A cute read about Natalie, who lives in Sydney, Australia. There is a lot going on in this book! Natalie is preparing for her bat mitzvah, she is struggling to maintain her friendship with her best friend, and her family's financial difficulties force them to move. Natalie is, most of the time, a charming narrator and I felt bad that she couldn't seem to catch a break! I did find the use of "so that happened" a bit excessive, but I don't think a middle-grade reader would pick up on it. I adored Natalie's best friend, Ari, and I wish Natalie had mended their friendship sooner so Ari could play a larger role. But, for me, the star of this book was reading about Jewish life in Australia, and I appreciated the depiction of different types of Jewishness—Natalie's bubi survived the Holocaust. Jessica's family is more frum than Natalie's, Ari's family is Chinese-Jewish, etc. 3.5. stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"So That Happened...But Maybe You Already Knew That" was an enjoyable book set in Australia. Nutty is preparing for her big bat mitzvah, while also balancing friendships and family issues. I really enjoyed this book and it's easy to read for middle graders. However, one thing that kind of bothered me is that Nutty didn't really sound her age. What I mean by that is that she didn't know what basic things were, such as taxes, rent, and what the word "moving" meant. "Moving" meaning "oh, that painting is very moving". I personally feel like those are things that most 12-year-olds know. But maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, other than that, this book was very well-written. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.