This was one of the rare occasions when I had the time to listen to an audiobook continuously over the course of consecutive days. This is not something that happens very regularly nowadays, but I used the time to finish this book.

This is a time slip plot. The first of this type of book that I ever read was a long time ago, much before I knew that the sub-genre had a name!

Grace is still mourning her mother’s loss and finds herself doing a dead-end job listening to old tapes recording town artifacts. She is meant to be transcribing them, but the recordings from 1992 stir something in her and soon enough she is investigating very old deaths. The Underwoods are not talked about and Grace is bent on finding out why.

I was not as satisfied with the ending, although I must admit it was the most mature and realistic outcome ( even with the concept of time being played with).

The narrator did a fantastic job bringing everything to life. Her reading was the primary reason I wanted to and was able to finish the story when I did. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the genre/ sub- genre.

I received the book thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own listening experience.

4.5 stars
Thank you NetGalley for early access to this audiobook. I found this book to be such a refreshing palette cleanse for me, felt original, the characters felt real, and I couldn't wait to find out how it ended.
A very brief summery: Grace is spending the summer in her moms home town and somehow is able to communicate with a boy names Jake thorough some old cassette tapes.
So right of that bat, I felt like this was a really interesting concept, especially for a YA book. I think that this books does an amazing job of tackling grieving the loss of a loved one and the importance of friendship during that time. I think all the characters felt real in this and I really enjoyed the dynamics. I was some how rooting for this we know can't happen to happen, but the story wrapped up so well. Definitely hoping somehow there could be a sequel, but I really can't see how it would work. The growth and development in this book feels natural and very rewarding in the end. Will definitely be recommending this book.Now I was lucky enough to have access to an audio book, I think the narrator did a really good job and she felt like an excellent choice.

Thanks NetGalley for the audio arc! This was a 4.5, but rounding up because something about it just really sucked me in. On the surface this is an interesting mystery with some supernatural elements - Grace, while transcribing old historical tapes for the local history center in her small Florida town, discovers that she can communicate with the boy who recorded them 30 years ago. What follows is a beautiful story about grief. (And a cool mystery with some funky time stuff thrown in!) I thought Jake and Grace were great characters and had such a wonderful relationship, despite the years between them. There's a constant dread knowing there's an inevitable end, even if the hows are unknown, but it still ends on a hopeful note. The narrator did a fantastic job as well. A very somber book with moments of humor, this one will stick with me!

I lost count of how many times this book made me cry.
For those of you who need to know if it has a happy ending before starting, <spoiler>no, not really. But at least it's one that makes sense.</spoiler>

Grace Crane is running away from grieving her mother, to the worst place she could possibly choose for that: her hometown. Here, everybody knew Hayley and everybody recognizes Grace, even though they never met her. The only person who treats her normally is a boy on a cassette tape (or rather, 31) who is talking to her from 30 years in the past. That's Jake Underwood. But who is he and why is nobody talking about him? What is the mysterious Hurricane Club and why did Hayley never come back to visit this town that nobody seems to leave?

While there are plenty of mysteries to untangle like a magnetic tape, this book is really more about pulling on your heartstrings. The visceral descriptions of panic attacks, grief, guilt, dementia and loneliness give the otherwise fantastical setting real weight. Grace's behaviour is really consistent with being a car crash survivor AND a teenager. She might be the best point of view character I've read in years.

I'm glad there were fun moments and lighthearted interactions woven into the story and I really appreciated Lara as a supporting character. If I want to be honest, most of the side characters didn't get too much "screentime", but at least this way the plot feels neatly tied up.

The small town vibes and cold case reminded me of Karen M. McManus' Two Can Keep a Secret, but while that one is full of action and playing detectives, The Underwood Tapes focuses more on the inner turmoil than the plot twists. The mystery unfurls slowly, at its own pace, because you can't rush time itself.

The Underwood Tapes is an effortlessly engaging YA story, both refreshingly unique and deeply moving.

It’s part small-town mystery, part speculative fiction, with a highly original “time travel” concept that I found fascinating in its execution and ambiguity.

The themes of loss and grief were deftly explored, impacting me on an unexpectedly emotional level, making this quite the reading gem that I won’t soon forget.

This is only my second-time reading a story penned by Amanda DeWitt, but she’s impressed me (in different ways) on both counts, quickly making her one of my favourite, remarkably versatile voices in the YA genre this decade.

As is my preference, I had the pleasure of alternating between reading this eBook and listening to the audio of this story, performed expertly in a solo narration by Laura Knight Keating.

As far as the vocal work is concerned, Keating hit all the right notes throughout, holding my attention rapt and giving such a nuanced performance that I may or may not have had a bit of an ill-timed emotional breakdown in heavy traffic one drive home. #noregrets

I was really pleased with the overall listening experience and I look forward to seeking out more of Keating's book narrations in the future.


***A special thanks to the publishers (via Netgalley) for providing an ARC of this eBook AND audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The Underwood Tapes is an amazing and gipping story!! The narration was perfect and the plot is unique. DeWitt shares a story about grief with a twist of communication across time. YA readers and listeners will devour this title. A must have for all YA collections!

4.25/5

This is a beautiful and touching read that explored grief, family history, and our place in the world. It also uses tapes that communicate through time which is something I love.

I think some people get caught up on the rules of space/time and forget that this is a YA book. While the writing could be a bit stronger in places, it was a very quick and entertaining read. Suspending disbelief for both will free your mind to just enjoy things.

I only have artifacts left of most of my family. It is funny how things can be remembered and lost. I might revisit this book in the future. There is a comfort in how it talked about the conflict of grief through the story.


*Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook!

"Sometimes i feel like a kid and some times I feel so old its unbearable"

I could not stop listening to this audio book 😭 i love Graces character and her representation of grief throughout the book, I was hooked on the mystery of Jake and the Hurricane club.

Overall amazing book, thank you so much Netgalley and RBmedia for the audioArc of this book 🫶🏻

The Underwood Tapes by Amanda Dewitt
•Spoiler-free review•

Thank you @netgalley for the e-ARC!

Initially, I was drawn to this book because of its comps (We Were Liars and You’ve Reached Sam), but fell in love with the concept set in a small coastal Florida town. This story follows grief, and how generations of families affect each other.

It took me a bit to get into— the first quarter starts quietly, and ramps up from there, but I wouldn’t let that deter you. I especially enjoyed the side characters such as her cousins, and how grief was handled. It’s a sad book, but it’s injected with a good dose of hope about the future.

Overall, I’d recommend this for small town mystery lovers, and those who like realistic yet hopeful depictions of darker topics.

P.s. I’d love to check out more of her work in the future!

#theunderwoodtapes #netgalley #bookreview #arcreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #yabookrecs #yafiction #yamystery

If the video game Life is Strange had a ghost-hunting podcast, it’d be The Underwood Tapes. A beautiful, bittersweet take on trauma, grief, and healing wrapped in a mystery that spans across time. It's eerie but cozy, sad but hopeful, and full of that small town "something weird is going on here" energy that had me hooked. The narrator doesn’t just tell the story, they become the character, making every emotion hit that much harder.

If you love stories about unraveling the past, finding your people, and maybe, just maybe, getting haunted along the way, this one is for you.

A deviation from other books that Amanda DeWitt has written, following a story of grief, with a bit of time magic.

I loved watching the friendship blossom between the characters, that spanned through time and any sense of logic. Cassettes being a medium to talk with the past was an interesting take, and I found it fit the story well.

However, I felt the story lacked some clear motive as to what was going on and why. Grace being in Hermitage felt bizarre, and the locals she befriended weren't as notable as they could have been. I enjoyed the mystery of what Grace was uncovering, but overall was felt wanting more.

Books like these are just such a fun time. I love book that have to do with bending the time in weird ways. In here we have a story that unfolds both in the present time as well as 30 years in the past. I loved the small town vibes, the mystery was very well done. The characters felt so real and authentic. The topic of grief in this was handled beautifully. It's really a fantastic YA mystery with a splash of magical realism.

The audiobook is great, it was easy to get sucked into the story. The narrator did a fantastic job!

First off, I love the way DeWitt writes grief. Throughout the book, we see Grace as her emotions sway from indifference, to fear, to rage, and a mixture of all. I think this kind of representation would really validate and comfort someone going through the same.

I also enjoyed the characters a lot. Sometimes, I feel that YA likes to slot characters into stereotypes (the smart friend, the evil authority figure, the rival, etc). However, I think each character felt balanced. Nobody was all good and nobody was all bad. They were all just people trying to get through their life and making mistakes along the way. I felt like Grace's relationship with her cousin especially highlights this. They aren't enemies to best friends. They're just two teenage girls that felt a bit awkward and resentful towards each other at first. But over time, they learn to be comfortable and rely on one another. It's very refreshing!

I do have a few criticisms, however. For one, I think this book had a very slow start. I don't think I really "got into" the book until a third of the way through. I'd say this book is more a grief story with a mystery subplot vs the other way around. And although there is value in that, there were times that the book dragged its feet.

The ending felt very satisfying and clean, though. It was everything it needed to be and I think it did good at wrapping up both the grief and the mystery.

TLDR: The Underwoods Tapes is a refreshing tale of grief and mystery. Although it struggled a bit with pacing, I think it is well worth a read. I'd recommend this for any younger person that is going through a hard time and likes a good mystery!

Thank you to RBmedia and NetGalley for providing me a free advanced reader copy. My opinions expressed here are my own.

Do love a lake house vibe, do also love platonic friendships as a focus.
I had a lot of fun with this book, not really having any expectations and not having read anything by the author before, I felt the narration (both in writing style and the audio narrator) very easy to slip into.

The description of grief and the realities of living on where some one the best aspects of the book, I think personally for me, the middle dragged and once we got to the time bending I really wanted to go full speed ahead to the ending. I don’t think the mystery aspect of the small town got me as much as the relationship and just the time bending aspect did.

Still a great fun book that I would recommend.

Ahhh, I wanted to give this 5*, but that ending!

The Underwood Tapes is a beautiful book about losing a loved one, grief, time-bending, and mystery.
I really enjoyed it.

Having very recently lost a loved one, this book spoke to me in a deeply personal way.
I really related to the way grief was depicted.
The plot with Grace and Jake talking 30 years apart, but through the cassette tapes was very intriguing and novel for me, and I loved it.
I was also very invested in the mystery surrounding the Underwoods.

I loved the narrator, she did an excellent job.

I couldn't help but feel a bit let down by that ending—I wanted the Underwoods to get their justice!!! Okay, the Charles situation may be an accident, but everything else deserves severe punishment, and I hate how it was brushed off in the end. So many people suffered.

Overall, I loved this book and it will surely remain etched into my memory for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley, author and publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off, thanks to NetGalley for this book. I devoured this in one day. I was pulled in by the relationship of the two main characters and the secrets they uncover.

This book is a mystery and a bit of a drama. There is a sci-fi aspect to this with the way Jake and Gracie are able to communicate throughout the book.

Gracie’s summer is spent going through these tapes, and uncovering some long lost secrets of the small town her mom grew up in. She is able to communicate with a boy from 1991, and together they go through these mysteries and the information they both have.

I wish there had been more time spent with their relationship being built up (and I just mean them getting to bond more. Not so much romantic in a romantic way). Despite that, I feel like you are able to connect with these characters quite well.

This is the perfect book for teens and young adults. I’d totally buy this for my library if I were a middle school or high school librarian.

No spice.
No violence or gore.
Some serious topics: death and loss of close friends/family, grief

Audiobook: 4/5
Plot: 3.5/5

First of all, the narration was pretty good, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of how she portrayed Jake. It made him seem really young compared to how old he was. It lifted some of the serious tone of the book. Otherwise the narration was great.

Plot wise, this had a phenomenal set up and idea. The execution was a bit lacking. I wanted to be ugly sobbing when I finished the book, but I only cried a little bit. I think I just needed more time with Jake and our MC talking until the very end. We needed those last 9 tapes to really get that absolute gut punch. The death scene was also a bit anti climactic and didn’t leave much of an impression.

I did absolutely love the final scene though with the last tape. That’s what I needed from this book.

Overall it was really good, but it needed to build up more of an emotional connection for the end to be as impactful as it should have been.

Finally a book I enjoyed! This was such a fun mystery book, that focused on grief but also lead us on a mystery of this small town that everyone seemingly doesn’t ever want to leave. Overall I really enjoyed this I wish the relationships were a little more fleshed out and the mystery was more of SHOCK but overall I throughly enjoyed this!

4.5 ⭐
AH! I enjoyed this book so much and know younger me would've loved it even more. Ate it up in one sitting! I don't even know how to summerize it without giving any spoilers; however I will say this:

*FMC solves mystery by communicating with a person 30 years in the past via cassette tapes*

If that sounds like something up your alley, PICK THIS UP!

This was my first Amanda DeWitt book, but definitely not my last.

Thank you RB MEDIA, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

THE UNDERWOOD TAPES by AMANDA DEWITT @am.dewitt
🖤📼🌪️
Thirty years ago, Grace’s mom left her hometown of Hermitage, Florida and never looked back—which is exactly why Grace thinks it’s the safest place to spend her summer now. Since her mom died in a car crash, Grace has been desperate to get away from the memories and reminders of her loss. Spending the summer transcribing cassette tapes for the Hermitage Historical Society might be boring, but boring is just what Grace needs.
Until she hears the voice of Jake Underwood—the boy who first recorded the cassette tapes back in 1992. When Grace realizes he can hear anything she records, despite thirty years of time between them, they strike up an impossible conversation through the tapes.
But the past isn’t any simpler than the present, and a mystery has haunted Hermitage through the generations. In the 1970’s, a hurricane made landfall and resulted in the tragic death of Jake’s uncle Charley. In a town as suffocatingly small as Hermitage, it’s impossible not to notice how no one talks about that storm, or Charley, and as the mystery unfurls, Grace can’t help but realize a worse truth: No one talks about Jake either.
🌪️📼🖤
I could not put this book down. (Put my headphones down? You get the idea.) The story had me giggling and kicking my feet one second, and holding my breath the next. (Amanda has proof in the form of six million texts and squealing voice memos 🫣)
The twists just kept coming and they were incredible, a thrilling narrative until the very end, which had me in tears—not least because Laura Knight Keating’s narration is absolutely fantastic. She captured the characters and mood so well. I can’t heap enough praise on this production. Every go read or listen or both!
🎧 Thank you to @netgalley for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.