Thank you Penguin Group Viking and Pamela Dorman Books for this advance copy. I think this is going to be a very much talked about book that will be a hit with many readers, but it just isn’t for me. Neurodivergent children are a tricky subject for me personally and I struggle with the portrayal here. I’m also not a huge fan of supernatural elements in stories. Overall, it is too dark for my reading taste. I appreciate the chance to review this title and I wish this author and this book much success.

I wish I could say I loved this one. I expected to love it based on the premise. But... it just did not work for me.

Charlotte was very unlikeable for me. I couldn't understand her actions. I'm not a mother, so maybe that's part of why, but she was so confusing and inconsistent that I don't think that's entirely the reason. Why is she so unable to give her child room to breathe?

Conversations were stilted. The plot didn't flow. The twists were unbelievable.



A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Wow! Clever Little Thing by Helena Echlin had me completely captivated—I was up all night reading it! I even found myself sneaking in chapters on my phone while waiting in theme park queues because I just couldn’t put it down.

The story masterfully kept me guessing, balancing perfectly between the supernatural and what could be real. The twists and turns were so engaging that I found myself questioning everything alongside the characters. By the end, the resolution was not only entertaining but also managed to nudge my cynical mind into satisfaction.

What a fantastic rollercoaster of a read—if you’re looking for a thrilling and unpredictable book, this one is a must!

Stella is not like other 8 year old girls. She is difficult, has sensory issues, major meltdowns, extremely gifted at reading, but lacks social skills especially interacting with kids her age. Her mother Charlotte knows this and is thrilled when Stella hits it off with her nanny Blanka. Until one day Blanka quits out of the blue. Then Charlotte finds out Blanka dies a few days later. Suddenly, Stella seems almost normal. Well, not quite normal but more like....Blanka herself - including unique phrases she used to say and a ravenous appetite for an unusual meat stew only Blanka ate. Charlotte begins to unravel as she becomes obsessed with Stella's changing behavior but is Charlotte simply losing her grip on reality?

Woah! Very cool concept and unique premise. This is my first time reading this author and I was hooked from the start. I was fascinated with Blanka, her mother Irina, and Stella. I had to know what was going on and why Stella was acting how she was. Some parts were admittedly weird (I see you "party pooper" and the relationship between Charlotte and Irina) but it worked and really set the stage for how things shook out. While there were no real jaw dropping twists, I found I loved the way it all unfolded and to me it didn't need a crazy twist to make it still be a major page turning read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review. Great book!

Once this gets going, I did find it to be a slower burn, it really gets its teeth into you and you can't put it down. I found it to be as sharp and cunning as described!

CLEVER LITTLE THING
Helena Echlin

There is something terribly wrong with Stella. Stella is Charlotte's daughter. Charlotte is expecting her second child. She is pregnant and has an aversion to different types of foods, and different types of smells, and recently she has an aversion to her daughter.

Stella is peculiar. Bright beyond her years with a few aversions of her own, Stella isn’t always easy to handle. And when her babysitter/nanny dies Stella’s nature and affect seemingly change overnight. Where before she was stuck in her ways, obstinate and stubborn, she is now appeasing, flexible and forgiving.

Presumably easier to be around, it alarms Charlotte more than eases her. What could be the cause of Stella’s transformation? The answer to the question is far more nefarious than Charlotte realizes.

We get to explore the depths of Charlotte’s questioning, and we get to discover the answer alongside her. All in Helena Echlin’s CLEVER LITTLE THING. Coming next week.

A little darker than I anticipated. A lot more fun than should be allowed. I enjoyed the time I spent reading CLEVER LITTLE THING. Charlotte is a wildly interesting character, her daughter more so. The writing is great and there is a bit of old-world styling that makes it feel like it is a folktale and not a contemporary thriller.

I recommend this title to those who enjoy Ashley Audrain’s writing and Sager’s popular release, THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE.

I am very surprised this is a debut, and I will check out what Echlin writes next.

Thanks to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking | Pamela Dorman Books for the advanced copy!

CLEVER LITTLE THING…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stella has always been a brilliant, but slightly odd child. After the death of her babysitter though, Stella’s entire personality changes. Her mom Charlotte is pregnant with her second child and the changes in Stella have her incredibly concerned. The only problem is that nobody else believes this is an issue…

I love books with creepy kids! I don’t know what that says about me…but it is what it is! Stella was so clearly a completely different child and it drove me nuts that everyone acted like Charlotte was crazy. but hey, where there is scary child there always has to be crazy mom at fault right? ::insert eye rolls:: This book kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going on with Stella, what was going to happen to Charlotte, and what Blanka’s death had done to start this turn of events. If you like creepy kids, look no further than Clever Little Thing!

Thank you to @pameladormanbooks for my gifted copy of this book!

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I honestly don’t know where to start because from the description alone, I thought I would absolutely devour this. The trope was interesting and the beginning of the book kept me entertained, but the rest of the story was all over the place. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters and wasn’t invested in the conclusion.

Cleve Little Thing by Helena Echlin is a chilling psychological thriller that delves into the raw edges of maternal fear and the blurred lines between reality and the supernatural. When Charlotte's once-difficult daughter, Stella, transforms overnight into a haunting mirror of her deceased babysitter, Blanka, Charlotte is thrown into a spiral of obsession and doubt. As Stella begins to mimic Blanka’s mannerisms and cravings, Charlotte's growing paranoia isolates her from her husband, raising questions about whether the cause is supernatural possession or her own unraveling mind. Echlin’s taut prose masterfully balances eerie suspense with a sharp critique of caregiving and motherhood. This gripping, goosebump-inducing tale will linger with readers long after its shocking climax.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about this book, so I’m giving it 3⭐️. It’s a psychological thriller that deals with mental health and autism. The first 2/3 of the book were a little slow, and then the last third has so much crammed into it that I was on the edge of my seat. But, overall I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as I wanted to. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

This was a unique story that I really enjoyed! I loved the plot twists and I couldn’t put this book down! It is faced paced and perfect for readers who enjoyed The Push!

Charlotte’s daughter Stellah is insanely smart. She has a nanny that she really likes, even though Charlotte isn’t too impressed. One day, her nanny Blanca stops by to collect her check. Charlotte isn’t home so her husband takes care of it. Then Charlotte learns Blanca won’t be back again and later finds out she died in a freak hot tub accident. This is where things start getting weird. Her daughter starts behaving differently. Once gifted and difficult, she is now calm and doesn’t seem to remember things she used to. She starts mirroring Blanca’s personality. Has Stellah become Blanca?

This book was a twist with originality and a bit like the push, but with a hint of originality. This book was a twist with originality and a bit like the push, but with a hint of originality.

HUGE thank you to Viking Books for the ARC!

Books with creepy kids? Yes, sign me up!

I thought this was one was creepy and enjoyable! I usually am not a fan of books dealing with the supernatural, but this wasn't too over the top for me. I was surprised by the ending but also left wishing for just a little bit more!

Overall, I think this will still be a big hit for many!

3.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads

This is a “creepy kid” book that definitely sounded so intriguing. It was a slow burn for me but I still was able to enjoy the suspense of the plot. Charlotte is the mother of 8 year old Stella and is expecting her next child. Stella has behavioral issues but yet seems so smart. Charlotte has a hard time dealing with these problems. After the death of Stella's nanny, Blanka, she begins to act in control and more well behaved, almost taking on the familiar traits of Blanka. Charlotte is baffled at what is going on with her daughter. This one started out strong for me but then fell flat throughout the rest of it. I would still check out this author in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one’! Charlotte as a main character in was well rounded which i appreciated. I binged this book in a day because of the twists and turns! I love mysteries and thrillers so this one was great!

This was a highly enjoyable “mom noir” thriller, and one of my favorite takes on the genre so far!

Charlotte is in tune with the usual turbulence of her daughter, Stella. Stella’s fierce intelligence, her sensory issues, her emotional outbursts, these things form the rhythm of Charlotte’s days. So when, following the sudden death of her babysitter, Stella becomes increasingly bland and docile, Charlotte knows there’s something wrong. As the pregnant mother grapples with these strange goings on, she becomes increasingly isolated from those around her, and it becomes harder and harder to tell reality from perception.

I’m a sucker for a book about the overwhelming nature of motherhood. Whether it’s biology or societal expectations or both, there’s a unique composition to the relationship between a mother and child, and the emotions involved are intense. This was a gripping exploration of those feelings. The story lives in the gray spaces between fact and fancy, right and wrong, paranormal and mundane.

While not a perfect book, there were moments that didn’t click for me as perfectly as others, I found it completely compelling. I literally couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended for readers of the genre!

Helena Echlin’s debut psychological thriller Clever Little Thing is a total mind-trip of a book. It’s reminiscent of Baby Teeth and The Push in some of its general plot points, but it kept me unsettled the entire time because I never knew what was going to happen next.

I don’t want to summarize too much of the plot – and I beg you to avoid the blurb from the publisher! – because it’s best to go into this one blind, but here are a few basics: Charlotte and Pete are happily married with a precocious daughter named Stella and a baby on the way. Stella is a brilliant but challenging child, prone to bouts of aggression and violence when she gets upset. But when Stella’s babysitter Blanka suddenly dies, Stella’s personality begins to change…

And that’s all I’ll say about the plot, but trust me when I tell you that Clever Little Thing surprised me at every turn. It’s so refreshing to read a psychological thriller that really lives up to both words in the genre: This book is written with the frenetic, propulsive pace of a thriller, but it also really wormed its way into some dark recess of my brain that made me feel so uneasy and so genuinely concerned for the characters. The use of first-person POV works so well for this story, immersing readers in Charlotte’s state of mind: her spiraling thoughts and fears and desperation. Third trimester pregnancy and early motherhood are such fraught, stressful, overwhelming times for women already, so placing the events of this story around that period of Charlotte’s life added another level of emotional complexity.

There’s also thoughtful commentary about neurodivergence and the importance of parental advocacy, the immigrant experience, gaslighting, and complicated family dynamics, all integrated into an original, suspenseful examination of motherhood and relationships. Clever Little Thing is such an impressive debut, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for Helen Echlin. Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books for the early reading opportunity.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC for "Clever Little Thing" by Helena Echlin - This book was pretty good but had some moments where I didn't just love it. I do look forward to reading other books by this author!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Clever Little Thing by Helena Echlin is a first person-POV dual-timeline psychological paranormal mystery. Charlotte and Pete are raising their young daughter Stella and taking her preferences and needs one day at a time. When Stella’s nanny Blanka suddenly quits and Stella begins to behave differently, Charlotte starts to believe that Blanka has taken over Stella’s body.

This book was hard to read at times for several reasons. Like Charlotte’s mother, I struggle with depression, and like Charlotte's daughter, I have Autism. Charlotte is extremely resistant to the idea of Stella having Autism despite all the signs being there that she should at least get testing so the proper accomodations can be lined up if they are needed. While I understand Charlotte’s feelings in regards to her mother because her mother was emotionally neglectful (as was my own at times), I also felt like Charlotte really struggled to understand the weight of her mother's mental health issues. It's a bit like being in the head of someone who is neurotypical but so many of the most important people in their life are neurodivergent and yet they still refuse to actually listen. In that way, it is realistic; I think many people know of that parent who refuses to accept that their child needs extra attention in some ways and won't develop the same as ‘the other kids,’ but it can also make you want to shake Charlotte until she understands how her stubbornness in this regard is not helping her child in the long term.

All of that leads into what I really like: despite Charlotte's resistance to getting Stella tested, she knows her daughter extremely well. She knows what level Stella is reading at, what her special interests are, she knows how much her daughter talks and what makes her have a meltdown. These are all signs of an attentive parent who is trying their best and in the context of the story, it lets Charlotte see when Stella starts to act strangely. Pete and several others either cannot see or want to believe that Stella is growing out of being a picky eater or that her new desire to stay far away from her father is because she's getting older. Charlotte knows that can't be the case because it happened overnight and certain things are too close to how Blanka behaved.

These two things together create a theme that I would love to see explored more in fiction: do mothers always know best and when and where do we draw the line? Charlotte can be right about her daughter’s change in behavior but completely wrong about her daughter potentially being Autistic. She can be a gentle parent because of the ways her mother abused her but also judgmental of others and refuse to accept their help. Two things can be true at the same time and sometimes we are doing pretty good with what we're given but maybe we can do better.

Content warning for brief descriptions of sexual assault, brief mentions of emotional neglect, and depictions of psychological abuse, and mentions of the Baku pogrom

I would recommend this to fans of the psychological thriller/paranormal mystery blended space and readers who are interested in a character like Charlotte

Oh yes, I really enjoyed this book. It was a very nice blend of horror, thriller, paranormal mystery, and family drama.

Charlotte and Pete’s 8-year-old daughter Stella can be a bit challenging. It’s pretty obvious to the reader that she’s on the autism spectrum, but Mom Charlotte isn’t ready to handle that diagnosis yet, due to some childhood trauma of her own. When Stella’s entire personality completely changes, Charlotte is determined to get to the bottom of it….even if it means the supernatural may be involved.

I thought this book had some creepy moments in it, and was very suspenseful.