Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth follows reclusive author Libby, diagnosed with early-onset dementia, and 11-year-old superfan Peanut, who seeks to uncover her birth parents' identity. The novel beautifully explores themes of identity, loss, family, and resilience, with a creative narrative style and a respectful portrayal of dementia.

3.5 stars

Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth introduces us to Libby Weeks, the famous author of a popular fantasy book series called The Falling Children who writes under a pen name. Her diehard fans are anxiously awaiting the release of the final book in the series, The problem is that Libby has just been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's in her 40s and is struggling to complete the book. She finds an 11 year old super fan named Peanut to help her finish the series. There was a little bit of everything in this book - excerpts of The Falling Children, a little mystery over who Peanuts parents were, a little magic and a bit of fantasy. It did grow harder to tell which parts were the book excerpts and which were really happening to Libby. This was to portray that her mind wasn't to be trusted, I believe. I thought the writing was fabulous, the story was moving and captivating, and what's not to love about books within books, books about books, books about authors, etc.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I thought the premise of this book sounded really interesting but sadly it just didn’t work for me.

This book wasn’t bad but it just didn’t captivate me. I found myself a bit bored with it and uninterested in both story lines. It felt repetitive and I didn’t enjoy the book within the book.

I am trying to be better at DNFing books I am not enjoying so I stopped this one at the 25% mark.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I really struggled with this book. It opens with heaviness as when we meet Libby, our protagonist and a prolific author under a pseudonym, she is already losing herself. I wish I had the opportunity to know her before her early onset dementia took over. When she travels south to get ideas for her final book from her biggest fan, we meet the Bixon clan and with the mix between fantasy and reality due to the interspersed passages from the books, I’m afraid that was where things started to fall apart for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth!

Stephanie Booth has created two first-rate FMC's in Libby Lost and Found, and I'm predicting that readers will be begging for more of their adventures. This book is difficult to describe and summarize so I'll leave you with this; Libby Lost and Found is about readers and writers and the love they have for one another and the printed word. I loved it and highly recommend it!

Started out so good...the author of the wildly popular YA series has dementia and can't finish her last book ... and contacts a young fan who she thinks can help, But the last part, I don't know, just wasn't as satisfying as I would have liked.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

I felt like this was a trauma dumped on the reader. Why was it so depressing??? I must say this was a very different read from my standard. The writing style kept me engaged, but the whole time I was asking myself why I was continuing to finish it lol

I had to DNF this book/audiobook at 71%. It was really confusing for me. The switching between Libby and Peanut, along with the blur between the events in the book and what's happening in real life, made it hard to follow. I also got mixed up with some of the characters, not sure if they were part of the book or actually in Libby and Peanut's real world. I tried to push through, but I just couldn’t finish.

I saw this book had mixed reviews and for that reason I put off reading it. What a mistake that was! Libby Lost and Found is wonderful! Stephanie Booth wrote an intriguing story. Libby is a children’s author trying to complete a book while struggling with a dementia diagnosis. She turns to help from an unlikely person. I would highly recommend this book!

Thanks for the opportunity to read!

When I first heard about LIBBY LOST AND FOUND, I was excited to read it, but I found it very hard to get through, dreading the hour each day that I had committed to reading it. I felt there was too much of the story line from THE FALLEN CHILDREN weaved into what could have been a wonderful story line without it. It was very hard for me to follow and I didn’t enjoy it at all. That being said, don’t let my review deter you. There are readers for every book and this could be the right book for you.

I appreciate the chance Sourcebooks Landmark gave me to read this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I struggled with this story and almost didn't finish it. I found it confusing to read the portions of the Falling Children story within this story - what was Libby's life vs what was in the last story. I did like Peanut and her life story, how she struggled thru adolescence but really wanted to help Libby finish the story.. The ending was a lot to process, not sure if I liked it or not.

Beautiful writing and creative storytelling in this debut. I struggled with the length and characters, though. It felt a bit long and the characters a bit too quirky.

This book was surprisingly delightful! I enjoyed it and have recommended it to my followers. Thank you so much for sending it to me!

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth. I had a hard time getting into this, and did not finish it. I tried a few times, because the premise of Libby, a children's book author who has dementia and trying to finish her last book, is appealing to me. But for some reason, I couldn't get through it. Possibly in the future? So sadly this was a DNF for me.

This book is about Libby's Life-

A successful children's fantasy author who's life is turned upside down when she is a victim of her own mind. Libby finds herself experiencing early-onset dementia and unable to write anymore.

In an attempt to save her craft, she enlists the help of Peanut Brixon, her biggest fan who happens to be an eleven year old girl. While I appreciated the story line in this book, the story inside of the story was a miss for me. With that being said, I did enjoy the real life look into the struggles of dementia, that I feel many readers can connect with.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

*Libby Lost and Found* follows Libby Weeks, a best-selling fantasy author diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, as she struggles to finish her final book before her memory slips away. Desperate for help, she turns to eleven-year-old superfan Peanut Bixton, but as Libby’s dementia deepens and Peanut’s secrets surface, their collaboration hurtles toward a shocking and life-altering conclusion.

I wanted so badly for this book to go in the opposite direction than what it did. I was SO in it from the start. My heart melted for Libby. I wanted the world for Peanut and her family. I so badly wanted real villains and not just bullies. I guess I am just mad that the book was too darn realistic. The first 60% of the book? Loved. When the crushing reality of the premise set in, I was more than lost - I was angry.

3/5 stars. It’s decent, but you’ll probably be just as mad as I was that this didn’t slant fantasy.

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an interesting book and premise. I enjoyed the story and the way it played out. Secretly, Libby is the best-selling author of a global phenomenon, a children's fantasy series so popular that some are willing to pay thousands to learn her identity. Thankfully, that secret is locked tight — until Libby's own mind begins to crumble. Experiencing the first struggles of early-onset dementia, Libby finds herself no longer able to craft new adventures for her beloved characters, despite high demand for the long-overdue final book. With no support network in sight, Libby travels to the hometown of her biggest fan, eleven-year-old Peanut, hoping that she can help Libby finish the story.
Walking in Libby's shoes and feeling her confusion was such a great perspective for the reader. That said, I did feel that there was a little too much background left unaddressed — the trauma of Peanut's childhood, and Libby's reasons for her reclusive life.

All in all, a very strong debut effort, and I look forward to reading more from Booth in the future. Thank you to NetGalley, and Stephanie Booth for providing an advance digital copy.

I enjoyed this book well enough. I was invested in Libby's journey with her dementia and how she was going to finish her book. I liked Peanut, she is spunky. As much as I was invested in the book I felt a disconnect because of not knowing the characters in the books within the book, if that makes any sense. I will have to try and read it again at a later date, maybe I will have a different take. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.