Children playing an adult game with dire results is the driving point of this tale. Children are in a barn a shot rings out , the lives of all the families are forever changed. Middlebrook even the name offers comfort . Families moved here each with their own reasons. Each looking for a place to live a life full and quietly. The shooting brings questions both personal and political to the surface. Why were guns easily accessible, who actually fired. Why aren’t the children talking. The answers they find force the adults to see hard truths about themselves and the lives they chosen.

I found this book OK but not a brilliant read it wasn't gripping and lead to nothing. I was glad to be finished tbh

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

This shocking novel focuses on gun control and the lack of innocence in some children. Many misunderstandings developed in the minds of a group of parents that damaged honest conversations with their offspring. The novel was difficult to read at times, bit it had believable characters and the ending was satisfying.

The Children's Secret is not for the faint of heart and likely a heard read for many, but Nina Monroe writes a gripping tale of gun violence, children, and the media in The Children's Secret. Although it was a lot to process I found myself not wanting to put the book down. You'll feel both intimately involved and a total spectator to the events at once.

5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love suburban stories with different viewpoints and timelines but this was confusing to me. I read over half and gave up. Just not my cup of tea.

Title: The Children's Secret
Author: Nina Monroe
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Rating: 3 out of 5

Nothing ever happens in a sleepy town like Middlebrook. Until the residents are shaken to their core, when one hot Saturday afternoon, at a back-to-school party, nine children sneak into a barn...and only eight come out unharmed.

The press immediately starts asking questions. What type of parents let their children play unsupervised in a house with guns? What kind of child pulls the trigger on their friend? And most importantly: of the nine children who were present in that barn, which one actually pulled the trigger, and why are the others staying silent?

This was a well-written book, but most of the adult characters were barely tolerable—and Priscilla was horrible. I didn’t like the characters; I didn’t like that only one viewpoint was presented as “right”—that seems very narrow-minded for such a supposedly diverse community—and I didn’t appreciate the bias evident on every single page. Which is really too bad, as the basic plot was interesting, even if none of the supposed revelations were surprising in the least.

Nina Monroe was born in Germany, grew up in England, and now lives in New Hampshire. The Children’s Secret is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Nina Monroe’s first standalone thriller, The Children's Secret is a suburban noir and her fourth published book. In the small town of Middlebrook, a group of children are at play in a barn unsupervised by adults, when one is shot. The blame game begins as the Press questions how, why and exactly who pulled the trigger? The narrative unfolds from multiple perspectives with secrets and personal issues in danger of being exposed. A note of caution as some readers may feel distress due to a medical incident. An intriguing premise and enjoyable read, with the hidden underside of local communities, so common and popular in fiction today. However, the ending was somewhat saccharine and jarring given the engrossing psychology of the story, so only a three-star rating. With thanks to Crooked Lane Books and the author for an uncorrected proof copy for review purposes.

Thank you to the author, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel about small-town USA and the secrets between parents and children, between families and between siblings, has as its nucleus the issue of firearms and gun control. At the same time, topics such as children on the spectrum, bullying and children dealing with the expectations of their parents are brought into the mix. I found the first half confusing, as it was difficult to keep straight who belonged to which family. The issue of gun control was handled well, if at times stridently. What I had problems with was the trope of the Muslim woman who finds liberation - really?

When I read the Big Little Lies comparison, I was excited as I loved that book! This was not even close unfortunately. I usually enjoy the multiple storylines that all come together in a book but this one just felt…messy. I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, thought the story dragged and found myself skimming just to get to the end. I’m sure others will love this book but it just wasn’t the one for me.

The premise was really intriguing and I did enjoy the first third of the book…unfortunately, that’s when things started going south for me…there were so many characters and I found it hard to keep track of all of them, having to go back and forth to check who was who got a little annoying.

I also felt the story got really repetitive in the middle and I would’ve liked to see more character development, specially for the children.

The writing style was good and it did touch some thought provoking issues, but overall it wasn’t a story that captivated my attention - maybe this just wasn’t for me.

✨Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an eARC of this book in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own.✨

This review will also be posted on my Instagram account: @bm.bookish.girl

I have such mixed feelings about this book. The plot is intriguing and deals with gun violence among children, a story we see much too often in America. This shooting happens to take place in a small town America where no one ever expects something like this to happen. The children involved all have a secret to keep, and finding out what those secrets are take up the majority of the book.

Let's start with the characters. While they are well written and the author obviously took good time to create them all, there were just too many to keep track of. Plus this story is told from alternating perspectives and it was just confusing trying to keep track of who was who and where they fit in with every other character. It was so overwhelming. Plus they were all so cliché. Typical interpretations of different types of people with no real originality. They all just sort of blended together after awhile.

Then, there was the story's pace. It was so slow. Entirely way too slow and repetitive. I would say half the book could have been chopped and the story would still be the same. There was just too much rambling from character to character. It didn't add to the story, but rather made me start skimming paragraphs, hoping for it to come to an end. By the time the pace picked up it snowballed so fast I was left with whiplash, trying to re-read instances because it all spilled onto the pages and came to a conclusion so fast.

I do like the author's writing style and their were times when the story just flowed perfectly. I had no problem imagining each scene and characters involved. The plot itself, like stated before, was interesting and unique, but I would classify this as more of a mystery than a thriller with the slow moving pace. The ending was wrapped up neatly and was a bit too sugar-coated for my liking.

Thank to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me an early digital copy to read and give my honest review. It was a 3 star read.

The Children's Secret is set to be released on September 7, 2021 here in the U.S. so if this sounds like a novel you want to experience please pre-order and add it to your TBR list now!

Happy Reading!

After a horrible accident involving a group of children playing in a barn, a small town struggles to contend with the aftermath of a story the children are unwilling to tell.

I could tell pretty quickly that this title was not for me, though I send many thanks for receiving the ARC! The perspective jumped around so quickly it was difficult to become attached to any of the characters, and the tone just wasn't quite the right fit for this reader.

The Children's Secret speaks all too clearly to the rampant problem of guns in the USA! This particular story seems to occur in a more privileged diaspora that the author does a fantastic job of portraying. She perfectly nails the shallowness of the characters in handling the situation presented. It is too close to an ongoing situation to make it a pleasure read. This one is more for becoming disturbed by the literature and what it represents.

I must say, this one got my attention. It sunk its teeth into me from the prologue and held on tight for the majority of the novel.

As a parent, this book was hard to stomach in many ways - very anxiety-inducing and stressful to read at times. I know gun control is a “hot button” topic, and this book does a great job of showcasing multiple views/perspectives throughout. Personally, guns make me very uncomfortable, so this book is pretty much my worst nightmare - but, the diverse group of characters, their relationships, discussions, and experiences provided a lot of context when considering their actions.

I found the characters to be well-written and interesting, and it was hard not to draw parallels with some of them, especially as a fellow parent. It’s a situation in which you never imagine (nor hope) to ever face, and forces you to examine whether your theoretical reaction would match your actual reaction.

The way in which the story unfolds, the little morsels of information that lead us to discover the chain of events, I found to be very gripping. The details and revelations were well-timed, and propelled the story at a solid pace. Unfortunately, once I understood the who, what, where, and why of it all, I found the story to really falter, and then stall. I do think the “after” portion of the event definitely deserves and requires a decent page count, but it felt more like dust settling and everything returning to normal, instead of the work of what that might look like - I wanted more from this section than what I got, and because of the content, it did affect how I ultimately rated the book.

Overall, this was a solid novel, with some nausea-inducing moments for me. It hits shelves September 7th, and it’s worth a read.

Many thanks to @NetGalley & publisher @Hachettebooks for this digital advanced readers copy

~👩🏻‍🦰

I am having mixed feelings about this book.

Plot - the plot was interesting and intriguing, which is the main reason why I chose and requested for this ARC. Ten children were at a party and they were inside a stable when one of the children fired a gun, leaving another child in coma. The story basically tells about the effects of after shooting.

Let's start with good things
--I like the diversity in this book--from all American families to Pakistani and British immigrants living in the small town of Texas.
--As I mentioned earlier, the plot was interesting and intriguing
--The first few parts of the book was interesting and left me hanging in some parts.

Now the bad things
--- Though the writing was good, too much repetition in certain parts that left me bored with the book.
---The characters are all bland to me and I found Priscilla's character so annoying. I do understand the distraught and distress she is in, considering the fact that it was her daughter who got shot and is in coma but come on, she didn't have to turn this into a political agenda (oopsy, a bit of a spoiler here)
---400 pages is a lot for a story like this one. 200-300 pages would be more sufficient. Lot of unnecessary stuff that would leave the reader slightly bored

Nonetheless, I did enjoy this book and found this book more a family drama sort of thing than a mystery/thriller

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Children’s Secret by Nina Monroe. It’s been a long time since I’ve sat up late into the night because I had to finish the book. Monroe has a way with prose and the book opens with descriptions that are almost poetry. Her stunning writing hooks you immediately. The novel is fast-paced and kept me on the edge of my seat.

A child is shot at a party. The police can’t find the gun, and all of the children are on the same page: “we don’t know who did it.” Who pulled the trigger and why are the children keeping it a secret?

What makes this book particularly amazing is the number of themes Monroe manages to address, but without overloading the story. Fitting in, friendship, immigration, racism, marriage/relationships, fostering, neurodiversity, parenting, gun laws to name the main ones.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - thoroughly recommended.

On a hot day at the end of Summer, Kaitlyn Wright is throwing a back to school party. A party she’s hoping will bring her son, Bryar, out of his shell. Their neighbor and once upon a time friend, Priscilla Carver, is totally against the party and has warned everyone not to attend. After all, Ben Wright is a border patrol officer and there are guns in the Wright’s home. Those guns are locked up, but being a gun control advocate, Priscilla is having nothing to do with them. Having forbidden her daughter Astrid to attend the party, Priscilla heads into work. When the unthinkable happens and one child is shot and another injured at the party, Priscilla is beside herself, especially since her daughter now lies in a coma in the hospital. What happened in that stable? Nine children were in that stable, but none of them are talking. Who pulled the trigger? Were Benny and Kaitlyn negligent? This book centers around an accidental shooting, gun control and the push for gun law reform...BUT it’s so much more than that! It’s a beautiful story about family, trust, religion, culture, prejudice, diversity and friendship. While a tragedy happened in their idyllic town of Middlebrook on that hot summer day, good things sometimes come out of bad situations! Monroe brings to life the effects guns can have in a well balanced and thoughtful way. Told in the voices of both the adults and the children, this is a character driven story that will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

Ironically released just as kids are finally going back to school in real life, this is all about the secrets a group of pre-teens keep when a back to school party goes seriously bad. Set in a small town, it encapsulates many topical issues but does so with an admirable amount of balance and discretion. Six unsupervised kids, one barn, guns- a bad combination in every world but here the challenge is for the adults in finding out and equally importantly understanding what happened. Long standing simmering tensions are slowly spooled out. It's told by both the kids and the adults. There are perhaps too many characters to have any one stand out (and frankly to keep good track of). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A thoughtful read, especially for parents.

I had a really hard time with this one. The writing is good. The characters are relatable and seem to come alive, though I've got to say that there are so many of them that it's hard to keep track of at times. But, there are some major issues. The first is that you never quite know who you're reading about. She switches characters paragraph to paragraph and sometimes within the same paragraph, which gets confusing. Plus, they all seem to have something major going on in their lives. Almost like they're all fighting for main character status, based off of their issues. However, these are things I can get past. What bothered me the most was the anti gun stance throughout the book. It was so hard to read a book that seemed to really push the anti gun stance. And it wasn't just one character. I get it, your child is shot, ok. But for a police wife to change her mind like that, without any real questioning? Nah. I'm a police wife. We see what those guns protect. She's going to defend Ben and his guns and not demand they be taken out of the house. Overall, I struggled with this book and wouldn't recommend it for the above reasons. It has potential but it's too political, if I say so, for me.

New book review:

At a children’s party in small town New Hampshire, all the kids head into the barn to play with the horses while their parents chat in the house. Suddenly they notice their children have gone very quiet, and then they hear the gunshot. At first it seems like a terrible accident that led to two of the children being injured, but it soon becomes clear that they are all hiding the truth of what really happened that day.

The Children’s Secret tackles head on the American love/hate relationship with guns, religious intolerance, and the ethics of media involvement in people’s lives.

I thought this sounded really interesting; I was drawn to this storyline as I’m currently living in America. I think it was brave of the author to tackle the gun argument; so many people are completely intractable on that topic, especially in places where hunting is part of everyday life, like New Hampshire.

There was definitely an emotional heart to the book, and that kept me reading, but mostly I felt the writing was quite repetitive.
There’s a couple of characters whose sole purpose was to argue with other characters by just repeating exactly what they had said back to them, just with an angry exclamation mark at the end of the sentence. That got a bit tiresome after a while.
Character development overall was lacking for me, but the ending was quite heartwarming.

If you enjoy the sort of themes you would find in Jody Picoult’s writing, I think you’ll enjoy this, but it won’t be making my books of the year list, unfortunately!

With thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of The Children’s Secret, in exchange for an honest review.

The Children’s Secret is available to buy on the 7th of September.