This book is brilliant. The worldbuilding is innovative, the characters are all creative and well-rounded, and the story was fun and engaging while being mental health conscious in a way I haven't seen in middle grade fiction before.

Lands of Luxury was a refreshing surprise. Jane, our main character, has memory issues and prefers the comfort of the familiar to a new but safer world. It was so amazing to see a character I could relate to so much - if I had had this book when I was a kid, I would have felt so much more seen than I did, and less alone. Jane's best friends are delightfully three dimensional, and their narrative of exploring and overcoming issues in a friendship is brilliant. The adults of the narrative are also genuine and caring, which was a surprise but really interesting to see! After years of abusive and incompetent adults in children's media, seeing rightfully horrified adults attempting to intervene in a way that didn't interfere with the narrative was such a nice twist.

Overall, this book has something for everyone despite being aimed at a younger audience. The writing is easy to read but doesn't talk down to its readers, and treats the kids' issues as genuine and all-consuming. It also slots into a growing genre of eco-conscious genre fiction which I find myself more and more drawn to with every book!

5/5

"Please Return to the Lands of Luxury" by Jon Tilton is a dystopian coming of age adventure that tells the story of Jane and her journey of a lifetime. In order to return a lost doll to its original owner, Jane embarks on a dangerous adventure that challenges her bravery, tests her friendships, and teaches her the importance of integrity and finding your own family.

This fantastic read is enjoyable for children and adults alike. Although it is a short, moderately fun listen, a lot happens in only 4 hours of listening time. The narrator does a great job and the quality is excellent. However, the story line felt only half-thought out and poorly executed. It's a classic trope of rich saviors rescuing poor people out of the goodness of their heart. The part that felt lacking was the "lesson."

Oh my goodness. I was not prepared for how adorable Please Return to the Lands of Luxury would be!!! Jon Tilton was able to create a world that felt full and complete with such minimal pieces of information. I found this book to be an amazing story about loss and grief while still being uplifting, wholesome, and exciting. This was a genuinely lovely reading experience and I am excited to encourage my tween to look and see if they are interested in it.

Content Warnings for this book:
Death of a Parent, Death, Injury, Grief, Fire, Fire Injury, Adoption

Between Tilton's writing and Talon David's narration, the characters were brought to life as a varied cast of personalities. Children who genuinely cared for others and themselves, adults who worked to see the light in the world, and adversaries who created just the right amount of conflict.

I wasn't sure what I was coming into when I got this book, and I was hopeful that the feeling I got from the art would carry through. We see Jane on the cover as a child who is standing strong and confident in the face of something that should frighten her. And that is what we got. A child who stands for what they feel is right.

Timothy and Rodney are little treasures to behold. Similar in some ways to each other and Jane, but also distinct in themselves.
I often find myself annoyed when kids who are friends in books all are soooo different and have nothing in common, it was nice to have children who vibed but also were unique.

SPOILER
I truly did love the overall theme of this book. The idea that we can carry the memories of those we love to allow them to live on within those stories is so amazing. Beyond that, I love so much that the story works to show Jane that she can extend her family to include more people. That their inclusion in her life won't diminish the importance of the people who were there before.

***I was provided a copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion and thoughts about what I read.***

⭐⭐⭐.25/5

Thank you to NetGalley for an audiobook copy of this book for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this, it was a very quick read and I loved the found family aspect.

Good premise and very good writing rounded off a really lovely book.

This book took me longer to get through than it normally would because my 7 year old son started listening to it with me! I had to wait for him to be around to listen to the audiobook because he was really invested.

This was a cute story with a fairly unique plot line. The characters were loveable and the underlying messages were subtle yet powerful.

It's a little young for my middle school students, but I think it fits for the early readers of chapter books. It was long enough to create a captivating plot, but also short enough to keep younger reader attentions.

This was a lovely little middle grade novel with a heartwarming message about discovering the true value of things. I adored the found family and the strong female lead with a kind heart and strong moral compass. I also really enjoyed that the adult characters were written as real, flawed people with their own insecurities.

While middle grade novels are usually relatively fast-paced, this moved a bit too quickly for me. There wasn’t any time to sit and absorb the world and the themes while trying to keep up with the “blink or you might miss it” plot. I would have really enjoyed some more development of the supporting characters to add a little emotional weight to their parts of the story.

The audiobook narration was great! The narrator kept me very engaged and voiced the characters well.

Jane lives on an island of trash. And even though she has to scavenge garbage and deal with sinister robots, she still loves her home. It’s all she’s ever experienced, from her most cherished memories to her foggy past that she can’t quite remember.

But when a doll shows up in the latest batch of garbage, everything changes. Unlike the rest of the junk, the doll is in excellent condition, including its tag which reads, “Please return to Gloria Thatcher.”

Convinced it arrived by accident, Jane vows to return the doll to its rightful owner. There’s just one problem—nobody has left the island before, thanks to the tyrannical robots guarding the Docks, a dangerous place with a mysterious history.

Will Jane find safe passage to the Lands of Luxury? Will she uncover the secrets of her past?

This was a delight to read- a fun dystopian middle-grade adventure tale, enjoyable for kids and adults alike. It’s the first in what’s sure to be a promising series.

I listened to the audiobook, which was adeptly narrated by Talon David.

* I received an ARC of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great adventure! #pleasereturntothelandsofluxury by #jontilton read by #talondavid #trashisland #courage #forgottensociety #friendship #dontbelieveeverythingyouhear #ireadmg #myeyespreferaudiobooks🎧 #netgalley #blueberryfinch

This book is a must-read! I loved it from start to finish. Categorised as "middle grade", it can easily be read by all age groups. It's action-packed, with a cast of endearing characters, complete with riveting stakes.
Combined with the audiobook, the reading experience was brilliant. The narrator did an amazing job bringing the story to life.
The contrast between the trash land and the lands of luxury allowed for a compelling adventure. At the end, you can receive a short story set in the same universe, but I would love for it to become a full-fledged series with more installments.
A page turner!!

I really enjoyed this book. It was adventurous from the beginning. Very heartwarming. The narrator has a nice voice and reads the book very well too.

Thank you for this advanced copy of Please Return to the Lands of Luxury by Jon Tilton. I had not read any books by this author but the premise of the book seemed like one my kids would enjoy and I'm glad we read it.

This book is about kids that live on an island completely made of junk. When one of the kids find a perfectly good doll with a return label, she decides she must return it. Many things ensue and it is a great adventure that leads to the whole island being in danger and then saved.

My 12 year old truly enjoyed this book, although it was a bit young for her. It was a great fantasy and we would love to read a sequel.

Such a sweet book. I wasn't expecting such a sweet story with such a tragic premise. Sometimes when you read middle grade books the characters have very adult intentions. A side effect of adults writing what they think kids want, but a kid trying to find the home of a lost toy was so sweet and childlike it worked really well. It was just incredibly sad but sweet at the same time. My middle schoolers will love this.

4 stars

I received this audiobook from NetGalley.

This was an enjoyable middle grade dystopian coming of age adventure that takes Jane on the journey of a lifetime in order to return a lost doll to its original owner. Covering important themes such as bravery, friendship, integrity, and finding your own family, this is a fantastic read for children and adults alike.

I gave this read 4.5 stars. I look forward to adding it to my physical library on the future.

A dystopian middle grade book with unexpectedly dark parts. Jane lives on an island covered in garbage where the “lands of luxury” send all their waste. The story moved at a good pace, Jane was a brave and curious main character that I was rooting for (but constantly on edge for not being entirely sure of other characters motives!)

Thank you netgalley for letting me review this book.

This is a story about a girl named Jane who lives on a land with trash. When a doll shows up and needs to be returned from its rightful owner, Jane has to figure out how to make that happen.

Such a fun read. I really enjoyed this story. She has to figure out to deal with sinister robots who does not want her to leave the island, but she is determined to find a way. I felt like I was right there with her on her journey.

#netgalley #pleasereturntothelandsofluxury .

This story was so charming and so beautifully told. It was an emotional and thought provoking story with friendship, found family, and adventure. A perfect story for a classroom or just for a young person to enjoy. I enjoyed the narrator, Talon David, very much and think she did a great job capturing the mood of the story and giving each character a distinct voice. Highly recommend!

3.75 stars
A really interesting mg story about a girl who lives on a garbage island when she finds a toy with a tag asking to return it
She goes on an adventure to return the doll
The characters where likeable and the story was interesting
I just wished it had developed a little more as I felt so much was left unexplored.
I will continue the series if more are released

This was so cute I loved the way jane reacted to things when seeing them for the first time, that innocence was the sweetest. I also was angry at some characters, just believing technology over another person was infuriating to listen to. Lots of great messages in here for younger readers with interesting characters. I also enjoyed the narration but on my copy the gap between chapters was too long so I kept thinking the audio had knocked itself off which took me out of the story

Thank you to netgalley and the author for an arc of this audio in exchange for an honest review

I was so excited to listen to this story! Although, I am not a target audience I found myself immersed in a wonderful journey of this amazing young girl who is bigger than her courage itself. I would recommend it for anybody who likes a cozy yet impactful read/listen when life is overwhelming. The characters come out to life, and they are age propriety yet not annoyingly childish. This will definitely stay close to my heart for a long time.

Please Return to the Lands of Luxury is a quick read/listen. I think I would have liked this book as a kid, so I would recommend it to kids eight and above. The robots might be a little scary.

I feel this could be a very powerful book for children who are grieving, who've experienced trauma and/or who have lost a loved one. The main character, Jane, is an orphan and in true child-brain fashion, she has made some associations - if her clothes still smell like home, she won't forget home. She won't forget her mother.

It’s a story of kids triumphing over evil, and what kid doesn’t need to hear that that’s possible?

Audiobook narration is solid and enjoyable. Good characterization of voices.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity.