Okay, then. Is the CVS in Orleans still your primary pharmacy?” the doctor asked, concluding their visit as he’d started it, hunched over his computer. Kacey is concerned. Even though she enjoys some quiet time, FOMO is real. The next day, Kacey receives the news that Bailey is missing. She just disappeared, gone in the night. Did she run off, was she taken, is she still alive? However, these changes don't feel like an accident, and Kacey would not be able to get answers from Bailey herself because she never makes it home from the party. Suddenly, everyone starts looking to the new girl for answers, and Broken Falls seems not so welcoming after all; ultimately teaching Kacey her biggest life lesson: never trust anyone because you don't know who the real Little Monsters are.

But drill down a little and there are unresolved traumas that must be healed and secrets that must come out. These fully-realized characters are each on the cusp of singing their own songs – much like the whales that Adam studies – and grasping control of their own destinies. The writing is confident with sharp narrative tension and sharply observed episodes that lead to growth and understanding as the book proceeds. In particular, therapy sessions between Ken and his psychoanalyst, George, are beautifully illuminated. Little Monsters was my first introduction to Adrianne Brodeurs work, so I didn’t completely know what to expect going in. The synopsis and the authors memoir suggested a tale of dysfunctional families and mental health, whereas the cover and the authors previous fiction hinted at more of a beach-read. I was very happy to see it delivered the first. This is a layered story of a family teetering on an edge, the threads that bind them stretched to the breaking point. With clear allusions to the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, this is a narrative that I highly recommend you experience for yourself. Lastly, I'm left wondering... who else had Steph's medical issue, myotonic dystrophy, aka the reason she began her search? I decided to alternate between the physical book and audiobook. I loved this full cast. I thought it was fantastic. I enjoyed the whole story of this messy, complicated family! It takes place in Cape Cod, which is like one of our favorite places EVER!, In 2016. Adam is a soon to 70 yo father of his adult children, Ken and Abby. Their mother passed away when they were little and they were raised by their father. Dad is an oceanographer with Bipolar. Ken is hoping for a career in politics, married to his wife Jenny, and they have 2 daughters. Abby is an artist and currently single. Abby and Ken used to be close when they were young but things happened between them…and now, there is a tension between them. This family has secrets and circumstances seem to be tearing everyone apart. Told through alternating chapters and characters, you get everyone's side of the story. One secret comes to light during this story and I was so interested in how that would play out. I thought this was a really good family story. If you like slow burn, character driven books about family dynamics, this will be for you. Very good!! When I first received an unsolicited copy of Little Monsters to review, my immediate assumption is that it would turn out to be an elevated beach read. The cover – a Cape Cod beach setting – and the description of a complicated family with secrets to share reminded me of many others with similar plotting that always appear in the early months of summer.In a small town like Broken Falls, everyone knows everyone. So it doesn't take long for suspicions to be pointed at the person they know least of all: Kacey. And she begins to realize trust isn't something that should just be given. First introduced in 1998, the five-minute episodes of Little Monsters were co-produced by Ealing Studios and CBBC. Little Monsters was also translated into Scottish Gaelic, known as: Na Bleigeardan. In France, it was aired on TF1, under the French title: Petites Crapules, in Germany on Super RTL as: Die kleinen Monster, in Greece and in Cyprus as: Μικρά τερατάκια, in Italy on RAI2 and RAI1 as: Adorabili Pesti, in the Middle East on Spacetoon as: المتعبون الصغار, in the Netherlands as: Kleine Monsters and in Portugal on TVI as: Os Traquinas. The culturally specific language in Little Monsters is lively, au courant, and at times delightfully salty, giving insight to the times and nuance to all personalities in a tightly crafted story of a family that would like to connect, but is in denial of its individual and collective wounds. Kacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister. Which is why it’s so odd when they start acting distant. And when they don’t invite her to the biggest party of the year, it doesn’t exactly feel like an accident.

Howler is a little werewolf with a big problem...he is just not scary! And that makes him the odd one out at Monster School. But when Howler finds some new friends, he discovers that being the odd one out might just make him the coolest one of all… What are the difficulties and benefits of writing a novel versus writing a memoir★ What was your writing process like★ I am by no means a psychic but I can tell you right now how Kacey’s future is going to go: SERIOUS trust issue and probably will be a loner for the rest of her life. And who could blame her? I really enjoyed this YA mystery. It's atmosphere was creepy,,,very much so...and the mood of the book was broody. The reader is lost..or at least I was. There are so many pieces of the puzzle to put together.

I know I’ve beat the dead horse, but if you enjoy books containing dark, high school drama, PLEASE don’t pass this book over. I read the entire thing in a single sitting; it was so entirely compulsive I couldn’t put it down. This was a “my kids were screaming in the car while headed home from vacation so I just put in some ear plugs and kept reading because WE MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS” type of book. Highly, HIGHLY recommended to fans of PLL who want a story with a similar feel without the decade long series commitment. Can I get an amen? I can’t wait to discuss this book with other readers because, um, that ending? Yeah. :) All in this complex family are hiding buried secrets. Is it possible to “hide an entire life behind a lie?” Envy and jealousy among family members will gradually climax and culminate at the birthday bash. The skeletons will come out of the closet by the end! While reading this book, I kept thinking that it reminded me of something - and then it hit me: Sarah Pinborough's 13 MINUTES. That suffocating small-town paranoia of everyone being in everyone else's business; the mean girls with a sinister (maybe?) agenda, and the twists upon twists upon twists? Yeah, both books have you covered. I feel like if you enjoy Gillian Flynn's work, you will enjoy both of these, but 13 MINUTES is more like GONE GIRL where the easy answer isn't the right one, whereas this book is more like SHARP OBJECTS - there's a twist, and there's a twist about the twist that will make you question everything. This will be a brief review, as I don’t have much to say. In fact, I kept waiting and waiting for something major to happen, but it never did. We have the story of Abby and Ken, who are brother and sister. Abby and Ken were raised by their single father, Adam. Adam is bipolar, and he likes to quit taking his medications from time to time. Therefore, Abby and Ken are pretty much trained to know when he is having a manic episode. Abby and Ken’s mother died while giving birth to Abby, so there seems to always have been some resentment and competition between the two of them. Their once very close relationship has since pushed them apart. This one was a combination of at lest two true crime cases that I could tell. The pacing is too spotty to be straight up suspenseful. Especially in the middle, it was quite tough to get through, so I don’t wonder at several DNFs I see on my feed.