James Henry hasn't left the house since he nearly drowned trying to save his mother (he succeeded but not without cost to them both) His twin Hattie Mae is encouraging him to return to the lighthouse where the accident took place during the blue moon to help him move through his grief. She needs him to be more like himself because she is planning on attending a school in Philadelphia and will no longer be there to protect him. For the first time in a long time, Hattie Mae is finding a new friend, Lottie, who may be the best thing ever to happen to the siblings since their mother's accident.

A book about wishing is likely to take the "be careful what you wish for" direction. And magical realism is a tough line to walk without becoming too strange. This one wavers on the line with an expected plot resolution and truly strange details. The characters are interesting but may not be enough to counterbalance the weirdness.

Again, I appreciate authors on a very high level of respect (that's some nasty word salad there). Anyway, I do. It's not easy to write a book. I have never done it. I've tried, but you know, life and stuff. Anyway, I can wholeheartedly say that Once Upon a Family was not my cup of tea, which is not to say that my 6th-grade students wouldn't absolutely adore it. There are some cool scenes and imagery, but I had a tough time connecting with any of the characters. Even Jeff, who seemed to almost pull a hernia trying to be nice to Winnie and had nothing to show for it for so long, was hard to connect to. I get that moving to a new town and having a new instant family can be hard, but making wishes to make things better seems like a great idea, but not very sensible, and if you have that power to make wishes, I mean, wish big, bro, wish big. Anyway, this book can be killer for the right reader, I just know I wasn't that person.

A just ok read that kids with blended families will relate to. A possible purchase, but not a must purchase.

This is a really lovely story that deals with hopes, anxiety and the desire for things to be better. Children will relate to Winnie and her quest for a better life for herself. Not feeling heard by those who are supposed to love and look out for her. I think it will have a great book group potential

I loved how Amanda included fairy tales (and their elements) as a key component to the story. Not only did it add interest to the story, but it also added another level of understanding. Readers will connect with Winnie's struggles to navigate new friendships and family dynamics with her anxieties. They may even see a piece of themselves in Winnie and her story.

Once Upon a Family is a middle grade book lover’s treasure. This is the first book I read of Amanda’s and I really loved it. Winnie has a lot of growing up to do but she’s also been through very hard things. Winnie is trying to adjust to her new life in Rock Springs, where she moved with her mom, Shannon, fiancé Jeff and his son Sam. Winnie is very creative, clever and funny. But scared to move on from last trauma. (I think we all have a Eustace in our heads at times.) I loved the fairy tale and magical references mixed in every page. Beloved fairy tales and ones that Winnie weaved herself. Loved Abigail and Linc. Jeff was also a really great guy. So many wonderful characters. I loved the message of wishes, hopes and second chances.
Thank you to the publisher for the Netgalley approval. All views and opinions are my own.

Middle graders will love this coming of age novel. I agree that any school libraries should purchase this book.
I can relate to Winnie in a few places in this story, I still very much enjoyed it.
Some tough subjects that I thought the author did well without missing a beat.
Let's be honest here, the cover was what made me want to read it.
I love the idea of a golden egg. This reminds me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Aladdin.
Also reminds me of the Brady Bunch.
When you read this story, you'll see why I said that.
Imagine your wishes suddenly coming true! I think to me that would be cool!
Winnie really is a good girl who's just struggling to make sense of things and trying to find her place in this ol world. I know what stuck is. I sometimes feel like that, too, like now.
No fun at all
I didn't like Sam or his dad. I had a bad feeling about Sam and his dad at the beginning of this book.
Mom was just as bad because there were things she just didn't want to believe or see.
I didn't think they were doing Winnie right. Made me shake my head at times
I found myself rooting for Winnie and I really wanted to thump Sam on the head at times too.
5 stars for a well written novel.

Overall this was a good book. I felt like I knew the characters like they were almost real people. I wanted to tell Eustace to beat it a couple of times :) One of my favorite aspects of the story was that the main character thought of her life in the form of a story - the beginning, the inciting incident, the climax...
My only issue was the formatting. I read on a Kindle paperwhite and either the paragraphs all ran together or there were at least 5 line spaces in the middle of a paragraph. There were very few paragraphs that were correct. It was distracting. But not enough to make me stop reading.

"Once Upon a Family" is a sweet coming-of-age book about learning to accept and adapt with change. Its message and sub-messages are important ones for middle grade children to learn.

Winnie's life is turned around when she and her mother move halfway across the US to live with her mother's new boyfriend, Jeff. Her new stepbrother is infuriatingly nosy, she's struggling to make friends and Jeff is (to her annoyance) passing all her "boyfriend tests". Now, with the help of a magic tree, any wish of her can come true. And all she wishes is for everything to go back to how it was... right?

This book started off a tad slow, and I feel like both the pacing and the writing quality only pick up midway. In the first half, Winnie was also so annoying that I almost stopped reading, although that is fixed by the end of the book (which was honestly satisfying).

A couple scenes also just did not sit right with me. I did not like that in one scene, Sam (Winnie's stepbrother) ran into Winnie's room and sprayed her with a water gun, yet there seemed to be no accountability and Winnie was just punished for yelling at him and being rough. While it was wrong for Winnie to hit him, Sam is 6, which is definitely old enough to understand that you can't run into someone's room and spray them with a water gun.

I also did not like that Winnie's solution to her stepbrother being annoying was to wish for him not to be. Sam is his own person and to show that Winnie could only love him if he changed really sends the wrong message. This really rubbed me the wrong way.

Despite all of its issues, however, I feel like the conclusion wrapped up loose ends nicely, if a bit weirdly. I want to thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Final rating: 3.5/5

The whole time I was reading this story I was thinking about how it would make an amazing fairytale extension for my high students. It has so many elements of different fairytales all mixed within one modern day story. How fun would it be to read this in a book club, and then have our students right their own twists on fairytales.

It has always been Winnie and her Mom for as long as she can remember. Now her mother is marrying Jeff and they move from Denver to boring Wyoming. Winnie has to make new friends and get used to having a younger brother, Sam. Like the fairy tales she loves, she tries to concoct something magical to get her mother to return to Colorado. When she notices the blackbird with the gold-tipped wings and the glowing nest in the oak tree, she thinks she just may wish herself to a happily ever after. Winnie suffers from anxiety stemming from a traumatic experience and, at times, it makes her an unsympathetic protagonist.

Winnie is content with her family of two- her and mom. When they make the big move to join mom’s fiancé, Winnie has a lot of adjustments to make. When she discovers a wish tree, she’s determined to come up with perfect wishes- but is there really such a thing? Will Winnie realize the truth before it’s too late? A book with lots of food for thought.

I enjoyed this story very much! Thank you Net Galley for making it possible to read this advance copy. The main character was relatable and I think kids will be able to identify with her and see themselves in her.

Kids are going to relate to Winnie, her struggles, and her anxiety. This is a wonderful story that includes glimpses of so many other fairy tails! I can’t wait to share this one with my students!

Terrific follow up MG novel to THE HOPE OF ELEPHANTS, Amanda Rawson Hill brings another book to those in grades 5-8 that features realistic characters facing challenges who discover the parts of life that are worthwhile. Winnie is not happy that her perfect two person family is about to become a far from perfect four person group of people who happen to live in the same house. And that house is even in the middle of nowhere Wyoming instead of the full of adventure Denver that she is loves. A touch of magic and wishing in the form of a magnificent bird and its golden eggs looks like it may be the solution to everything.

My heart hurt for Winnie as she struggled to prove to her mother that Jeff is not the right man for either of them and that his young son Sam is truly awful. On top of that, her attempts at friend-making seem to fail at every turn and her long time enemy, anxiety that she has named Eustace, is roaring things to be afraid of at every turn. Yes, Hill’s ending is a happy one, but getting there is full of several twists and will keep readers turning pages to see how everything is going to work out. Along the way, maybe some of those readers will seek out help for their own anxieties or try again at reaching out to those around them. Great messages and a first choice purchase for libraries serving those in grades 5-8. Text is free of profanity, sexual content and violence.

I actually was surprised how much I liked this book. The writing is done nicely and the author handles certain sensitive topics very well. The plot is easy to follow (potentially predictable) and I would recommend as a quick, easy read for a junior reader.

This was interesting and sweet and a mix of heartbreaking and heartwarming. I wanted to reach through this book and hug Winnie. I loved the characters as well as the fantastical aspect.