The next great southern novel! The voice of Kay Whitaker will forever be in my head. From the very first page she draws you in with her fierce rebellious nature and snarky sarcasm. Her larger-than-life personality is housed in her 12 year old skinny malnourished body.

A coming-of-age tale and a loss of innocence for Kay and her brothers, Freddy and Peter growing up in backwater Bledsoe, Georgia. Kay is living in poverty with a dad who doesn't work, a mom who is emotionally unavailable and a sister who is "off" and no longer goes to school with Kay and her brothers.

One day while seeing how far she can run Kay comes across a boy, Andy, playing guitar near his house on stilts. She is so excited to have discovered a house back in the marsh and having made a new friend that she can't stop telling her dad and brothers about it. However, her dad tells her to stay away from Andy. Kay, of course, does not obey and finds excused to see Andy, making her dad furious. Kay wants to know why she has to stay away. Little comments and slip ups from her dad (and brothers) about the drowning of Andy's mom only fuel Kay's insatiable curiosity.

While Kay's dad is away her sister goes missing and the next day her mom is arrested for the murder of Andy's mother. When he father returns he is arrested for kidnapping. What is going on?! The more questions Kay asks the more the adults around her ignore them. She is trying to put the pieces together from the conversations she has overheard and some peculiar things that she has seen.

I really enjoyed this book. The character of Kay is memorable and the clues laid out throughout make this a nail biter till the end. I gave this 4 stars because like the waters of the marsh, the ending was a little murky. I would have liked to know just a little bit more about what happened to her sister.

Thank you Sourcebooks and #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheFloatingGirls

*Potential Spoiler: Do you like books that keep you pondering even after the book is finished? Or do you like a clear ending? Sometimes I am both but for this book I want to know more! Did Andy kill Kay's sister? Was it an accident? Who made the coffin? Could Andy be Kay's 1/2 brother? Did Kay's mom really murder Andy's mom? Or was she set up? What does Andy's dad know in all of this?

Told from the point of view of 12 year-old Kay, the story of her family as well as an incident from 10 years ago comes to a point over one hot summer and fall when Andy and his father return to their small town in Georgia. Kay is a character who will stick with you long after you've finished reading - she is smart and sassy for her age, with a lot of great one-liners. You will also feel sorry for her and her family's circumstances. The ending is a little ambiguous, but the story is engaging and heartfelt.

Beautifully written emotional moving a book that drew me in.Characters that came alive and stayed with me long after I finished the book.#netgalley #sourcebooks

Without even noticing I took a bookstagram break for the holiday. I had so much fun with friends and family it was basically a zero phone weekend with the exception of a few family photos.

But I’m back…

And better than ever…

I didn’t get much reading done this weekend but I had a pile of fantastic books begging for my attention. I was able to sneak one book in before bedtime and well…. You know how that goes, one more chapter turns into an all nighter but it was well worth the extra cup of coffee I needed this morning.

The Floating Girls has the perfect amount of mystery filled with unforeseen twists and an ending you will not see coming. My emotions were running wild, this is so much more than “just a thriller”. Come to find out, this is a debut !!! 👀 Without one doubt in my mind, I know I will be seeing this play out on the big screen and I will be the first in line .

Out July 12th this is a book you will not want to miss!

If you would like to see my post/photo on social media, I have attached the link below :

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfokYcbL2KJ/

Book Review:

The Floating Girls by Lo Patrick

I had mixed feelings about this book. I really like the characters, the setting and the first half of the plot. Kay is a really smart young girl and is always pushing the buttons of her family to get her way. Her infatuation with Andy, the boy who lives deeper in the marsh, was sweet and full of tension as something clearly happened between their families. But then the plot shifted and I felt like there were too many surprises, things that had been slightly alluded to but suddenly became main plot points. They weren't bad plot shifts by any means, I think I just wanted to know more.

If you want to know what happens in the backwaters of Georgia, make sure to check The Floating Girls out when it releases on Tuesday.

Thanks @netgalley and @bookmarked for this advanced reader!

#BookReview #Bookstagram #LoPatrick #TheFloatingGirls #SourcebooksLandmark #BookishLife #reading #InstaBooks #BookPhotography #BookRecommendations #Bibliophile #GirlsWhoRead #BookNerd #booksetingeorgia #Fiction #LiteraryFiction

The Floating Girls by Lo Patrick is a very highly recommended coming-of-age domestic drama, mystery, and a fine example of Southern fiction. This is an excellent debut novel.

Twelve-year-old Kay Whitaker and her family live off the beaten path by the marshlands in Bledsoe, Georgia. Kay, the youngest in her family, has two older brothers, Peter and Freddy. Her older sister, Sarah-Anne, is unusual, usually non-verbal, and often just stands in the yard "like a twig in mud." Their father, Clay, is habitually unemployed and their mother, Sue-Bess, is distant and emotionally absent. Kay is a feisty, opinionated, talkative, and lonely girl who is always at odds with the rest of her family.

When she is out running in the marshland one day, she comes across a house on stilts and a boy about her age, Andy Webber. From this point on she is fascinated by Andy and his father, Nile, and wants to go over to his house everyday or invite him to her house to play. Her father immediately gets angry and tells her to stay away from the Webbers. This proves to be impossible for Kay, much as it seems impossible to keep "the people from the state" from routinely showing up at their house, at which point they hide Sarah-Anne. When she learns about Mrs. Webber's death years earlier and that everyone in her family knows about it, it marks the beginning of secrets being revealed and changes everything.

Kay is the narrator of the novel and we see everything happen through her point-of-view. She is often defiant and opinionated. She likes to curse to get her family riled up. She can be very insightful, while at the same time she is naive. Some of her observations and descriptions can be humorous and sometimes they are achingly sad. All of this makes her a perfect character to narrate what is her coming-of-age story.

The writing in The Floating Girls is absolutely superb. Patrick captures the setting in descriptive prose that puts you there amid the oppressive heat and humidity in the summer. The marsh become a character as well as the location. The poverty and dynamics of Kay's highly dysfunctional family are also an intrinsic part of the narrative and the secrets that are exposed. All the characters are carefully crafted and depicted as realistic individuals. As the plot unfolds, Patrick manages to capture the heartbreak, confusion, and trauma in pitch-perfect prose.

The Floating Girls is an outstanding debut novel. If you enjoy well-written Southern literary fiction and coming-of-age stories, this would be an excellent choice.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Sourcebooks Landmark via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Edelweiss, Google Books, and Amazon.

A coming-of-age debut set in the hot, sticky marshes of the Georgia coast with mysteries dated in the past and present. This is told in the narrative of a smart and independent, twelve year old chatterbox.. Kay Whitaker. It follows her life and family through hardship, tragedy, her mothers mental illness, and the eventual arrest of her parents after terrible family secrets are revealed.

It’s a quiet, emotional story that didn’t necessarily pull me in to where I enjoyed it as much as I wanted to. This was on my most anticipated 2022 releases list. Great read for anyone that enjoy’s a slower-paced southern family drama voiced in a child’s perspective. 3 stars. Pub. 7/12/22

Much thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark via NetGalley for kindly approving a digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

This novel left me with a book hangover. I was so immersed in Kay's world and life, that it was almost a shock to surface after the last page was turned. This is the author's debut novel, but the writing belied that fact. The novel was littered with phrases and descriptions that were so evocative of the place and characters that I found myself highlighting constantly. "...the sun so close to us like an iron overhead, pressing down with the steam button pushed hard." "My disappointment was like really bad breath; you didn't have to be very close to me to smell it."

Narrated solely by the twelve year old Kay, the book recounts her life with poignancy, humor, naiveté, and insight beyond her tender years. Kay was a complicated blend of vulnerability and strength.

This was the story of an indigent, dysfunctional family. It had elements of mystery which the reader wants to discover, yet the narrative itself is enough to keep one sustained. It eloquently tells of family secrets, poor chances, poor choices, and dogged perseverance.

I'm certain that I'll remember this book for a very, very long time. Highly recommended to those readers who enjoy skillfully written literary fiction - especially those who loved "Where The Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens.

Would I read another novel by this author? In a heartbeat!

The Floating Girls by Lo Patrick
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Kay is a twelve year old girl who lives with her family in Bledsoe, where it’s boring and nothing happens. One day she finds a boy her age who lives in a house on the marsh behind her house and decides to make him her friend despite her dad telling her to stay away from him. This is just the beginning of Kay trying to understand all the secrets the marsh, and her family, are keeping from her.
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This was a very interesting book.
It was a very slow burn. And I found it intriguing and super frustrating that our POV was a twelve year old girl. The entire book I felt like she was on the cusp of understanding what was going on. But her thoughts were so scattered because she’s TWELVE that I could not for the life of me figure out what in the world was going on!!
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I felt so bad for Kay’s character, life is so hard on some. Her life wasn’t that full when her story started and then it just kind of imploded. She’s only twelve so she’s dealing with trying to adjust to impending teenage years and finding her place in the world, all while secrets are smashing holes in her life. It’s really quite sad.
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I struggled with how to rate this one. It was a good mystery and I think it was kind of brilliant to write it from a twelve year olds perspective. But it was so sad and left me feeling down. So I personally rated it 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Very interesting but I didn’t love it.

The Floating Girls by Lo Patrick

This is Kay’s story, about her life growing up in Georgia, in a shack with absent minded parents, older brothers and a sister that isn’t well. Her life is strange and full of mysteries, like why doesn’t her sister go to school? Why do people from the State drop by unannounced? Who is the boy that lives in a house on the water? And what happened to his mother?

This was such a unique story and Kay is unforgettable. I loved her take on the world and her non stop chatter of her thoughts. This has the same feel as Where the Crawdads Sing, with an amazing setting that really makes you feel what Kay is experiencing.

Only complaint about this one was that it seemed to drag on by the end. But the clever writing and mysteries still had me hooked.

Thank you to @bookmarked for my copy! This is out on July 12th!

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Set in coastal Georgia, I really looked forward to this book but it was so badly written and contained such unbelievable characters that it was difficult to finish and impossible to enjoy.

When Kay happens upon a stilt house in a marsh near her home, she is immediately drawn to the boy who lives there, but her father forbids her to interact with Andy and his dad. Kay soon learns that Andy’s mother had drowned when he was quite young and his father was rumored to be suspected of foul play surrounding her death. But there are darker secrets that tie Kay’s family to Andy’s mother and this will forever change her life.

The Floating Girls did seem to be off to a good start. I was invested in the mystery at hand while trying to make sense of Kay’s family. When a bomb was dropped halfway through the book, I thought, “Here we go!” and I buckled up for one heck of a ride. Imagine my disappointment when I realized I wouldn’t be going anywhere!

All I was granted in the second half was a front row seat to Kay’s misery. She, as the narrator, continuously told the reader how awful her childhood was and, although I’m not unsympathetic, it was not interesting at all. Not even a few sudden shocks could save it.

Kay’s unfiltered characterization was amusing at times, but I must confess that she more often irritated me. I also found it hard to believe that she’d be that brazen in the face of abuse and neglect, but this is fiction so I chose to suspend disbelief.

It is possible that I was so immersed in the mystery early on that I failed to see how poorly written this was, but it felt like the quality crumbled as time went on. The book is saturated with telling, rather than showing, and a great deal of redundancy. The unnecessary details and repetitiveness robbed from what could have been a rich family drama. Furthermore, the implausibility became too incredible, while the development lacked depth.

It’s unfortunate that a story I thought was heading somewhere hit a dead end, as I would have quit early on if I’d even suspected this might be true. Alas, The Floating Girls lured me in and fooled me until I found myself drowning, too!

I am immensely grateful to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for my digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

The Floating Girls by Lo Patrick was a bit of a mystery and a coming-of-age story. I love books that feature kids as narrators, and Kay Whitaker is one of the sassiest narrators I have heard in a long time.

The Whitaker family is completely dysfunctional, with the mother withdrawn, the father angry and the kids just trying to get by. Kay is the youngest with two brothers and a sister, who Kay describes as "off," but I interpreted as developmentally delayed. When Kay befriends neighbors across the marsh, Nile and Andy Webber, it becomes clear that the adults have a shared history, which get revealed more throughout the story. When Kay's sister disappears, thing go from bad to worse for the Whitakers.

The writing and the characters were what carried the novel, as the plot was a little thin and circular. The action in the middle seemed repetitive. The descriptions of the marshes in Georgia were lush and beautiful. The setting was a huge part of the book, which created a creepy and claustrophobic feel. I could practically feel the humidity in the air.

I give the book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for the lush, descriptive writing.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I read this book but it wasn’t for me. I didn’t connect with smu of the characters, I just mostly felt sorry the kids that got the shaft in the life.
I didn’t care for the books this one was compared to, but I took a chance on reading it, but it just didn’t resonate.

There's a lot 12 year old Kay doesn't understand in this coming of age novel of family secrets and lies- why does the State keep coming to their house about her sister Sarah-Anne, why is Sarah-Anne different, why isn't she allowed to visit with Andy, who she's discovered living with his father Nile in a stilt house even deeper in the wetlands than she lives. Something isn't right with her mother, something isn't right with her father but Kay sticks to her fascination with Andy. whose mother died years before. It's a highly atmospheric novel where you'll feel the heat and the humidity, as well as the rising sense of danger. And then Sarah Anne disappears, the police arrive, and everything changes. If I had a quibble, it's with the resolution to one of the mysteries- there's an end but how it got there isn't clear. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's an intriguing debut with terrific characters and good storytelling.

The insects buzzed around her; bumping into her sticky skin and overall being the pesky annoyances they were created to be. She swatted at them and marched through the swamp, the warm water doing very little to cool her on this blistering day. This was how things were though… always hot, always uncomfortable, always filled with a deep, depressing, unknown.

The Floating Girls immerses the reader into the marsh of the deep south and Lo’s writing truly makes you feel as if you’re there in the hot, sticky, heat of summer in the south. You’ll follow the perspective of a young girl who lives near the marsh and who’s family is not well off, but they’re surviving. A new boy moves into the marsh behind her family’s property and she’s intrigued by him, but she’s forbidden to interact with him… but that doesn’t stop her.

The writing of this one is overall well done. It’s immersive with a dark undertone, but that’s truly all that’s going for this book. The main character annoyed me the entire time I was reading and the supporting characters were either dull or acted in very “cartoonish” ways. The whole story was odd and even with the hint of mystery throughout the book… it was so boring. The premise sounds intriguing, but it is just not executed well.

If you like immersive reads and darker southern fiction then you may like this book… but it’s a no from me.

This was an amazing story for a first book by an unknown author. It’s told from the point of view of 12 year old Kay Whitaker who lives in the backwater town of Bledsoe, Georgia. Her family is dirt poor. They live in a small house in the marshlands—her mother and father, two brothers, and a sister. Kay and her brothers are smart kids as readers will see as the story gains traction. They don’t really have any friends, especially Kay, and she’s thrilled to meet a boy her age who lives in a house on stilts. Kay loves to talk more than anything else, and she likes to cuss to emphasize what she’s saying. She gives everybody what for and rarely backs down. I enjoyed her backbone and her spirit.

I quickly realized the plot was turning into a mystery—more than one it turned out. I was completely surprised by where the author took this story, and there were several jaw-dropping moments for me. I was definitely entertained! The only loose end I didn’t understand was what went on between Andy and the sister, Sarah; if anything, or if he just knew what happened to her. I do recommend this great Southern read if you don’t mind a lot of cussing, light violence, and pure country speech.

I honestly reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark. All opinions are my own. Thank you.

Sometimes you come across a book where you need only read a few paragraphs to know you're holding something special in your hands. This is such a book. The author's wonderfully descriptive, prosaic writing immersed me completely before I turned the first page.

Kay Whitaker, 12, is the narrator and main character. Outspoken, sassy, brash, and even audacious at times, she talks constantly, trying to get a reaction, any reaction, from her all too distant parents. She wants to feel that she is noticeable, and to be reassured that they care about her, but she never gets that validation. Her father, Clay, is a beaten man, one who drinks often, seldom works, and takes his anger out on his family. Her mother, Sue-Bess is a quiet woman who rarely speaks and often takes to her room. Brothers Peter, 16, and Freddy, 13 and 1/2, are her constant and usually only companions. They go to school together, but now that summer is here, there's little to do except sweat in the poverty stricken small town of Bledsoe, GA. They also have a sister, Sarah Anne, who is 14. Sarah Anne is "different", doesn't talk much, and doesn't do much of anything that Kay can see. One can only assume she is a child with special needs, none of which are being met. Clay and Sue-Beth hide her everytime people come to the house, because no one ever comes to visit except the people from the state who want to take Sarah Anne away. Another sister, Elizabeth, was born too early, died, and is buried in the yard.

This is a slowly paced character-driven novel, humorous at times, but generally depressing overall. It is a coming of age novel about Kay as she has her first crush, struggles to come to terms with the realities of her life, challenging it as she tries to find a reason to hope for a better future. Kay is a character that will live in my mind a long time.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark who permitted me access to an e-ARC via NetGalley. The book is set for publication on 7/12/22. All opinions expressed in this review are my own, and are freely given.

"Trouble comes looking for you if you are not careful. It finds just as easily as it's found."

Kay Whitaker, a twelve-year-old girl who has grown up in an unusual family in backwater, Georgia, discovers a stilt house one day. She meets Andy and is smitten by his life. Kay has three siblings, a mother who borders on benign neglect of her children, and an abusive father. Her sister, Sarah Anne, is a developmentally challenged child. Kay shows symptoms of ADHD herself, while her brother Freddy was a victim of their mother's Munchausen by Proxy syndrome. However, for Kay, none of this is peculiar. It is how she has grown up.

However, soon, Kay discovers that Andy's mother drowned in the marsh, and it was one of her parents who killed her. Other secrets arise soon as Sarah Anne disappears. Kay and her brother's struggle to survive without their parents in Bledsoe. The setting of the story was immersive and the characters well-drawn. Kay lived in her own little bubble, as children her age often do. Kay's character was one-of-a-kind. She was not afraid to acknowledge the person she was. She was mean, unkind, and uncaring, but she denied none of it. Her brothers, too, had unique personalities and their own ways of handling the situation.

Everything was good, but I felt the ending fell rather short in execution. After such a long buildup, there were still questions that remained unanswered. We were never able to know the relationship of Sarah Anne with Andy, and what possessed the 'criminal' to do such a thing to a little girl. Apart from that, I have no complaints about this book.

The Floating Girls by Lo Patrick is a coming-of-age story that is worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Living in Georgia, I'm always drawn to books set in the state. The mystery in this one grabbed me. "Couldn't put it down " is a cliche, but in this case I definitely put off other things so I could keep reading.

The writing was well done and the characters were fleshed out wholly. The author pulled off making the main character, 12 year old Kay, both sympathetic and exasperating at the same time.

Two critiques: there were a couple of times when the author would describe a situation or something a character said, but then slightly contradict that later. Second, the ending was really frustrating. I won't say more since I don't want to spoil it, but I was definitely left wanting.

Otherwise, it's a good mystery with no gore. Has "Where the Crawdads Sing" vibes.

Given an advanced copy via Sourcebooks/Net Galley.