This was the quirky story of triplets, no more than that, it was the story of a town devastated by a chemical plant. Nora is the mom of triplets who lost her husband who was a worker at the plant and now is the single mother of the triplets. She gave birth to the triplets naturally, Mab, born first, Monday, because she was born on Monday and the name had two syllables, and Mirabel, who was born too slow and who had severe birth defects but was very, very smart. She could not speak and was quadriplegic except for some movement in one hand but she was very smart. She could think circles around anyone. Nora is the town therapist and Monday, who is definitely on the spectrum, is the town librarian which is run out of their home since the library closed. I'm not going to tell you too much about this story other than the ingenuity of these three girls was outstanding. When Nathan Templeton and his family came to town they pretty much figured out how to stop the start up of the chemical plant. I really enjoyed this one and even recommended it to my daughter.

**Received this ARC in audio form for review from the publisher via NetGalley**

I listened to this book in audio form from NetGalley. I thought it was a little slow going at first and I debated on not finishing it, but I am so glad I did. I really liked seeing these triplets tackle tasks together and using strengths that are not obvious to the outside looking in. One is “normal”, one has some cognitive disabilities, and one is wheelchair bound who cannot speak. But each are smart and use their talents to the best of their abilities. They are each a hero in their own way. The author has an interview at the end of the audiobook, and she discussed how women heroes are inclusive where male heroes are not. This is true and is seen in different ways through out the book and I really like this concept. One thing to know with the audio book is the numbers indicate which sister is narrating – I did not realize this until I was several chapters in, which made the first few chapters a little of a struggle. I really liked how people with different abilities were represented in this book. I would recommend it and look forward to reading more by this author.

Having read and loved Laurie Frankel’s earlier book, This Is How It Always Is, I was thrilled to get access to a pre-release copy of the audiobook for “One Two Three.” While the story is completely different, One Two Three is equally fascinating and, for me, was a real page-turner (if you can say that about an audiobook!).

The story takes place in a small town which is still reeling from the awful effects of an environmental disaster years before. I was completely taken with the triplets: Mab (“One”), Monday (“Two”), and Mirabel (“Three”), who were all seriously affected by this disaster before they were born, in very different ways. We meet them at age 16. Their mom is still trying to pursue some sort of justice for the town, but it’s a lonely effort. When a family connected to the factory moves back to the town, it sets off a sequence of events. It was a brilliant stroke to have three different narrators do each of the sisters. Emma Galvin, Jesse Vilinsky, and Rebecca Soler were fabulous.

The audiobook also included a very interesting interview with the author and the audio producer. Their conversation about how Frankel came up with the story and how the producer decided to use three separate narrators was fascinating on its own terms.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I was so excited to listen to the #audiobook version of the book #onetwothree by author Laurie Frankel. I really loved her previous book #thisishoitalwaysis.


Brief Summary:

The story is about a very small town called Bourne and the people who are still living in Bourne, after the closure of a factory some 20 years prior. The factory was spilling toxic effluent into the the town's water supply. At first the owners, the Templetons, claimed that everything was safe. But the people living in Bourne (and their pets) were all getting sick, and, eventually, it was linked to the factory. The Templetons swiftly, packed their belongings up, and left town, leaving their "mess" behind.

Present time, Nora Mitchell has been fighting to get the people of Bourne compensation for the damages (and pain) they suffered and STILL continue to suffer. Nora has triplets, three 16 yo girls, who have grown up watching their mother fight this battle. The daughters are ! (sylable) Mab, 2 (sylables) Monday and 3 (sylables) Mirabel. They look like sisters and yet each one is unique. Mab is (what the school in town refers to as) Track A, with a "normal" body, Monday is track B (on the spectrum, loves everything yellow and has become the town librarian)), and Mirabel is track C, she is in a wheelchair, can not speak, nor feed herself, but she does have use of one finger that she uses to move her wheelchair and control the special machine that speaks for her.

For all these 16 years nothing changed in Bourne. But, finally, change arrives. The Templeton family returns to town, (with their 16 yo son River Templeton, in tow), to reopen their shuttered company. Suddenly, the triplets begin to take on their mother's fight against the Templetons. But their fight is different from their mother's fight that relied on expensive lawyers and the (crooked) legal system.This is the story of the Mitchell triplets (aka David) taking on the Templetons (aka Goliath) .....

Review of Audiobook:

At the end of the audiobook there is a discussion between the author and one of the narrators of the book about the challenges of making One Two Three into an audiobook. Some of these challenges included the choice of one narratorvs three, then the narrators had to "sound" 16 yo, and another issue was how to ceate Mirabel's computer generated voice. These were some major challenges (as well, it was the pandemic, so ....).

My impressions:

It did take me some time to catch on to the I, II, III, plan, but once I did that worked quite well. I do not have a hardcopy of the book but it was probably simpler to follow in the book. The audiobook is long so be prepared. But the story, like her previous book, is worth the investment of time BECAUSE of it's messages. Frankel empowers young women, and also, she has a sincere desire to promote "inclusivity". Every character she creates in this story is flawed, one way or another. But EVERY PERSON COUNTS. Although the book is based on a paper mill in a particular town (I believe Mexico, Maine), things like this happen everyday, and everywhere. In One Two Three Frankel explores the consequences of these sad events on the second generation.

Thank you @Macmilanaudio and #netgalley for the audiobook in return for my honest review. I really enjoyed listening to One Two Three by Laurie Frankel. #5stars.

This book was a pleasant surprise. I found myself laughing out loud, cheering , and even talking to the characters. This was a wonderful journey about sisters and their life journey.

This novel tells the story of three sisters who are triplets and their mother. They live in a town that has a contaminated water supply due to a chemical leak from a plant that used to be the main source of employment. Mab is ‘normal’, Monday has emotional and sensory processing issues and Mirabel is confined to a wheelchair. Nora, the triplets’ mother, is the town’s only therapist and the leader of the lawsuit against the plant. Their world is turned upside down when a moving van arrives, bringing new citizens to Bourne for the first time in years. When they learn about who the new arrivals are, the triplets take on Nora’s crusade with renewed vigor and their lives get complicated.

The characters in this novel shine. The Mitchell sisters are vibrant, unique and whole. They were fully developed with emotions, struggles and personality. I listened to this on audio thanks to @librofm, @netgalley and @macmillan.audio. The narrating team was excellent. Each sister has their own voice and the chapters rotate through their point of views. I thought it kept the story interesting and complex as each sister has their own insights. I found it to be a bit lengthy near the end and I wished the solution had a bit more pizazz but I really enjoyed this one overall. It gave me major Erin Brockovich vibes, so if you are a fan of that movie, definitely check this one out!

Mab, Monday and Mirabel are triplets that live in the town of Bourne. Prior to their births, their town was a part of scandal when their water turned green caused by a chemical plant. Many people of the town suffered the consequences. Some have died, including the triplet’s father. There is a lot of issues that the town suffered from, including physical and learning disabilities for the kids that were born during that time.

Mab, is your “typical” teenager, in the A Track in School. Monday, in the B-Track likes anything yellow and has become the librarian of the town when the town library closes down. Mirabel, is a genius, but is in a wheelchair and cannot speak unless using a machine.

With their mother, they have been fighting the owners of the manufacturing plant to do what is right and to ensure they never show their faces again. When River Templeton shows up to the high school, it does not take long for the town to figure out, the people that harmed them the most are back and ready to reopen the defunct facility.

Frankel tells the story from rotating points of view from the three sisters, nicknamed, One, Two and Three. She gives us a story of a town and family reeling from this tragedy that occurred 17 years prior and the difficult choices people have to make.

I really liked this story, it was very intriguing, but also Frankel just wrote beautiful prose from the voices of three 16 years old. This book has a little bit of everything for everyone, that will keep you wanting more until the very last page.

Thank you NetGalley, Henry Holt and Macmillan Audio for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“One Two Three” by Laurie Franklin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley for this Audiobook arc! I really enjoyed it. This was slightly different than what I typically read. It’s young adult, women’s fictions, and some romance.
The Mitchell Triplets Mab, Monday, and Mirabel are sixteen living in a tiny boring town named Borne. The town they have called home has lots of secrets.
Mab is the “normal” sister that is the gate keeper. Her mother expectations that she’s going to her good grades, go to college, and live a fulfilled life.
Monday is atypical, extremely smart, and not afraid to tell you when something doesn’t make sense. When the town library closed years ago she became the keeper of all books.
Mirabel is the smartest sister. She’s extremely clever, but is stuck in a body that doesn’t fully work. She uses a computer to speak and a wheelchair to get around.
Before they were born the towns water turned green and caused many people to get sick and even some their father to die. The town blamed a Chemical Factory for the pollution that killed their population. Fast forward sixteen years and the factory wants to come back. The town is appalled that they would want to show their faces after trying to legally pursue them for over a decade. Mab, Monday, and Mirabel start to uncover secrets that caused their town to get sick. They want to run this company out of town.

This book is a unique twist on a small town triplet justice tale. Bourne is a city like many in the media, one lacking safe water. Unfortunately, the Templeton family’s company messed up the water supply and fled the lands. BUT, now the family has moved back in and everyone is on their toes.
This book is a fabulous audio and I would recommend it over a physical copy. Each narrator voiced the character with depth and emotion. I was invested in each triplets story and yearned to keep listening to discover what happened to this small town.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a family story, Fredrik Backman writing and a cozy small town saga.

One Two Three
By Laurie Frankel

An interesting and creative consciousness-raising novel of inclusion and environmental responsibility.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
The Mitchell Triplets, Mab, Monday, and Mirabel each play important roles in the compromised town of Bourne. Mab’s job is to get good grades, go to college and leave Bourne behind. Monday, who is on the autism spectrum is the town’s librarian, even though the town library is closed she can still find just the right book for anyone, and even though Mirabel can’t speak, she is the smartest person in any room.

Seventeen years ago Bourne’s water turned green, residents became ill and many died, including the girls' father. A chemical company poisoned the water, and everyone that could, packed up and left Bourne behind, including the company. The three Mitchell sisters grew up watching their mother, Nora fight unsuccessfully for justice for those who felt the effects of the contamination, including two of her three triplets. The company continues to deny any wrongdoing.

When a new family moves to town to reopen the factory, the three sisters work together to uncover the truth behind what happened to Bourne’s water and prevent it from ever happening again.

REVIEW
ONE TWO THREE is an interesting and creative book for young adults tackling themes of environmental, social, and corporate responsibility as well as inclusion and diversity. It’s all told from the perspective of these three charming and extraordinary teenage girls. The characters of Mab, Monday, and Mirabel are delightfully well-developed and have total control of the inspiring narrative of the story.

Frankel has written an great consciousness-raising novel and the writing is good. At 400 pages the pacing seemed a bit slow and drawn out, but all-in-all it is a solid young adult novel.

Author Laurie Frankel is the author of three additional novels This is How it Always Is, Goodbye for Now, and The Atlas of Love. Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillian Audio for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Henry Holt and Company/ Macmillian Audio
Published June 8, 2021
Narrated Multicast
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

This book was unlike anything I've read recently, and I enjoyed it so much.

I loved the dynamic of the three sisters at the center of this story. I'm impressed at how distinctly the author wrote chapters for Mab, Monday, and Mirabel; I would have been able to tell who was narrating even without different voice actors.

The author explains the town's background with stories interspersed throughout descriptions of current events. This format kept me intrigued while also building my sympathy for the people of Bourne. It's one of my favorite styles of writing.

🎧 The narration was fantastic. I listened at 1.5x speed. I did struggle a bit in the first half, when the chapters were mostly the sisters' inner monolouges or explanations, but I couldn't stop listening during the second half.

I recommend this book for fans of Fredrik Backman or Celeste Ng.

Thank you netGalley for the advanced reader. This book was terrific! I thought it was very smart of the author to name the three triplets by order of how many syllables are in their name. First sister May, second sister Monday, & third sister Marabelle. Right from the start you knew who was talking. These teenage sisters were all very different, but all absolutely fantastic in their own way.
I also liked this book because the Author had a real town in mind. She is writing about this chemical company destroying this nice small town, and it’s towns search for justice.
Think Erin Brockovich , Pipelines, or destruction of our Rain Forest. This book will make you laugh, get sad, and will definitely make you think.

I love the idea of the book. I live in the Texas Gild coast by many chemical plants. I listened to the audiobook and loved the different narrators each sister. I loved the ending.

A timely and well executed novel about a small town, Bourne, destroyed by a chemical company and the aftermath of the environmental damage. The in-depth exploration of the three main characters left me emotionally invested and cheering the sisters on during their journey in fighting corporate giants, not willing to allow the same mistake to happen again in Bourne

One, Two, Three by Laurie Frankel follows three sisters; Mab, Monday, and Mirabel. Each sister significantly struggles physically and mentally from the disaster that took place 17 years before. The sisters may be triplets but their personalities are far from similar. Even so, the bond they share is unmatched and rare. When their tiny town begins change, secrets become uncovered and their journey for the truth begins.

The pacing in One, Two, Three is very slow. There is so much dialogue throughout the first quarter of the story that I was losing interest. After reading on, I believe this slow progression was almost necessary to have the deep connections with the sisters. That connection is what makes this story all the more meaningful and impactful. They are kind, resilient, compassionate while trying to fight corruption and uncover mysteries.

The audio narrated by Emma Glavin, Jesse Vilinsky, and Rebecca Soler was tremendously helpful when differentiating between the sisters. The narrators did an excellent job at finding that balance between over the top and unbelievable arguing teenagers and regular arguing sisters.

I recommend this book if you do not mind in depth character analysis with lots of dialogue between teenagers. The story is worth the initial pauses I had. If multiple dialogues can sometimes be difficult for you to follow, I would recommend the audio narration.

Publication is set for June 8, 2021.



Thanks to Henry Holt, and Co., Macmillian Audio, and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this author's previous book and thought I would give this one a try. I'm glad I did! It was very well written with great characters, and like her previous book, it made you think. I listened to the audio version which had 3 separate narrators for the 3 sisters, including one who spoke with an electronic device. Very well done! I will definitely recommend this book to my library patrons and friends!

One Two Three

Bourne is a small town with a scary history. Years ago, the town made national news when the water turned green. It turns out, the local chemical plant was creating dangerous chemicals that leaked into the water and caused so many long-term health problems for Bourne’s residents. The book centers around the Mitchell triplets: Man, Monday, and Mirabel, who come together to try to save the town when the plant is scheduled to reopen.

This book was unlike anything I’ve read before. The characters were some of the best I’be read recently, and I loved hearing about what was happening in their town from each of their perspectives. This book had the potential to be very heavy, since it does deal with a more serious topic, but the sisters added humor to it and made it feel lighter. This unique story is one I won’t forget easily and I highly recommend.

The audio on this one was great. The three different narrators gave distinct voices to each of the sister and made it easy to distinguish which point of view you were listening to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the digital copy and audiobook. One Two Three will be released on Tuesday.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of One Two Three by Laurie Frankel. This is the second book of hers that I read and I love her writing style. You can tell that she researched before she writes. That is appreciated. This story is of triplets born in a town with a chemical plant, it's effects and their fight.

This is about triplets that were all born with some kind of birth defect due to the town's water supply being poisoned by a nearby nuclear plant. in fact, the entire town has health problems and the pets have cancer, and it's an entire moral dilemma that's deeply saddening. Just like that movie, Erin Brockovich.

It's an entirely too true example of what depths of greed can do to a township and it's people.

Thanks netgalley for giving me the pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

One Two Three by Laurie Frankel
Narrated by: Emma Galvin; Jesse Vilinsky; Rebecca Soler
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
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Description from NetGalley…
“In a town where nothing ever changes, suddenly everything does...

Everyone knows everyone in the tiny town of Bourne, but the Mitchell triplets are especially beloved. Mirabel is the smartest person anyone knows, and no one doubts it just because she can’t speak. Monday is the town’s purveyor of books now that the library’s closed—tell her the book you think you want, and she’ll pull the one you actually do from the microwave or her sock drawer. Mab’s job is hardest of all: get good grades, get into college, get out of Bourne.

For a few weeks seventeen years ago, Bourne was national news when its water turned green. The girls have come of age watching their mother’s endless fight for justice. But just when it seems life might go on the same forever, the first moving truck anyone’s seen in years pulls up and unloads new residents and old secrets. Soon, the Mitchell sisters are taking on a system stacked against them and uncovering mysteries buried longer than they’ve been alive. Because it's hard to let go of the past when the past won't let go of you.”
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Thank you to @netgalley @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress for the ALC in return for my honest review.

Thank you to @netgalley @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress for the ALC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts…
Fantastic listening experience! The theme reminded me of the movie Erin Brokovich. Incidentally, it also reminded me of the contaminated water tragedy that happened in Canada 20 years ago known as “The Walkerton Tragedy.” The book was so well written and the telling was so unique through Mirabel, Monday and May. But, if you can get it as an audiobook, get in! Because, the three narrators were absolutely brilliant. Listening to it made me feel all the feels: fist-in-the-air moments, laugh-out-loud moments, tissue-grabbing moments, stressful-I-can’t-even moments, anger-outburst moments, I’m a woman-hear-me-roar moments and all the moments at the same time. I cannot say it better than this…this story is ”about how expanding our notions of normal makes the world a better place for everyone and how when days are darkest, it’s our daughters who will save us all.”

This is going to be one of my FAVORITE books of 2021 FOR SURE. Guys, it was SO GOOD! I was literally on the edge of my seat going nuts listening to this book, especially as the action unfolds towards the end. I loved Laurie Frankel's This is how it always is and she has written another great book that focuses on the bonds of sisterhood, explores different definitions of "normal" and what living with different abilities looks like. Set in the small town of Bourne, this book explores what happens to a town and its people in the aftermath of a huge chemical contamination (think Erin Brockovitch or Dark waters). Told in alternating perspectives from three triplet sisters, Mab, Monday, and Mirabel. These sixteen year old girls are so well written with fresh and original voices - their stories come across AMAZINGLY on audio and I HIGHLY recommend listening to this book for that reason. The audiobook experience is incredible with three different narrators to represent the three different girls. Just a few of my favorite things about this book:
-strong neurodiversity representation (Monday is on the spectrum)
-lots of discussion about disability awareness and accessibility (Mirabel communicates through an assistive device and is confined to a motorized chair)
-the highs and lows of first love
-teenage sleuths fighting a David & Goliath battle (think Veronica Mars)
-an amateur librarian and a mystery involving old documents
-small town community life
All of this appealed to me and I am so excited seeing more and more of these themes in books lately -it's ABOUT TIME!

Favorite quotes:
"Librarians have witch-like librarian magic to pick the right book for you."

"This logic reasons that after sixteen years trapped in a body in a chair I should be used to it. I should know my bounds and strive for no more. I should lower every expectation to the bottom of a well. I should shut up and find sufficient joy merely in being alive."

"Mother love is a powerful force."

"I want you to know you can fight. I want you to know you should fight. You will be treated carelessly and cruelly, unfairly and maliciously, shortsightedly and selfishly in this world and when you are I want you to know you do not have to take it like you deserve nothing better and you're powerless to protest. I want you to know you can win!"

Thank you to NetGalley, the Macmillan audio and Libro.fm for my advance listening copies of this great book available June 8th!