accentuating the ‘differences’ between the three, and while the ‘not all ___ are bad people message was clear, the organic development of this group of characters highlighted those moments far better than a blatant statement could possibly accomplish. A solid debut sure to please readers who want something a little different from their YA reads.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-9Tg/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

An alright read, given it's ya-ness and overall light feel. I liked the gist of this store of unclaimed baggage, and went and found the instagram account of the Scottsboro unclaimed store because I was so delighted by the idea. Even though the book was 'light,' there were several big issues walking around the book, getting addressed in various ways. These include race issues, Southern 'pride' in it's uglier forms, unwanted sexual advances and not being believed, teenage alcoholism, football concussion issues, Christianity and the exclusion of homosexuals or liberal ideas from the religion, small town small-mindedness especially in relation to religion and race and football, and probably a couple more. This is not exactly surprising for a YA book. They do tend to run the gamut of Big Ideas, though not all get an equal treatment or depth of 'dealing.' This book treated these things in a pretty balanced way, while still keeping the overall feel of the book more positive than negative - THAT is pretty unusual.

I loved that the main character, Doris, isthis well-loved 'outcast' of sorts, since she stopped going to church and has a gay friend (the only 'out' girl in town, apparently). Somehow the town still accepts her, to an extent, and her family doesn't go out of its way to disown her, though they do voice differing opinions.

All in all, a decent YA book that deals with The Issues, but also doesn't drag you down and pops in some teenage romance. Voila.