*reviewed from uncorrected egalley sample*

I missed the first one in this series, but was delighted to stumble upon this second book from acclaimed author-illustrator Lucy Knisley. It looks to be a big hit among the middlegrade readers, with the two best friends starting their first job at a pumpkin patch! One of them quickly develops a crush on a boy who also works there, while the other would rather not think of romance at all. Looking forward to reading the rest of this one...

This is a sequel to Stepping Stones. This was not known at the time it was started, it was also not known that it was just a sample, and not the full book. The review regards just the sample (36 pages). This book was slow. Having not read book 1 was not a hindrance, and the story started nicely and explained things, or they were easy to figure out. Saying that, I thought the story was a bit boring. There was a little teasing about liking a friend that can be seen in standard tween life, and a bit about starting all over someplace new. I didn’t not get a chance to really delve into the characters. However, I did read enough to know that I don’t care if I ever finish the book.

I was excited to be approved to read “Apple Crush” early, even if it is only a sneak peek. Though it’s hard to give a definite opinion without the full book, what I have read is great. New characters are introduced and the dynamic between Jen, Andy and Reese has flourished from the last book when they were all still getting to know one another.

What I hope for, when I am able to read the rest of the book, is that the relationship between Jen and Walter becomes better. (I really just want Walter to change the way he talks to Jen). Only time will tell…

Overall This sneak preview was cute and Knisley’s artwork is just as whimsical and creative as always.

I really liked the first book in this series, Stepping Stones, and was excited to see the second one. It was not apparent from the blurb that it was only the first chapter. So far, it looks good, but I will have to withhold judgement until I see the rest of the book. Hopefully it will be as fun as the first!

I really enjoyed Stepping Stones and I was so excited to see that we were going to get more to the story. The sneak peek was a great taster. Starting a new school is such a relatable thing for kids to read about. I also love the Halloween theme. So far so good, and I can't wait to read the whole thing!

As others have said, this review is based on only the first 30 pages, as that was all the Netgalley and the publisher released for this ARC.

But, having read the first book in this series, I am quite sure I will love the rest of this wonderful book about blending families on a farm, loosely based on the authors life. The drawings are, as always top notch. The facial expressions, the feelings expressed, all work together to give us the beginnings of another great story, and perhaps we will learn more about the future step-father dynamic that felt so unfinished in the first book.

I would and will always highly recommend anything Lucy Knisley writes and draws.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Loved the first book in the series: this one started out cute but the pictures were not formatted for the Kindle properly. I pressed on and then realized it wasn’t the full book.

The pictures are great and I like seeing the characters age up! Can’t wait to read it all soon.

My daughter and I loved the first book, Stepping Stine's, and we're very excited to get a look at the ARC for this book. Once again, the graphics are fantastic and the return of the characters gets the book off to a great start. Because we only were able to preview about 30 of the pages, it is hard to provide an accurate review of the book but what we did read, we enjoyed. We are looking forward to the release of the full graphic novel so we can update our review to full reflect the whole novel.

This is one of my most anticipated reads for the Spring. I was so excited to get approved, but bummed it was only a short preview.

This was only a sample so fairly difficult to review with any real enthusiasm (publisher people, please please PLEASE list clearly when your items are only samples - some people love them and others [such as myself] HATE THEM, avoid them, and when we are led astray it leaves us with bad feelings about the work in general because we did not get what we were told we were getting). Rant over.

Despite the sample debacle, I love Lucy Knisley and expect this to be great, just like its predecessor. I look forward to reading the completed work.

Children's graphic novels are very popular at my library. We will purchase this book and it will circ well. Since this is only a short excerpt, I didn't get a good feel for the actual story.

This was a really cute book. I think it’s great for students and relatable. My students would enjoy having this on their shelves.

Thank you for Netgalley and Random House Children's for the arc of Apple Crush. I was very interested in this book because I really enjoyed Lucy Knisley's "Stepping Stones." This was a preview of the second book of the Peapod Farm series and know I will already enjoy it. The illustrations are beautiful and the growing friendship between Jen and her stepsisters is nice to see, especially since "Apple Crush" portrays the girls' friendship as stable, unlike in the previous title. What I am looking forward to is how Walter's character will be handled in this second book since his behavior was enabled by others in the last book. Will be excited to read the rest of the book!

It wasn't clear from the description that this was just a preview! I can't wait to read the full book. It seems like it's going to be another great offering from Lucy Knisley.

I liked the premise of the story. However I think I had problems downloading it. When I try to read it on my Kindle app it was in boxes. It wasn’t the full picture of the book. It was very difficult to read it. Then when I download it it with the NetGalleyShelf it didn’t have the whole book. I didn’t know that it was only part of the book. It needs to state that in the description of the book. The book itself was good but I didn’t get a real good feeling of what the story was going to be about because it was only a short preview. I probably would have get in it a higher rating if I had been able to read the whole book.

Sooo I didn’t realize this was only part of the book. I would have liked to have had the full story. However, I will totally check this book out once it becomes available

The sample I read looks to be a good start to this YA coming of age story and has the same great sensitivity and humor that is a hallmark of all of Knisley's work. I will be reading this when it comes out!

Lucy Knisley is one of my favorite graphic novelists. I love all of her memoirs. "You are New" is a book I regularly recommend to my baby storytime parents. When the Stepping Stones came out I immediately snagged it. I wasn't as impressed with it as her other work, but it was still a good read.

Apple Crush is the follow up, and we again see Jen on Peapod Farm with her mother and mother's boyfriend. Fall is just around the corner, and Jen and her stepsister Andy has gotten a job at the local autumn attraction - think corn maze, hay rides, pumpkin patch. Jen is about to start at a new school, too, and she's grateful to have her stepsister by her side. But Andy is more interested in boys than hanging out with Jen.

I think Knisley does a really good job of capturing what it's like to be a kid transitioning into your tween years. The fun, the awkward, the weird. Apple Crush is a sweet, warm snapshot of growing up. It's not the most compelling read, with little action and no high stakes, but for your kiddos looking for something relatable and comforting, this is a great choice.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced limited preview of this book. The 36 pages I was able to read were awesome! I love Lucy Knisley’s style of writing and drawing and this book doesn’t disappoint. Can’t wait to read the rest!

I love Lucy Knisley. I was so sad this was only a preview. I didn't not have enough of the book to write a full review.