🔥 Book Review 🔥

Chilling, creepy, and unpredictable. Helena Echlin did a fabulous job portraying the complexities of motherhood. I would describe this novel as a mom drama with underlying tones of darkness and creepy vibes.

What I really enjoyed in this one was trying to understand the dynamics between Charlotte and her child Stella. Wondering is Stella possessed or is Charlotte having psychosis and a mental health episode or episodes?

Loved the themes of:

Child behaviors
Mystery and suspense
Mental health
Marriage/motherhood
Twists and unpredictability
Supernatural

I overall enjoyed this one but my only issue was the slow burn. I really struggle with slow burn anything haha.

I also felt it was missing something. I think if it had that final zing and twist for me I would have rated it higher.

3/5

Thank you for the publisher for my copy.

After seeing this book be compared to The Push, I was excited to get my eyes in it because I loved how disturbing that one was. This was not that. It started out fairly strong and then rapidly declined. The little girl on the spectrum, the chaotic expectant mother who can’t cope, the absentee dad and the kind of bizarre nanny who up and quits one day without explanation and then is found dead shortly thereafter. Soon they start noticing strange behavior in their daughter, who the mother is convinced is being possessed by the dead nanny. Yep, you read that right.
There are some trigger warnings as well including rape and it didn’t deliver the suspense I was looking for that The Push brought.
Maybe some will enjoy this but j was not one of them.
Thanks to Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

At first I worried this was going to be really similar to The Push, but it was different! I was on the edge of my seat and also super angry at the stupid husband!!

Clever Little Thing by Helena Echlin is one of the most unsettling, gripping psychological thrillers I’ve read in a long time. It’s eerie, thought-provoking, and impossible to put down.

Charlotte’s daughter, Stella, has always been different—brilliant, difficult, and socially awkward. But after their babysitter Blanka suddenly dies, Stella changes overnight. The tantrums stop. She becomes sweet, agreeable… but also eerily similar to Blanka. She mimics her speech, picks up her mannerisms, and even craves the same foods—ones she’s never eaten before.

Charlotte, exhausted from pregnancy and drowning in paranoia, becomes convinced that Blanka hasn’t really left—that she’s still here, inside Stella. But is this real, or is Charlotte losing her grip on reality? Her husband thinks she’s imagining things, but Charlotte knows one thing for sure: something is very, very wrong.

This book messes with your head in the best way. It’s psychological suspense with a hint of the supernatural, making you question everything. Is it possession? Trauma? Something even darker? If you love thrillers that blur the lines between reality and horror, dive into motherhood anxiety, and keep you turning pages late into the night, Clever Little Thing is a must-read. Haunting, tense, and unforgettable. 🔥📚✨

DNF at 52%
I tried reading this book on my kindle and on audio, unfortunately it just did not stick for me.

this just did not seem to have a fast enough plot line for my taste, I did not care about the characters.

Definitely creepy, twisty and odd. This was a slow burn, with a decent payoff although it takes quite a while to get there.

I never knew what to think or who to trust in this book, which usually makes for a good thriller. In this instance I was feeling more confusion than suspense the majority of the time. Maybe “possession” stories just aren’t for me.

The ending was layered and twisty and what you want in a thriller but I would have loved more of that vibe up front. I would classify this as a “family drama thriller” as it had elements of both.

All in all an average read, with much of what you would want in a thriller. Just didn’t go all the way for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

This book had me full of intrigue right from the beginning, as the now and then timeline unravel and intricate web of errie vibes and secrets. So much is going on in the novel complete with an unreliable narrator. At times you just don’t know who to trust and what “story” is actually happening. Mysterious and sometimes supernatural. Vibes get your mind thinking crazy things. The author pulled this book together so well and the ending tied everything up so well! This is definitely one I’d recommend

Thank you Pamela Dorman Books for this gifted finished copy!

“Every mother goes a little bit crazy in her own particular way.”

Clever Little Thing delicately balances the line of horror, thriller and paranormal suspense. It is easily one of the most unique books I’ve read. Think Orphan or Ashley Audrain’s The Push. But bump it up a notch.

Despite me being on the edge of my seat, there was also an endearing side to this book. Stella is autistic. Wild, free from the confines of society’s expectations. Bright. Full. Bold. That can be difficult, but there is a special love and acceptance that comes with having a child with autism. Stella reminded me of my five year old. Firm and stubborn in his preferences. Self assured in his field of hyperfixation. And I saw myself in Charlotte, fiercely protecting her child so she could continue to be her authentic self without any sense of masking.

Some days will break your soul. That’s parenthood. But it feels like the burden is heavier some days when your child is different. Some days I, too, wish for a quiet and pliable child who does what I ask them the first time, and without a complete meltdown. But when you see your beautiful and bright child change, some days you start hoping for the defiance and the meltdowns to return. Mother knows best, and Charlotte definitely notices when Stella isn’t her usual self.

Clever Little Thing is equal parts trying to solve this mystery of what freaky thing is going on, while deeply soul searching and staying true to your instincts. It worked. It was thought provoking and made me emotional at times. It was a deeply layered and intelligent book, and I truly could not look away from its pages. You’re going to want to read this one.

I absolutely LOVE the cover and the premise of this book! This novel follows a family: Charlotte, Pete, and their daughter, Stella. Charlotte is pregnant with their second child and struggling with the sickness and exhaustion that come with pregnancy. When their babysitter, Blanka dies, Stella starts exhibiting very strange behaviors... behaviors that are strikingly similar to Blanka. Is Stella just a clever little thing, processing her feelings about Blanka's death? Or is it something more sinister?

While there were some things about this book that just didn't work for me (it was quite a bit fatphobic, I found Charlotte's internal dialogue hard to follow and very disjoined), I would still recommend you pick this up if you like: possible possession stories, creepy/weird kid stories, and/or is it paranormal or not? vibes.

This was a really good book a little magic, a little mystery, a little psychological thrill, a little family saga. Mother's and daughters was a major theme in this book, and all the back and forth of those relationships were represented. The writing was good and the characters were all well developed even the supporting cast. The pacing was fast.

I decided to read this book on a whim and am so glad I did -- it was really compelling, unsettling, and falls in to one of my favorite categories of books -- unsettling books about motherhood.

Charlotte is a very endearing character, and a completely unreliable narrator -- which I love. It was hard to know what was real in this book, and I enjoyed that about it. I also loved the little bits of etiquette that are woven in to the book.

This book is very fast paced and I found myself unable to put it down -- I had to know what was going on!

I am very excited to check out more by Helena Echlin in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I did not connect with this book at all. It tells the story of a mother and her (likely autistic) young daughter. After her daughter’s nanny dies, the daughter starts acting strange (less autistic) and the mother sets out to figure out what is going on.

SUCH A GOOD BOOK!! i definitely think that stella had overheard blanca and the dad and was just acting that way but my god for someone who doesn’t want to be a mom (me), i sure do love twisted books about motherhood.

I really wasn't sure what to make of this novel for at least the first half of it (maybe longer). Charlotte is the epitome of an unreliable narrator, which is something I love in a book, so I stuck with it even though normally when I feel this ambivalent about a book I DNF pretty quickly. I ended up really liking the second half and I'm glad I stuck with it. The ending packs a punch and delivers a huge payoff to the reader, and to the characters. I know that the reader is supposed to feel distrustful of Charlotte, but I believed her, and I was so interested to find out what was really going on with Stella. There's a lot in this novel about being a parent, especially a mother, and about that mother's instinct where the parent just KNOWS something is off with their child, even when everyone else is unable to see it. I do think the book was much slower than it needed to be, especially in the first half, and Echlin could have ramped up the tension a lot sooner than she did. That said, I am glad I hung around to get to the ending.

This was honestly such a mind bender of a book. Multiple times I questioned was this real, possession, some kind of mental health crisis. As a mother, you always feel so in tune with your instincts and just know something is off with your child. It was truly unsettling in so many ways because you just can’t pin point what was happening. It breaks your heart as a mom. This was chilling, gripping, and I couldn’t stop flipping the pages.

I was certainly entertained by this unusual psychological thriller that sometimes borders on creepy. The character development wasn’t bad but I still felt like the main characters were hard to figure out. The eight year old, Stella was a real mystery and the author did a great job of making the reader question what was creating the changes in her. Was she influenced by her autism characteristics or really possessed by the deceased babysitter or had she witnessed a trauma? Charlotte and Irina seemed to change so much throughout the book that it sometimes felt like whiplash although I liked both characters. I found it interesting that the author alluded to both Charlotte and her deceased mother as possibly also being on the autism spectrum. It would certainly explain some of Charlotte’s behaviors which were more than frustrating. And Pete - no spoilers but he really seemed like a jerk from the beginning. While I think that the book wrapped up a little too quickly, I was kept guessing and was entertained throughout and the way that Charlotte regained control towards the end of the book was a really creative piece of writing.

Interesting story about a mother doing her best to protect her child. Excellent twist at the end. I wish there was more suspense, but overall a good read.

Clever Little Thing got me in a hold and it wouldn’t let go!

I honestly did not want to put this one down. I think part of it was because I was SO uncomfortable for the majority of this book. I’ll admit I do not love an unreliable narrator as I can’t ever tell what is real and what is not. That being said, i definitely wanted to keep reading so that I could know what was going on.

The last 10% definitely shocked me and while I guessed part of it, most of it was really surprising. I really enjoyed this one overall!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

This story was unique and suspenseful! It features an anti-social, highly intelligent child named Stella who gives off some creepy vibes. After learning that her former babysitter has mysteriously died, I was drawn into the plot immediately. Mom Charlotte has issues of her own; she's pregnant with severe morning sickness, is anxious about some recent changes in her daughter's behavior, and struggling to fit in with the mom group at Stella's school. Charlotte also feels guilty that she didn't get to know Stella's nanny Blanka very well, and tries to mend fences with Blanka's mother Irina. There are cultural differences that challenge their new friendship, though Charlotte feels she owes it to lonely and grieving Irina to allow her to spend time with Stella. Things get complicated quickly, and soon Charlotte is making some risky decisions to figure out what is going on with Stella.

I love a book with an odd child and unstable mother. This one had some twists that truly surprised me, and though a few were over the top, I was hooked. I loved the friction and eventual friendship between Irina and Charlotte, and the ambiguous parts of the ending.