This is a story about dreams.  Emmett Maguire hopes to be a country singer, and its first gay superstar.  Living in suburban Chicago, his friends and his parents often do not understand his dream, or even the appeal of country music.  So Emmett jumps at the opportunity to spend the summer before his senior year of high school performing at the amusement park owned by one of his favorite country stars, Wanda Jean Stubbs, in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, while living with his aunt. 

Luke Barnes, by contrast, hates country music even though he has grown up in Jackson Hollow.  His grandmother, Verna Rose, was herself a country singer and best friends with Wanda Jean until the two had a falling out.  While Wanda Jean became a superstar, Verna faded into obscurity, and, as a result, his family has avoided country music and Wanda Jean as much as possible.  But as Luke's family's financial challenges increase, in part as a result of his mom's medical bills, he decides to take a job at the place he has long avoided -- Wanda World.

With Emmett hoping to take advantage of his summer to make connections to advance his country music career and Luke focused on his family, neither is thinking of romance.  But when the two run into each other, they can't stop thinking of the other and soon the two are together.  Their connection grows deeper as they spend more time with each other, even as it is tested by Luke's struggles with coming out, Emmett's concern that he is not making the most of the opportunities to advance his country music career while in Tennessee, and, most of all, the truth of what really happened with Wanda and Luke's grandmother all those years ago.  As the end of the summer looms, Luke and Emmett must face whether they can overcome these obstacles or whether what they have will remain a summer fling complete with a breakup worthy of a country song.

This book is delightful.  The premise of this book is so appealing -- and it delivers.  The author creates such a rich world in this novel.  Emmett and Luke are both compelling characters.  The author does a terrific job of making them multi-dimensional.  It is easy to see why they are drawn to each other and, all the more impressively, to empathize with the choices they each make -- even when those choices sometimes harm the other.   This strong character development extends to the other characters in the story, from Emmett's aunt to Luke's mom to Emmett's fellow performers to Luke's ex-girlfriend to Wanda Jean herself.  In the mark of a particularly skilled author, each of the supporting characters are fully realized.  We have a strong sense of their back story and their lives -- they do not exist solely to serve Luke and Emmett's story.  Finally, the mystery underlying the story of what happened between Wanda Jean and Verna Rose helps propel the story forward in an often surprising way, creating another strong layer to the story.

I really enjoyed the time I spent in Jackson Hollow with Emmett and Luke, and I would love to spend more time with them and see the next chapter of their story -- always the sign of a terrific book.

Very highly recommended!

This is a perfect book for the Summer! It had all things that I enjoy -- a fresh setting (Amusement park!!), acute gay romance and some food for thought in terms of the kind of themes it touched upon.

Coming to the writing, I felt that even though it was simple and crisp, it was able to capture the voices of the two leads very well.

The romance felt real and genuine. Oftentimes, the YA novels struggle with the chemistry part. This didn't. Both Luke and Emmett's felt genuine and believable.

I also enjoyed how music was a big part of this? I am not someone who's a lot into music but I still had a fun time reading the lyrics!!

The only criticism that I have is that the book's pacing was a little off at times and the ending was kind of very predictable.

Nevertheless, this is a book that I'll always out front of myself just because of how gorgeous it looks and how fun the reading experience was for me.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ. Period!!!

I had so many expectations and this book met them all (and exceeded them!)

The characters were fantastic! The plot was so fun to follow along with. And the inspiration of Dolly Parton gives me life!

This book blew me away! I read it in one day, which I rarely do, because I couldn't wait to find out what came next. Luke and Emmett come from two contrasting lives and experiences, and I loved the journey they go on together and as individuals. Watching (reading?) them grow and fight for who they are and what they believe in was a delight. And the country star drama—Y'ALL! Y'all.

This book was pure JOY!

The voices of both protagonists gripped me immediately. The dual POV is done so well. They’re both very different but complement each other perfectly while smoothly building up the plot from beginning to end. Every character in this book was so lovable while still being realistic.

The inclusiveness of the cast and discussions of how country music discriminates against anyone who doesn’t fit it’s perfect image were handled in a way that even I, by all means a “city slicker” who barely listens to country (Dolly is great, though), understood, empathized, and related. ALBC manages to straddle the line of real hardship and conflict (homophobia, coming out to your family, toxic masculinity, racism, sexism, poverty) while still being so hopeful and funny. It left me craving Southern food so bad and even made me want to listen to more country music.

For anyone seeking FEELS and FLUFF, I recommend this beautiful book! Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an e-ARC. This is my honest review in return.

A Little Bit Country is the story of Emmett, an aspiring country singer, and Luke, a boy haunted by country music. They meet because they are both working at Wanda World for the summer, an amusement park run by the fictional country singer Wanda Jean Stubbs (a thinly-veiled substitute for Dollywood and Dolly Parton). The plot is intriguing and one of the strongest aspects of this book. There are a few points that seem to stray and seem unnecessary, but overall it is enjoyable. Some of the characters seem a bit flat, especially Emmett, although he does grow throughout the novel.

My biggest gripe with this novel, as a Southerner, is the somewhat stereotypical way "Southerness" is represented. I think this is especially true because I believe this is meant to be taking place in East Tennessee (if the Dollywood tie-in is accurate). East Tennessee is squarely Appalachian, not country-western. This may seem a minute detail, but it matters because it homogenizes a region that often faces marginalization. I don't think this is intentional, but I wish the author would have thought a little more about this, especially in the character of Luke.

One’s a little bit country and the other’s… not into country at all.

A Little Bit Country tells the story of high schooler Emmett who has Big Dreams of being country music’s biggest gay superstar. He starts performing at the amusement park owned by and dedicated to country music Legend Wanda Jean Stubbs (Not-Dollywood and Not-Dolly Parton). There, he meets Luke, a gay teen who is very much in the closet and hates country music for ruining the life of his grandmother. The two, of course, are attracted to one another.

I had a bit of a rough time with this one in places. I did not gravitate towards the main characters as much as I hoped to. I definitely warmed to them as the story progressed, but it was slow going for a bit.

There is a lot to unpack in this book, maybe even more than I had initially thought there would be. I thought Brian D. Kennedy did a really strong job of handling casual homophobia, sexism, and the struggle of being scared to come out to the people in your life. There is queer joy here, but there’s also pain that needs to be addressed. The difficult conversations were some of my favorites because they felt so real.

Additionally, the parts I found to be the most interesting were those about Wanda Jean and Luke’s grandmother Rose. The good, good scandal and drama? Here for it every time.

I’m glad to see that this book is resonating with a lot of people. I wish I had been one of them.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I received an ARC of this book. Wow - this is one well written, fun debut. I was rooting for both characters, who were both fleshed out with relatable goals and lives. I think my favorite part was the setting of Wanda World. It actually felt like a real place for me, or a character in itself. So well described that it came to life. I want to go! I also laughed out loud at this book at one part, which is something I rarely do at books. Overall, this was a ton of fun, and I can imagine even more so if you're a country fan. Brian D. Kennedy is clearly an author with a lot of promise.

Perfectly fun and cute! The country music love was nice, and I think the author did a good job exploring the intersections of class and sexuality. This is a perfect summer read.

OOH. This book. Sweet and beautiful and everything first love should be. Once I started, I couldn't stop reading.

This is a very strong debut. Emmett loves country music and hopes to make it his career. Luke hates country music and has spent his whole life avoiding it. One summer, though, the two find themselves both working at Wanda World, the amusement park founded by country music star Wanda Jean Stubbs. When Emmett and Luke run into each other, their connection is undeniable -- and they soon find themselves spending as much time together as possible. But as the end of the summer looms, and a long-buried secret of Luke's family comes to light, it forces both to face uncomfortable truths and whether their fledging relationship has a future.

The characters at the heart of this book, including Luke and Emmett, their families, their co-workers, and the others in their Wanda World orbit, are strong and appealing. And the story, including the mystery around Wanda Jean and Luke's grandmother, will keep you fully engaged.

Highly recommended! You will not regret picking this one up.

This book is a great debut. I look forward to many more books from this author. Emmett and Luke have such distinctive voices and are both pushed and pulled by forces in their lives. Watching them figure out both who they are and how they work as a couple was a pure delight. Highly recommend!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one was a really fun and enjoyable teen romance, especially for fans of country music and Dolly Parton’s style in particular. I don’t consider myself a country fan at all, and my knowledge of Dolly is limited to “Jolene” and “9 to 5,” but I enjoyed this story regardless and found the premise unique and interesting. Nothing too explicit, definitely a title I'd feel comfortable putting in my 8th grade classroom library.

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review*

I don't think I've ever thought about country music as much as Emmett has, but I love him regardless. His pure joy at being able to perform at what is basically Dollywood honestly made me smile at times, and his desire to become the next big gay country star is something I can really get behind. I really enjoyed the nuances to Luke and his relationship, especially because I hate when characters meet and immediately decide they're in love with each other without ever actually having had any sort of conversation. I like that they were able to talk about the hard stuff together. This novel took some real turns, but overall I enjoyed it and can't wait to see what's next from Brian Kennedy.

This is a super cute YA m/m story. I liked the boys together, but didn't see a real spark from their relationship. I loved the setting of Wanda World. All hail Dolly Parton.

I enjoyed this queer YA romance about 2 boys in a small town in Tennessee, one of whom dreams of becoming the next great country music star and the other who just wants to get out of the shadow of the town. I thought that the characters were very likable and pretty well developed. I also am a big Dolly Parton fan, so it was fun to see a fictional version of that.

An incredibly charming YA gay country romance novel. It’s not perfect, but it perfectly captures being in your late teens and trying to figure out who you are. Very much a HFN, as most YA books should be. If you e ever been to Dollywood or dreamt of going to Dollywood, this one is for you.

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, my little gay southern heart! As a neighbor to miss Dolly herself, I was SO excited for the chance to get my hands on this one… and it did NOT disappoint!

Emmett is an up-and-coming star: he’s got plans to be the biggest gay country music performer the world has ever seen! He’s headed off to Wanda World for the summer to be a member of their Jamboree stage show (with some hopes of being seen by music scouts while in the land of country music).

Luke, on the other hand, wants to stay far from the world that burned his family so long ago, and from any sort of spotlight that might suggest he’s something other than a normal southern boy. After his recent breakup with his girlfriend, Vanessa, he just needs to keep his head down and work this summer to avoid any suspicion…

These two are the perfect flawed teenagers that you love to shake your head at while smiling when they do dumb things. The characters weren’t written over the top, nor were they too simple. There was some predictability, but that honestly may have come from my familiarity with the setting Kennedy based his book on. Overall, this was a SOLID debut with great characters and heartwarming moments that is sure to leave you wanting to visit Dollywood… I MEAN Wanda World… yourself!

5/5, preorder this baby right now!

This book was an absolute delight. Queer and romantic, heartbreaking and heartwarming, I loved the backdrop of country music, pushing at boundaries, and getting to the heart of family secrets and truths. Such a wonderful read!

This is an adorable little romance about an aspiring country music star falling in love with the grandson of a fallen country music idol.. I love the differences between Luke and Emmett. Though some areas were a bit cheesy, I loved the story and will definitely recommend to my students wanting lgbt books.