Book Review: Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3) by Heather Vogel Frederick

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Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3)  by Heather Vogel Frederick  is the third book in a middle grade book series that is being rereleased. Chaos erupts in this third installment as the daughters in the book club get themselves into trouble. Each of the girls have big changes in their lives:  Jess is going to boarding school; Megan's grandmother comes to live with her; Emma starts a campaign against school uniforms; Cassidy has a lot of unexpected change coming to her family. Will the mother daughter book club stay together? I'd like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Dear Pen Pal  by Heather Vogel Frederick with it's upcoming rerelease to the public. I always love a good book that involves books, even if its target audience is children between the ages of eight and twelve. It wasn't until I reached the end of the book that I realized that it...
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Book Review: Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen

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Book Review: Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen
netgalley arc book review keep your friends close leah konen

Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen opens with two moms, Mary and Willa, on the playground with their sons in New York City. They become fast friends after a snarky mom makes a comment about the junk food given as a snack. Suddenly, Willa ghosts Mary for apparently no reason, but while in Woodstock, Mary spots Willa and tries to speak with her. Why is Willa pretending to be someone else?

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. I was intrigued by the synopsis and was thrilled when I found out I was receiving Keep Your Friends Close. Unfortunately, life got in the way, and I got behind in reading and reviewing the book.

The story started off a bit slow but the suspense ended building very nicely. The novel alternated between Mary and Willa as well as had alternating timelines. Because it was told from different perspectives, the reader gets a bit of insight that they wouldn't if it wasn't told this way, and it would be harder to figure out the twists and turns. However, the alternating timelines kept me guessing a little, and things weren't always what they seemed. I did figure out part of the ending but not all of it.

At times, I didn't care for Mary for a couple of reasons. There were times she seemed wishy-washy and other times seemed too needy. Overall, I did enjoy this character. As for Willa, I never really trusted her, but I really wanted to like her and had trouble with that. I'm not going into details as I don't want to give any plotlines away, but I think you'll agree with me. George and Henry were completely unlikable. I think that George could have changed if given the chance, but I think Henry was a lost cause.

All in all, I enjoyed Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen and gave it five out of five stars. I look forward to reading more novels by this author as I find myself thinking about this story days after finishing it.

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