The Phoebe Variations

by Jane Hamilton

The acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Ruth and A Map of the World returns with a stunning coming-of-age novel about girls, mothers, and finding one's way in the world.


Seventeen-year-old Phoebe was never interested in her birth family. But on the cusp of her high school graduation, her adoptive mother, Greta, insists on a visit to meet her biological parents and siblings. The encounter is a jolt, a revelation that derails Phoebe.


With the help of her best friend Luna, Phoebe runs away—as far as their friend Patrick O’Connor’s chaotic home, where she hopes to go unnoticed among his thirteen siblings. But when Phoebe asks Patrick to chop off her hip-length hair, she’s suddenly transformed. Patrick’s older brothers can’t help but notice the striking, Peter Pan–like stranger who has suddenly appeared in their midst.


What starts as an adolescent rebellion soon spirals into a whirlwind of self-discovery and unexpected connections. As she grapples with her shifting identity and strained relationships, Phoebe must navigate the tumultuous road out of girlhood and chart a new and unknown course.

Genres: Fiction, Coming Of Age, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Adult Fiction, Friendship, Literary Fiction

339 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 23, 2025

About the author

Jane Hamilton is an American novelist.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published September 23, 2025.

3 stars

Seventeen year old Phoebe is already reeling from a setback during her senior year and when her single mother, Greta, forces a meeting with her birth parents (and her three sisters) it really is the last straw. Her best friend Luna helps her run away to their friend Patrick O’Connor’s house (called the Asylum) where she thinks she can remain hidden because there are so many O’Connor children.

However, Patrick’s older brothers notice the once-invisible Phoebe, leading down a number of paths and things quickly escalate, with the brothers, with Patrick, with Luna and with Phoebe’s view of herself.

I have LOVED some of Jane Hamilton’s books in the past (especially A MAP OF THE WORLD) but this left me a little cold. I could not, for the life of me, relate to Phoebe, though I should have been able to, at least in some ways, from my past, I think. And then there was the plot. I get that Phoebe was upset with her mother, but it was a bit hard to buy this good girl acting out in quite this way. And I was….I don’t know….puzzled by the Luna storyline. I don’t know that I understood what Hamilton was trying to do/say here, or maybe I do, but it would only be a guess.

Anyway, there were aspects of the book I liked but it just didn’t coalesce for me; others may have a different experience. I would always read Hamilton again, though!

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I first read one of Hamilton's novels in high school and loved every subsequent book of hers, until this one. I always found her to have a unique insight into human nature via her characters, their personality quirks, and decisions. Unfortunately, I found Phoebe to be an underwhelming and somewhat boring protagonist, with a huge portion of the book focusing on a prank she pulls with some male friends. Less of the plot focuses on her internal struggle upon meeting her birth parents, and her perspective doesn't change significantly as she transitions to adulthood - there is little to no evolution in her character. She also has a harsh perspective towards her single, adoptive mother that likewise doesn't change significantly. I kept reading, thinking there would surely be a turning point, but I never found one and wished I had not struggled for many weeks to finish the book.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's the 1970s. Phoebe's 18 and about to go off to college, so things are changing fast for her. She's adopted, and has always sort of feigned disinterest in her birth family. Her mother- her adopted mother- persuades her to meet them, and this experience shocks her so much that she pretty much loses her mind. From this point on, Phoebe just kind of bounces crazily about her world, launched like a pinball and taking a long time to come to any rest. She has a really good friend, Luna, who she is probably overly influenced by, but I have to say, this friendship is the brightest and most interesting thing in this novel, and is probably why I kept reading. Anyway, partly as a result of Luna, and partly as a result of the aforementioned pinball effect, Phoebe quickly and thoughtlessly discards her mother and moves into the basement of her friend Patrick's house. Patrick is one of 14 children in the family, and the theory is that no one will notice that she's there. But after Phoebe gets a haircut that very much changes her appearance, Patrick's older brothers definitely notice her.

It all seemed kind of random to me.

Thanks to the publisher, who gave me access to the digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I "got" this novel. The initial event of Phoebe meeting her birth family would've been interesting, except that she runs away from her family and whole life rather than processing it, and the rest of the book is mostly just the ways she avoids her life. It takes place over a few days in the 1970s, mixed with reflections from present day. In a way a lot happens, in that it changes the whole trajectory of Phoebe's life, but also very little happens, she just hangs out with a bunch of boys.

[Debbie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ Enjoyable exploration of family, friends and coming of age in the 1970’s told from the POV of Phoebe, a 17 year old high schooler on the verge of graduation and adulthood.

Phoebe has always known she was adopted, but the circumstances of that event were never important to her. When her mother Greta takes her to meet her adoptive family the Dahlgrens that all changes. Phoebe’s life reverses course and she questions everything.

This book is heavily character driven, Phoebe and her best friend Luna, and a cast of friends and family, the multiple O’Conner brothers, and Herta the all knowing neighborhood cleaning lady.
No grand mysteries or action packed thrillers, just a few weeks in a young girl’s life and some insight into her future told by an adult Phoebe.


Thank you NetGalley and Zibby Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. 🎧

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this one—there have been a couple of Hamilton's previous novels that I remember thoroughly enjoying. I found Phoebe insufferable and self-important, and the story meandering. I struggled to finish it, and only did so by skipping many pages.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a coming of age novel set over just a few months, the end of Phoebe’s high school and the summer after. Although it is set during the 1970s, it’s told as Phoebe’s reminiscing from the present day some 50 years later as she describes her memories and feelings, and occasionally throwing in things from her future.

This definitely is a character-driven novel - at the beginning I was kind of wondering what it was about - and even perhaps a little bit at the end too. However, the story it tells and the characters are pretty unique, and the writing is wonderful. I have a suspicion this is going to be one of those books that’s not for everyone - but if you’re a fan of any or all of the Ann(e)s (Patchett, Packer, Tyler, Napolitano, Hood) then I’d recommend it to you. I’m also glad my Read Spin Repeat Book Club chose it as our book for the month as I look forward to discussing and dissecting some of the character motivations and actions.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC (out 9/23/25); all opinions are my own.

[Fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Zibby Publishing for my #gifted ARC and PR Box and thank you Libro.FM for my #gifted ALC of The Phoebe Variations #ThePhoebeVariations #ZibbyPublishing #ZibbyBooksAmbassador #librofm #RachelJacobs #JaneHamilton

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐛𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐛𝐬
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

4★

The Phoebe Variations is a coming of age novel about Phoebe, an adopted teenager who is about to graduate high school and has no interest in her birth parents. But when her adoptive mother, Greta, insists on taking her to meet her biological parents and siblings, the meeting goes terribly wrong and flips Phoebe’s world upside down. Leaning on her best friend Luna, Phoebe decides to run away to their friend Patrick’s house who is one of fourteen siblings. There, she thinks she will go unnoticed. While there, Phoebe has Patrick cut off her long hair to a much shorter style, which catches the attention of Patrick’s older brothers.

This book was a bit of a surprise to me. It was nothing like what I expected, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I really enjoyed Phoebe’s character and I appreciated her growth throughout the book. I felt like the author did a great job writing about a teenager during a difficult time in her life in the 1970s. I think you kind of have to realize that this book, as a coming of age novel, is going to have disappointments and challenges for the main character, and I felt the author did an excellent job articulating those challenges and showing how the main character demonstrated growth as a result. There was a lot of focus on friendship and mother/daughter relationships and just the unknown as she was facing life and new and shifting identities.

🖤Coming of Age
🖤Navigating Relationships
🖤Mother/Daughter Relationships
🖤Self-Discovery

🎧Rachel Jacobs was an excellent narrator and I thought she did a phenomenal job breathing life into Phoebe and the rest of the characters. I found it hard to put stop listening once I started this audiobook because I was so hooked on not only the story, but also the narration!

[Sydney Barcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an advance copy expecting a light, easy, coming of age story. I was quickly pulled into the lead character and into the story. I was really struck by how the author captured both his wisdom and her naivety in first person. While much of the plot seemed hyperbolic it never veered into unbelievable and the angst and ennui were so palpable. There are many great threads to explore and and discuss, particularly around parenting styles and cultural assumptions. I can’t wait to share this with my book club.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book at the library thinking it would be sci-fi of the “Sliding Doors” variety. When I realized it was a coming of age story, I still thought I would like it. But Phoebe just seems to wander for most of the book and to allow things to happen instead of taking agency over her life. And I guess finally she does make her own decisions, but overall the book and her journey just irritated me.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+ A coming of age story as two young girls as they graduate from high school in the 1970’s. Phoebe’s activist single mom and her best friend are dominant women. She drifts away from their overshadowing influence, but is unable to articulate her own desires as her life turns away from the standard path. Hamilton uses an abstract viewpoint for Phoebe’s ‘not choosing is a choice’ approach to life that is frustratingly effective. + for narrative by Rachel Jacobs.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phoebe is standing at the cusp of adulthood. It’s her senior year of high school and her adoptive mother takes her to Wisconsin to meet her birth parents. Phoebe has always known she was adopted, but meeting her biological family turns her world upside down.

What follows is an examination of identity, friendship, family, and coming of age. Set in the 1970s, the story is told through Phoebe’s recollections some fifty years later. It is a heavily character driven novel with reflection on the challenges facing the MC as she faces her future with particular emphasis on the mother-daughter relationship.

Sometimes tender, sometimes funny, always honest; this is a book that meanders as personal reflection often does. It requires patience and is rewarded.

The audiobook narration by Rachel Jacobs is conversational and captures the emotions felt by Phoebe as she looks back of the moments, experiences, and people that shaped her life.

Thank you to Zibby Publishing and Libro.fm for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

[Christine Savukinas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately this book just did not work for me. The story of Phoebe, as told by her almost 70 year old self, did not seem to have a point. I usually enjoy literary fiction, but I kept waiting for something that didn’t happen. The story begins when Phoebe, who has always know she was adopted, meets her birth family. This, combined with her tumbling academic standing, sets her off on an adventure with no real direction.
Thank you Netgalley and Zibby Publishing for the digital ARC.

[Joy Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe not even a 4, but I can't give Jane Hamilton's below a 4. The sentences were beautiful. The story, not. Burning all your bridges, harshly judging everyone who loves you and cutting them off, not letting your child know who their birth father is and cutting off his whole family so you can keep the secret, etc, but writing this as if the character has grown and emerged a pheonix from the ashes of a mediocre childhood does not make for a powerful plot crashed. started out good then crashed and burned.

[Cheryl Sokoloff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Phoebe’s coming of age story - Phoebe who has grown up with her adoptive “single” mother, who stayed in contact with Phoebe’s biological mother (despite Phoebe’s non-interest).
As Phoebe graduates high school, she decides it is time for her to determine her own future, relying on the help of her friends.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a coming of age story about a 17 year old adopted girl that is on the verge of graduation. Her adopted mother forces her on a day trip to meet her birth parents who have 3 other daughters. It really bothers Phoebe and she decides to leave home. I really didn’t enjoy the story.

[Chelsea Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very character driven coming-of-age story. Full review is up on https://www.instagram.com/p/DO8TOQDDW...

[Melanie Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of all over the place.

[BethFishReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coming-of-age story set in the suburbs of Chicago in the 1970s.

Phoebe was raised by a liberal single mother. She is a good student, an excellent musician, and has two best friends: Luna and Patrick. Although Phoebe is well aware that she's adopted, she's never been interested in her birth mother.

Just weeks before high school graduation, Phoebe's mother, Greta, insists they drive to Wisconsin so Phoebe can meet her biological parents. Shortly after their return home, Greta announces that she plans to foster two young boys. These two events have a profound impact on the teenage Phoebe, who decides to leave home immediately--but where to go?

Luna helps her come up with a scheme, but it will have to wait a couple of days until after their graduation ceremony. Meanwhile, Phoebe begs Patrick to let her sleep in his basement, figuring she won't be noticed among his thirteen brothers and sisters.

One decision and two eventful days change the trajectory of Phoebe's life forever, causing her to question who she really is.

I love the way Hamilton writes; the ambience of this novel is so evocative of the time period. I wonder if younger readers will be able to relate, as their upbringings were so different from ours. Granted, Greta was extra even for those times, but not as extreme as one might think.

I'm still thinking about this book, which begs to be talked about with other readers. Why didn't Phoebe read her Christmas cards? Was Luna supportive or manipulative? Was she a true friend? What about Phoebe's transformation after her haircut? Was it realistic that Phoebe would sleep with an O'Connor boy? Would you have gone along with the prank? Why did Phoebe hide her pregnancy? I have many thoughts, all recorded in my reading journal.

Rachel Jacobs performed the audiobook. Although she didn't create heavily distinct voices for the characters (thank you!), I didn't have trouble following dialogue. She did an excellent job letting Hamilton's work stand on its own and well conveyed Phoebe's complex feelings and emotions. I was immersed in the story. Don't miss the author's note at the end.

Thanks to Zibby for the review copy.

[Linwig · Rating 3 out of 5]

So well written but some missed opportunities here, the main character cuts ties with her mother much too easily. The story stagnates in places. I wanted more Luna & Greta and less Patrick and his brothers. I also wanted another encounter with her birth family

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just bad and so unsatisfying. Nothing really happens, and it just kind of peters out. The story and characters are underwhelming and boring. I finished the novel hoping it would get better, but it never did. If anything, it got worse. There is no evolution or development to the main character and she was way too harsh on her adoptive mother.

[Maddie Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but I just don’t think it’s for me. It felt like nothing happened? But a lot happened? I never got a good sense of any of the characters, so I really didn’t care when things did happen.

[Romulo Perez-Segnini · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could not get into this book. It was confusing with too much of heavy descriptions of everything and anything. The pace was slow and depressing.

To drop academically so violently is hard to believe and the core of the story. After a third of the book I started skimming through it and it did not better.

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I am already a huge Jane Hamilton fan so I was very eager to read this book and it did not disappoint. A fantastic coming of age book about girlhood and identity. I absolutely adored Phoebe’s character and was rooting for her as she navigated secrets, relationships, and figuring out who she was. This will always be an endlessly relatable theme for women. I will be reading this again and again because it was so beautifully written.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a longtime Jane Hamilton fan, so her new release, The Phoebe Variations, was a must-read for me. It’s already received high praise—named a Best Book of Fall by Oprah Daily, an Indie Next Pick for October, and a LibraryReads pick for September.



At its heart, this novel explores identity, adoption, and the complicated bonds of family. Seventeen-year-old Phoebe, poised to graduate at the top of her class, is blindsided when her mother, Greta (whom she calls by her first name at Greta’s insistence), announces that Phoebe must meet her birth parents before heading to college. Greta insists she needs to put lingering questions to rest, but Phoebe has never felt the need—she is perfectly content with the life she shares with Greta.



What shakes Phoebe’s world is the revelation that her birth parents, the Dahlgrens, not only had a daughter before her but went on to have two more children afterward. They gave her away, yet kept the others. To Phoebe, this feels like a rejection she never asked to face. She also discovers that Greta knew the Dahlgrens before Phoebe’s birth, back when they lived in a commune and doubted they could manage another child. Greta had stepped in, believing adoption would give Phoebe a more stable life.



As if this upheaval weren’t enough, Greta also decides to adopt two young boys whose mother struggles with addiction. Suddenly, Phoebe—once an only child—is expected to adjust to siblings and even help care for them.



The novel unfolds through the quiet reflections of adult Phoebe, who looks back on this defining event with estrangement from Greta and with questions about belonging. Greta defends herself, arguing she had offered to share Christmas cards from the Dahlgrens all along, which Phoebe had ignored. Greta herself is portrayed as a woman ahead of her time—an activist, independent, and imperfect—yet a mother whose choices shaped Phoebe’s life in ways she only fully understands as an adult.



Hamilton also broadens the canvas through a neighbor family with sixteen children, whose household chaos Phoebe and her best friend dub “the Asylum.” Here, Hamilton highlights themes of community, survival, and the transformative power of art—particularly music—as a stabilizing, redemptive force.



As always, Hamilton excels at quiet, layered storytelling. Phoebe’s “variations” are revealed through her shifting sense of identity—imagining the life she might have lived with her birth parents, as an only child with Greta, or as part of a sprawling family. Hamilton’s exploration of motherhood and belonging is deeply moving and illuminating, showing how love, absence, and circumstance shape who we become.



I listened to the audiobook, beautifully narrated by Rachel Jacobs, which enriched the experience. Thoughtful, intimate, and resonant, The Phoebe Variations is another gem from Jane Hamilton.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to Goodreads for an advance copy of this novel that looks at a young woman coming of age in the early seventies and how all her plans come to naught, forcing her to change what she expected from herself, and more importantly what she expected from others.

Growing up is hard to do. Especially if one is a woman. That is just par for the course. Adults tend to think that they know best, that there ways are the best ways. When really they were the ways taught to them by adults who also didn't know what that were doing. Just look at the world now. Adults are only listened to because they are loud, or older. Sadly it doesn't make them wiser. Especially to a young woman who's life has just been upended, forced to hide among a wild an wooly clan down the street. With lots of boys, who are starting to look at the young woman with more than neighborly interest. The Phoebe Variations is written by New York Times bestselling author, Jane Hamilton and is a coming of age story about a young girl who was sure of her life, now lost at sea, and feeling things she never thought she would.

Phoebe is seventeen and soon to be graduating college. Phoebe has plans, and a way of looking at the world that make her seem old for her age, but covers a lot of insecurities. Phoebe's Mother, who adopted Phoebe at a young age, feels that Phobe should meet her birth family, something Phoebe is pretty ambivalent about. The meeting goes bad, and Phoebe is suddenly at a loss in the world, not sure of where she fits into anything anymore. Phoebe knows though that living where she is is not helping, so Phoebe decided to hide out in the O'Connor family home, with her friend Patrick. Partrick is part of a large brood of fifteen children, and Phoebe thinks this would be the best to hide out in, no one will notice another face. Things of course go wrong, as Phobe begins to change her hair, her style and her attitude, catching the attention of the Patrick's brothers, something that Phoebe never thought of.

A different kind of story for Hamilton. A family drama set in the early seventies, with a large brood of kids, and a young lady wise beyond her years, but still an innocent in many ways. The characters are interesting and well-developed and Hamilton has a way of writing that makes on keep flipping pages, even when one thinks, this is kind of sitcom-like. This happens a few times, but again, the writing is so good one passes over this, knowing something of emotional depth will be coming soon. And there are a lot of moments like that.

Fans of Hamilton will enjoy this book quite a bit, and this also works as a good introduction to new readers. An intriguing story, filled with good characters and some wonderful writing.

[em · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up from the library on a whim, and then when I looked it up on Goodreads I did not have high expectations because the reviews are SO low. Tbh I think that this book did not reach the target audience... so many of the reviews were from older people (also judging on those profile pictures) that I feel do not fully take into account or understand/remember all the complexities of female friendships.
This book was one of the best that I have read in a long time. Maybe it was best suited for someone like me because I feel so strongly and deeply about the friendships I have with other girls, and I remember how tumultuous that period of transition from girlhood--> womanhood is. A friendship changing is one of the most heartbreaking things to experience. It really really reminded me of My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.
God, how wonderful a deep connection with another girl can be- but also how torturous!!! To be honest there were a lot of plot points that remained quite underdeveloped like her relationship with Greta, which is where a lot of critique comes from. But I don't think the book was as centered on motherhood but rather on that deep platonic verging on homoerotic (...oh God) bond between two girls. There is that theme of jealousy and also yearning for things to stay the same when life ultimately takes a far different path. Her emotional fulfillment when she was surrounded by the O'Connor men vs. Luna were so different because sometimes friendships are so so close you cannot even imagine who you are without the other. She is someone you love the most but at the same time nearly hate. Again, beautiful but also torturous. The ending really made me sad but only because of how realistic it is. Sometimes you simply outgrow each other, sometimes that love and bond is really blinding. And it often takes that "falling out" to grow even though we all wish it never had to happen that way. I think the book does a really good job of capturing Phoebe's acceptance at the end, almost a loneliness that she ultimately needed precisely because she had never truly realized it before.

Such an unnecessarily long review but I really really truly resonated with the book. I'm just beating a dead horse at this point but those bonds and friendships are SO special and how I wish they were unbreakable too.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this book.

I loved Hamilton’s earlier books and was expecting something that might be as memorable. Maybe I just set myself up for disappointment with my high expectations. While the writing is fabulous, the many pages of internal dialogue weighed it down.. I was absorbed when something was happening but lost interest in the many pages of Phoebe’s internal musings, rewriting of her reality, and what ifs. It reminded me a bit of Lily King’s new book Heart the Lover with the entry of the quirky boys that influenced Phoebe’s life. But King’s version of this was much more on point and engaging..

Phoebe Hudson has been raised by Greta who adopted or fostered her, not sure which. For some unknown reason, (we only know Greta through Phoebe’s lens), Greta takes a very reluctant Phoebe to meet her birth parents without preparing her for the fact that she was born into an intact family with three other daughters. Phoebe was the second in birth order and the only one given away. Wow…

This sets Phoebe on her road to self identity. She is about to graduate high school and go to the college Greta selected but now all bets are off. She runs away from Greta’s home to her friend, Patrick’s crazy house known as the Asylum. There are so many children, she thinks she won’t be noticed. But she is by Patrick’s older, eccentric brothers who shepherd her along on her road to self discovery. These experiences are pivotal to the life she ultimately leads.

Phoebe tells her story from the perspective of time. She recalls all the emotion, thoughts, and escapades from this turning point. The characters really are characters as Phoebe remembers them. Luna, her best friend who influenced her coming of age years and becomes a self help guru, the quirky, original O’Connor boys and their younger, more grounded brother, Patrick. Hertha, the German immigrant housekeeper who has her own unique perspective on the lives of these families.

There is much to love in this book. But for me, too many chapters felt unnecessarily drawn out for no real purpose. I would rate it somewhere between a 3 and 4 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Zippy Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC and provide an honest review.

[Susan Ballard (subakkabookstuff) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me some time to process my thoughts on this one. It's a coming-of-age narrative that stands out for its uniqueness, portraying a girl's journey through adolescence in the 1970s in a way that's not often seen.

While that may not seem like something new, this had an almost modern-day Peter Pan feel. I say that all on my own accord, and based mainly on the fact that Phoebe runs away to the O’Connor’s family of fourteen siblings and gets lost (or maybe found) in their family’s pandemonium. The fact that Phoebe decides to chop off her long, flowing hair and is nicknamed Peter (as in Peter Pan) by one of the brothers made this feeling stick.

The story focuses on the difficulties, disappointments, and rebellions of the teenage years. Phoebe had been adopted, with no interest in meeting her birth mother. So, along with all the challenges of growing up, she must navigate her mother/daughter relationships, and how she will choose to let that define her?

Something that struck me is the idea of influence. Phoebe was greatly influenced by her friend Luna, and then she was swayed or smitten by some of the O’Connor boys. It just spoke to me that as Phoebe matured, she definitely had people pulling her in certain directions.

🎧 I enjoyed having the audiobook narrated by Rachel Jacobs to pair with my reading. Rachel did a fantastic job making Phoebe real for me—an excellent production.

3.5 🌟


Thank you @zibbypublishing for this #gifted book and the swag.
Thank you @librofm for the gifted audiobook.