All the Little Hopes

Trigger warnings: war, attempted sexual assault of a minor, mental illness

Lucy and Bert are two teenage girls living in North Carolina during World War II.

Lucy Brown is the daughter of a farmer living in North Carolina. She has many brothers and sisters, most of whom are still working on the farm. Her oldest brother and brother-in-law are both soldiers fighting across the Atlantic in World War II. Her farm is chosen by the government as a beeswax producer so they are suffering less from rationing and poverty than many others nearby.

Allie Bert Tucker is an only child of a poor family across the state who is sent by her father to help his pregnant sister. Her aunt is mentally unstable and has an absent husband who Bert has never seen.

Bert and Lucy meet when Bert arrives in town, and Bert is mesmerized by Lucy's family farm and their massive personal library. Lucy shares her love of Nancy Drew with Bert, and the girls dream of traveling to the places they have read about. Lucy wants to be just like Nancy Drew, and Bert just wants to be a part of a family like Lucy's.

The novel is slow to start and the girls aren't the most likable of characters, which may deter some readers from finishing the novel. I made it almost 40% through before calling it quits.

Leah Weiss was born in North Carolina and lives in Virginia. She became a full-time writer after retiring from a career in education.

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Narrator: Kate Forbes

Running Time: 11 hours, 10 minutes

Length: 368 pages

Release Date: July 27, 2021

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I also received a digital audio recording of this title from the publisher through Libro.fm as a librarian review copy. I read the latter edition.