Dear Odenburgh, I love you and your proclivity to mention your beloved pigeons. I'm very glad that you exist because you've warmed my heart in a way you could never truly know.

"Friendships are like water leaks, who knows how they start?"

Once for Yes by Allie Millington

The biggest, heartwarming, bear-hug type of thank you Netgalley and RBmedia for the ALC copy of this audiobook. It is something I didn't know I needed, and am inherently grateful for the opportunity and experience. This warmed my whole body and left me feeling happy and tearful. I knew it was going to be tearjerker from the get-go, but it is so much more than just being heartfelt, warming and a downright delight. It is a testament to community and a sister's love.

"Sisters don't just keep each other's secrets, they keep each other's promises."

The POV of the building, itself, is probably the most perfect idea I've encountered in a long time. This is the reason I love kids/middle grade books - there is so much creativity packed in such a small package. I always find myself leaving a kids book with a new or freshened perspective on life, and its why I come back to it all the time. Allie Millington gives a very New York voice and a full personality to The Odenburgh (Odie to me) and Johnny Heller brings him to life. The emotion, the kinship... I mean... I am not even sure how well I am able to convey how well these narrators did. I'm almost glad I found the audiobook before the physical because I miss out on the literal experience the narrators provide. Sophie Amoss brings the almost childlike sadness and hope to Prue and is a master of voices, it all feels so real.

"People didn't usually touch my walls. They hit them with hammers, jammed them with screws, drowned them in paint, pounded them to silence noisy neighbors. Never a touch, never so softly."

Once for Yes is perfect for any ages. It has themes of loss, feeling lost, finding community, hope, friendships and shows how even if things change, some other things are for forever. It is a tearjerker for us older folks, though, so bring a tissue or two (maybe a box.)

"Turns out, you can stand a lot stronger when you have something you're standing for. Or someone. Fine, I'll admit it, falling in love with the tenants wasn't so bad. It held me together as the rest of me was falling. Brick by brick by brick."



Blurbs:

"Its not like I could just ignore her, now, I might be horribly insulated but I wasn't that cold."

"When it comes to liars and lice, you have to be thorough."

"Lina filled up more in a single afternoon than most people do in a lifetime. She gave me something to do with my stories, a place to put them."

"A fresh start meant something else had ended. They couldn't just make a new home, because Lina would never be a part of it. She was a part of this one. The memories of her were all over the place... If they left their home, they'd be leaving these memories of Lina. They'd be leaving her."

"Change isn't always bad. Some of the best plays come from calling an audible."

"People packed, made plans, ate pizza, said goodbye. One by one, the tenants left me, but not one of them left me the same... Maybe my job wasn't just to give them a home, maybe it was to give them each other. To show them they're not alone."

"Then again, a lot could happen in an 'almost'."

As soon as I saw the cover of Once for Yes, it immediately caught my attention. The story is incredibly emotional, and I really liked how the author chose to use the apartment as a pov. The audiobook is short and lovely, featuring different narrators who bring the story to life. I highly recommend both the book and the audiobook. Thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Once for yes by Allie Millington is about the gentrification of a building the last of its kind, and its tenants building community while dealing with loss.

For the audiobook, I thought it was interesting. I liked the story and the mystery of Prue trying to piece together the missing pieces of her sisters story and her loss.

I enjoyed the narrator's of this story, the duel point of views for this book. I also liked the short chapters.

This might be the loveliest middle grade book I’ve ever read. What an absolute joy & a testament to the best parts of humanity? & also the most devastating, grief stricken & most heartbreaking, too? I am truly caught off guard by this, an ALC I randomly picked cause i thought it sounded promising. It was more than promising, it truly gave what it said it would & more. If you are looking for a book told with gentleness & humor (that can be only accessed through books meant for kids, c’mon), but also a story about loss, nostalgia & moving forward (that rivals any sad novel on the market): literally look no further. When an 11 year old tries to fight the powers that be to keep their old apartment building from being sold & torn down, you already have a story. BUT when said girl is fighting to keep a hold on the last place that her sister was alive in, that their memories of her were in, you have my heart & soul. Beautiful. Breathtaking. I am utterly destroyed.

This was an easy 5 stars. Incredible, incredible narration, too!! The Odenburgh’s chapters told by a man with a heavy New York Italian accent??!! I’m literally sat. For anyone who loves middle grade, novels about hope & goodness, or just needs something quick to read—pick this up!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley & RBmedia for this ALC!!

The good kind of heartbreaking, and a great story about a family putting itself back together. Excellent for anybody (adult or child) dealing with a loss.

Ａｕｄｉｏｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ
🌟🌟🌟🌟.2
Once for Yes by Allie Millington is a children's fiction that touch on grief, lossing a sibling, lossing your home, and gaining a community. This middle school book is beautiful written, and honestly you could feel the grief thought the book, and also the community that was gain by the apartment complex demolished. The Odenburgh is an old red brick apartment building, the last of its kind in a swiftly gentrifying neighborhood. One of its tenants, the Laroe family, has suffered an unspeakable tragedy; the youngest sister, 11-year-old Prue, struggles to come to terms with the loss of her sister, Lina.

The audiobook was great. Let me say I love that the apartment building call3d Odenburgh had his own POV and we could listen to it. Pure genius for that part. We do have multiple POV which is fine and the audiobook is also dual narration. The narrtor did a good job telling the story and bringing it to live. I enjoyed this audiobook a lot. I listened at 2x speed. The narrtors were easy to listen and also understand.

𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬:
•Grief
•Community
•Middle School
•Multiple POV's

Thank you, NetGalley, and RB Media for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I listen to this children’s book on audio and it was so good.
It touches on such important topics like loss, grief, community and family. Written in a clever way to make it both interesting and funny ever tough it can be pretty sad.

Overall, I liked the story, but was at times irritated by the dysfunctional grieving in this family. The building as a narrator was fun (especially on audio!). I think my middle schooler would like this, but I’m not sure there’s much here for older readers of middle grade. 3.5⭐️