Thought provoking and a great read. A complex story of the relationship between sisters and the family/friend dynamics in a small town. The story is wrapped around distinctly different tragedies that have lasting repercussions for two families living in a nondescript cul de sac that could be anywhere. The characters are really well developed and the main character is very relatable. #ourlittleworld #karenwinn #netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreview #readinggoals2022

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group/Dutton for this arc.

In this coming of age novel set in the 80s in New Jersey, we follow the twelve-year-old Bee and the relationship she has with her younger sister, Audrina. At the beginning of the book the narrator tells us that Audrina has died but only at the end we will know what happened to her.

The story explores the relationship the protagonist has with her sister, how their lives were forever changed after the disappearance of their next door neighbor Sally, how their families dealt with this loss and how it was for her, Bee, to grow up without her sister some years later. Secrets, guilty, jealousy, how heavy are the burdens someone carries throughout her life?

The story is well-written and I liked to see the relationship between the sisters and the closure the lasts chapters give to the story. This book makes you think how the individual is shaped by the family and the environment he/she grew up in. I felt for Bee, I tried to understand her actions and feelings, I got attached to her. I believe this is what you are suppose to feel while reading a book, and Our Little World does just that. It is a good debut novel.

Bee Kocsis is 12 years old and her effortlessly beautiful sister Audrina is 11 when Max and his younger sister Sally move across the street. It begins in 1985, so I was just a year older than the Bee at the time, and the cultural references kept me nodding my head thinking, yes, I remember that.

Bee, Audrina, Max, and Sally spend their time at the lake when 4-year-old Sally simply disappears. All four kids and Sally’s mother can’t imagine where she went to. Did she drown? Get lost in the woods? Or was something (someone) unthinkably more nefarious to blame?

It shatters the town of 5,000 people, but Bee has her own problems with her sister and her parents. This is a beautifully told story of both loving your sibling and parents and the anger and frustration that can also be a part of family dynamics.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES MAY 3, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

During the summer of 1985, Bee is looking forward to going to the lake and hanging out with her friends. She even experiences her first crush when Max and his family move in next door. Both Bee and her little sister Audrina are fascinated by Max and his eccentric family, including his five-year-old sister Sally. During a routine trip to the lake that summer, Sally goes missing, and everyone's life is turned upside down.

More than a mystery about a missing little girl, this book is about the relationship between sisters. The dynamic between Bee and Audrina is complex, changing from one day to the next. i felt the author did an incredible job balancing the story of Sally and her disappearance and telling the complicated story of the sisters. The tone throughout is beautiful, both nostalgic and sad. It's almost as though Bee is present with you, verbally telling you the story. This book is honest, heartbreaking, and a captivating story.

I was able to read "Our Little World" by Karen Winn on NetGalley. I was expecting this book to be more of a mystery, and while the mystery is there, it is a book about a family, and how events affect them. And it is the story of the bond between two sisters. I really liked this book and look forward to reading more by Karen Winn.

I couldn't put down Our Little World by Karen Winn. I was immediately drawn into the setting - the summer of 1985 in a small town in New Jersey. Our Little World is the story of how one summer can change many people's lives, especially when you are twelve. Borka, or Bee as she prefers, and Audrina are excited when a new family moves into their cul-de-sac and the son, Max, is pretty cute. When tragedy strikes involving Max's four year old sister, Sally, the sleepy town becomes scary and ominous. Coupled with Bee's awkwardness in being 12 and feeling overshadowed by her prettier younger sister, Bee feels invisible with no purpose except to read and be a good student. The characters are well-developed from Borka's parents to the other kids in the neighborhood with details that bring the characters to life. The relationship between Bee and Audrina has its ups and downs like all sisters, but the strong bond between the sisters is always there when their parents and friends are distant.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sorry to say that this was a long slog for me. I gave up and skimmed seventy percent of the book. Thanks, NetGalley for offering this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Our Little World is a coming of age story with a dark underbelly. Bee is 12; the older sister of Audrina, just a year younger. But Audrina is the golden child, the one that can do no wrong, while Bee is the one left in the shadows. But they had always been close. Things change when their next door neighbor, 4 ½ year old Sally, goes missing one day while they’re swimming at the lake. As the years progress, the sisters grow apart. Words are said that can never be forgotten.
The story takes place in 1985, a time when kids didn’t grow up as fast. When the news wasn’t filled with tragic stories of kids getting killed. Winn totally captures the time and place of white, middle class suburbia.
As an only child, I’m always fascinated by sibling relationships. Winn does a fabulous job showing the complexities - the envy mixed in with the love. At one point, Winn even gives it a name - the love-hate. Told from the first person POV of Bee, Winn also captures the world as seen through the eyes of a young girl - hearing only snippets of adult conversations, not fully comprehending what’s going on. Bee also understands that her parents are much less demonstrative than other parents.
This is an amazing debut. Well written, that kept me engaged throughout.
My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group/Dutton Books for an advance copy of this book.

I adored this book!. It's a coming-of-age story set in the '80s. There is a complicated pre-teen-sister relationship between Bee and Audrina, a mystery involving a missing four-year-old girl, middle school crushes, changing body-consciousness, tragedy, and coping with it all. Yet, Karen Winn makes it all relatable. The plot and character development kept me engage throughout the whole book.

It's the Stand By Me movie meets the Wonder Years series. Although a young girl disappears at a lake, it is more about the lives it affected in the community, specifically the kids than the mystery about the disappearance.

Thanks to Dutton and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. Bee and Drina are sisters in small-town New Jersey, and you know right from the beginning that multiple tragedies will befall the community. This is a coming=of-age novel set in 1985 about family, loyalty, grief, angst, first love, and sisterhood. After the opening of the book, I thought this was going to be more of a mystery, but it was a quiet, nostalgic family drama story. The writing was good, but I disliked all of the characters - I would grow to like one, and then they would do something really awful, and it was hard to get my bearings on who to trust in the story. I think readers will like the nostalgia and the small town secrets, but this one was not a favorite for me.

First off I CANNOT believe this is a debut novel! This is one of the most beautifully written books about sisters, growing up, family, and guilt. It was equally heartwarming as it was heartbreaking. It transported me back to the mid 80’s and my own childhood and growing up in a middle class family in a small town in New England. Karen Winn masterfully conveyed the struggles of growing up and our struggle to find our place in the world especially in the shadow of a sibling we feel is superior in some way- smarter, prettier, more popular, more loved…. I absolutely devoured this book and know this will be a book I read again and share with my daughter to read. Amazing!

This book brought me so much nostalgia of an easier time, of growing up in the 80s, when kids could ride bikes to the lake or hang out with their friends on the street. Before social media, before stranger danger, when neighbors all took turns watching out for the kids and life seemed to just be ideal. This book certainly started out that way, following 2 sisters (Bee and Audrina) as they slide into their preteen years and meet a new family who moves into their neighborhood, welcoming Max, the cute older brother and his sister Sally into the fold. When Sally goes missing, their childhood and the safety they all feel gets torn apart. Truly gripping and sad, this book shows how one instance can change 2 families lives and how they try to recover (or don't). Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Coming of age in the ’80s. So much angst. So many secrets and misunderstandings that go with having a sibling in your school who you think is so much more than you are. It’s a dangerous thing and can end in lifelong emotional trauma.

Bee and her sister Audrina are 12 and 11. A new family has just moved into their cul-de-sac with a cute boy named Max and a little sister who is four named Sally.

It’s July and it’s hot and the lake is the place to be. Someone’s mom is always willing to haul them to the club pool or to the lake.

When Sally goes missing while at the lake, everyone looks suspicious to Bee. And her relationship with her sister is going from close to really far apart.

I enjoyed reading about the complexities of being and having sisters. There is always one who feels less than and that would be Bee. In her mind, her sister is the star and she is the nobody.

There was so much emotional trauma and heartbreak in this book that it was hard to read. I didn’t have an issue with all of the darkness, but I would have appreciated some balance with light.

NetGalley/May 3rd, 2022 by Dutton Books

3 stars

Taking place in mid 80's cul de sac of Hammend, a small town of about 5000 people, located in New Jersey. We are thrown into the story of Borka—or more well-known as Bee—and the summer that uprooted and set off-balance her life along with the towns. It all happened that summer day at Deer Chase Lake when their four-and-a-half-year-old neighborhood friend, Sally, went missing; lost amidst the populated sands of the sweltering summer heat.

The town got flipped on its axis, never having such tragedy and chaos happen in its midst. As suspicions, searches, secrets, and gossip pursue—Bee's home life, relationship with her parents, and majorly her sister, Audrina, becomes strained. Family grows apart, friendships grow apart, innocence vanishes, and life keeps moving on but only with more obstacles to face.

Overall this story was very catching and sad however at many parts I started to skim. Soo many nostalgic feels as well as reminders of carefree times and innocence. It was gripping in the best moments.

Our Little World is the debut novel of Karen Winn. To me, Our Little World is a coming of age story suitable for young adults. The story is about two sisters, told from the older sister's point of view. The girls are growing up in a small town in New Jersey and suddenly one summer they find themselves dealing with the unknown. I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an early copy to review.

There are so many good books coming out this spring and summer, and even into the fall! I don’t know about you but nothing makes me more excited than the anticipation of a novel that I’ve been longing to read! Here are some that I know you will love just as I did!







Our Little World by Karen Winn will leave you in an emotional mess. Sounds great, right? I was pulled right into the 1980s and the story of Bee, her younger sister, and a missing neighborhood child. From the first page, we know how the book is going to end, we just don’t know how we are going to arrive there.

As you read, you have the anticipation hanging over you that something bad is going to happen and ultimately it does.

July 1985. It’s a normal, sweltering New Jersey summer for soon-to-be seventh grader Bee Kocsis. Her thoughts center only on sunny days spent at Deer Chase Lake, on evenings chasing fireflies around her cul-de-sac with the neighborhood kids, and on Max, the boy who just moved in across the street. There’s also the burgeoning worry that she’ll never be as special as her younger sister, Audrina, who seems to effortlessly dazzle wherever she goes.

But when Max’s little sister, Sally, goes missing at the lake, Bee’s long-held illusion of stability is shattered in an instant. As the families in her close-knit community turn inward, suspicious and protective, things in Bee’s own home become increasingly strained, most of all with Audrina, when a shameful secret surfaces. With everything changed, Bee and Audrina’s already-fraught sisterhood is pushed to the limit as they grow up—and apart—in the wake of an innocence lost too soon.

Out on May 3.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. When Bee was in younger a young girl went missing. The shaped who she was and became. When someone close to Bee passed away, it made her question everything. This book was both emotional and I liked the book.

What a wonderfully written story of life, tragedy, sisterhood, jealousy, and family.
This is ultimately the story of two sisters, and their coming of age. There is a back story of a kidnapping, and its unfolding has rippling effects on the lives of others in the community. The sisters struggle to accept the changes within their own family, and need each other. I truly enjoyed the character of Bee. I was drawn to her the most.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A relatable story of a life that seems perfect on the outside. OK, I don't know if relatable is really the right word as not many people have their lives impacted by murder, but the way the author writes, you feel like you are in the characters shoes.

I enjoyed the easy flow of the story. How Winn moves her characters from one situation to another. When poor little Sally goes missing from the lake, I really dug in and felt the worry of the characters and how the loss impacted the community.

The summary really played on the murder aspect, making me think this was a murder mystery type story, but it seemed like everyone forgot about Sally throughout the whole middle of the book until the very end. I was hoping this theme would have played out more throughout the book. Considering that was the only thing I could think about as I was reading and was let down by how quick they wrapped up that part. It felt like an after thought.

This was an interesting read that brought me back the 80's, something that I haven't thought of in a very long time.

My Review will be live on my blog, Book Confessions on 3-11-22.

This book is a beautifully written coming of age/sibling relationship story, with a hint of mystery thrown in. Very atmospheric with a good grasp of the time and place, it wove issues like sibling rivalry and love, jealousy and guilt into a compelling narrative. Although I was expecting a little more attention to the kidnapping mystery, it turned out to be more of a backdrop to the slice of life story and it worked very well as such, although I did appreciate that answers were revealed in the end. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an e-ARC of this book.