What do you think?
Rate this book
Greetings from Nowhere
Aggie isn't expecting visitors at the Sleepy Time Motel in the Great Smoky Mountains. Since her husband died, she is all alone with her cat, Ugly, and keeping up with the bills and repairs has become next to impossible. The pool is empty, the garden is overgrown, and not a soul has come to stay in nearly three months. When she reluctantly places a For Sale ad in the newspaper, Aggie doesn't know that Kirby and his mom will need a room when their car breaks down on the way to Kirby's new reform school. Or that Loretta and her parents will arrive in her dad's plumbing company van on a trip meant to honor the memory of Loretta's birth mother. Or that Clyde Dover will answer the For Sale ad in such a hurry and move in with his daughter, Willow, looking for a brand-new life to replace the one that was fractured when Willow's mom left. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is that Aggie and her guests find just the friends they need at the shabby motel in the middle of nowhere.
From an author long recognized for her true Southern voice and heartfelt characters, Greetings from Nowhere, with its four intertwining stories, brings Barbara O'Connor's work to a new level of sophistication.
This title has Common Core connections.
From an author long recognized for her true Southern voice and heartfelt characters, Greetings from Nowhere, with its four intertwining stories, brings Barbara O'Connor's work to a new level of sophistication.
This title has Common Core connections.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
89 people are currently reading
1656 people want to read
About the author
Barbara O'Connor
49 books677 followersBarbara O'Connor's awards include the Parents Choice Gold and Silver Award, American Library Association Notable Books, IRA Notable Books for a Global Society, School Library Journal Best Books, and Kirkus Best Books. Her books have been nominated for children's choice awards in 38 states and voted as a state favorite by children in South Carolina, Indiana, Kansas, and South Dakota.
Barbara was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. She draws on her Southern roots to write award-winning books for children in grades 3 to 6.
She currently lives in Asheville, NC. Her latest book is Wish, a middle grade novel published by FSG.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/barbar...
Barbara was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. She draws on her Southern roots to write award-winning books for children in grades 3 to 6.
She currently lives in Asheville, NC. Her latest book is Wish, a middle grade novel published by FSG.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/barbar...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 310 reviews
July 14, 2018
I love Barbara O'Connor, and her style of writing, and this was the one that introduced me to her. She captures the south beautifully in her writing, and it's so perfect. The characters were so real I expected them to jump off the pages. And the end was so lovely.
"Greetings From Nowhere" certainly has a place "Somewhere" in my heart.
"Greetings From Nowhere" certainly has a place "Somewhere" in my heart.
April 4, 2015
I will always love this book. I first read this book as a 11 year old, and loved it. I decided to pick it up again as a 15 year old, curious as to whether or not I would enjoy it just as much as I enjoyed it the first time. I did.
This book is beautifully written, It follows 4 unique characters whose lives intertwine and weave together in a way that is incredibly special.
In particular I enjoyed the characters of Willow and Aggie. Aggie, the oldest character in the book, brought so much emotion into the story, and as a reader your heart ached for the loss that she has recently undergone. Willow is a powerful character throughout the book, she is mature and caring and provided a levelness to the story. The other two characters in this book, Kirby and Loretta, were special as well. Kirby represented the imperfectness and unfairness of the world and the hasty generalizations placed on him. Loretta was so sweet and innocent. but at time could be a little but 'in your face' and annoying. Beyond the main characters in the story there were a few supporting characters that held the story together.
I think that one of the themes presented throughout this book is: No matter how we meet someone or how long we are in their lives, sticking together, being there for each other, and helping one another can impact and change lives for the better.
I loved the setting of this book. It really set the mood for the story.
The plot of this book was done well and has the ability to appeal to a wide range of readers.
If you are looking for a sweet story (and a fast read!) I would consider picking this book up.
This book is beautifully written, It follows 4 unique characters whose lives intertwine and weave together in a way that is incredibly special.
In particular I enjoyed the characters of Willow and Aggie. Aggie, the oldest character in the book, brought so much emotion into the story, and as a reader your heart ached for the loss that she has recently undergone. Willow is a powerful character throughout the book, she is mature and caring and provided a levelness to the story. The other two characters in this book, Kirby and Loretta, were special as well. Kirby represented the imperfectness and unfairness of the world and the hasty generalizations placed on him. Loretta was so sweet and innocent. but at time could be a little but 'in your face' and annoying. Beyond the main characters in the story there were a few supporting characters that held the story together.
I think that one of the themes presented throughout this book is: No matter how we meet someone or how long we are in their lives, sticking together, being there for each other, and helping one another can impact and change lives for the better.
I loved the setting of this book. It really set the mood for the story.
The plot of this book was done well and has the ability to appeal to a wide range of readers.
If you are looking for a sweet story (and a fast read!) I would consider picking this book up.
January 12, 2022
This is my first Barbara O’Connor and I just loved it so much. I will definitely be reading more from her. This book is a quick read and so full of heart. It made for a great fast read when I was feeling bogged down in my reading life.
August 3, 2008
One Sentence Review: O'Connor knocks another one clean out of the park with a really wonderful tale of several very different kids and one old, run-down, defunct motel.
January 25, 2016
Barbara O'Connor writes realistic fiction for children that has kids who are facing true life challenges. In this book, the lives of 3 children become interwoven as they all stay at the same old motel. Each child has a burden: a mother who left, an unknown birth mother who died, and uncaring parents. Even though this could be a depressing book, it was very well done and shows how children and adults can rise above the worst situation.
March 30, 2018
She pushed herself out of the chair and headed down the path out of the garden. But before she rounded the corner of the motel, she looked up at the mountain sky and said, "This has been one heck of a parade, ain't it, Harold?"
To be honest, I don't know what to rate this book. 4 stars? 3.5 stars? Somewhere in between?
This book is something special, I will say that. It felt like, and bear with me on this description, one of those movies that comes on the TV while you're at your Grandma's and you think "oh, I haven't seen this in awhile", and you watch it, and all is right with the world for 90 minutes or so. Despite never reading it before, it had a sense of nostalgia. It's theme song, I've decided as I write this review and listen to it, is "For Forever" from Dear Evan Hansen. It's got a similar vibe.
This is a book about life, and about how life (or, to me, God) works in mysterious ways to get us to meet each other. We follow four different characters, all of whom need the others to heal the broken bits of their life. There's Aggie, who's just lost Harold and is now losing their motel, who talks to Harold in the tomato patch and has a cat so ugly that that's what she named it. There's Willow, who's just lost Dorothy and keeps an old calendar just because it has her writing in it, who collects china horses and doesn't like her father's new mousetrap of a heart. There's Kirby, who's on his way to yet another reform school he doesn't really want to go to, who just needs someone who doesn't look at him with disappointed eyes. And then there's Loretta, who's just lost someone she didn't know, her other mother, who wants to be as beautiful as the girl in the picture and walk where she did. Their paths converge at the Sleepy-Time Motel, and they learn about life through things like pig latin, the bottom of empty swimming pools, and rubies.
I feel like this book was so close to being a new favorite. It's reminiscent of other favorites I've had in the past, but it just missed the mark. But it contains some of my favorite tropes (elderly person and children bond and become friends, friendship in odd ways, friendship in general, tbh) and I did enjoy myself reading it. And it was super short.
So, getting to the end of this review, I think it got a solid 4 stars. Yeah.
To be honest, I don't know what to rate this book. 4 stars? 3.5 stars? Somewhere in between?
This book is something special, I will say that. It felt like, and bear with me on this description, one of those movies that comes on the TV while you're at your Grandma's and you think "oh, I haven't seen this in awhile", and you watch it, and all is right with the world for 90 minutes or so. Despite never reading it before, it had a sense of nostalgia. It's theme song, I've decided as I write this review and listen to it, is "For Forever" from Dear Evan Hansen. It's got a similar vibe.
This is a book about life, and about how life (or, to me, God) works in mysterious ways to get us to meet each other. We follow four different characters, all of whom need the others to heal the broken bits of their life. There's Aggie, who's just lost Harold and is now losing their motel, who talks to Harold in the tomato patch and has a cat so ugly that that's what she named it. There's Willow, who's just lost Dorothy and keeps an old calendar just because it has her writing in it, who collects china horses and doesn't like her father's new mousetrap of a heart. There's Kirby, who's on his way to yet another reform school he doesn't really want to go to, who just needs someone who doesn't look at him with disappointed eyes. And then there's Loretta, who's just lost someone she didn't know, her other mother, who wants to be as beautiful as the girl in the picture and walk where she did. Their paths converge at the Sleepy-Time Motel, and they learn about life through things like pig latin, the bottom of empty swimming pools, and rubies.
I feel like this book was so close to being a new favorite. It's reminiscent of other favorites I've had in the past, but it just missed the mark. But it contains some of my favorite tropes (elderly person and children bond and become friends, friendship in odd ways, friendship in general, tbh) and I did enjoy myself reading it. And it was super short.
So, getting to the end of this review, I think it got a solid 4 stars. Yeah.
October 2, 2024
Barbara O'Connor is the author of this engaging story. It is a realistic fiction narrative about three middle-grade children and a widow, each grappling with complex challenges. The book delves into the lives of these characters, who first meet at the Sleepy-Time Motel, become friends, and help each other overcome their painful hardships.
January 9, 2026
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS SIRRRRRRRR. Good books and it SLAYEd and it ATE AND LEFT NO CRUMBS!!! It was good but I wanted WIllows Dad and Aggie to get married and then I realized she was an old lady and I got mad. Lololol lolol I feel like thought Barbara O'conner always writes her books dry and hot. In this book it could've been lush and green but no it was hot and red dirt. #BRUH.
October 10, 2014
Greetings From Nowhere is a book that everyone should read in their lifetime. The book follows four main characters, Aggie, Willow, Loretta, and Kirby, and how they find themselves meeting at a motel in North Carolina. Although the book is a bit frustrating with how short the "chapters" are and also how each "chapter" is told from one of the four different points of views, there are definitely moments that make your eyes well up with tears and moments that make you want to laugh awkwardly. Aggie, the owner of the motel, is a widow with a big heart who teaches the kids some important life lessons. All in all, the book is entertaining and has a solid storyline. Take the time to read it and you surely won't regret it.
July 6, 2019
Wonderful! Wonderful! Not at all what I expected, and I've read most of Barbara O'Connor's books. And yet she still manages to surprise me. If you are a fan of Fredrik Backman, you'll love this one. ❤❤❤
June 2, 2025
4 stars ⭐️
This was just a quick little re-read to get me through the night we lost him. I enjoyed getting to know each character. Willow was so sweet and in the beginning of the book I was just getting really sad hearing about her mom, especially with graduation emotions. Then kirby I honestly didn’t really care about until the end when he talked about being a “fine young man.” Loretta was kind of a mid character, because she didnt really experience any emotions besides in the beginning finding out her biological mom was dead. Aggie was definitely the most entertaining character but she didnt do much either. This book was sweet but honestly boring. I think it couldve been more entertaining if when they switched perspectives they went into first person, instead of staying in third person the whole book.
This was just a quick little re-read to get me through the night we lost him. I enjoyed getting to know each character. Willow was so sweet and in the beginning of the book I was just getting really sad hearing about her mom, especially with graduation emotions. Then kirby I honestly didn’t really care about until the end when he talked about being a “fine young man.” Loretta was kind of a mid character, because she didnt really experience any emotions besides in the beginning finding out her biological mom was dead. Aggie was definitely the most entertaining character but she didnt do much either. This book was sweet but honestly boring. I think it couldve been more entertaining if when they switched perspectives they went into first person, instead of staying in third person the whole book.
October 10, 2019
Sleepy Time Motel is one of those wonderful old vintage motels located in the mountains of North Carolina. At one time the motel was bustling but now it is hidden amongst a country road. Aggie and her husband Harold owned the Sleepy Time, but after Harold's death Aggie has given up. Kirby is on his way to a boys school when his mother's car breaks down on the side of the road. All signs lead to Sleepy Time Motel. Elsewhere adopted child Loretta AKA Lulu is given a box of momentos from her late birth mother and fate leads Lulu and her parents to the Sleepy Time Motel. After her mother deserts them, Willow's father wants to make a new start.. why it is buying the Sleepy Time Motel. This is a great story of how sometimes different people from different backgrounds come into your life and teach you things that you never knew about yourself.
March 29, 2026
This book is, without a doubt, a 5 star book for 4th - 6th graders. It's one I hugged to my chest after I read it. It's about imperfect people, and imperfect families, who happen to stumble into each other at an old mountain motel. There are three children from different places and an old lady who befriends them all and helps them find friendships with each other.
For me, personally? This setting was like going home again, remembering all my visits to the Great Smoky Mountains when I was growing up. I loved every moment of this book. :)
For me, personally? This setting was like going home again, remembering all my visits to the Great Smoky Mountains when I was growing up. I loved every moment of this book. :)
July 24, 2024
This is the second book I have read by this author, who writes middle-grade novels. I love her writing style and how she crafts stories that are so real. This is a story of Aggie, the owner of a tiny, rundown motel that has seen better days, and three families who stay there at the same time and end up changing their own lives and Aggie’s in unexpected ways.
April 13, 2022
Short, wholesome book set at an old Smokey Mountain motel. I like the multiple perspectives that got to the heart of each character. A nice relaxing read.
February 26, 2025
Sometimes you don't need 500 pages to fall in love with book characters
August 2, 2021
Read this with my 9 yr old daughter - Battle of the Books. Wonderful story and characters!
March 13, 2022
It is refreshing to read a book about intergenerational friendships and the possibilities of starting over.
I forgot that before 2008 kids did not go around with their faces buried in devices and a general lack of interest in older people.
The friendships described in this story feel almost quaint and antiquated. I don't think they are unrealistic, but I have a hard time imagining them now.
I forgot that before 2008 kids did not go around with their faces buried in devices and a general lack of interest in older people.
The friendships described in this story feel almost quaint and antiquated. I don't think they are unrealistic, but I have a hard time imagining them now.
February 7, 2025
Sometimes, a simple, very spare style of writing can be gorgeous and meaningful. Sometimes, it just feels insulting to its readers. This book, unfortunately, leans toward the latter. It's one of those books where you meet a whole cast of characters who each have A Problem (death of a spouse, divorced parents, death of a bio mom, being sent away to reform school, etc), and they all get thrown together in one place where they can, if not exactly solve all their problems, at least process them together in a heartwarming(ish) way. It's not a formula I hate, but it's also one that really needs to be done well. This one wasn't.
October 5, 2025
A very sweet, uplifting little book.
June 14, 2016
Didn't realize until I finished the book that this is the author of How to Steal a Dog, a book that stole my heart as this one did. Don't be swayed by the fact that this is a book for children/tweens. This is a story of a group of people who didn't know they needed one another until they all show up at a run-down motel off the Interstate in the Great Smokey Mts. Widowed Aggie and Harold had run the motel for years but, with Harold's passing, Aggie just can't handle the motel but she can't leave because this is where Harold "is." Willow's dad buys the motel unseen after his wife cut a trail leaving him and Willow alone. Kevin's mom's car breaks down near the motel on the way to take Kevin to reform school. Loretta's family is following a trail of Loretta's deceased birthmother (and this family is the only well-adjusted one in the bunch.) This ill-assorted group of people find that they need each other and become family by the end of the book. Just a beautiful book.
March 8, 2009
I love this book! I love that it's written in different voices (changing each chapter as we experience the story through a different character's persepective). I love the southern feel of the story. I loved How to Steal a Dog and, like in that story, I love that she perfectly captures the generational differences between our characters in the story.
A worthy read for any reader.
A worthy read for any reader.
October 14, 2013
What a great juvenile book about loss, divorce, and other major woes. Three kids and an older lady are the main characters who each learn from one another how fortunate that they all are. They all learn that there is more to their lives and life is not as bad as it seems.
I read this for a reading challenge and it was a great pick!
I read this for a reading challenge and it was a great pick!
February 4, 2017
Ebob book #5
This one was just okay. I found it a little cliche and sappy. I didn't really connect with the characters. there was nothing inherently wrong with it, but it's not one I would recommend to people. I also found the premise a little unrealistic, and the characters undeveloped. The only character I was really interested in was Kirby, and his story really went nowhere.
This one was just okay. I found it a little cliche and sappy. I didn't really connect with the characters. there was nothing inherently wrong with it, but it's not one I would recommend to people. I also found the premise a little unrealistic, and the characters undeveloped. The only character I was really interested in was Kirby, and his story really went nowhere.
November 4, 2025
This book didn't have the same charm of my 1st Barbara O'Connor book, Wish. It felt like a fairly serious book with each character going through their own challenges. However, challenges are solved by the end of the book and a lovely theme of children and adults working together towards a goal where all would benefit.
March 8, 2012
I think these are the best books i have ever read i mean not like the best of the best but i just LOVED this book but not as much as How To Steal a Dog! My teacher read this to us and i thought it was really good!
October 29, 2016
A sweet book describing the unlikely community forged between an odd group of characters at a run-down motel, that's in need of as much TLC as its owners and traveling tenants are. This was recommended to me by my 9-year old who read it and thought I'd like it. She was right.
December 3, 2015
A great book about new beginnings and second chances. Love the characters!
September 22, 2016
This is a book that has different points of view from Aggie, Willow, Loretta, and Kirby.It is a really good book!!!
Read
January 2, 2020My 9 year old and I took turns reading this to each other and it was as wonderful as I had expected. We love Barbara O'Connor.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 310 reviews