So much is good about this book. It's a coming of age story told by two 13-year-old girls, Lucy and Bert, who live in a small North Carolina town during WWII. It has all the quirky characters a southern small town could want, some good and some definitely not good.

Bert has been sent east to help care for a pregnant aunt she's never met and an abusive uncle. She escapes that house and finds Lucy and the Brown family, who take her in and give her the love she's been missing most of her life. And they meet the mysterious Trula Freed who seems to have answers to questions you don't even want to ask.

German POWs are being hired out to work the fields as more and more Americans are going off to fight and the Brown family gets some of these prisoners. They have a son and a son-in-law who are soldiers, and one of them is MIA, so there is a lot of tension and anger - not just from the Browns, but from the other townspeople, too.

The characters and the atmosphere really drew me in. The writing was beautiful and the friendship between Lucy and Bert was great.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thirteen year old Allie Bert (Bert) Tucker has been banished by her father and sent to help her pregnant Aunt in Riverton, North Carolina. After traveling across the state by bus, she arrives, but it’s not the situation she expected. Her Aunt doesn’t want her there and throws her out, right into the arms of the stable, wonderful Brown family.

Lucy Brown is also thirteen and soon Bert and Lucy are best friends and share everything. Lucy is besotted with Nancy Drew and the girls get caught up in the mysterious disappearances of three men in their community. A sweet coming of age story that takes place during WWll, the Browns have a tobacco farm and raise bees for honey. Filled with a great cast of characters, we watch as Bert develops into a wonderful young woman alongside Lucy.

While I loved If The Creek Don’t Rise, this book was on the slower side for me and while an enjoyable read, it drug in some places.

All The Little Hopes by Leah Weiss is a very engaging and interesting story!!

The setting is 1943 in Riverton, NC. Lucy Brown lives on her family tobacco farm and she takes care of the bees on the farm. She loves books and loves to use big words!! Her favorite books are the Nancy Drew books. She often is reading when she should be working!!

Allie Tucker moves to Riverton to live with her aunt(not a good place for Allie to live) after the passing of her mother. She does not know how to read, comes from a poor family and Lucy takes her under her wing and they become quick friends. Allie is hungry for friendship and Lucy’s entire family help her to understand a lot!!

A German POW camp is set up in Riverton. Some mysterious things are happening and the girls want to become detectives and figure out these mysteries.

I loved the characters in this book and one of my favorites was Aunt Fanniebelle. The girls enjoy visiting her and they like to have tea parties and dress up!!

I did not want this book to end and want to thank Sourcebooks Landmark for an early digital copy.

Simply Magical!

As real as it could get! and Laugh-out-loud funny!

The voice is so authentic and the fact-finding mystery aspect is genius. I am so in love with Lu and her love with Nancy Drew and Bert and her common ways. These girls were hilarious!

The bits about the war and German soldiers made this historical novel an interesting read the way they were woven through the story so genuinely. Just enough so that the reader could glean the importance of the war.

The sisterly relationship between Bert and Lu was just so sweet and respectful that at times I had forgotten how it had come to be. The importance of honey in the story is nicely placed and provided the perfect amount of symbolism. The twist at the end really took me by surprise.

The vocabulary and book elements were genius!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to all ages.
Sourcebooks Kids Thank you for the early read. This book was so unexpected.

One should never judge a book by its cover.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to all ages.

All the Little Hopes is an endearing coming of age novel set in North Carolina during WW II. The story is told by Lucy Brown who has a large family, and Allie “Bert” Tucker who has just lost her mother and stillborn brother. Her father is not able to cope, and he sends her to live with her aunt who has some problems.

I was immediately drawn into the story with Lucy’s love of Nancy Drew books. I have fond memories of my sixth grade. Everyone of us girls traded Nancy Drew books. We all wanted to be Nancy Drew. This is a story about family. Bert is taken in by the Brown family who is coping with a son and son-in-law who are fighting in the war, having a contract with the government to provide beeswax, a German POW camp, and men that have gone missing. Lucy and Bert decide they are going to be like Nancy Drew and solve the mysteries.

I felt like I was right there in the story. So many different emotions from laughter to tears. I found myself wanting to have a conversation with the characters, I am sure that book clubs (including mine) will gravitate toward this book. I appreciate the recipes at the end of the book and the author notes. I definitely want to read other books by Leah Weiss. My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

This is a great story that has something for everyone. Lucy and Bert are thirteen years old and are growing up in North Carolina and upon meeting each other become fast friends. World war two has brought lots of changes to their lives. Lucy's brother and brother in law are fighting in the war and
Lucy's dad is selling beeswax to the government. German POW'S are brought to a camp in their town and 2 of the prisoners work to bring in tobacco on Lucy's family farm. Three men go missing and Lucy and Bert think they can help with the investigation as they are fans of Nancy Drew so think they know what to do. This is a beautifully written book and the characters are very believable and likeable. I very highly recommend.
Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this incredible ARC for my honest opinion.

A chance meeting changes the world for both 13 year old Bert and Lucy in this novel set in North Carolina during 1943-1945. Bert was sent away by her bereaved father to help her pregnant aunt who has, to put it mildly, issues. Lucy is part of a boisterous and loving farm family which wraps Bert in. WWII is lurking outside-a son and brother in law are away at war, the farm is producing honey for the US military, and German POWS have been moved to the area to assist on farms. There's also something else lurking-men have been going missing in the area. You also might guess what's happened but that didn't matter to me. This is a different sort of WWII novel as it's very much about the rural US. It's also a well done coming of age tale with both Bert and Lucy telling their stories. The characters are vivid and the atmospherics work. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I greatly enjoyed this-it's a very good read.

Beset by tragedy, Allie Bert Tucker moves to Riverton, North Carolina. Meanwhile, Lucy Brown spends her days in books and in folklore. The two become best friends as more changes hit their town --The Browns keep bees on their tobacco farm and are commissioned to supply the government with beeswax. There is anxiety surrounding the town's new German POW camp. And everyone awaits word from those fighting abroad-- So, when Lucy and Bert catch wind of missing persons, they decide to emulate their inner Nancy Drew. It's something they can do...but consulting the "Weegee" and the tarot can't hurt either. As friendship turns into sisterhood, bonds are strengthened (and tested) among these families of choice. Themes of trust and redemption are at the core of what unfolds. Weiss weaves several story arcs into a thoughtful, moving, and heartwarming coming-of-age tale. It's one filled with dreamy passages that work in tandem with an underbelly of lesser-known instances happening on the Southern (US) Homefront during WWII...and one which will stay with readers for a long time

There are several missing people in a small North Carolina town during WWII and friends Lucy and Bert try to solve the mystery of the disappearances just like Lucy's favorite heroine Nancy Drew. While the disappearances are a main part of the story, All the Little Hopes touches on many of the concerns of the World War II era ranging from Nazi POWs, relations between different races, physical abuse, adolescence, and even a touch of mysticism.

Set in 1943, in North Carolina. Lucy Brown and her family live on a tobacco farm and they have just received a contract to provide beeswax to the government for the war effort. On the other side of the state, Allie Bert Tucker, is sent by her father to live with her aunt Violet, who is expecting a baby. Lucy and Bert quickly bond over Nancy Drew books and become amateur sleuths. When three men disappear within their community, the girls put their sleuthing skills to the task, to find out what really happened.

How do the families cope with family members serving in the War? How does the community cope when soldiers come home wounded in body and spirit? How does the community cope with the German POW camp just down the road from the families? How does Lucy's sister cope when her husband is declared missing in action?

Well-written, with wonderful descriptions of the community and those who live within it, including Lucy's aunt and uncle, and their neighbor, psychic Trula Freed. Historical fiction and coming-of-age, this was truly an enjoyable read.

3.5 stars, rounded. This is a very readable book featuring a part of WWII history that hasn't been detailed quite as often in fiction alongside a family and coming-of-age story. It's very warm and shows some of the hardships of being the ones left at home during wartime, of rural life, of racism and community.

I am highly recommending the latest work of historical fiction by Leah Weiss (If the Creek Don't Rise) titled ALL THE LITTLE HOPES. Set in 1940s North Carolina, this centers on two thirteen-year-old girls, their families, and the meaning of community, especially in the rural South at that time. Following the death of her mother and baby brother, Allie Bert (she prefers Bert) Tucker is sent to stay with a pregnant aunt in the eastern part of the state. Lucy Brown, a keen Nancy Drew fan and bibliophile, befriends her and the two girls seek to solve a disappearing persons mystery. Throughout the novel, Weiss has cleverly and often subtly interwoven historical fact across a range of subjects: German POWs; the role of women; race relations; Bavarian Folklore; tobacco farming; and raising bees. Weiss also refers to literature like Margery Williams' The Velveteen Rabbit whose theme of becoming is mirrored in the intellectual, physical and emotional growth of Bert and Lucy. Chosen for the July LibraryReads list, this is a gentle story without too many surprises; its strength is being an uplifting tale of potential and resilience: "Mama says hope is a road in life, and it's easier to travel than despair. Sometimes a new perspective is all you need to make it through." Publishers Weekly called ALL THE LITTLE HOPES "magnetic from the start." A Conversation with the Author and Reading Group Guide are included.

A Southern novel written by a Southern novelist, I am here for it. A wonderfully written coming of age mystery set in 1940s North Carolina. Heartbreaking rendering of how far people are willing to go in the midst of hardship.  Overall a great read that will appeal to a broad range of readers.

“All the Little Hopes” is a gem of a book which has just risen to the top of my must read books of the year. Set in WWII in eastern North Carolina, the novel tells the story of two girls becoming women amid the tobacco fields, bee hives and their richly nuanced community. Bert and Lucy are found friends, and their relationship will shape both of their lives in important and enduring ways.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The story begins in 1943 in a remote area of the Appalachians and moves quickly to a small town on the eastern side of North Carolina. I loved the way Weiss painted the people and spirit of those times. She made them genuine, believable. Each character contributed to the whole in a unique way – just like in real life. And each character had his own strengths and weaknesses. She developed her characters so that even their weaknesses were shown to contribute to society in a positive way. Perhaps this is what is so appealing to me with both this book and Weiss’s previous book, “If the Creek Don’t Rise.”

She also brought out some very interesting facts which were personal to me. For most of my life I lived close to Ft. McClellan where Italian and German POWs were kept during WWII. Many of those POWs worked in the surrounding communities, particularly in farming. My mother in law housed one of the Germans.

I was also particularly interested in the government’s use of beeswax in the story as both a son and a son in law are beekeepers today.

Another part of the book which I found most endearing was our protagonist’s obsession with Nancy Drew mysteries!! Oh MY! In my early years, I read all the Nancy Drew mysteries and fancied myself as a girl-sleuth! Lucy’s love of those mysteries definitely took me back to my own early teen years!

This was a beautifully written, heart felt and uplifting story which I highly recommend.

I am most appreciative to NetGalley and the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark, for this early copy. This review is entirely my own thoughts.

I just adored Leah Weiss' first book <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2339273534?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1">If the Creek Don't Rise</a> and was so pleased to get an early copy of her second novel. This sophomore novel is another literary stunner. I found this novel sad and hopeful, haunting and thought-provoking. The author's depiction of the beauty and the brutality of North Carolina and the characters desperately trying to live their best lives there pulled me in and wouldn't let me go.

I quickly became deeply invested in the outcomes for both Lu and Bert, two girls coming of age in the time of war and did not want to put the book down. The complexity of their relationship had me on an emotional rollercoaster, but I was rooting for them both.

Although the novel takes place in 1940s Carolina, the issues of race, social status, and relationships remain relevant, and resonate strongly with me as I reflect on what is happening in our society today. I can't wait to see what Ms. Weiss comes up with next, I do know I will be first in line to read it.

Leah Weiss brings to us the most endearing and eccentric book set in the foothills of North Carolina. The love of the land is brought through her words and her ancestry "southern by grace and roots"....my motto too, Leah!!

Living off the land is part of the proud heritage in this book. I can smell the tobacco barns burning, hear the bees humming and remember the hard labor revealed under our nails. Although our lives have changed and the farms have all been sold, books like these are a rarity that bring back memories of our childhood.

13 year old Lucy Brown and her sister by choice, Allie Bert, are the narrators in this southern story of friendship in the 1940's. The war blurs the lines of these timeless troubles families endured. The Brown's family was not immuned while two of their sons are fighting in WWII, they are busy with beehives the government helped to supplement in exchange for their beeswax. More interesting facts at the end of the book are given about these historical tidbits.

Nancy Drew books adorn their home with Lucy wanting to duplicate her skills on a hunt for missing men in their area. Such humorous moments of Bert and Lucy super sleuthing through the community. As North Carolina houses 18 POW camps for Nazi and German soldiers, the families in the area open their homes and fields to allow them to work the land while the men are at war. This was another interesting fact that Leah Weiss adds after researching these facts and interviewing family members.

Much can be said for this historical fiction that will open your eyes to a time period gone and the proud people that are much like the Brown's family. The characters are interesting. Bert has her own story of survival after her mom and baby brother die during childbirth and her father sends her away to stay with her pregnant aunt. Bert does not feel welcomed after her aunt's apparent delirium and her husband is missing. The Brown's family take her in, as well as another child. The personality and love in this family is contagious and brings enlightenment during such dark times.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Southerners who grew up on farms or were alive during WWII (or who grew up hearing family farm stories about this era) may find a lot of memories popping up while reading this book. I've not come across many books that are equally suitable for young adults and grown-ups alike but this one is -- it's part history, part family, part coming of age, and very small town/Southern. Mostly a happy read with some less pleasant, real life situations (deftly and discreetly handled), this is a good reminder that the 'good old days' weren't always honey sweet and that good family is where you find it. A wonderful book to read before bedtime or on a rainy day.

All the Little Hopes, a historical fiction novel by Leah Weiss, is set in rural North Carolina during the early '40s.  Weiss does a beautiful job making the characters real and interesting in a way that makes them easy to connect to.  They are so real, I felt I knew them (especially true if you are from N.C). While WWII is a part of the storyline, it is not the typical WWII book.  This book is about the families and what they endured on American soil while their loved ones were at war.  It is about hope, family, and friendships, and how they work together to survive during this time.

North Carolina, 1943 the story of two friends, :Lucy Brown and Allie Bert Tucker. For Lucy, whose idol was Nancy Drew there certainly seemed to be plenty of crimes to uncover. But those crimes weren't written in a fictional story, they were real. The setting of a small town in the South gave this novel charm, uniqueness and definitely quirkiness. This coming-of-age story was heartwarming, entertaining and quite enjoyable. Southern fiction at its best!! My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.