A coming-of-age story with lots of heart. This could also be a very nostalgic read for those who also came of age in the 90s, as young protagonist April makes her way across the country, meeting people, writing songs, and learning that her future does not have to be dictated by her past or her hometown. Perfect for those who enjoy reading about a young protagonist overcoming a difficult background.

Wow. What a great story of loss, love! The characters pulls you in and makes you feel so invested in each of there lives! I love how it makes you feel how finding yourself and how to stop from from the real you!

I really loved this story. I got a physical copy in my BOTM and read it a second time. I can’t wait until pub day

At the end of the day, I was not the right audience for this book. Things progressed too slowly for my taste, and I never completely connected with the main character of the story. The writing was beautiful, though the content remained depressing and hopeless. I remain hopeful that many readers will find the beauty within these pages, but it just wasn't for me.

Have you ever read a book that just instantly grabbed you and would not let you go? That is what The People We Keep by Allison Larkin did to me.

I could not put this book down. Yesterday, in the middle of a tornado warning, I was still reading it. 😂

I know this will be in my top 5 for 2021. This is my favorite quote:

“I wonder if maybe all you do is meet people and lose them and your smile fades the further you go because you have to carry the space they leave. Maybe it all just turns into old pictures on a bookshelf, engraved rings, memories of sticking stars to a ceiling, and maybe the space gets bigger and heavier every year.”

So beautiful……
I believe I’ve found another insta-buy author

Too cutesy by half. Unrealistic characters who don’t match a single person I’ve ever met. And i’ve met loads of people. In 21 years, I’ve had 40 jobs! Dang! None of these characters could have ever existed even close to those jobs. Not for me.

Abandoned by her mother as a child, thrown away by her father as a teen so he could start a new family, April Sawicki lives alone in a rundown motorless motor home before she decides to drop out of high school at 16 and takes to the road. Using her talents as a singer-songwriter to get gigs, she settles in Ithaca for awhile, but whenever anyone begins to get close to her, she bolts before they can leave her or disappoint her too.

A compelling yet heart-breaking character, April is easy to like and root for. As she travels the roads, cities, small towns, and bars of America, we watch her search for a place to belong, and people who make her believe that she matters, and is loved.

April and her search for belonging is raw and memorable. She is a character that I won't forget for quite some time.

My thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel which will be published on August 3, 2021. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’m sobbing. This book was so heartbreaking and beautiful and REAL. The writing was so thoughtful and profound. I kept wishing I could reach through the pages and give April a big hug. I absolutely loved her and so many of the other characters. I don’t think I’ve ever read a lonelier book and it was something I really resonated with at this point in my life. When April made that phone call at the end of chapter 41 I just closed my eyes and sobbed. I’m going to be thinking about this book for a really long time.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for this advanced copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A neglected teenager runs away from a pitiful situation and creates a family of loved ones along her journey.

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. In one way, it seemed to go on forever and just kind of depressed me. This girl so alone. And then by the end it left me with a feeling of contentment because she found her way. Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy in exchange for review.

This review is basically a love letter. I finished reading The People We Keep by Allison Larkin late last night; many tears were shed, and then I finally fell asleep on my damp pillow. That last chapter really wrecked me, man. Every so often, a book will find you, you’ll fall in love with the main character, and you won’t be able to put it down until you know that they will absolutely be safe and sound. I guarantee that you will fall in love with April. She’s like the little sister I never had. I just wanted to wrap my arms around her, and take her under my wing. I don’t want to say very much about the plot of this wonderful story. I want you to pick it up, go in somewhat blindly, and be amazed. Read this book if you enjoy:
* Playing the guitar, or always wish you learned how to.
* Listening to live music at coffee shops and dive bars.
* Coming-of-age stories.
* Road trips across the country.
* Rooting for a troubled, but extremely likable main character.
* Stories about friends becoming your family.
* Everything about the 90s.
* Character-driven novels with a slow-burning, yet very satisfying plot.
No doubt about it, Larkin’s latest will have a spot on my top ten list of 2021. I’ll be recommending this book for months and months to come. So stop scrolling, and pre-order this amazing book now. If you didn’t add it to your July Book of the Month box, be sure to add it on for August. It officially releases on August 3rd. 5/5 glowing stars for The People We Keep!

Based on the initial description I read of The People We Keep, I was expecting April’s musical journey to be featured (a la Daisy Jones & the Six and Songs in Ursa Major) much more than it was. If that is also what you are looking/hoping for, adjust your expectations before starting this book.

This is a coming-of-age story with a lot of movement, but no real action. And as much as I loved the cast of supporting characters that made up April’s family of friends, it was a little unbelievable to me how quickly some of those relationships became serious/co-dependent.

All in all though, this was an enjoyable read. I was invested in the decisions April made, I wanted to meet her friends in real life, and I couldn't make myself put the book down. I would recommend The People We Keep to anyone looking for a solid character-driven, coming-of-age story. And I would highly suggest putting some Dylan on in the background while reading!

When your family leaves you, and you’re constantly living in survival mode, the people you choose to collect in your life can make all the difference. April’s journey is rough, heartbreaking, resourceful and filled with heart. I laughed out loud at many parts and teared up as well. Definitely pick this one up, the feelings it provokes will be hard to shake.

This is a tour de force of a book. Is it an easy read? Definitely not. There will be times when you just feel the frustration at the neverending sadness that hounds April's life, and yet you never quite lose hope that things will take a turn for the better. It's a moving story about finding hope amidst despair, and learning to trust yourself and others, and allowing yourself to have a good life. Unforgettable and powerful.

A sign of a great story is when you have lots to do and keep promising to get up after the next chapter........and you don't move all day! I was totally engaged by April's story and travels as she grows up, fights her way through the limitations of her parents and her upbringing, on the way to finding her true self and her family of her heart. Her path isn't easy and the author always has you rooting for April even when you wish she'd wake up and mature.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

5 triumphant stars

April, a neglected teen (mother left, dad ignores) drops out of school and runs away from home. She sets her own rules for safety, sometimes living in her car, sometimes with friends. Her singing and guitar playing in small clubs or busking keep her going, but she is often hungry. From the publisher: “As April moves through the world, meeting people who feel like home, she chronicles her life in the songs she writes and discovers that where she came from doesn’t dictate who she has to be.”

The writing is honest and lyrical, with subtle touches of occasional humor. Larkin shows a hard world with grace and compassion. “It feels like I’m starving without a guitar.” “Long hair is like carrying a hiding place with you everywhere you go.” “We’re all small at the ocean; none of us have control. I like being reminded of that.” April is often on the move, not wanting to hurt those she loves. I grow to love her too and am cheering her on as her story unfolds.

The publisher says, “This lyrical, unflinching tale is for anyone who has ever yearned for the fierce power of found family” and I add, or for those who relish insightful storytelling and wonderful nuanced characters.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of those books that will stay with you for awhile after reading it. It's a reminder of how we let appearances deceive us, and when we stop and look within, find the true treasures among us. As April flees a bad situation, she finds herself in an unlikely place. But the kindness of others suddenly props her up, and gives her the life she has always wanted. But in the same way we know fairy tales end, April feels the end of her time in Ithaca, and flees from the life she has made. Along her travels, she will find loss, pain and hurt again, but ultimately, those who were meant to be in her life find her, and we, along with April, realize finding your tribe isn't just a saying, it's what we should all strive for!

I don't know if I have the words to accurately review this book. I loved it from beginning to end. I loved the characters (well, most of them anyway), the storytelling, and the feelings that this one evoked. April is 16 and living in a motorless motorhome in a small town. She's the narrator of this story, and I enjoyed hearing this story through her voice. April finds herself on the road, searching for what she couldn't find at home. She meets some great, and some not so great, people along the way. We get an inside look into her feelings, her thoughts, her fears, and her dreams. She just wants to belong. This really pulled at my heartstrings, and I found myself rooting for April to succeed, and sometimes wanting to tell her to just talk to someone. This story is about coming of age, choosing your family, and learning some difficult life lessons. I'm so glad I picked this one up. I haven't had two 5 star books in a row for a long time, and this book was so much better than I was expecting.

This is a journey of a young girl, APril age 16. It is sad in a way reading how there are many young teenagers out there with similiar lives . Young, poverty stricken home, and no stability or people to convince them that trust can be found without running away. Easier said than done.
April only knows that when life gets tough, its better to escape. Her mother left when she was young, and a father who is verbally abusive and drinking, he too doesnt have a disciplined life to be the authority figure in her life. Engaged to Irene, he has found his own life with this woman that APril despises.
APril has had enough living in the motor-less (Yes,no motor !) motor home her father won at a poker game ..
He is rarely home, so he doesnt have a clue she has dropped out of High School.
April "borrows" Irene's car(that her father bought) off and on during the night to sing in coffeehouses.She writes songs and has a guitar she plays her music to earn money.
Her only solid roots are her guitar her truest best freind Margo who gives her a job at her diner. APril always worked there since age 9, even if for tips here and there because she was a minor. At 16 she gets her workers permit so she can work regular hours there.
After being fed up with her life and after learning her father has gotten Irene pregnant,APril runs away.
She takes Irene's car towards Ithaca NY. There she hopes to find new family, a new life, People she can Keep in her life.
I kept forgetting how young she is, as I read and her bad decisions along her journey.
I had to remember she has no life experience or knowledge to know that the choices we make in our life,despite the hand we are dealt with, could turn out to be a better life.
Like all young people(and even young adults), the lesson is learned through their growth and experience.
SOmetimes I wanted to scream at the characters who try and betray and fool April, and she so naive doesnt see this. She does find loyal freinds however,but doesnt see this until later in her journey.
Netgalley gave me this ARC book in May. I started it then but it was a slow read at first and I set it down..and needed a summer read...how did I wait so long. Almost 2 months later,I loved this story of triumpth,,survival , my heart strings just tugging along her travels and the people she meets and the ones she keeps.
Thumbs up!

“We have people we get to keep, who won’t ever let us go. And that’s the most important part.”

A beautiful coming of age story that is gritty, raw, and wholly authentic. Larkin’s writing drew me in and her adept characterization of April kept me spellbound. I was profoundly invested in April, rooting for her and endeared to her. Larkin’s story took root in my soul and made me feel deeply. I haven’t cried that many tears for a character in a very long time!

We meet April as she hotwires her elderly neighbor’s car. She’s headed to her very first gig, and she’s young…only 16. But there’s a maturity to her…one that only people who have had to deal with adult things as a child can understand. Of course an audience at a bar doesn’t know that. How could they know the deep emptiness she feels and how she’s searching for something to remind her that she exists? Oh but how she captivates that crowd...her songs and their message, her voice. And from that moment on, she captivated me too.

April’s story resonated with me deeply. Her loneliness emanated through her story. The feeling of abandonment and how she internalized it. That feeling that everything good could just slip away. Believing that her worth was always conditional. Larkin’s portrayal of April’s journey of self-discovery is poignant and relatable. It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming. It’s compelling and powerful.

But don’t be deceived…in spite of the hardships and the anguish, April is not fragile. She’s tough and courageous and determined. And while she’s young and a tad naïve, she is also willing to be open and incredibly wise. Even though she kept running from heartache, she also never gave up on the idea of home. Maybe that hard and soft dichotomy is what made April so distinct and endearing.

And the supporting cast of characters aren’t to be overlooked….so unique, so perfect. (Ethan was my favorite!)

As someone who had a parent(s) that couldn’t be present (emotionally), I too struggled to learn that my worth wasn’t connected to their inabilities. In reading April’s story, I felt seen and understood. What a cathartic gift Larkin has given to us!

This book is a must read that reminds that good stuff comes after the storms.

Thank you Allie Larkin, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.