The story line just didn't grab me. It fell short. Thank you for letting me preview. I have not read anything by the author Leah Weiss before this one, but I would like to try something else by the author. It was too poetic for me and did not flow. It was probably me, as the reader and not the story.

I loved If the Creek Don’t Rise and knew that I would be reading every book Leah Weiss came out with! So in saying that, I completely jumped at the opportunity to read Leah’s latest novel All the Little Hopes! IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Wow, Leah combines Historical Fiction and Women’s Fiction to create a storyline that will definitely stay with me. The characters are well-developed and so darn endearing. This coming-of-age novel will grab every single one of heartstrings and leave you glued to your kindle until the very last page. Leah Weiss has written another 5 star read that would make a wonderful book club selection! I recommend everyone read this gem!

“Bert Tucker goes on to say that first day that when she has babies she’s gonna name them places she travels to, like Paris and London and Nova Scotia. I tell her I hope she’s not going to Amsterdam, and that makes us giggle so hard we almost pee our pants.”

All The Little Hopes is an absolutely delightful read. The friendship between Bert and Lu made me smile, laugh and love them more with each chapter. The Brown family is endearing; they show wisdom, weakness, love, grace and acceptance through every joy and trial. Their love for books, reading and learning warmed my heart. There are so many other interesting characters in this book, too, who are introduced by Lu:

*Trula Freed-“the consummate enigma of Mercer County...a butterfly among common houseflies....I wish she’d come to our table so I could study her up close. Today she wears a long dress in purples and blues and an orange turban wrapped around her head. Everything about Trula Freed is rich and exotic.”

*Aunt Fanniebelle-“my rich relative who owns half the town and buys the newest Nancy Drew book for me”

*Cora-“the sister we got at church eight years back when a missionary brought her before the congregation saying she was in need of a family”

*Sugar Mayhew-“a forthright girl not scared to say things when the grown-ups aren’t here to witness her attitude”

*Irene Brown-“at eighteen and a half, is old enough to court, but she’s picky and hard to please and has a know-it-all side that gets tiring. Men are not beating a path to her door.”

*Byron Toots-“Sadly, everything about him goes with his name. Byron Toots. So far, nobody has giggled because we’re in shock. Then he starts with Mama...he calls us all by name without being introduced, and he looks us in the eye, and we feel honored to be caught in his gaze...he grows tall before my eyes.”

Highly recommend—the most uplifting and heartwarming book I’ve read in a long time.

Many thanks to the publishers at NetGalley for the advanced reader copy for review.

Lucy and Bert become the best of friends when Bert moves to town. They come of age during WWII in the tobacco fields of North Carolina. When a man goes missing, and a woman goes crazy Lucy and Bert are itching to become the next Nancy Drews. Living in a world where boys are off at war, and the Nazi prisoner camp comes to town, the girls forge a friendship that is more like sisters.

This book gives you a look at what life was like in the United States during the war. The two girls are from very different worlds, but that doesn't stop their friendship. You get a look at a town and a group of people, who no matter their differences, care about each other and come together at a difficult time for everyone. At times the book is a little slow and I wish the mystery played a more central role, but I still liked it.

Charming and bittersweet, this novel is two girls growing up in Appalachia during WWII. I fell in love with Lucy and Bert, and at times felt like I was transported to my own journey to womanhood, Set during the days of the war, the girls learn about right, wrong, and all the blurry things in between. Throw in a mystery, and endearing townsfolk, and voila, Leah Weiss's second novel is a treasure! #netgalley #allthelittlehopes #leahweiss

All the Little Hopes is one of the best novels I’ve read in 2021. It’s many things, including a coming of age story, an historic WW2 story, a mystery, and a mystical novel set in the south. Although chronologically it takes place during the last three years of the war, so much happens to the Brown family and their neighbors the stretch of time seems much longer and fuller, if that’s possible. I love that it’s a town that doesn’t see color or disability, and people don’t carry hate. Greatly nuanced I find the overall theme of this book kindness and living with grace.

Lucy Brown meets Bert Tucker and the two become fast friends. When Bert is thrown out of her aunts home the Browns take her in and she becomes an adopted member of their already large and loving family. Inseparable, the two thirteen year old girls learn about life, murder, acceptance and forgiveness. Filled with southern eccentricities all the characters are wonderful and unforgettable. My only complaint is I became so invested in this book and the people, when it ended I was really upset. How could the author end the book? How am I going to find out what happens next to Lucy, Bert, and their family? Does Everett return? Does Helen heal? What happens, if anything, between Bert and Grady? And my list goes on.....
So please Leah Weiss, consider a sequel. These characters and storyline are too good to say goodbye permanently. I think this book catapults Leah Weiss into where she belongs.... the top echelon of female southern writers.

I read and loved 'If the Creek Don't Rise' as an advanced reader's copy courtesy of Sourcebooks back in 2017. So, I was very excited to read 'All the Little Hopes' when it became available on Netgalley. I was not disappointed!

This story is set in North Carolina in the early to mid-1940s. It is told from the perspectives of two young teenagers, Lucy and Allie Bert. Circumstances bring them together in Lucy's small town, and the girls must deal with the changes brought on by the war, mysteries happening in the small town, as well as the inevitable changes as they grow into young women.

Leah Weiss is an excellent writer. She brings humor and light to what could have been quite a dark and tragic story. The lush and atmospheric setting of the small southern town is a perfect backdrop for the story. Lucy and Allie Bert are fully-developed characters with distinct personalities.

I highly recommend this book and will be purchasing it for our library.

One book I couldn’t put down. I generally read to relax, falling asleep after 10 minutes or so. This book kept me awake, wanting to continue reading. Chores were put aside until the very last chapter. The dichotomy between the two main characters is written so well, with no problems switching narrative voices. The scenery was spectacular and the storyline draws you in. A must read for anyone interested in the 1940s or in the North Carolina culture.

I received email of two young girls wanting to be Nancy Drew, it captured my attention.
They become friends by books, bees, and acting like Nancy Drews.

Enjoyed going back to 1943 and going to the matinee show!

Writing: 3.5/5 Plot: 4/5 Characters: 4/5

All the Little Hopes is a double coming-of-age story set in a North Carolina tobacco farming community from 1943 until the end of the war in 1945. Thirteen-year old Lucy Brown lives with her family on a tobacco and honey producing farm when she meets Allie Bert Tucker (Bert) who was shipped away from her Asheville mountain home when her mother died. The story alternates between their voices as they rapidly move from strangers to best friends to family. Lucy worships Nancy Drew and wants to be a detective; Bert wants more than the “puny life” she was headed towards back home. They both get what they want when a German POW camp provides labor nearby and men — not the nicest of men — start disappearing.

The story is firmly embedded in factual events and surroundings — WWII on the home front with a beeswax contract with the government; cheap labor from a nearby POW camp and community misgivings; an entire world of German glass marbles and the ubiquity of earned marble skills; purple honey with potentially healing properties; and Shape Note Singing (look it up — it’s cool) as examples. Racial and ethnic stereotypes, segregation, and attitudes are matter-of-factly included without being the focus on the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book which is billed as Literary Fiction but could easily serve as YA. It’s a small and local story painted on a big and global canvas that gives insight into young lives maturing under the auspices of war, propaganda, and local culture. Great characters and an intriguing plot as told from the perspective of youngsters who were forced to gather information piecemeal and fit it into their own emerging mesh of internal knowledge.

Some good quotes:

“I don’t tell Bert that sometimes I wonder if Irene’s heart is too small. She isn’t very amiable, and she’s stingy with kind words, like she’s scared she’s going to run out. It must be tiresome being Irene.”

“It’s got bits and pieces that glue me together when I’m coming apart.”

“It ain’t nice to shine a light on the ugly, but the ugly came home with Whiz and sits in our front yard.”

“We’ve crossed some invisible line into the land of beguile, and I feel a power I never knew before.”

Leah Weiss has now become one of my favorite authors.
All The Little Hopes, is the story of two girls growing up in the southern part of North Carolina tobacco country during WWII.
Lucy Brown is a curious and clever thirteen year old with Nancy Drew books being her focus. Allie Bert Tucker is an outcast with her family that has come to town to take care of an Aunt that does not want her.
Lucy and "Bert" forge a friendship that is unbreakable during the time of growing up, making decisions between the fine lines of right and wrong.

This was a beautiful book to read- set during WW11 in North Carolina. . It is the story of a very deep friendship, a tight knit family who farm tobacco and are bee keepers. There is a murder mystery centred around the town and the two friends “ Lucy “ and “Bert” are determined to solve the murder(s) in true Nancy Drew style. The reader learns of the war efforts use of beeswax , of the tobacco farming industry and of local POW camps, There are hints of insightful “ powers “ that intrigue both the characters in the book and the reader!I loved everything about this historical fiction and would highly recommend reading it.

This coming of age story was so much more than I expected. The current synopsis makes it sound like a lighthearted novel about two girls playing Nancy Drew, but that was just a small piece of a much bigger story about growing up during wartime. I liked the slightly magical aspect with Trula and the Ouija board. The alternating storytelling between Lucy and Bert kept it interesting and showed different perspectives. The person responsible for the mysteries they were trying to solve was pretty obvious, but it didn't detract from the story. This would be a great read for a book club!

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.