Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of All the Secrets of the World by Steve Almond.

Lorena Saenz, a shy thirteen year old girl, has just been paired with Jenny Stallworth to create a science project, thus changing the course of both of their lives. Looking at Lorena as an unparented lost puppy, Jenny's mom does everything she can to embrace her into the family. But the person that Lo is most interested in is Jenny's dad. He's quirky, scientific and has a deep interest in scorpions. But more than that, Lo has noticed that Jenny's dad has noticed her, an intoxicating form of attention that Lorena has a hard time ignoring. But she has no idea what lies in store for her and her family the more she falls into the Stallworth family.

Hooo boy! This is a six course meal full of all sorts of flavors! I honestly didn't know what I was signing up for when I started reading this. It follows several people through the course of years, and not once was the outcome what I thought it would be. It will get the heart racing, it will make you mad, and it will disappoint you. But I can also promise that you will never be bored! This was quite the story that would be perfect if you are looking for something meaty to really sink your teeth into.

This was an intense read as the story itself was enthralling and gripping, but many of the characters did such appalling, inexcusable things. It really did a great job creating a sense of time and place (1980s California). There are a lot of parallels between current times in privilege, policing, and immigration. I can definitely see this generating a lot of discussion in a book club!

I enjoyed this book, particularly the way it was structured, offering the perspectives of different characters with various levels of knowledge about the situation. This made the book more fast-paced and more interesting than a straightforward narrative. I did find it a little confusing on audiobook though, as it wasn't always clear when the perspective changed.

The early Reagan years provide a compelling listen about criminal injustice with this historical fictional novel. The reader is excellent.

This was a DNF for me. I love Steve Almond's Dear Sugar advice, but (and this is a personal opinion), I'm super uncomfortable reading male writer's who write about girl's (as in children's) bodies in a sexualized way. I realize it was part of the story and maybe was going to be an important plot point, but I found myself dreading hitting play. I don't post negative reviews publicly so won't be reviewing this one. The writing itself was solid and the narrator was pleasant to listen to, I just couldn't get past what felt like grooming and also the tone that suggested the child in question wanted it to happen? (I didn't finish so not sure if it ever got there). An uncomfortable read for me.

I've long heard about Steve Almond's work but I'd never read anything by him. I found this audiobook to be wildly entertaining and will seek out Mr. Almond's books in the future. Thanks so much for allowing me to preview it.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Dreamscape Media for an advance audio copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

In the hands of a less skilled writer, this book would have been doing too much. Scorpions, astrology, pedophilia, Nancy Reagan, immigration, police corruption, science -- somehow Almond fits all this together into a compelling and well-written story that is as page-turning as it is thought-provoking. The book is both character-driven and plot-driven, and it all comes together as an interesting social commentary set during Reagan's presidency. I listened to the audio, and the narrator did a fantastic job of distinguishing between the many varied characters. My only problems with the book were that it dragged a bit with the police work, and I was grossed out by the way one particular attraction between characters was portrayed.

I felt like I was reading 2 books spliced together with All the Secrets of the World. One was a riveting tale of a 13-year-old Lorena, who disastrously gets sucked into the world of her wealthy classmate’s family. The other was a poorly done, silly caricature of Nancy Reagan.

The latter seriously detracted from the former, and made what could have been a thrilling book drag along.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Phew that was a wild ride! Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the pre-release copy of the audiobook.
What seemingly starts as a story about two middle school girls in the mid-1980’s from different “sides of the track” forming a friendship centered around a science fair, turns into a crazy ride with two families caught up in a whole lot of trauma. The book moves between California and Mexico, with themes of immigration, police corruption, politics, classism, racism, astrology, science, religion, domestic abuse, suicide, and even pedophilia. There are plenty of trigger warnings here, but the story moves along and keeps you guessing. There is also plenty here to make you really angry about the state of things in our country during the Reagan era, and knowing not much has changed now is even more frustrating. The audio was excellent. The narrator Roxanne Hernandez was so good at voicing all of these characters and keeping the correct accents. It was easy to keep track of all the characters because she did such a great performance.

After reading the description of this audiobook I was intrigued. Lorena is a young Hispanic girl from a broken home on the outskirts of town that gets paired up for a science project with Jenny, the rich girl from the other side of town. When Jenny’s dad goes missing, Lorena’s brother becomes a suspect.

This book tackles a lot of heavy, but important subject matter. I think it was handled by Almond in an impressive way. The story drew me in. It tackles immigration, racial divide, and the U.S. criminal justice system.

I’m glad I took a chance on this one. The narrator, Roxanne Hernandez did an amazing job with the story and all the characters.

This read made me angry and frustrated and disappointed more times than I can count - but in a good way. These characters are so well rounded that this felt so REAL. I was enraged by the injustice and heartbroken for Lorena, Tony, and their mother. This was something very different than what I was expecting. Give this one a go.

This book had a tendency to run all over the place, but I was happy to be along for the ride. All the Secrets of the World focuses on a young girl, Lorena, and her dynamic with her science partner Jenny. It also features an investigation by Pablo; this novel explores themes of politics, racial identity, and adventure. The desert is also featured as metaphor for the characters' experiences. A very adventurous novel. I really enjoyed the narrator, easy to understand, good pacing.