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Won't Be Long Now
Coming of age in 1950s Kansas, a misunderstood young woman must find her way through a society ill-equipped to give her grace in this powerful, exhilarating story about loyalty, family, and hard-won self-acceptance for readers of Jayne Anne Phillips, Patti Callahan Henry, and Donna Everhart.
Billie Enholm has never known quite how to define what makes her different from her schoolmates and her cousins, but there’s no denying that she is. Bright but awkward, gifted with numbers and words yet baffled by the ease with which others interact, Billie lives with a constant, nagging voice that insists she’s doing everything wrong. Even Billie’s mother, Dixie, describes her as an “odd-wad.”
When Billie’s father dies and Dixie retreats deeper into beer and apathy, Billie’s alienation grows. Summers spent at her grandparents’ house in small-town Wiley, eighty-some miles away, have always been a source of comfort—until rejection by her favorite cousin leaves her feeling even more alone. No one can fathom how Billie sees the world—the piercing moments of beauty and heartache she experiences, her uncompromising honesty and lack of guile. And while it feels as if everywhere else, the 1960s are ushering in a new era of protest and change, her own prospects remain stagnant.
Then tragedy engulfs the Enholm family, prompting revelations, questions, and a life-changing dilemma. Out of these unlikely circumstances comes a chance for forgiveness and understanding, and a way, at last, for Billie to reconcile her desire for love with her need for acceptance, just as she is.
In a novel as emotional and nuanced as her acclaimed first novel, Elizabeth Hardinger gives readers a wholly original heroine whose journey is as unforgettable as it is ultimately uplifting.
Billie Enholm has never known quite how to define what makes her different from her schoolmates and her cousins, but there’s no denying that she is. Bright but awkward, gifted with numbers and words yet baffled by the ease with which others interact, Billie lives with a constant, nagging voice that insists she’s doing everything wrong. Even Billie’s mother, Dixie, describes her as an “odd-wad.”
When Billie’s father dies and Dixie retreats deeper into beer and apathy, Billie’s alienation grows. Summers spent at her grandparents’ house in small-town Wiley, eighty-some miles away, have always been a source of comfort—until rejection by her favorite cousin leaves her feeling even more alone. No one can fathom how Billie sees the world—the piercing moments of beauty and heartache she experiences, her uncompromising honesty and lack of guile. And while it feels as if everywhere else, the 1960s are ushering in a new era of protest and change, her own prospects remain stagnant.
Then tragedy engulfs the Enholm family, prompting revelations, questions, and a life-changing dilemma. Out of these unlikely circumstances comes a chance for forgiveness and understanding, and a way, at last, for Billie to reconcile her desire for love with her need for acceptance, just as she is.
In a novel as emotional and nuanced as her acclaimed first novel, Elizabeth Hardinger gives readers a wholly original heroine whose journey is as unforgettable as it is ultimately uplifting.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published April 28, 2026
About the author
Elizabeth Hardinger
2 books377 followersElizabeth Hardinger grew up near Hutchinson, Kansas. She now lives in Oregon with her husband, one cat, and an occasional grandchild. All the Forgivenesses is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
April 17, 2026
WON’T BE LONG NOW
by Elizabeth Hardinger
Narrated by Jeannie Sheneman
(3.5 stars, rounded down)
Won’t Be Long Now is a slower-paced, character-driven novel that focuses more on internal thoughts and emotional development than plot. It was hard for me to stay engaged at times, but I eventually started to enjoy Billie’s journey.
Billie felt authentic in her own way. She needed love and acceptance and didn’t get it when she most needed it. She carries her anxieties, isolation, and uncertainties on her own and does the best she can to make sense of them.
The writing is spare and doesn’t over-explain, letting small details and inner thoughts unfold naturally. This gives the story a quiet, introspective tone.
Jeannie Sheneman’s narration really fits the story. She captures the quiet emotion and subtle tension, making the softer moments feel real.
Set in 1950s–60s Kansas, this is a coming-of-age story about a bright but awkward girl who has always felt different. After her father’s death and her mother’s withdrawal, her loneliness deepens, especially after a painful rejection. In the end, Billie is forced to face hard truths and begins to find her way toward forgiveness and self-acceptance.
Thank you to BookBrowse, NetGalley, HighBridge Audio, and RB Media for the ARC/ALC.
by Elizabeth Hardinger
Narrated by Jeannie Sheneman
(3.5 stars, rounded down)
Won’t Be Long Now is a slower-paced, character-driven novel that focuses more on internal thoughts and emotional development than plot. It was hard for me to stay engaged at times, but I eventually started to enjoy Billie’s journey.
Billie felt authentic in her own way. She needed love and acceptance and didn’t get it when she most needed it. She carries her anxieties, isolation, and uncertainties on her own and does the best she can to make sense of them.
The writing is spare and doesn’t over-explain, letting small details and inner thoughts unfold naturally. This gives the story a quiet, introspective tone.
Jeannie Sheneman’s narration really fits the story. She captures the quiet emotion and subtle tension, making the softer moments feel real.
Set in 1950s–60s Kansas, this is a coming-of-age story about a bright but awkward girl who has always felt different. After her father’s death and her mother’s withdrawal, her loneliness deepens, especially after a painful rejection. In the end, Billie is forced to face hard truths and begins to find her way toward forgiveness and self-acceptance.
Thank you to BookBrowse, NetGalley, HighBridge Audio, and RB Media for the ARC/ALC.
November 30, 2025
✰ 2.75 stars ✰
Welp, now if that ain't the most contrary statement I've ever heard that I let out a small scoff of disbelief. After the way it began that's really the only impression I was having. It's only through sheer stubbornness and the willful belief that somewhere, somehow, the writing can change its tune and convince me that it was not all for naught, did I plough my way through Book One of Billie's life - from her childhood days till her high school years.
I struggled to stay invested, because future Billie's diction for retelling her story was both impersonal and a stilted one, that was relaying each year of her life with painstaking detail of unfeeling that I had to keep pushing myself to stay focused and inwardly convince myself that Amina, you have to give it a chance.
“Maybe that was it, The Meaning everybody was looking for: you never know when it will be too late. What a cliché. What a tragedy.”
It was in Book Two, when a horrific tragedy occurred that from the mundane to the meaningful, to the distant memories to the distanced beings of where the present met the past, did I find myself - not wholly absorbed, but curious to see Billie's final outcome. Her complicated relationship with her Daddy and Mother, her impressions, her reactions, and her final assessment of this stage that impacted it by the sadness left in its wake.
It's a story that has us examine what it means to matter to someone and the depths of one's love or feelings for another. how we choose to express it and the decisions we take to attain a moment of certainty that we are worthy of being cherished. Billie's core was shattered with her father's death, the wavering affection of her mother, and a fractured instance that never quite relinquished its hold on her. Those three defining factors contributed to her own understanding of herself, which in the early 50s and 60s, there was no way to classify it as neurodivergence.
“To be known for your true unvarnished self and be accepted, that’s love.”
Did I like it? No. But, I am a reader who can appreciate when a message does align in a way, where it converges to a point of uncanny realization, that I can appreciate the author's intention and effort. The tone and the style leaves much to be desired, and I thought the author richly captured the ambience of life in Kansas during the 50s and 60s - a deep-rooted sense of kinship and love of life.
I will not fault anyone for DNF-ing if they have difficulty adjusting to Billie and her own anxiety and afflictions with her mental health: it is jarring. Still, I can admire her resilience, and eventual acceptance of her own misguided understanding of herself, as certain truths are revealed to her. A peace of mind that she had unwittingly been deprived of and that was a maze in itself that I was not lost in, but found a way out of. How it Won't Be Long Now for the sacrifices made out of necessity, will seem as acts of kindness.
I was not particularly fond of the final few chapters, which I felt rather than explaining the meaning of love, could have been told differently rather than an info-dump of her later years. Despite some noteworthy phrases, I was not moved by it. However, the struggle is the journey, and Billy's perception of her life and the people in it, certainly was what shaped her emotions and defined her very existence.
*Thank you to Edelweiss for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
“Nobody wants to hear my life story.”
Welp, now if that ain't the most contrary statement I've ever heard that I let out a small scoff of disbelief. After the way it began that's really the only impression I was having. It's only through sheer stubbornness and the willful belief that somewhere, somehow, the writing can change its tune and convince me that it was not all for naught, did I plough my way through Book One of Billie's life - from her childhood days till her high school years.
I struggled to stay invested, because future Billie's diction for retelling her story was both impersonal and a stilted one, that was relaying each year of her life with painstaking detail of unfeeling that I had to keep pushing myself to stay focused and inwardly convince myself that Amina, you have to give it a chance.
“Maybe that was it, The Meaning everybody was looking for: you never know when it will be too late. What a cliché. What a tragedy.”
It was in Book Two, when a horrific tragedy occurred that from the mundane to the meaningful, to the distant memories to the distanced beings of where the present met the past, did I find myself - not wholly absorbed, but curious to see Billie's final outcome. Her complicated relationship with her Daddy and Mother, her impressions, her reactions, and her final assessment of this stage that impacted it by the sadness left in its wake.
It's a story that has us examine what it means to matter to someone and the depths of one's love or feelings for another. how we choose to express it and the decisions we take to attain a moment of certainty that we are worthy of being cherished. Billie's core was shattered with her father's death, the wavering affection of her mother, and a fractured instance that never quite relinquished its hold on her. Those three defining factors contributed to her own understanding of herself, which in the early 50s and 60s, there was no way to classify it as neurodivergence.
“To be known for your true unvarnished self and be accepted, that’s love.”
Did I like it? No. But, I am a reader who can appreciate when a message does align in a way, where it converges to a point of uncanny realization, that I can appreciate the author's intention and effort. The tone and the style leaves much to be desired, and I thought the author richly captured the ambience of life in Kansas during the 50s and 60s - a deep-rooted sense of kinship and love of life.
I will not fault anyone for DNF-ing if they have difficulty adjusting to Billie and her own anxiety and afflictions with her mental health: it is jarring. Still, I can admire her resilience, and eventual acceptance of her own misguided understanding of herself, as certain truths are revealed to her. A peace of mind that she had unwittingly been deprived of and that was a maze in itself that I was not lost in, but found a way out of. How it Won't Be Long Now for the sacrifices made out of necessity, will seem as acts of kindness.
I was not particularly fond of the final few chapters, which I felt rather than explaining the meaning of love, could have been told differently rather than an info-dump of her later years. Despite some noteworthy phrases, I was not moved by it. However, the struggle is the journey, and Billy's perception of her life and the people in it, certainly was what shaped her emotions and defined her very existence.
*Thank you to Edelweiss for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
April 29, 2026
"Growing up in 1950's Kansas, long before the world has language for minds that work differently, Billie is simply an "odd-wad".
Too honest. Too exacting. Bright but awkward.
Gifted with numbers and words yet mystified by people,
she moves through her small-town world acutely aware of how little it seems built for someone like her."
This is from the back cover of the book.
*** To truly understand and appreciate this novel, the reader must be aware of this description of the main character Billie, and keep it in mind while reading.
*** Nowadays, Billie would be referred to as AUTISTIC.
*** The story is told through Billie's voice and thought processes.
The author, Elizabeth Hardinger did an excellent job of capturing Billie's authentic voice and thoughts, and recording them in the book. This couldn't have been an easy task.
(There has been some negative feedback about the story being stilted, emotionally dry, etc., however, if you have ever spent any length of time around an autistic person, you'll recognize certain traits in our protagonist Billie.
Blunt honesty, repeating sentences or phrases, social awkwardness, and Echolalia, which is the repetition of words, phrases, or sounds spoken by others, to name a few).
This is not the easiest book to read, but it's so worth it.
It allows the reader to experience a bit of what it's like to walk in the shoes of an autistic person. It gives a peek into the mind and thought processes they struggle with. It shows a fraction of what they experience, while trying to navigate life.
I love this book. It's a keeper.
It's going to be one of my top books for the year, and I'll definitely be re-reading it in the future.
I highly, highly recommend this book.
** As always this is just my opinion.
You may have a different experience/point of view, with any book I review. Please judge for yourself.
Thank you for reading!
** I gratefully received this book from the publisher and author in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you!
Too honest. Too exacting. Bright but awkward.
Gifted with numbers and words yet mystified by people,
she moves through her small-town world acutely aware of how little it seems built for someone like her."
This is from the back cover of the book.
*** To truly understand and appreciate this novel, the reader must be aware of this description of the main character Billie, and keep it in mind while reading.
*** Nowadays, Billie would be referred to as AUTISTIC.
*** The story is told through Billie's voice and thought processes.
The author, Elizabeth Hardinger did an excellent job of capturing Billie's authentic voice and thoughts, and recording them in the book. This couldn't have been an easy task.
(There has been some negative feedback about the story being stilted, emotionally dry, etc., however, if you have ever spent any length of time around an autistic person, you'll recognize certain traits in our protagonist Billie.
Blunt honesty, repeating sentences or phrases, social awkwardness, and Echolalia, which is the repetition of words, phrases, or sounds spoken by others, to name a few).
This is not the easiest book to read, but it's so worth it.
It allows the reader to experience a bit of what it's like to walk in the shoes of an autistic person. It gives a peek into the mind and thought processes they struggle with. It shows a fraction of what they experience, while trying to navigate life.
I love this book. It's a keeper.
It's going to be one of my top books for the year, and I'll definitely be re-reading it in the future.
I highly, highly recommend this book.
** As always this is just my opinion.
You may have a different experience/point of view, with any book I review. Please judge for yourself.
Thank you for reading!
** I gratefully received this book from the publisher and author in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you!
April 30, 2026
I so enjoyed this novel of a square peg trying to be squashed into a round hole. This novel had characters so realistic that it seemed more like a memoir than fiction. My heart ached for Billie. With the sudden death of her father at age eight she loses the only person who not only understands her but adores her. The author paints such vivid scenes that this novel will stay with me. Anyone who enjoys realistic, character driven stories will enjoy this look back into mid-century heartland America.
May 22, 2026
This book was a little strange, but not terrible.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Won’t Be Long Now 🌾🖤
by Elizabeth Hardinger
3.5 thoughtful stars
Thank you to Kensington for the ARC 💛📖
This felt like sitting inside someone else’s life for a long time… not always comfortable, not always easy, but deeply human in a way that lingers.
Won’t Be Long Now follows Billie, a girl who moves through the world just slightly out of sync with everyone around her. And that feeling, that constant sense of being “off,” of not quite understanding the rules everyone else seems to know, was captured in a way that felt painfully real. 🖤
Here’s what stayed with me:
• 🌾 Billie’s voice feels authentic, especially in her confusion, her bluntness, and her quiet longing to be understood.
• 💔 The grief and neglect woven through her childhood hit hard. Nothing is softened, and that emotional weight sits with you.
• 👀 There are moments of sharp clarity where Billie sees the world in a way that feels almost too honest, too exposed.
• 🕰️ The 1950s and 60s setting adds another layer, especially knowing there was no language then for the way Billie experiences life.
But this was not an easy read for me:
• 🐢 The pacing drags in the middle, lingering in heaviness without enough forward pull.
• 🫧 The narrative can feel distant, almost detached, which made it harder to fully connect emotionally at times.
• 💭 Some sections felt overextended, while the ending moved too quickly to fully settle in the resolution.
I kept waiting for something to shift, for a stronger emotional release, and while there were glimpses of it, it never fully landed the way I wanted.
Still, there is something quietly powerful here. This is a story about being misunderstood, about growing up without the tools to explain yourself, and about slowly, painfully learning to accept who you are anyway.
Not a light read, not always an engaging one, but undeniably real. 🌾✨
by Elizabeth Hardinger
3.5 thoughtful stars
Thank you to Kensington for the ARC 💛📖
This felt like sitting inside someone else’s life for a long time… not always comfortable, not always easy, but deeply human in a way that lingers.
Won’t Be Long Now follows Billie, a girl who moves through the world just slightly out of sync with everyone around her. And that feeling, that constant sense of being “off,” of not quite understanding the rules everyone else seems to know, was captured in a way that felt painfully real. 🖤
Here’s what stayed with me:
• 🌾 Billie’s voice feels authentic, especially in her confusion, her bluntness, and her quiet longing to be understood.
• 💔 The grief and neglect woven through her childhood hit hard. Nothing is softened, and that emotional weight sits with you.
• 👀 There are moments of sharp clarity where Billie sees the world in a way that feels almost too honest, too exposed.
• 🕰️ The 1950s and 60s setting adds another layer, especially knowing there was no language then for the way Billie experiences life.
But this was not an easy read for me:
• 🐢 The pacing drags in the middle, lingering in heaviness without enough forward pull.
• 🫧 The narrative can feel distant, almost detached, which made it harder to fully connect emotionally at times.
• 💭 Some sections felt overextended, while the ending moved too quickly to fully settle in the resolution.
I kept waiting for something to shift, for a stronger emotional release, and while there were glimpses of it, it never fully landed the way I wanted.
Still, there is something quietly powerful here. This is a story about being misunderstood, about growing up without the tools to explain yourself, and about slowly, painfully learning to accept who you are anyway.
Not a light read, not always an engaging one, but undeniably real. 🌾✨
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This slow moving family drama struggled to keep me interested. It definitley had the potential to make you think through some of what we go through as we grow.
Billie Enholm has never known quite how to define what makes her different from her schoolmates and her cousins, but there’s no denying that she is. Bright but awkward, gifted with numbers and words yet baffled by the ease with which others interact, Billie lives with a constant, nagging voice that insists she’s doing everything wrong. Even Billie’s mother, Dixie, describes her as an “odd-wad.”
When Billie’s father dies and Dixie retreats deeper into beer and apathy, Billie’s alienation grows. Summers spent at her grandparents’ house in small-town Wiley, eighty-some miles away, have always been a source of comfort—until rejection by her favorite cousin leaves her feeling even more alone. No one can fathom how Billie sees the world—the piercing moments of beauty and heartache she experiences, her uncompromising honesty and lack of guile. And while it feels as if everywhere else, the 1960s are ushering in a new era of protest and change, her own prospects remain stagnant.
Then tragedy engulfs the Enholm family, prompting revelations, questions, and a life-changing dilemma. Out of these unlikely circumstances comes a chance for forgiveness and understanding, and a way, at last, for Billie to reconcile her desire for love with her need for acceptance, just as she is.
Billie Enholm has never known quite how to define what makes her different from her schoolmates and her cousins, but there’s no denying that she is. Bright but awkward, gifted with numbers and words yet baffled by the ease with which others interact, Billie lives with a constant, nagging voice that insists she’s doing everything wrong. Even Billie’s mother, Dixie, describes her as an “odd-wad.”
When Billie’s father dies and Dixie retreats deeper into beer and apathy, Billie’s alienation grows. Summers spent at her grandparents’ house in small-town Wiley, eighty-some miles away, have always been a source of comfort—until rejection by her favorite cousin leaves her feeling even more alone. No one can fathom how Billie sees the world—the piercing moments of beauty and heartache she experiences, her uncompromising honesty and lack of guile. And while it feels as if everywhere else, the 1960s are ushering in a new era of protest and change, her own prospects remain stagnant.
Then tragedy engulfs the Enholm family, prompting revelations, questions, and a life-changing dilemma. Out of these unlikely circumstances comes a chance for forgiveness and understanding, and a way, at last, for Billie to reconcile her desire for love with her need for acceptance, just as she is.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Won't Be Long Now by Elizabeth Hardinger highlights a childhood that showed the struggles and hardships of growing up in the fifties and sixties. The main character, BIllie never seems to know what to say. She feels that she has this thing inside her that she struggles to contain. It is anger, rage at not being understood, It even has a name - Charlotte. In today’s world we would speak about her learning differences, maybe even throwing around the word Aspergers. In the 1950s in Kansas, she was considered an odd duck. Making friends was really hard especially as she is so intelligent.
The story really follows her life with her parents. Her dad was always her touch person and he dies suddenly while he is on the road. Billie is then left with her mother who was determined to do the best she can with Billie. The story really explains so much about the struggles of growing up with her love for learning. The family issues with death, drinking and disease. The hard core details of living and struggling.
Billie’s life grows as she begins her own journey. The book allows you to hope and then to see the growth, the strength and the steadiness of Billie. The novel, while laying bare her struggles, shows her desire to learn and grow. Elizabeth Hardinger writes a novel that is focused on the character who comes into her own and accepts herself. Won’t Be Long Now by Elizabeth Hardinger is an interesting read.
The story really follows her life with her parents. Her dad was always her touch person and he dies suddenly while he is on the road. Billie is then left with her mother who was determined to do the best she can with Billie. The story really explains so much about the struggles of growing up with her love for learning. The family issues with death, drinking and disease. The hard core details of living and struggling.
Billie’s life grows as she begins her own journey. The book allows you to hope and then to see the growth, the strength and the steadiness of Billie. The novel, while laying bare her struggles, shows her desire to learn and grow. Elizabeth Hardinger writes a novel that is focused on the character who comes into her own and accepts herself. Won’t Be Long Now by Elizabeth Hardinger is an interesting read.
April 30, 2026
I really enjoyed this book! The FMC shares my love for words, so I immediately felt a kinship. Jeannie Sheneman narrates this coming-of-age story, and she brings a plainspoken Kansas warmth to Billie’s voice. There’s a flatness to her delivery that works beautifully here—not cold, but matter-of-fact in the way that people from that part of the country often are, and I enjoyed the authenticity.
Won’t Be Long Now is the kind of story where the setting does as much work as the plot. South-central Kansas in the fifties and sixties has a particular texture under Hardinger’s writing—dusty, close, and suffocating in the way that small towns can be for kids who don’t belong anywhere in them. Billie is bright and honest and different from everyone around her, and watching her move through adolescence with that constant low hum of wrongness in the background felt very real. The middle stretches drag a little and there were moments I wished the pacing would find its footing sooner, but the emotional payoff Hardinger builds toward earns the patience it asks for.
What I love most is that this isn’t a story about becoming someone different. Billie doesn’t transform herself to fit the world—she finds a way to reconcile who she is with what she needs. That’s a harder and more honest thing to write, and Hardinger pulls it off well.
Thank you to Highbridge Audio and NetGalley for the ARC.
Won’t Be Long Now is the kind of story where the setting does as much work as the plot. South-central Kansas in the fifties and sixties has a particular texture under Hardinger’s writing—dusty, close, and suffocating in the way that small towns can be for kids who don’t belong anywhere in them. Billie is bright and honest and different from everyone around her, and watching her move through adolescence with that constant low hum of wrongness in the background felt very real. The middle stretches drag a little and there were moments I wished the pacing would find its footing sooner, but the emotional payoff Hardinger builds toward earns the patience it asks for.
What I love most is that this isn’t a story about becoming someone different. Billie doesn’t transform herself to fit the world—she finds a way to reconcile who she is with what she needs. That’s a harder and more honest thing to write, and Hardinger pulls it off well.
Thank you to Highbridge Audio and NetGalley for the ARC.
May 9, 2026
Review of arc received through Goodreads Giveaways
I hope I can do this book justice with this review. This isn’t typically the type of book I would’ve picked up, but I’ve been obsessed with historical fiction lately and this checked that box so I gave it a shot.
It starts out in 1950’s Kansas at the beginning of Billie’s childhood, when she’s just starting to retain memories and is painfully aware that she’s not like everyone else. Her family calls her an “odd wad” and she doesn’t have much of a relationship with her mother, who is a functioning alcoholic and isn’t very warm towards her. She feels closer to her father who is a lot like Billie, but he’s often traveling for work so he’s not around much. She spends summers with her grandparents and her cousins, and she’s very close to her grandma but is an outsider with her cousins.
She doesn’t really fit in anywhere, she has no friends, and the author does a fantastic job of making you feel the angst and social confusion Billie feels while trying to navigate life as a person who doesn’t see, think or hear things the way most of her peers do.
There was one extremely weird moment with one of her cousins that wasn’t really delved into too deeply and was basically just swept under the rug, it was an odd addition to the book and I’m not really sure what the point of it was since it was just glossed over and not really addressed again. I may have missed the point of it, or it went over my head.
The pacing was a bit slow, but the major life events she experienced throughout the book as she grows up were deeply relatable to me personally, and there were so many times where the thoughts in Billie’s head felt like they were taken directly from my own head. It was very easy for me to feel like I was inside this character’s mind.
Without giving too much away, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am grateful for the advance copy, and I will definitely read more from this author.
I hope I can do this book justice with this review. This isn’t typically the type of book I would’ve picked up, but I’ve been obsessed with historical fiction lately and this checked that box so I gave it a shot.
It starts out in 1950’s Kansas at the beginning of Billie’s childhood, when she’s just starting to retain memories and is painfully aware that she’s not like everyone else. Her family calls her an “odd wad” and she doesn’t have much of a relationship with her mother, who is a functioning alcoholic and isn’t very warm towards her. She feels closer to her father who is a lot like Billie, but he’s often traveling for work so he’s not around much. She spends summers with her grandparents and her cousins, and she’s very close to her grandma but is an outsider with her cousins.
She doesn’t really fit in anywhere, she has no friends, and the author does a fantastic job of making you feel the angst and social confusion Billie feels while trying to navigate life as a person who doesn’t see, think or hear things the way most of her peers do.
There was one extremely weird moment with one of her cousins that wasn’t really delved into too deeply and was basically just swept under the rug, it was an odd addition to the book and I’m not really sure what the point of it was since it was just glossed over and not really addressed again. I may have missed the point of it, or it went over my head.
The pacing was a bit slow, but the major life events she experienced throughout the book as she grows up were deeply relatable to me personally, and there were so many times where the thoughts in Billie’s head felt like they were taken directly from my own head. It was very easy for me to feel like I was inside this character’s mind.
Without giving too much away, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am grateful for the advance copy, and I will definitely read more from this author.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I spent the bulk of this book wondering what the point of it was. I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way; I just kept waiting for something to happen to alert me to the general plot line of the book, because for a while, it felt like it was just a recitation of the main character's life, from childhood through her teens and into adulthood. When I finally gave up trying to understand the book's purpose, I found myself simply enjoying Billie's character so much. She was sympathetic and relatable and annoying – truly authentic. She didn't try to be anything except Billie. And I found myself appreciating her openness and honesty, even when she knew people didn't always like her.
In the end, the point of the book (at least for me) was acceptance – of the hand you're dealt, of the shortcomings of others, of yourself – and reaching an understanding as an adult of the things you can't possibly understand as a child. The final chapters of the book were quite powerful for me, and I was able to appreciate the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of Billie's personality.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In the end, the point of the book (at least for me) was acceptance – of the hand you're dealt, of the shortcomings of others, of yourself – and reaching an understanding as an adult of the things you can't possibly understand as a child. The final chapters of the book were quite powerful for me, and I was able to appreciate the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of Billie's personality.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I really enjoyed the way the book was set. Stepping back into the 50s and 60s was interesting and I was filled with nostalgia for earlier times. Even though I wasn't born until the late 60s, there was a lot I could relate to. I think there was a really strong original voice in this novel and I always enjoy being able to be part of a different world, immersed in characters whose lives are wholly different from my own.
The start of the book was intriguing and compelling. I enjoyed it. I found there was a time in the middle that it lost its shine a little for me. It seemed a bit too dark for my personal taste and for a while I couldn't see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel. But it did pick up eventually. The ending felt a little rushed. I would have liked to have a little more time in that world at the end and less time in the middle, which dragged a little. That would have made the ending more satisfying, for me. Overall though, I'm glad I read it and would read more from this author.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an ARC.
The start of the book was intriguing and compelling. I enjoyed it. I found there was a time in the middle that it lost its shine a little for me. It seemed a bit too dark for my personal taste and for a while I couldn't see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel. But it did pick up eventually. The ending felt a little rushed. I would have liked to have a little more time in that world at the end and less time in the middle, which dragged a little. That would have made the ending more satisfying, for me. Overall though, I'm glad I read it and would read more from this author.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.75⭐️
My rating seems a little off, even to me, because I met Billie in this title and I connected with her almost immediately. I was drawn in from the start to her life, her emotions and that feeling of being a square peg in a round hole. I loved her connection to her father and the strain of her relationship with her mother saddened me. Somewhere around the middle my interest started to fade and I’m unsure if it was me or the story, but by the end I was wholly invested again and I wish I could’ve rated a little bit higher.
A slow pace that fit the life of the character well, a lifetime saga type novel rather than a coming of age story, ultimately though a story of self discovery and understanding that won’t be to everyone’s taste I’m sure but I’m glad I got to enjoy it.
Jeannie Shenemans narration was excellent and fit the title perfectly.
Many thanks to HighBridge and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧
My rating seems a little off, even to me, because I met Billie in this title and I connected with her almost immediately. I was drawn in from the start to her life, her emotions and that feeling of being a square peg in a round hole. I loved her connection to her father and the strain of her relationship with her mother saddened me. Somewhere around the middle my interest started to fade and I’m unsure if it was me or the story, but by the end I was wholly invested again and I wish I could’ve rated a little bit higher.
A slow pace that fit the life of the character well, a lifetime saga type novel rather than a coming of age story, ultimately though a story of self discovery and understanding that won’t be to everyone’s taste I’m sure but I’m glad I got to enjoy it.
Jeannie Shenemans narration was excellent and fit the title perfectly.
Many thanks to HighBridge and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book was a lot like the meme, "I hope you're hungry....FOR NOTHING!"
This story had undertones of the Kristin Hannah style of writing where the setting and main character exude bleakness, but there is the dangling glimmer of hope that the reader latches on to. However, this did not live up to that genius. Unfortunately, I just could not connect to this story and did not enjoy the reading experience. I felt like this book did not really have a sense of purpose, just simply a re-telling of a life of a young girl who nobody liked with a random tragedy intertwined halfway through. I wanted to care so badly for Birdie, but there was nothing there for me.
There was a lot of potential here for a beautiful story, but unfortunately, for me, it fell flat.
Thank you Netgalley and Highbridge Audio for this ARC!
This story had undertones of the Kristin Hannah style of writing where the setting and main character exude bleakness, but there is the dangling glimmer of hope that the reader latches on to. However, this did not live up to that genius. Unfortunately, I just could not connect to this story and did not enjoy the reading experience. I felt like this book did not really have a sense of purpose, just simply a re-telling of a life of a young girl who nobody liked with a random tragedy intertwined halfway through. I wanted to care so badly for Birdie, but there was nothing there for me.
There was a lot of potential here for a beautiful story, but unfortunately, for me, it fell flat.
Thank you Netgalley and Highbridge Audio for this ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the free e-ARC to review.
This is a coming of age story that started strong. I really liked the narrator at the beginning. I think the writing is strong throughout. But about halfway through, it just got really slow and boring. For the first quarter, I thought I could maybe rate it 5*. There is also a CSA scene that doesn't really need to be there. It didn't really add to the story in any meaningful way.
After the book lost me, I was never able to get back into it. Then there is like 100 pages about a car accident that I couldn't make myself care about. I probably should give it 2* but I'm giving 3 because I liked the beginning so much.
This is a coming of age story that started strong. I really liked the narrator at the beginning. I think the writing is strong throughout. But about halfway through, it just got really slow and boring. For the first quarter, I thought I could maybe rate it 5*. There is also a CSA scene that doesn't really need to be there. It didn't really add to the story in any meaningful way.
After the book lost me, I was never able to get back into it. Then there is like 100 pages about a car accident that I couldn't make myself care about. I probably should give it 2* but I'm giving 3 because I liked the beginning so much.
April 28, 2026
I was initially drawn to this book because it’s set in Kansas, where I’ve lived my entire life. I did enjoy that aspect of it, but there was so much more to it. This coming of age story of a girl in the 1950’s-1960’s who has what is now known as a mild form of autism, is so beautifully written. My favorite quote from the book was at the very end when she said, “One of the greatest days in your life is the day you forgive your parents for their shortcomings.” What a poignant statement. I think every adult has aspects of how they were raised that they would have changed, but in the end the majority of people just do the very best they can to raise their children, and that is enough. This is the second book I’ve read by this author and look forward to more!
May 16, 2026
Won’t Be Long Now
I found this book interesting and relatable. The main character Billie is the sort of girl who blends into a crowd, a wallflower. She is normally not noticed, even though she is quite intelligent. She is plain and unimposing and people tend to forget she is there.
However, her cousins pick on and bully her relentlessly and her mother tends to be overly strict and also bullies her. The one person she can rely on is her father who pays attention to her and defends her against her mother. But then, he dies and she is left to create her own world inside her head.
This is a great story for anyone who has ever found themselves outside of the norm. It provides a few strategies to help with those feelings of emptiness one deals with when alone in life.
I found this book interesting and relatable. The main character Billie is the sort of girl who blends into a crowd, a wallflower. She is normally not noticed, even though she is quite intelligent. She is plain and unimposing and people tend to forget she is there.
However, her cousins pick on and bully her relentlessly and her mother tends to be overly strict and also bullies her. The one person she can rely on is her father who pays attention to her and defends her against her mother. But then, he dies and she is left to create her own world inside her head.
This is a great story for anyone who has ever found themselves outside of the norm. It provides a few strategies to help with those feelings of emptiness one deals with when alone in life.
May 17, 2026
I enjoyed reading the book because of its setting of Hutchinson, Ks. I grew up on a farm near a small town about 60 miles from Hutchinson and it was the nearest “BIG” town so we went there for major shopping and to the State Fair, Cosmosphere, NJCAA National Basketball tournament, movies, etc. In fact, I took my sister to her doctor in Hutchinson two days ago. I also enjoyed that the book was set in the time period when I was in high school and college. It was better than I expected, but there were points in the book that I just wanted things to move along. Although frequently depressing, I believe the author did a good job of presenting lower middle class life and how there was very little assistance if life dealt a bad break.
April 29, 2026
3.5⭐️
This coming-of-age story follows Billie as she grows up in the 1950s and ’60s. It’s well written, and I was especially drawn to Billie as a neurodivergent character—Hardinger does a thoughtful job portraying her perspective and struggles. I also appreciated the reference to “Charlotte.”
The story carries a meaningful message, though it takes a while to fully come into focus. The pacing felt uneven, and I found my interest lagging in the middle sections. While the ending is impactful, it also feels a bit rushed given the slower buildup.
Overall, I enjoyed the novel and its themes. Thank you to the Goodreads Giveaway for providing an advance copy.
This coming-of-age story follows Billie as she grows up in the 1950s and ’60s. It’s well written, and I was especially drawn to Billie as a neurodivergent character—Hardinger does a thoughtful job portraying her perspective and struggles. I also appreciated the reference to “Charlotte.”
The story carries a meaningful message, though it takes a while to fully come into focus. The pacing felt uneven, and I found my interest lagging in the middle sections. While the ending is impactful, it also feels a bit rushed given the slower buildup.
Overall, I enjoyed the novel and its themes. Thank you to the Goodreads Giveaway for providing an advance copy.
May 13, 2026
'Won't Be Long Now,' isn't the easiest book to read: mental illness is an underlying theme throughout, for more than one of the individuals. However, the author deals with the ongoing emotional struggles in a very real and meaningful way that readers may recognize in their own extended families or friendships with others.
The story takes place in the author's home state of Kansas. Although the story begins a decade before I was born, I still recognized many Midwest similarities to my own native Iowa.
I haven't read Author Hardinger's previous book, "All the Forgivenesses." I recently won this novel, 'Won't Be Long Now,' in a Goodreads giveaway.
The story takes place in the author's home state of Kansas. Although the story begins a decade before I was born, I still recognized many Midwest similarities to my own native Iowa.
I haven't read Author Hardinger's previous book, "All the Forgivenesses." I recently won this novel, 'Won't Be Long Now,' in a Goodreads giveaway.
May 15, 2026
As someone who works with kids who are all various degrees of neurodivergence and also as someone who grew up in western Kansas in the 70s and 80s, I found a lot to relate to. There was so much in this novel that brought back memories– visiting the garden of Eden in Lucas, KS, graham crackers with frosting at my grandmother‘s kitchen table, and the Hutchinson State fair. I could understand why this book would perhaps not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I really felt like a lot of this book spoke to me and my experiences and had a lot of introspection that felt authentic.
My thanks to the publisher and Goodreads for this giveaway copy.
My thanks to the publisher and Goodreads for this giveaway copy.
May 24, 2026
If you’re reading this because you loved, “All the forgiveness” like I did- you may be disappointed. I was.
This book was for lack of a better word, weird. I wasn’t totally sure what it was about and it was kind of just all over the place, especially at the end.
In the very beginning, Billie names whatever disorder she has, “Charlotte.” But we never really get told what that was and if it was inferred, I definitely didn’t pick up on it.
I did like the story but, again I felt a bit lost in it because it was so scattered.
It was a different plot and subject matter and I was engaged just fine, but I wasn’t totally in love with finding out what happens.
This book was for lack of a better word, weird. I wasn’t totally sure what it was about and it was kind of just all over the place, especially at the end.
In the very beginning, Billie names whatever disorder she has, “Charlotte.” But we never really get told what that was and if it was inferred, I definitely didn’t pick up on it.
I did like the story but, again I felt a bit lost in it because it was so scattered.
It was a different plot and subject matter and I was engaged just fine, but I wasn’t totally in love with finding out what happens.
May 18, 2026
Unfortunately, despite getting to about 70% with this, I did not finish.
While I found the perspective of Billie interesting to explore, it felt like a long, relentless monologue of really not much happening, with a cast of unendearing and uninspiring characters.
I kind of understand it being an insight of a coming of age for a young girl seeing the world at a different angle from others, but I found it really challenging to stay engaged.
Thank you to Netgalley for the pre-release of this audiobook.
While I found the perspective of Billie interesting to explore, it felt like a long, relentless monologue of really not much happening, with a cast of unendearing and uninspiring characters.
I kind of understand it being an insight of a coming of age for a young girl seeing the world at a different angle from others, but I found it really challenging to stay engaged.
Thank you to Netgalley for the pre-release of this audiobook.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
“Nobody wants to hear my life story.” After struggling through Part 1 and some of Part 2, I decided the main character of this story was correct, nobody really wanted to hear her life story. It is very rare for me not to complete an ARC but I just got stuck and could not move forward and called it quits. For those who persevere, I hope you find a good story.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Publishing | A John Scognamiglio Book, in exchange for a review.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Publishing | A John Scognamiglio Book, in exchange for a review.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Personally, I am able to relate to the FMC Billie, as a person with autism and similar family dynamics and life experiences.
That being said, this isn't the easiest read, nor should it be if you the reader want to emerge on the other side having 'walked a mile in her (Billie's) shoes'.
The pacing and story structure are excellent. The characters well developed for their roles in this story and ultimately it is truly an uplifting story.
That being said, this isn't the easiest read, nor should it be if you the reader want to emerge on the other side having 'walked a mile in her (Billie's) shoes'.
The pacing and story structure are excellent. The characters well developed for their roles in this story and ultimately it is truly an uplifting story.
April 29, 2026
As I began this book, I thought I was reading the inner thoughts of a person on the spectrum, but realized that a lot of her thoughts mirror mine (and I'm not on the spectrum), and I would suspect, if we are honest with ourselves, mirror many of our most mundane thoughts.
And that, I believe, is my description of the book - mundane.
Despite her mother's failed attempts to make her"normal," I think she remained her own unique self.
And that, I believe, is my description of the book - mundane.
Despite her mother's failed attempts to make her"normal," I think she remained her own unique self.
May 5, 2026
This book is really slow, and sad, and to be quite honest, it is very depressing... I almost couldn't finish it. HOWEVER, I'm so glad that I did! The ending is beautiful and a true testament of what real life is. Real life is moving through the ugly parts and coming out the other end with hard lessons learned, and beautiful new ways of looking at life. Read this story and you will be glad you finished it.
Did Not Finish
April 12, 2026At first. I was really enjoying this novel. Billie definitely read as autistic to me, although that term is never explicitly used. I really felt for her as she came of age in an era where neurodivergence was only understood as being quiet or odd. But the pacing felt off, and the jump from Billie's childhood to adolescence was so sudden that I struggled to finish reading.
Review of advance copy
I was lucky enough to win this book from BookBrowse. I had never read any of this author's book before, so I didn't know what to expect. I absolutely loved this book and devoured it over just a couple of days. I loved the writing style and fell in love with the main character, Billie, a young girl coming of age in the 1950's in rural Kansas. I highly recommend this book.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I don't know if Billie truly is autistic, but her struggles were so well written. I could sympathize and relate. The book was even, with not many highs or lows until the ending. It was a surprising ending that made it worth the read. I found myself smiling and happy for Billie.
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