Thank you to NetGalley & Pamela Dorman Books for the chance to read this book!

OMFG I LOVED IT I LOVED IT I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT- CAN YOU TELL !?


& A Clever little thing she was ! I CANNOT rate this book high enough, I wish i could give it 10 stars! I loved it all the way through, every second of it I was scrolling through the pages as fast as I could to get more of Stella & Charlotte's Story!! As someone who knows what it's like to have a "different" kind of daughter this kept me hooked the whole way through sympathizing with Charlotte's struggles as Stella's mom, her not fitting in with others, not being able to give her the love and affection so she desperately wants to give as a mother. ugggh It was all so real in my mind! I'm not usually one to read the type of books this one turned into But I AM SO GLAD i took the chance on this one!!! This has got to be the best book of 2025 For me! The cover is also so beautiful the different shades of paint, the way it's so simple yet so beautiful and eye catching at the same time!

So glad I took a chance on NetGalley I'm finding so many great new authors!! If you have NetGalley go get this one right away, and if you don't get a chance get it as soon as it comes out on January 14, 2025 I Promise you it'll be worth every penny!!

An obsessive mother and a very difficult young daughter. Is the mother going off the rails or is there really a problem that only she can see? What about the perfect husband and father? Is he really so great? And the young babysitter who mysteriously quits and then dies. A very unlikely unraveling to what seems like a normal family. Enjoyed the twist and the ending. Thanks to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for an advance read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy.
Charlotte’s daughter, Stella, is a brilliant young child who starts to suddenly change after the death of her babysitter, Blanka. Multiple oddities concern Charlotte but not so much Stella’s dad Pete , who uses this an opportunity to get Charlotte out of the picture. Through more twists and turns than I can count, this was the thriller I’ve been waiting to read.

SYNOPSIS
- Charlotte and Pete have a happy marriage, an academically gifted yet socially awkward 8-year-old daughter, Stella, and another baby on the way.
- When Stella’s beloved babysitter, Blanka, dies unexpectedly, Stella begins to change.
- As Stella’s personality begins to change, Charlotte questions everything she thought she knew about her daughter...

MY THOUGHTS
- Helen Echlin’s Clever Little Thing is a gripping read with frenetic, fast pacing.
- Similar reads: The Push by Ashley Audrain, My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon, Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage, and The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry.
- It’s a blend of paranormal suspense and psychological thriller.
- The first-person POV is particularly effective, pulling readers deep into Charlotte’s unraveling psyche as her fears and desperation take center stage. Echlin’s writing is sharp and atmospheric, capturing both the warmth of maternal love and the dread of something lurking beneath the surface.
- What sets this novel apart is its open-ended twists, leaving much up to the reader’s interpretation. This ambiguity is the reason I gave this book 4 stars.
- The story is unsettling, haunting, and perfectly suited to fans of stories with unreliable narrators, “creepy kid” tropes, gaslighting, family secrets, parental advocacy, and motherhood noir.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐⭐️⭐️ A fast-paced, suspenseful dive into family secrets, motherhood, and creeping dread. Perfect for fans of The Push and Baby Teeth, with open-ended twists.

Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Viking | Pamela Dorman Books & Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on January 14, 2025.

This psychological thriller will give you goosebumps and food for thought. When it was compared to The Push, I hoped I would be all in, but I'm still thinking about it. This book hits on the uncomfortable highlights of pregnancy and the worry that comes with being a parent. Sometimes it was overwhelming and slow as Charlotte, the mother, spiraled out of control with her thoughts and obsession. Her daughter, Stella, only 8 years old, exhibits odd behaviors mirroring her deceased babysitter. Her eating habits, speech, behavior and oddities were like a possession of her body by Blanka, the sitter. The husband thought Charlotte was losing her mind and seeing what couldn't possibly be happening. He was thrilled that his daughter went from extreme behavior problems to decent behavior and speech.
I made up my mind halfway through the book and even put it aside not wanting to finish. I plowed through and glad I did for the page-turning and epic ending. I think it will be a huge hit for many readers and maybe I should go forth with the audio to see a different side. This writer no doubt is full of talent when the premise was creative and bizarre.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking/ Pamela Dorman Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

A slow burn mystery thriller. At first while this story was unfolding, I kept being reminded of The Push thanks to Stella's general creepy aura; after a while the slow pacing made me wish that I was rereading that book, which left such a lasting impression on me. However, there ultimately ended up being enough here to set it apart from that one, even if it wasn't anywhere as exciting or satisfying by direct comparison. Although many of the plot developments were interesting, none of them felt completely surprising or unexpected, some telegraphed in advance. Echlin plays a bit with making Charlotte an unreliable narrator, and I often found myself frustrated with the choices that she made. While this was an intriguing tale, it never grabbed me enough to become a page-turner that I couldn't put down.

I love a mother/daughter story. In this one we are following after the death of a babysitter, Stella can be quite sensitive, but she is also brilliant and her mom is growing more and more concerned with her behaviors.

That is all that you should know before going into this book, as I think it will be more enjoyable if you don't know. However, it very much gives the push and baby teeth vibes, so if you do not like those books, I would skip this one. However, if you did like those books, this is a must read!!

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for my early e-arc.

CLEVER LITTLE THING
BY: HELENA ECHLIN

"CLEVER LITTLE THING," by Helena Echlin was a slow going story that overall turned out to be a compelling story that shows how gifted her imagination is. The idea for this novel is highly unique and original among psychological thrillers and the mystery genre that is haunting and one that I don't think I'll forget for a very long time. However brilliant and talented I think the author is at crafting a memorable and extraordinary premise, hence my four star rating, the pacing was slow and took finishing this to realize how much ingenuity it took to write this. This is going to sound contradictory to what I have said above, it took me longer to appreciate this because it suffered from what I thought was too much of Charlotte, the narrator's, obsessive inner musings for at least the first 40%. I don't have a problem with slower pacing if the story telling pulls me into what I'm reading. This narrative was mostly a slog since it failed to stimulate my mind since I got the message of what the author was trying to convey a lot sooner, and I remember how I felt while reading this that I got the point right away. Let's hope that I'm an outlier, and I did notice mostly five star ratings with a couple of three stars when I came to this website to post my review. I don't check how other reviewers felt about books only a couple of instances out of all my experience being on Net Galley. Since I have mixed feelings about this one which I predict this to be a Best Seller to lovers of this genre once it's published.

Maybe it was the author's intent by making the reader believe that Charlotte suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder, or psychosis, and if it was I got the message much sooner, and didn't enjoy reading about how unbalanced she seemed for so long. As ingenious as I thought the premise was, I think that this isn't a novel that I plan to reread in the future or revisit again. It wasn't eerie or chilling as I expected it to be. I also knew what lengths a mother will go to protect her child since I'm a mother myself. I could tell how special and how powerful that your feelings are towards the overwhelming connection you have with giving birth for the first time. How perfect and intense that bond is and the overwhelming worry it is to witness that child having to experience what actually causes the parent more distress than than the child who doesn't seem to be bothered by it. My first born developed Type I Diabetes, when he was six years old. How I worried about his health at seeing my son had already had a love for things like candy, and Coca Cola before he developed this autoimmune disease. I was worried throughout his young life until he was an adult. That is no comparison for Charlotte's legitimate worry about witnessing the transformation of her eight year- old daughter Stella, take on more and more of her deceased babysitter, Blanka's, characteristics. But it took that long at the revelation of her thinking that Stella might be possessed by Blanka, for me to become invested in wanting to keep reading. That's why I deducted a star.

Charlotte is suffering from having 24/7 morning sickness from her second pregnancy, and she slowly sees her once disruptive, antisocial daughter Stella, have a drastic change to her personality. She once had sensory issues where things like hearing the sound of water running for her bath bothered her so much she needed the bathroom door shut or the sound of water running would cause her to act out. Things like the sounds of the waves at the beach would cause what Charlotte called "Freak out Mode." Stella is reading at an adult level and exhibited a high intellect. She had trouble at school where at least twice a week required a parental conference. She hardly ate and when she did she would be permitted to eat her dinner in her bedroom. She was socially awkward to the point of being antisocial. She did a multitude of other things that would have most parents deeply concerned that worried them. Yet, as much as Charlotte had been disturbed by her daughters over the top tantrums, she alienates her friend Cherie when Cherie mentions that Stella could benefit from being evaluated like her son Zach, was which she found helpful. Charlotte's love and loyalty towards her daughter is understandable, but her reaction was questionable. Charlotte is actually a nice and thoughtful person who really means well. I felt at times she was too overprotective, and in denial at some point when it came to Stella's behavior. I understood her wanting to be a more loving mother than how her mother treated her. The reason I say that is because I happened to be lucky to have two well behaved, and polite easy going sons, who I treated them with the utmost sensitivity towards their feelings, I only remember raising my voice twice their whole life. I think most parents do the best they can, but I thought that Stella could have been held accountable for certain particular behavior that wasn't acceptable like her "Freak out Mode."

I thought that both Charlotte and her daughter Stella's behavior was inappropriate at times, and they both seemed disturbed at times, as well. I have no doubt that's what this talented author's intent was. But it went on a lot longer than was necessary for me in terms of character development. I caught on and understood them earlier on, and thought I took longer to read this than normal since I got the point much sooner, and in my opinion I felt that the first 40% had too much repetitive content. The content at times felt it made the same point with a different example.

After quite some time further along in the novel, after Blanka died Stella starts acting a lot like Blanka by becoming complacent, talking like Blanka by answering. "Oh Yes," to everything. Her mother notices that Stella's preference for reading scientific books changes to reading simple age appropriate books, or younger than her age level books. Stella started overeating Meat when she was raised as a vegetarian. Stella's speech patterns change to mirror Blanka's Armenian accent. Charlotte thinks that she is the only one to save Stella, and her husband thinks her ideas are an over-reaction. Then Charlotte does something that seriously would make most people question her judgement at best, in order to try to coax Stella's interests and behavior back.

I feel as if I've said too much already and I'm thinking of prefacing this review with a Spoiler Alert. I don't think my opinion of feeling clobbered over the head with the message of what the author meant for the reader to intuit that I felt it became tedious is spoiler territory. Perhaps I will leave it as is since due to the over detailed content for example: the way to many references to everything Charlotte smelled that made her musings about it exhaustive. I think most women who've had children didn't need to read that sort of detail so much to relate. Since this premise was so promising as I mentioned above I applaud this author for writing such a unique novel. This isn't Literary fiction which I prefer, and expect character driven content. Seeing how this is labelled and marketed as the mystery & thriller genre that is going to affect some readers expectations. I thought it took too long before it entered the suspenseful thriller territory. Either some readers will love it due to the whopper of a twist. Or some will feel like I do that they had to finish it to feel that they're glad that they hung in there, and that overall, they are happy they did. For sure, this is going to be a huge hit and be a hot book that will be successful since the synopsis is so appealing to lovers of the genre. It just took patience for me to appreciate the immense creativity and how talented Helena Echlin is as a writer with not only a fertile imagination, but also I believe will achieve to gain as wide of an audience as this novel deserves. I wish her my sincere best wishes.

Publication Date: January 14, 2025

Thank you to Net Galley, Helena Echlin and PENGUIN GROUP Viking/Pamela Dorman Books for generously providing me with my ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#CleverLittleThing #HelenaEchlin #PenguinGroupViling #PamelaDormanBooks #NetGalley

If you are into thriller books about creepy children, this one will be right up your alley.

A mother fears that her daughter has been possessed, with good reason.

This book was pretty creepy, and I enjoyed it a lot. I will say that I felt like it took a while for things to get going, and it was a little on the slow side to start. Once it picked up, I couldn't put it down.

I can't say that the ending of the book left me entirely shocked, but it was a great ending.

Charlotte is just trying to keep her children safe. Her daughter Stella seems to be especially introverted. She has no friends and is hard to control. Should she have the child tested or is she the best cure? She feels that there is something wrong with her child but everyone seems to think that she is the problem. Is she? This story reminds me of The Push but is has some other worldly aspects. It will keep you reading until you finally know what has been going on. Is Charlotte crazy or is she right about her daughter? What will she have to do to protect her daughter? What a story! It will definitely make you think.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #HelenaEchlin, and #RandomHouse for a copy of this book.
#CleverLittleThing

#BookReview
📖 Clever Little Thing (#237)
4⭐️/ I liked it.
Swipe for @goodreads synopsis

🪶 Wow. This is a difficult one to rate/process. It left me with a LOT to think about and I’m still weighing my thoughts days after I finished the book, which usually leads to me giving a higher rating. This is out January 14th. Thank you to @penguinbooks for the early look!

🪶 This falls into the “mom noir” subgenre, which is a fast growing group of books, and I can see why! Motherhood is so incredibly complicated and there’s a lot to explore there. And I think if you’ve found yourself enjoying those books then this is definitely one you want to check out as well.

🪶 I think this borders on both the thriller and literary fiction genres. There is so much to think about when it comes to parenting, marriage, how we treat others in our village, but there’s also this sinister whodunnit/can I trust them/is this what it really seems vibe to it all too. It reminded me a lot of ‘The Push.’

🪶 This takes a turn at some point where I thought it went completely off the rails and I thought it was going to make me hate it… BUT then the end made me rethink the whoooollleee book! So bottom line, it’s one worth sticking out and then please come jump into my DM’s and tell me what you think because I still don’t know for sure! 🤣

🪶 Again, this is out January 14th. Did this rambling review convince you to pick it up?! Have you dipped your toes into the ‘mom noir’ subgenre at all?

This was such an engaging read! The story had me hooked from the start - lots of suspense! The main character is one of those narrators you can’t help but be drawn to, relatable in some ways, but with layers that keep you guessing. I loved the twists and the humor added just the right amount of levity to balance the darker moments. It’s the kind of book that keeps you thinking about it after you finish, and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re into stories that are equal parts thrilling and thought-provoking! Thanks to the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Clever Little Thing by Helena Echlin is a dark tale reminiscent of the very popular novel, The Push. However, this book has a supernatural twist that I didn't see coming so that will certainly help it stand out in the crowd of new releases. Charlotte's daughter seems to be on the autism spectrum. She has the classic signs until suddenly she doesn't. While Charlotte's husband thinks this is a step forward in a positive direction, Charlotte can't help but be unnerved by the changes. Are they connected to the sudden loss of their nanny? Read and enjoy!

Unfortunately this was a miss for me. I should have read the entire synopsis- I'm typically not one for possession stories and I wasn't a fan of this. I also didn't like how the daughter was portrayed in terms of her possible autism. Not my fave.

Cleve Little Thing by Helena Echlin had so many elements I typically love—an unreliable narrator, a touch of "motherhood noir," and a plot full of eerie tension. Charlotte’s perspective kept me on edge, with her spiraling thoughts and paranoia making me constantly question what was real.

The dynamics of caregiving and motherhood are some of my favorite themes in fiction, and Echlin does a great job capturing the darker, more isolating sides of it. Charlotte’s desperation and fractured relationships felt painfully authentic, and I was rooting for her even as I doubted her perceptions.

That said, I struggled a bit with the supernatural aspect. While it added an unsettling layer, it took me out of the story at times. and I found myself craving more focus on the psychological and emotional unraveling, which felt so much more grounded and relatable to me than the possession-like twists.

Overall, Clever Little Thing had a lot of elements that worked for me, but it didn’t completely come together in the way I’d hoped. If you enjoy thrillers that balance the uncanny with emotional depth, this one is worth a try. It’s suspenseful and thought-provoking, even if it left me wanting just a little bit more. 3.5/5 stars.

Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books for my free review copy.

4 Solid Stars!
Clever Little Thing is CLEVER Helena Echlin! Ever so very Clever!
Wow! Wow! Wow! What a mind trip of a book!
It's Creepy. It's Suspenseful. It's hard to put down. It will keep you guessing right up until the end!
I went into this one blind and am recommending you do too.

This is a psychological thriller about a mother who begins to sense something might be off with her daughter.
Who better knows a child than her own mother?
Clever Little Thing dives deep into the multifaceted, intricate, mother-child relationship.
As well as a mother's sometimes inability to be taken seriously by her friends and spouse.
What if no one else can see changes and exactly what the mother sees?
Is the mother right? Or delusional?
Read Clever Little Thing to find out!!

Publication date is January 14, 2025.
Be sure to add it to your TBR!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Group Viking / Pamela Dorman Books and the author for and ARC of this book, which I had the pleasure of reading, in exchange for my honest review.

Charlotte is very happy in her little life- Pete is a great husband Stella is a her quirky, wonderful 8 year old daughter. Plus, she is now pregnant with her second baby and finally hoping to carry this one to term. Then her sitter unexpectedly quits with no explanation and this is when things get weird. Charlotte finds out that the sitter is dead and her daughter starts to change. While many of the changes are positive, Charlotte doesn’t see things that way. She knows she must act to save her daughter.

This was not what I expected this book to be- a bit supernatural, but I enjoyed it. It wasn’t so far fetched that it was unbelievable and I found myself rooting for momma to be able to save her child. I would recommend this book.

What a unique, but brilliant story! I was a bit hesitant about the idea of a child being possessed, but it worked so well in this story.

Chilling, bizarre, intriguing, and creepy. Clever Little Thing is Helena Echlin's clever book which had me guessing what was real, what was true, is this a possession, is what is happening due to a mental health diagnosis, etc. I enjoyed that I was never quite sure what was happening for most of the book.

Charlotte is a pregnant married woman with an intelligent, quirky, antisocial, and quick to tantrum, daughter, Stella. When Stella's babysitter, Blanka dies suddenly, Charlotte notices changes in her daughter. Stella begins talking like Blanka, craves Armenian food, and wants meat even though she was raised vegetarian. Charlotte's husband does not see anything wrong with Stella's changes, but Charlotte can't help but be unnerved and become obsessed by them.

This book was a bit of a slow burn, and I struggle with slow burns. What I did enjoy was not knowing if Stella was possessed, was Charlotte imagining things, was Stella just mourning her deceased babysitter by trying to be like her? I thought this was very well done.
I also wrestled with who was more troubled, Charlotte or Stella? Both had times where I questioned their actions and behaviors.

I enjoyed the unsettling feel of this book with its creepy undertones. There were a few twists and revelations in this book which I did not see coming. This book touches on motherhood, marriage, loss, relationships, and mental health.

This book is well written, well thought out, and kept me guessing. While I enjoyed this book and found it to be clever, it was missing that little bit of something that would push my rating higher.

Many thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Charlotte is expecting child number 2 and her first child Stella, is an 8 year old genius that is socially awkward. When the babysitter, Blanca, suddenly dies, Stella begins to take on the personality and voice of Blanca. Charlotte is convinced that Stella is possessed by Blanca.

This is such a fast paced, suspenseful, and creepy read! I loved it! Great psychological thriller that had some really fantastic twists and an unreliable narrator. When the family secrets begin to come out, the story really takes off. At times, I did not know who to believe! Also the supernatural element was well done.

Highly recommend!!