Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

From Newbery Honoree and E. B. White Award–winning author Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting is a spellbinding modern-day masterpiece about immortality, friendship, and growing up that’s sure to be an all-time favorite for every generation.

What if you could live forever? In this timeless story young Winnie Foster learns of a hidden spring in a nearby wood and meets the Tuck family, whose members reveal their astonishing discovery of the spring’s life-changing power. Now Winnie must decide what to do with her newfound knowledge—and the Tucks must decide what to do with her. But it’s not just the curious girl who is interested in their remarkable tale. A suspicious stranger is also searching for the Tucks, and he will stop at nothing until he finds them and uncovers their secret.

Audiobook, 3 hours, 10 minutes

Expected publication September 2, 2025

 by Macmillan Audio

3.5/5 stars

This was my first time experiencing Tuck Everlasting, having heard about it I didn't know what it was about so went in blind. Considered a modern classic I was excited to read...well I listened to the audiobook.  The special 50th anniversary edition releases Sept 2.

Tuck Everlasting is a gentle story of life, mortality and what it means to truly live. Sounds like a heavy load but it wasn't really. The narration was clear, though maybe at times a little too subdued. I didn't really feel the key emotional moments, might have been different if I had read the book.  The tension lacked somewhat, I wasn't drawn in like I had hoped. The story itself was interesting enough and for middle grade readers it fits the bill. There is adventure, mystery and family all packed in.

It isn't a long audiobook and the book itself is only 148 pages, a nice way to spend a rainy (or hot, hot) afternoon.

My thanks to Macmillan Audio for an e-audio in exchange for a honest review.

The Portal Keeper by David Alexander Robertson

Eli and Morgan experience life-changing revelations in the fourth adventure in the award-winning, Narnia-inspired Indigenous middle-grade fantasy series, now in paperback.

While exploring World's End, an area in Aski they've just discovered, Morgan and Emily delight in their developing relationship, while Eli struggles to understand his new-found the ability to locate a portal. A shocking turn of events leads them to a new village, Ministik, where the animal beings who live there are going missing. Horrified to discover who is responsible, the children vow to help and turn to friends, old and new. But it's getting harder and harder to keep the two worlds separate, especially when details of a traditional legend change everything. 

Forever.

Paperback, 256 pages

Audiobook, 7 hours, 35 minutes

Published July 2, 2024

 by Tundra Books

3.5/5 stars

The Portal Keeper, is the 4th book the Misewa Saga. It's another imaginative and heartfelt journey into the richly woven world of Indigenous storytelling. Robertson continues to blend fantasy and Cree culture in a way that feels both magical and meaningful.

Morgan and Eli continue into new realms and face fresh challenges that test their courage, wisdom and friendship. Being the 4th book I wondered what could be next and again the Misewa world expands in new ways  that offer new characters and settings.

I don't really want to say too much, especially for those that haven't started this series.  Book 6 just released today.  Suffice to say this is an adventure filled series with emotion and cultural insight.  I definitely recommend reading this series in order.  Though written for the middle grade readers this adult is enjoying this series.

This book is part of my 2025 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge - #40

She Didn't See It Coming by Shari Lapena

When a beloved wife and mother disappears, a luxurious condo building transforms into a potential crime scene, and the investigation begins: can the detectives find her before it's too late?

Bryden and Sam have it all: thriving careers, a smart apartment in a luxury condominium, supportive friends and a cherished daughter. The perfect life for the perfect couple.

Then Sam receives a call at his office. Bryden–working from home that day–has failed to collect their daughter from daycare. Arriving home with their little girl, he finds his wife’s car in the underground garage. Upstairs in their apartment her laptop is open on the table, her cell phone nearby, her keys in their usual place in the hall.

Except Bryden is nowhere to be seen. It’s as if she just walked out.

Paperback, 352 pages

Published July 29, 2025

 by Doubleday Canada

4.5/5 stars

Shari Lapena’s She Didn’t See It Coming was a gripping page‑turner that was a fast paced story that opened with a chilling twist: Bryden, a devoted mother and wife vanishes mysteriously from her upscale condominium while working from home. Her keys, phone, and laptop are all in place, everything suggests she never left...but she’s nowhere to be found.

The novel flows with multiple viewpoints and as suspicion grow throughout the building as an investigator pieces together secrets that some want to keep secret. What kept me reading was the premise, it was captivating in the sense of Bryden's portrayed perfect life which makes her disappearance baffling. The characters were flawed but authentic.  The plot I found to be tight, the twists were cleverly executed - I've come to expect that with Lapena's books.

She Didn't See It Coming isn't just a suspense mystery, it's also a story of family and trust. In the end I grabbed the audiobook through my Spodify account so I could listen to the last half, highly recommend both formats.

This book was part of my 2025 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge, #39

One Dark Night by Hannah Richell

One night in the woods
A party gone wrong
A body discovered at sunrise

He murdered her at the folly on their wedding day, left her body for the crows. They say she haunts the woods now, a girl in a white dress …

Everyone in the small town of Thorncombe knows the tales of the haunted woods where the birds don’t sing and a girl in a white dress roams, luring people to their deaths. But when a girl in white is found dead the morning after Halloween, her body carefully arranged at the bottom of an old stone folly, the community is thrown into turmoil.

With a teenage daughter of his own, police detective Ben Chase knows how high the stakes are. Was the girl the victim of a party prank gone wrong, or does her death represent something more sinister and ritualistic?

As the investigation unfolds and the noose tightens around Chase’s own family, the only thing anyone can be sure of is that no one is safe until this violent killer is caught.

Kindle Edition, 419 pages

Publishing on August 19, 2025

by Atria Books

4.5/5 stars

This is my first time reading a Hannah Richell novel and I can say it won't be my last.

One Dark Night  begins with the chilling discovery after a Halloween gathering near an elite boarding school. What follows is far more than a mystery, it’s a layered, character-driven story about the effects of trauma, fractured relationships and the secrets families keep.

Told from multiple povs - including a detective, his estranged wife, and their teenage daughter - the novel slowly unpacks the events of that fateful night. Richell does an exceptional job balancing suspense with tension and emotion that drew me into a world where guilt, grief, and love all exist. It was atmospheric giving that gothic and moody vibe. 

One Dark Night was a suspenseful read that wasn't just focused as a whodunit but delves into themes of family dynamics, privilege and the past. As for the whodunit part, it kept me guessing right to the end. Definitely recommend this one, it sure helped me out of a reading slump.

My thanks to Atria Books for a digital ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Too Old for This by Samantha Downing

A retired serial killer’s quiet life is upended by an unexpected visitor. To protect her secret, there’s only one option left—what’s another murder? From bestselling author Samantha Downing.

Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.

Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.

When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.

But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her…

Kindle Edition, 395 pages

Expected publication August 12, 2025

 by Berkley

4.5/5 stars

Too Old For This was a captivating read as were my previous reads by Samantha Downing. She writes about morally grey characters with unpredictable plots.

Lottie Jones she is more than a flawed protagonist, she is calculated, complex and oddly compelling. I was never quite was sure if I should root for her or not.  Her motivations were rooted in the past, which the author wove seamlessly into the present day narrative.  She is also elder, plays weekly bingo with her church friends and looking at places to live out her final years. A retired serial killer you say...a very interesting story.

Too Old For This is a story of unfinished business, buried secrets and the deadly consequences of not letting the past stay in the past.  There was lots of tension and, of course, twists...many surprises along the way. Yes a few parts might have felt over the top but Downing makes it work without realizing how implausible some things might sound.  All in all this was a binge-worthy read that keep me reading just one more chapter (pun intended).

My thanks to Berkley Publishing for a digital ARC in exchange for a honest review.

The Weirdies by Michael Buckley

This is a very, very sad story. The characters suffer terrible tragedies. People die in unspeakable ways. Only a truly horrible person would be amused by their misfortune.

Nevertheless, it is kind of funny.

My advice is that you listen to this all by yourself. People can be judgy.

If you’re a fan of A Series of Unfortunate Events, Edward Scissorhands, or the darkest bits of Roald Dahl, the Weirdie triplets - Barnacle, Garlic, and Melancholy - will feel like old friends.

 After being left behind when the entire estate of Deadeye Manor is packed up for a doomed vacation cruise, the triplets have to learn how to fend for themselves. (When a staff of 200 servants has taken care of your every need, even brushing your own teeth is a mountainous task.) 

From their time at the Our Lady of the Perpetual Side-Eye Orphanage to their adoptive home on picture-perfect Sunshine Circle, the Weirdies have a lot to learn about the world...but, at least, they have each other.

Audiobook, 1 hours, 47 minutes

Published November 19, 2020

by Audible Originals

4/5 stars

The Weirdies is a wild and crazy ride that blends humor, mystery and just the right amount of weirdness. 

It follows the life of three siblings, triplets as a matter of fact, named Barnacle, Garlic and Melancholy. After they are abandoned in their home, meaning their parents have left along with the 200 servants that serve them. They are taken into an orphanage and then handed off to a kind woman at a cheerful place called Sunshine Circle. 

I listened to the audiobook, which was read by Kate Winslet, she did a spectacular job bringing the whole situation to life while emphasizing the wit and laugh out loud moments along with the bizarre twists that happen.

This is the first book in a series called The Weirdies, it’s a story about being different to put it mildly, and it’s great for readers that love characters that are...well different. This will appeal to fans of the Series for Unfortunate Events.

 Like I said, I listened to the audiobook which I got through Audible Originals, it's a freebie. I am looking forward to book 2, The Weirdies Get Weirder (again read by Kate Kinslet) and #3 The Weirdies: Maybe This is a Bit Too Weirder (read by Helena Bonham Carter). They come in at under two hours in length.