"Most people don't think fate has a sound. But is does. Everything has a sound if you listen carefully enough." I was immediately drawn into Maybelle's story within the first few lines. Kate O'Shaughnessy has created a middle grade novel that I'm sure will become a staple for all elementary and middle school libraries. Maybelle's journey, along with Mrs. Boggs and Timmy, is full of warmth, heartache, friendship and overcoming fears.  I would recommend this to anyone who likes to read realistic fiction and has previously enjoyed The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise and Louisiana's Way Home.

I loved everything about this book. I didn’t want it to end. I adored Maybelle so much. I loved getting to see how her friendships with Tommy and Mrs. Boggs grew and developed during their RV road trip adventure. I loved watching Maybelle gain her strength, confidence, and courage throughout the story. This book was wonderful and I truly enjoyed reading it. Plus, that cover is gorgeous. I’m so glad I received an ARC from #netgalley.

This book entranced me, and I read it in one sitting. Maybelle is a character you root for. During this story, she's on a journey. Not just a physical one, but one to help her discover herself . Throughout the journey, she has the help of Mrs. Boggs, a teacher watching over here when her mom is working, and Tommy, a boy from her neighborhood with some troubles himself. This is such a heartwarming and emotionally compelling debut from the author.

Thank you to that author, publisher, and NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

Maybelle and her mother struggle a little to make ends meet but are generally happy. All Maybelle has of her father is the memory of a voice mail on an old phone, but his laughter has stuck with her. When her mother gets a job on a cruise ship for a month making a great salary, the two know she needs to go, but this means that a neighbor at the trailer park (and teacher at Maybelle's school), Ms. Boggs, has to watch her. Ms. Boggs is very drab and set in her ways; she doesn't get up until 9:00, she has to have her afternoon nap, and she frequently spend time alone in a nearby cemetery and is not to be bothered. When Maybelle hears her father's voice on the radio, hosting a program, she is enthralled, and when she finds out that the radio station for which he works is putting on a singing contest, she knows she has to find some way to get to Nashville. She tries to buy a bus ticket, but ends up losing the emergency money her mother gave her. Surprisingly, when she tells Ms. Boggs about it, the teacher agrees to drive her to Nashville. It's a twelve hour trip, but they will only drive 3 hours a day. Tommy, who has bullied Maybelle in the past, has stowed away in the RV, and his parents agree he can continue the trip. The group has several adventures, including rescuing a dog from a mean owner and winning $1,000 in a scratch off lottery. Maybelle hasn't practiced any singing, picked out a song, or found an outfit for performing, so that is all worked on. Even though she almost chickens out and there are problems along the way, Maybelle eventually makes it to the contest. Will she be able to talk to her father and make him a part of her life?

Strengths: Road trip books seem to be having a resurgence, and this ticks all the boxes for a good one. Disparate traveling companions, a relatable mission, amusing adventures, and a well plotted story with appealing characters. I also appreciated that the father's reaction was realistic, and that the characters weren't soggily sad.
Weaknesses: It was hard to believe that Maybelle would recognize her father's voice, and this had a bit of a quirky, Southern vibe. Ms. Boggs' trajectory was also hard to believe.
What I really think: I have Acampora's How to Avoid Distinction, Bauer's One for the Road, Cooney's Hit the Road, DuPrau's Car Trouble, Gemeinhart's Coyote Sunrise, Pla's The Someday Birds, Stone's Clean Getaway , McVoy's Drive Me Crazy, and Paulsen's Road Trip, and that's just a few of the road trip books I have. While I love them, my students are lukewarm about them, so I may have to pass on this title.

Perfection!

The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane was just perfection.

From the moment I picked up this novel, I was entranced. It was heartfelt, it was meaningful, and the characters were ones that you root for.

The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane is told from the perspective of eleven-year-old Maybelle. Maybelle and her mother are living in a run-down trailer. Life has had its challenges for them lately. Maybelle's mother is working two jobs and doing everything she can to keep them afloat, and Maybelle is spending her summers alone.

Things are looking up for the mother-daughter duo when Maybelle's mother is offered an entertainer job on a cruise ship. It is for 30 days, and it will pay more than Maybelle's mom can make in months. She has to take the job. But, that means she has to leave Maybelle behind with her neighbor, Mrs. Boggs.

It is during a deep discussion in the car when things start to change for Maybelle. Randomly, her mother decides to turn on the radio, and Maybelle immediately recognizes the voice she hers. She knows that voice belongs to the father she has never met. His voice is imprinted on her heart after finding a lost voicemail on her mother's phone. Maybelle's mother confirms the voice is her dad but warns Maybelle that their lives are forever better off without him in it.

Maybelle cannot get that voice out of her head. She has to hear it again. Maybelle ends up pulling her little savings together to buy an old radio. She sneaks time listening to the radio whenever she is alone. Her connection to the man behind the voice consumes her, and Maybelle decides she must meet her father. She must know the real man behind the voice.

Maybelle knows her chance when she hears it. Her father is going to be a judge in a singing competition in Nashville. If Maybelle can get there to sing, she knows her father will know who she is and want to be part of her plan. Her only chance to go is when her mom goes away for her job on her cruise ship. Mrs. Boggs agrees to take her to Nashville.

The two head off on their cross country drive to Nashville. It doesn't take long for them to discover that the trip the two of them were taking was a trip for three. Tommy, Maybelle’s bully, has snuck along for the trip. Maybelle is devastated to see him with them. But none-the-less, the three continue on their drive to Nashville and into an adventure like none of them could ever expect.

A beautiful middle grades book about a young outsider who decides to meet her long lost father and, along the way, finds the "found family" she really needed all along. This story is emotional and touching, but drags a bit in the middle.