This delightful novel in verse explores a journey of gender self-discovery and self-acceptance, set within the warm coziness of loving family and the quirky chaos of a magical bookshop. It's a quick read, but a very satisfying one, packed with unconditional love and queer joy. The portrayal of the narrator's anxiety is realistic and the use of signing to accommodate her selective mutism is lovely - I wish every young person had the the support of family (and bookshop magic!) depicted here. Although aimed at middle grade, this is a book that will be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I love books about books!!!
And a middle-grade story with a nonbinary main character, with an author parent, that takes place mainly in a bookstore?!
I was so sold!

This was an interesting concept of a book. I liked how the family thought they needed to find who the books belong to as they sold them. The book appropriately touches on gender preferences. Readers should look at trigger warnings, but I thought it was a good book.

Thank you for giving me the chance to read this book!
My oldest daughter in seventh grade also enjoyed it! I wasn’t expecting this format or this subject, but it was interesting and enjoyable

What a HEARTWARMING middle grade novel in verse about a magical bookshop that selects the perfect book for the people who need them.

Told from the POV of Annie, we experience her struggles with anxiety and worry for her two mothers who are concerned the store might need to close. Things get extra stressful when one book doesn't get picked up by the person it's been chosen for and the store starts 'acting out'.

Full of a great cast of queer characters (with an emphasis on a young non-binary child finding the courage to come out to their family), excellent mental health and disability rep (Annie has selective mutism, which manifests at times because of her anxiety) and a lovely magical realism element. I adored this book and know it will be a special one for young readers questioning their identities.

What a sweet book. It touches on childhood anxieties, family ties, lgbtq+ teen/young adults, all wrapped up in a bookstore setting.

While I am sure this story was fantastic, this style of writing was not for me personally. It is not really poetry but also almost poetry. It took me a while to get used to the style and figure out what is happening in the story. There is four main characters, Mum, Mama, Charlotte (a sixteen-year-old), and Annie, the youngest in the family.

The concept of a book shop that finds the perfect book for each customer with magic makes this story so unique. I wish that was a thing in real life so that I would always have the perfect next book.

The primary focus is on understanding gender identities (especially non-binary individuals) and coming out. It also deals with selective mutism and the positive ways to handle the issue. Gender-identity is introduced about half way though the book, leading to a lot of story until you hit the main topic of discussion. The use of sign-language throughout was also really cool to see.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little Island Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I will give this 3.5 stars but rounded down as the style was hard for me to read and stick with.

Oh I just loved this book. I loved the Deepest Breath so I knew I had to read this one as soon as I saw it. I was not disappointed at all. It was such an easy read. There was anxiety, queer families, and nonbinary rep. The magic was so cool. I cannot wait to read more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this adorable queer MG!

I loved The Deepest Breath, so I was super excited to read this one. It was very cute and easy to read, introducing the idea of a non-binary character in a way that young middle grade readers will be able to understand. I loved the representation of anxiety/selective mutism, queer families, and non-binary kids. The lightly magical bookshop setting was adorable.

I absolutely loved this one. All of Meg Grehan’s books for young readers feel like a warm hug. They are lovely and compassionate tales that aim to include and empower young readers. I loved the subtle magic of the bookshop and the main character’s journey in supporting their sibling. Also love to see books in a two-mom household that mirror my future household. Will be recommending this one far and wide!

“‘I think maybe / We poured so much love and happiness and hope / Into it / We mixed it into the paint we put on the walls / The wood we built the shelves with / Into every book we chose to fill them with / And I think it knew / It felt it / And it wanted to show us love too / So it does / Every day’”.

📚🥺📖✨⚧️

They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but I was immediately drawn in when I saw the cover of The Lonely Book on NetGalley! It is such a sweet cover and it immediately conveys how warm and cozy the story inside is. I was also excited to see another book by Meg Grehan! I read one of her YA books, Baby Teeth, at the beginning of the year, and I adored it. 👏🏼

The Lonely Book is written in verse, and despite not being the largest poetry buff, I really, really enjoy novels in verse. Grehan’s writing style is lovely, and she captured Annie’s youthful and inquisitive spirit so nicely, and it was so clear how much love she held for her moms and Charlie, her older sibling. 🥰

I thought the choice to have Charlie’s coming out story be told through Annie’s eyes was really neat. I can see it being a really great way for young readers to work through their own understanding of non-binary identities! ⚧️

I of course LOVED that the setting of this story was a queer owned bookstore! The entire story took place either in the bookstore, or in the family’s apartment above it, and I thought that was so fun! I also deeply enjoyed the magical element of the story and how it emphasized how meaningful and even life-changing the right book can be for a person. 🪄

I pre-ordered this book as soon as I finished the ARC, and I am so excited to receive my copy! The Lonely Book comes out September 13th, and I would highly recommend y’all check it out! It was truly a wonderful read. Huge thanks to @megcathwrites, @littleislandbks, & @netgalley for giving me the chance to enjoy this book ahead of release!

Rating: 👑
👑new fav
💖loved it
👍🏻enjoyed it
🥱could take it or leave it
👎🏻not my cup of tea
❌DNF

🖼️ adorable cover art by Nene Lonergan (@literallyneongas) & Anna Morrison (@__anna__morrison__)

This book follows Annie, a young girl whos family owns a bookshop. The shop isn't like a regular bookshop though - it has a special magical ability to find books readers need and always places a stack of books on the counter that is all purchased by the end of the day. But at the start of our story we learn that the bookshop has placed a book in the stack that isn't purchased. This kicks off a whirlwind of strange behavior from the bookshop and stress with Annie's family.

I almost never read middle grade books so this was new to me but I loved the way this story was told. It's not always easy to approach the sometimes complex and confusing topic of gender identity with children and I loved how gentle this book was. Approaching this story through Annie's perspective meant we could look at this topic with a childlike curiosity. It wasn't overly complex, it wasn't scary, it was as simple as a child learning something new and adjusting their thinking. I think that's a beautiful way for a reader of any age to learn.

The book is written in verse, which was also somewhat unusual for me, but I actually really liked it. I was able to read it very quickly and the style helped me imagine the young perspective of Annie. I can imagine it's not for everyone but I think if you give yourself a few pages to adjust it's a really cool way to read.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and think it would be a great read for younger readers. But even adults could really benefit from this - it's a quick read and as a queer person it made my heart very happy!

A Hi-Lo novel written in verse about a magical bookshop and a little girl Annie who lives above it with her family. The books prose lacks interesting flow and meter, but I digress as I am an adult reader and this is a book I would recommend for ages 7-13.

It does a decently good job of presenting young readers with somewhat complex topics like gender-identity, anxiety disorders, and how to help people when they are sad. The sense of magical realism and simple verse will draw picky readers in.

I think that this book is well written and discusses a difficult topic in a clever way. This is the first time that I have ever read a novel written in verse, but it was very engaging and appropriate for middle grade readers. This book is a good way to introduce middle grade readers to the concepts of gender identity and non-binary. The magic of the bookshop and the lonely book in the story keep the reader wanting to know what will happen next. This book is a fairly quick read, and it is a book that is hard to put down once you open it. I think that this is a valuable book to have in any classroom or public library.

I think that there may be a typo in the book on page 23 where the book says “Mama and I go do the food shop.” I think it is supposed to say “Mamma and I go to the food shop.” Hopefully this can be confirmed by the author with the publisher before the book is published.

Thank you to Publisher Spotlight, Little Island Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a free copy of the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

<i>The Lonely Book</i> is a lovely little YA verse novel that takes place in a magical bookshop owned by an adorable, lovely little family. Its blurb tells the reader the main gist of the whole plot, but it was still a pleasant surprise to read my first novel in verse and see the other elements of the story gradually unfold. <i>The Lonely Book</i> will hopefully be a warm hug for anyone on their journey of self-discovery, and I can see myself recommending this to teens and other young patrons if my library decides to purchase it. The text itself is very accessible and simple to understand, but it carries deep meaning about giving yourself time and offering support to loved ones in various ways—whether you’re learning sign language for a family member or questioning your gender identity.

<i>The Lonely Book</i> is simply kind. I don’t know if I would have picked it up otherwise, but I’m glad I did. This was a very different kind of read for me but I’m glad I stumbled upon it, and that the publisher was willing to share this little gem with me. This is a great book to recommend to the young ones in your life, but I think it has some value for readers of any age.

This book was so sweet! It was a perfect little slice-of-life book with a touch of magical realism and a touching story to boot. It's definitely not just a book for younger people, either. As a queer adult, I found reading this book to be incredibly fulfilling.

Thank you to Little Island Books and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy of this book.

This book was so gentle--with the reader, with the characters, with the subject matter. Even though there was a deep ache for the "lonely" book to find it's reader, there was also deep comfort in the book. I've read pretty much everything by Meg Grehan and remain a fan.

Very cute and sweet! Annie’s love and care for her family and their home and the love her family had for each other was so heartwarming.

Having the book from Annie’s perspective instead of Charlie’s made it interesting, watching someone come into their identity from the outside is not how a book like this would usually go.

This book is in verse though, which I’m not a huge fan of, but I think this could be one of my exceptions to the rule, like Starfish.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

This novel has a really cute premise, following a little girl who lives above her family's magical bookstore with her sibling and their two moms. I loved how the magic of the store worked and how it was affected throughout the novel.
The representation throughout the novel was refreshing to see, especially through the eyes of a child who is curious and eager to learn more and be accepting. I think the author did a wonderful job portraying anxiety and selective mutism as well as positive ways that a character and their family can cope with going nonverbal that doesn't boil down to "fixing" them.
Overall, this was a cute young reader novel. The verse style of the writing was an adjustment because I don't typically read poetry or anything written in verse, but I think it works for the story.

Thank toy NetGalley and Little Island Books for access to the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.