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Her Kind
“Sophie Lefens's voice is blazingly original. Her Kind is a poignant and revelatory meditation on motherhood, womanhood, and the friendships that sustain both. This novel will nourish, inspire, and console you—you'll want to stay in it as long as you can.”
—T Kira Madden, author of Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls and Whidbey
An exquisite, mist-laced debut novel about friendship and motherhood, fear and love, in which a woman plagued by visions of being pulled away from Earth invites her three closest friends for a weekend, to see who might care for her son if she dies
When Ada is left to raise her young son alone, she retreats to her otherworldly aunt Leigh’s crumbling lakeside home, seeking solace for herself and stability for Lenny. Yet, among the wildflowers and the hum of the water, Ada can’t escape the nagging feeling she might not have much time left. Sensing death grow nearer, she invites her three closest friends—a brash, unemployed seamstress; a gentle, disillusioned violinist; and a serious painter—to the house over a long weekend to determine which of them might take on the raising Lenny if she no longer can.
Amidst strange animal activity and Leigh’s mysterious late-night visits to her dead husband’s grave, the women find comfort and purpose in one another’s company as their stay extends into winter. Meanwhile, Leigh’s memory is fading fast, and Ada must confront past and present truths she’s spent a lifetime avoiding.
When death does finally come to the group, it sets off a chain of events that exposes long-hidden secrets and the true mystical nature of Leigh and her ancestral home. Written in attentive, insightful prose, Her Kind is an ode to the power of love to return us to ourselves.
“Her Kind is mesmerizing—a beautifully written, deeply immersive story about love, loss, and the way parenthood exposes the faultlines of mortality, this accomplished debut completely swept me away. I wanted to live in its pages, and felt its questions—about motherhood, most of all—in my bones. A book for everyone who has ever loved another human being beyond reason.”
— Julie Buntin, author of Marlena and Famous Men
—T Kira Madden, author of Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls and Whidbey
An exquisite, mist-laced debut novel about friendship and motherhood, fear and love, in which a woman plagued by visions of being pulled away from Earth invites her three closest friends for a weekend, to see who might care for her son if she dies
When Ada is left to raise her young son alone, she retreats to her otherworldly aunt Leigh’s crumbling lakeside home, seeking solace for herself and stability for Lenny. Yet, among the wildflowers and the hum of the water, Ada can’t escape the nagging feeling she might not have much time left. Sensing death grow nearer, she invites her three closest friends—a brash, unemployed seamstress; a gentle, disillusioned violinist; and a serious painter—to the house over a long weekend to determine which of them might take on the raising Lenny if she no longer can.
Amidst strange animal activity and Leigh’s mysterious late-night visits to her dead husband’s grave, the women find comfort and purpose in one another’s company as their stay extends into winter. Meanwhile, Leigh’s memory is fading fast, and Ada must confront past and present truths she’s spent a lifetime avoiding.
When death does finally come to the group, it sets off a chain of events that exposes long-hidden secrets and the true mystical nature of Leigh and her ancestral home. Written in attentive, insightful prose, Her Kind is an ode to the power of love to return us to ourselves.
“Her Kind is mesmerizing—a beautifully written, deeply immersive story about love, loss, and the way parenthood exposes the faultlines of mortality, this accomplished debut completely swept me away. I wanted to live in its pages, and felt its questions—about motherhood, most of all—in my bones. A book for everyone who has ever loved another human being beyond reason.”
— Julie Buntin, author of Marlena and Famous Men
272 pages, Hardcover
First published October 13, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and I'm grateful for it. It was a book I could really relate to and well written.
March 14, 2026
Thank you, NetGalley, Mariners books, the author for this advanced reader copy.
I went into this book with no expectations, and I was absolute blown away at the vividness of the writing of the author. I really felt like I was transported to an Eden that I think all women dream of. Where you get to live with your best friends, in a beautiful place, while everyone helps raise your child in a loved and supportive environment. It really did feel like quite the dream realized. I felt like I could lose myself in this novel and really enjoyed the time spent with the characters. I felt like I got to know the characters very well and it had a Dawsons Creek like feel to it where I could just enjoy the setting, in the small day to day of what happens.
The foreshadowing throughout the novel is utilized pretty heavy handedly, and I was not surprised by the ending, and did finish the novel feeling like it was wrapped up really abruptly. It does feel like the book could've been another 50 pages longer and would have been perfect.
Overall, this is a very solid debut novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I will definitely recommend this novel to women and mothers who are looking for a little bit of escape, a little bit of a dream realized, and a lot of bit about friendship. I look forward to the next novel by this author.
I went into this book with no expectations, and I was absolute blown away at the vividness of the writing of the author. I really felt like I was transported to an Eden that I think all women dream of. Where you get to live with your best friends, in a beautiful place, while everyone helps raise your child in a loved and supportive environment. It really did feel like quite the dream realized. I felt like I could lose myself in this novel and really enjoyed the time spent with the characters. I felt like I got to know the characters very well and it had a Dawsons Creek like feel to it where I could just enjoy the setting, in the small day to day of what happens.
The foreshadowing throughout the novel is utilized pretty heavy handedly, and I was not surprised by the ending, and did finish the novel feeling like it was wrapped up really abruptly. It does feel like the book could've been another 50 pages longer and would have been perfect.
Overall, this is a very solid debut novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I will definitely recommend this novel to women and mothers who are looking for a little bit of escape, a little bit of a dream realized, and a lot of bit about friendship. I look forward to the next novel by this author.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley, Mariner Books and the Author for this incredible ARC!!!
This novel is so beautiful. I loved reading about Ada's "village", her experience with grief, loss, and forgiveness. I found myself pausing and rereading many lines throughout the story just because they made my heart beat in a new way.
As a nearly 22 year old woman without kids (and who often feels like a child herself), I did not expect to resonate with so many of Ada's feelings and experiences. This novel truly has something for everyone.
This novel is so beautiful. I loved reading about Ada's "village", her experience with grief, loss, and forgiveness. I found myself pausing and rereading many lines throughout the story just because they made my heart beat in a new way.
As a nearly 22 year old woman without kids (and who often feels like a child herself), I did not expect to resonate with so many of Ada's feelings and experiences. This novel truly has something for everyone.
April 19, 2026
Finishing Her Kind got me thinking about that one Roz Chast cartoon, “Manspreading in Art” pls google
I think this book is the exact opposite of that. And somehow it’s anything but condemnatory. This is a book unflinching at femininity and full of small graces. See for example the narrator’s thoughts on a corny-looking man who comes into her shop and strikes up a conversation:
“About halfway in, I realize that this person actually seems quite lonely and that probably, in an earlier age of his life, he would never have talked to a shopgirl or maybe anyone as freely as this.”
Loved, 5 stars
I think this book is the exact opposite of that. And somehow it’s anything but condemnatory. This is a book unflinching at femininity and full of small graces. See for example the narrator’s thoughts on a corny-looking man who comes into her shop and strikes up a conversation:
“About halfway in, I realize that this person actually seems quite lonely and that probably, in an earlier age of his life, he would never have talked to a shopgirl or maybe anyone as freely as this.”
Loved, 5 stars
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A perfect book, and I mean that! Loved it from the very first pages and found myself pulling it out at every chance I could, even staying up late for hours finishing it cause I just couldn’t get enough. I have not stopped talking about it since!
Stunning prose, so poetic but with a soft and steady plot. Beautiful, interesting characters and a curious wisdom throughout.
If you like Mary Oliver, Cmon Cmon, Heart the Lover, Ann Patchett, Gilmore Girls, or The Summer Book you will love this book.
Stunning prose, so poetic but with a soft and steady plot. Beautiful, interesting characters and a curious wisdom throughout.
If you like Mary Oliver, Cmon Cmon, Heart the Lover, Ann Patchett, Gilmore Girls, or The Summer Book you will love this book.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is the book of my dreams. Lefens writes about motherhood and enduring female relationships with total presence and zero artifice. It’s the kind of book you take direction from, that you know you’ll revisit when you’re shattered and trembling in your own life. It is sincere, but not in a cheap or cloying way. It is an antidote to the pervasiveness of detached irony and self-loathing found in so much media today: treating loneliness and terror with warranted gravity, and appropriately agonizing over what it means to love and commit to life and other people. I didn’t want it to end.
Review of advance copy received from Author
When I got to the last page I just sat there quietly, marveling at this book. Sophie Lefens has a voice that is entirely new and unique, yet Her Kind feels like a classic. It’s a story about longing for the things that matter - friendship, love that keeps faith, home. If you are hungry for something beautiful, this book will be your banquet.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Mariner for the eARC.
'Her Kind' is a debut novel from Sophie Lefens. It follows along Ada, the single mother of the small child Lenny whose husband has left her and now lives with her aging aunt Leigh somewhere near Lake Michigan. Ada begins having a recurring dream of being pulled away while she is clinging to dirt, trying to root herself. She takes these dreams to be omens that she is soon to die, and so invites three friends to come in hopes of vetting them to be Lenny's guardian for when she dies.
If that sounds boring, it's because it is. The writing itself is good enough, but the plot throughout this book is practically non-existent and the characters un-interesting. There are mini side plots that I as a reader barely cared about: Leigh's memory beginning to go, Joanna prepping for an art show, Sage taking to the basic Bill, Agnes hating on Sage for taking to Bill, Ada's Hallmark-esque arc towards a relationship with Peter. The recurrence of the dream about being dragged away became tired by the third iteration, and by the end of the book had been firmly beaten to death. The surreal aspects with the local wildlife felt out of place in the complete lack of surreality throughout the rest of the novel. The inclusion of Catholic rituals while espousing virtually none of the ideals of the actual religion felt similarly out of place and a bit out of touch even, wearing it as a badge of vibes while disregarding any of the heavy baggage accompanying it. Lenny's portrayal as a competent child juxtaposed with instances of him doing things such as spraying blue paint all over Joanna's artwork felt inconsistent with his character, and instead just thrown in to give the reader something mildly interesting.
The author seems to herself acknowledge what this book feels like through the following quote from Ada's train of thought:
"Most of Lenny's stories are loose on plot and consist mainly of lists of his favorite things, but so do mine."
While compiling lists of favorite things may be fun to the one writing said list, it can hardly be too entertaining for others. Such is my experience with 'Her Kind.'
TL;DR: Polished writing but dead boring.
'Her Kind' is a debut novel from Sophie Lefens. It follows along Ada, the single mother of the small child Lenny whose husband has left her and now lives with her aging aunt Leigh somewhere near Lake Michigan. Ada begins having a recurring dream of being pulled away while she is clinging to dirt, trying to root herself. She takes these dreams to be omens that she is soon to die, and so invites three friends to come in hopes of vetting them to be Lenny's guardian for when she dies.
If that sounds boring, it's because it is. The writing itself is good enough, but the plot throughout this book is practically non-existent and the characters un-interesting. There are mini side plots that I as a reader barely cared about: Leigh's memory beginning to go, Joanna prepping for an art show, Sage taking to the basic Bill, Agnes hating on Sage for taking to Bill, Ada's Hallmark-esque arc towards a relationship with Peter. The recurrence of the dream about being dragged away became tired by the third iteration, and by the end of the book had been firmly beaten to death. The surreal aspects with the local wildlife felt out of place in the complete lack of surreality throughout the rest of the novel. The inclusion of Catholic rituals while espousing virtually none of the ideals of the actual religion felt similarly out of place and a bit out of touch even, wearing it as a badge of vibes while disregarding any of the heavy baggage accompanying it. Lenny's portrayal as a competent child juxtaposed with instances of him doing things such as spraying blue paint all over Joanna's artwork felt inconsistent with his character, and instead just thrown in to give the reader something mildly interesting.
The author seems to herself acknowledge what this book feels like through the following quote from Ada's train of thought:
"Most of Lenny's stories are loose on plot and consist mainly of lists of his favorite things, but so do mine."
While compiling lists of favorite things may be fun to the one writing said list, it can hardly be too entertaining for others. Such is my experience with 'Her Kind.'
TL;DR: Polished writing but dead boring.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Her Kind captures something I didn’t fully understand until becoming a mom—the sudden, gripping awareness of mortality and how deeply love and fear intertwine. Sophie’s gift for finding and creating beauty shines through in her writing, reminding me of how full and meaningful life is—in friendship, in small moments, in nature, and in our shared humanity. I loved every second of reading this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This one was just okay for me. I enjoyed the sense of community and the supernatural elements woven throughout the story, but I had a hard time connecting with the main character.
The story itself felt disjointed in places, almost like it needed another round of editing to smooth things out and bring everything together. I don't need every relationship wrapped up in a pretty bow, or nice and neat, but I did want a little more resolution than we got. There were several relationships I would have liked to see explored further, especially given how much of the story centered around them.
There were definitely parts I enjoyed, but overall, I just never felt fully invested.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the advance copy. Her Kind publishes October 13.
The story itself felt disjointed in places, almost like it needed another round of editing to smooth things out and bring everything together. I don't need every relationship wrapped up in a pretty bow, or nice and neat, but I did want a little more resolution than we got. There were several relationships I would have liked to see explored further, especially given how much of the story centered around them.
There were definitely parts I enjoyed, but overall, I just never felt fully invested.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the advance copy. Her Kind publishes October 13.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5 stars. Profoundly moving debut novel about “motherhood, friendship and mortality.”
Ada is raising her young son, Lenny, alone, after his father, Daniel, leaves them when Lenny is eighteen months old. Deeply hurt by this, Ada and Lenny go to live with her Aunt Leigh. Here she finds solace and stability but begins to have thoughts about her own mortality, Ada is concerned about Lenny and what would happen to him. She invites her three friends, Agnes, Joanna (Jo) and Sage for a visit for a weekend to discuss this. In the meantime, Aunt Leigh is acting strange and her memory is fading. But amid this Ada has found warmth in her friends all of whom extend their visit through the holiday. Then an event happens that changes the meaning of love and home.
This is a beautifully written book. The descriptions of nature, especially the animals and their habits is mystical in a way. It’s obvious the author has a deep connection to nature. I liked Ada. She’s a strong and resilient character and her attitude toward being a mother is refreshing - I read so many books where the mother is awful or the motherhood plight is fraught with so challenges, it just felt good to have a character while anxious about her child’s future is parenting well. Also I felt her search for meaning was heart-felt and her love for Lenny was so moving. My only criticism was the ending - I felt there was a bit more to the story.
I gave this book five stars for many of the reasons above. It is not often a book can capture you, tell a simple story with such dignity and poignancy and leave you satisfied that the good people in that story will carry on well. Highly recommend.
My thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for allowing me access to this wonderful ARC.
Ada is raising her young son, Lenny, alone, after his father, Daniel, leaves them when Lenny is eighteen months old. Deeply hurt by this, Ada and Lenny go to live with her Aunt Leigh. Here she finds solace and stability but begins to have thoughts about her own mortality, Ada is concerned about Lenny and what would happen to him. She invites her three friends, Agnes, Joanna (Jo) and Sage for a visit for a weekend to discuss this. In the meantime, Aunt Leigh is acting strange and her memory is fading. But amid this Ada has found warmth in her friends all of whom extend their visit through the holiday. Then an event happens that changes the meaning of love and home.
This is a beautifully written book. The descriptions of nature, especially the animals and their habits is mystical in a way. It’s obvious the author has a deep connection to nature. I liked Ada. She’s a strong and resilient character and her attitude toward being a mother is refreshing - I read so many books where the mother is awful or the motherhood plight is fraught with so challenges, it just felt good to have a character while anxious about her child’s future is parenting well. Also I felt her search for meaning was heart-felt and her love for Lenny was so moving. My only criticism was the ending - I felt there was a bit more to the story.
I gave this book five stars for many of the reasons above. It is not often a book can capture you, tell a simple story with such dignity and poignancy and leave you satisfied that the good people in that story will carry on well. Highly recommend.
My thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for allowing me access to this wonderful ARC.
June 21, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance preview of this book.
Lefans’ debut novel Her Kind is a lovely meditation on motherhood, friendship and family - both actual and chosen. The main character Ada, is a young (recently single) mother who retreats with her son Lenny to the bucolic, wooden, lakeside home of her aunt Leah, who mothered her on and off throughout her life. Ada, Lenny and Leigh settle into their routine of exploring, creating and otherwise connecting and settling into small town life. However, Ada is plagued by recurrent, intrusive images of being forcefully pulled from the dirt away from her beloved son. In a panic that death may soon be coming for her, she invites her 3 closest friends (young, artistic fellow lost souls) with hopes that one would be willing to raise her child when she inevitably is pulled up from the dirt.
Lefans shines in her beautiful descriptions of the eerie, natural setting leaving the reader to feel the crisp night air, hear the bellowing sounds of watchful deer, and feel immersed in the lake’s depth. I also really appreciated her reflections on the painful knowledge that what and who you most love can be taken from you in a moment. As a mother left alone to raise a child, she is of course frightened of who would raise this child in her absence. As such, inviting her best friends to temporarily live with them (in the context of her awful visions) is an interesting premise for the story.
However, I struggled a bit with the main character, Ada. In a first person narrative we have the privilege of learning the character’s most private thoughts, fears, longings even if those are hidden from other characters. Here we enter into the mind of a young woman with a lot of responsibility and a harrowing vision of being pulled away from this world. Yet she is surprisingly incurious about the nature of this vision, where it comes from or what it says about her mind and body. She simply goes about the pragmatic tasks of seeking her replacement. She does not query about why she is having this fantasy now - is there something brewing in her body or environment that her fantasy is warning her about? Does this represent her own ambivalence about motherhood? Is this a deeply held trauma-based fear that she is actually like her own mother, who disappeared from her life when she was a tender age? Or does she have an unconscious death wish that blocks her from experiencing life’s vitality? To live in her head and barely scratch the meaning of this vision frustrated me as a reader and ultimately left me a little bored with Ada as a character.
The story also wove in numerous biblical elements, which at times felt somewhat heavy handed (the lake’s water being rebirth, the occasional foreboding visits of a snake, sharing an apple off a tree with loved ones, Jonah in the belly of the whale, etc). I think a bit more subtlety there would have helped.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and the interactions between the friends. I just longed for more emotional depth to the characters, and in the absence of that, I felt less connected to them. While I didn’t love the main character, I truly appreciated Lefans’ lyrical descriptions of motherhood and friendship as well as her keen eye to the details of the woods and lake setting.
Lefans’ debut novel Her Kind is a lovely meditation on motherhood, friendship and family - both actual and chosen. The main character Ada, is a young (recently single) mother who retreats with her son Lenny to the bucolic, wooden, lakeside home of her aunt Leah, who mothered her on and off throughout her life. Ada, Lenny and Leigh settle into their routine of exploring, creating and otherwise connecting and settling into small town life. However, Ada is plagued by recurrent, intrusive images of being forcefully pulled from the dirt away from her beloved son. In a panic that death may soon be coming for her, she invites her 3 closest friends (young, artistic fellow lost souls) with hopes that one would be willing to raise her child when she inevitably is pulled up from the dirt.
Lefans shines in her beautiful descriptions of the eerie, natural setting leaving the reader to feel the crisp night air, hear the bellowing sounds of watchful deer, and feel immersed in the lake’s depth. I also really appreciated her reflections on the painful knowledge that what and who you most love can be taken from you in a moment. As a mother left alone to raise a child, she is of course frightened of who would raise this child in her absence. As such, inviting her best friends to temporarily live with them (in the context of her awful visions) is an interesting premise for the story.
However, I struggled a bit with the main character, Ada. In a first person narrative we have the privilege of learning the character’s most private thoughts, fears, longings even if those are hidden from other characters. Here we enter into the mind of a young woman with a lot of responsibility and a harrowing vision of being pulled away from this world. Yet she is surprisingly incurious about the nature of this vision, where it comes from or what it says about her mind and body. She simply goes about the pragmatic tasks of seeking her replacement. She does not query about why she is having this fantasy now - is there something brewing in her body or environment that her fantasy is warning her about? Does this represent her own ambivalence about motherhood? Is this a deeply held trauma-based fear that she is actually like her own mother, who disappeared from her life when she was a tender age? Or does she have an unconscious death wish that blocks her from experiencing life’s vitality? To live in her head and barely scratch the meaning of this vision frustrated me as a reader and ultimately left me a little bored with Ada as a character.
The story also wove in numerous biblical elements, which at times felt somewhat heavy handed (the lake’s water being rebirth, the occasional foreboding visits of a snake, sharing an apple off a tree with loved ones, Jonah in the belly of the whale, etc). I think a bit more subtlety there would have helped.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and the interactions between the friends. I just longed for more emotional depth to the characters, and in the absence of that, I felt less connected to them. While I didn’t love the main character, I truly appreciated Lefans’ lyrical descriptions of motherhood and friendship as well as her keen eye to the details of the woods and lake setting.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This book will be my favorite book of the year, I will buy it for my friends. I felt it was very relatable in many ways, it showed its own beauty of holidays and gatherings with friends, conversations, challenges and dreams friends got to share together. As I read each chapter, I felt as I am present in a room with all the characters, its a beautiful story of real friendship that we often looking for, without any perfection, just as it is. As well it opens up motherhood and what it often feels like, but despite all hard and new emotions motherhood brings- love wins it all and makes it easier. It takes a village to grow a child and this story shows that. Sophie writes in such a beautiful way, it was easy to read and understand (as for a person whose English is a second language). I loved to live through seasons with all the characters, to experience with them late fall and Christmas, feel grief, happiness and love. Grateful for this book, can’t wait to read it again.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I'm trying to compose my thoughts cohesively, so I hope this makes sense:
I found this an incredibly interesting take on life, love, friendship, and I appreciate the little nods to what I would deem to fall under 'supernatural'.
I say that because, for me as I understood the book, heavy 'premonitions' plaguing Ada were the cornerstone for why the book took the turns that it did. Now, call them premonitions or paranoia, that's left up to the reader, I was...surprised by how much Ada let hurt and fear run her life. I was also surprised that her visions were indicative of 'something' (not spoiling it), so..maybe in a way, it's actually intuition.
Ada was so engulfed in her visions that...she just stopped living, when she already lived through incredibly tough events. Her mother leaving, her husband being a downright loser...I think really what she was feeling was just...sadness. But when we're letting our pain consume us, it does have the ability to take hold of us deeply before we realize what's happened.
And it's amazing that through that sadness, she could still at least see who was there for her, would be there for her (and Lenny) when it was needed. Friends like Jo, Sage, and Agnes are the kind of friends I think we all hope to make in our lifetimes, and I'm glad I have one friend I feel that deeply about in which I would trust her with my everything if it ever came to that. The tv show 'Friends' is centered around a premise that there's a period of your life where your friends are your family, and I think that if you give your time and energy into the right people that give it back to you, there is no 'period' where your friends are your family and it disappears - it just stays that way. Ada is lucky to have that in her friends.
So, I think this is a good take on...maybe not so much the story in of itself with preparation of a bad and/or scary thing, but instead, nurturing the relationships we have along the way to said sad and scary things. The one scary thing everyone on this earth faces is death, so if we meet and hold on to a few important and good people along the way...live 'life' until then...well, that is what makes getting up every day worth it, isn't it?
I found this an incredibly interesting take on life, love, friendship, and I appreciate the little nods to what I would deem to fall under 'supernatural'.
I say that because, for me as I understood the book, heavy 'premonitions' plaguing Ada were the cornerstone for why the book took the turns that it did. Now, call them premonitions or paranoia, that's left up to the reader, I was...surprised by how much Ada let hurt and fear run her life. I was also surprised that her visions were indicative of 'something' (not spoiling it), so..maybe in a way, it's actually intuition.
Ada was so engulfed in her visions that...she just stopped living, when she already lived through incredibly tough events. Her mother leaving, her husband being a downright loser...I think really what she was feeling was just...sadness. But when we're letting our pain consume us, it does have the ability to take hold of us deeply before we realize what's happened.
And it's amazing that through that sadness, she could still at least see who was there for her, would be there for her (and Lenny) when it was needed. Friends like Jo, Sage, and Agnes are the kind of friends I think we all hope to make in our lifetimes, and I'm glad I have one friend I feel that deeply about in which I would trust her with my everything if it ever came to that. The tv show 'Friends' is centered around a premise that there's a period of your life where your friends are your family, and I think that if you give your time and energy into the right people that give it back to you, there is no 'period' where your friends are your family and it disappears - it just stays that way. Ada is lucky to have that in her friends.
So, I think this is a good take on...maybe not so much the story in of itself with preparation of a bad and/or scary thing, but instead, nurturing the relationships we have along the way to said sad and scary things. The one scary thing everyone on this earth faces is death, so if we meet and hold on to a few important and good people along the way...live 'life' until then...well, that is what makes getting up every day worth it, isn't it?
Review of advance copy
Finished this book on America's 250th birthday weekend, which feels fitting. Sophie Lefen's debut novel carries an old Americana, pastoral Midwestern streak, like a James Wright poem about lying in a hammock and wasting your life in rural Minnesota. Or William Carlos Williams's red wheelbarrow and his white chickens.
I read much of this book this summer suspended between asphalt and a tree, laying on a public bench outside my workplace in a sun-drenched plaza. I'd get sleepy reading it, but in a good way. It was the perfect lunch nap novel. This is because Lefens is a sensory sort of writer. Textures of light and color of seasons feel just as essential to the story as the events and dialogue themselves. As it lulled me, I'd set the book in my lap and drift off for twenty or thirty minutes, then wake to the sight of hundreds of green leaves overhead, only to pick it up again and continue my journey through some nameless lake town in the middle of America with Ada and her friends.
As earthy and textural as the book is, it’s equally concerned with the movement of muscles and minds. Within its small pantheon of friendships, romances, and relationships (both onstage and off) it asks what people want to do, what they allow themselves to do, what they fear doing, and what they long to do but cannot quite bring themselves to do even though they really wish they could.
At the center of “Her Kind”it seems this question exists that Ada can’t entirely reckon with as a young, single mother:
Are we allowed fullness in a world where things most certainly end?
"Her Kind" begins in the heat of summer, with all its vibration, chitter chatter, and frivolity, and gradually cools toward a final event, kind of framed around this central question. In her debut, Lefens demonstrates a remarkable ability to pair depth with lightness of touch, complexity of thought with casualness of phrase. Her sentences are simple but rich. The book reads like water.
I read much of this book this summer suspended between asphalt and a tree, laying on a public bench outside my workplace in a sun-drenched plaza. I'd get sleepy reading it, but in a good way. It was the perfect lunch nap novel. This is because Lefens is a sensory sort of writer. Textures of light and color of seasons feel just as essential to the story as the events and dialogue themselves. As it lulled me, I'd set the book in my lap and drift off for twenty or thirty minutes, then wake to the sight of hundreds of green leaves overhead, only to pick it up again and continue my journey through some nameless lake town in the middle of America with Ada and her friends.
As earthy and textural as the book is, it’s equally concerned with the movement of muscles and minds. Within its small pantheon of friendships, romances, and relationships (both onstage and off) it asks what people want to do, what they allow themselves to do, what they fear doing, and what they long to do but cannot quite bring themselves to do even though they really wish they could.
At the center of “Her Kind”it seems this question exists that Ada can’t entirely reckon with as a young, single mother:
Are we allowed fullness in a world where things most certainly end?
"Her Kind" begins in the heat of summer, with all its vibration, chitter chatter, and frivolity, and gradually cools toward a final event, kind of framed around this central question. In her debut, Lefens demonstrates a remarkable ability to pair depth with lightness of touch, complexity of thought with casualness of phrase. Her sentences are simple but rich. The book reads like water.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This debut novel from Sophie Lefens is a beautiful meditation on friendship, parenthood, and fear. The main character, Ada, and her young son, Lenny, move in with her aunt Leigh after Ada's husband decides we does not have any interest in being a father. Ada invites three dear friends to spend time there in response to a recurring premonition that something terrible is coming. The novel follows their time together and gives space to each character to encounter their own ups and downs: loneliness, rejection, love, community, loss, and much more.
I particularly enjoyed this novel's connection to the physical world. Snow, animals, trees, and especially water, bones, and earth, are essential to the story, and are richly rendered. The living and the dead are both omnipresent in a book that has a few supernatural elements but is firmly planted in the real world. That development of friendships and kinships, the ebbs and flows of life, feel deeply true, in no small part because they are echoed in the world around the characters.
I also found the relationships in the book to ring true. There are moments, for example, when friends are at odds with each other. Sometimes, they resolve those disagreements; other times, they just move on without an explicit forgiveness--things just thaw. That's real life: sometimes we fix things, sometimes they just get better, and sometimes they don't get better.
Finally, I appreciated the novel's sense of time and the acknowledgement that all things, good and bad, start, change, and end. What is now cannot continue forever, which is surely a great blessing and deep curse.
I strongly recommend this novel and look forward to future work from Sophie Lefens.
I particularly enjoyed this novel's connection to the physical world. Snow, animals, trees, and especially water, bones, and earth, are essential to the story, and are richly rendered. The living and the dead are both omnipresent in a book that has a few supernatural elements but is firmly planted in the real world. That development of friendships and kinships, the ebbs and flows of life, feel deeply true, in no small part because they are echoed in the world around the characters.
I also found the relationships in the book to ring true. There are moments, for example, when friends are at odds with each other. Sometimes, they resolve those disagreements; other times, they just move on without an explicit forgiveness--things just thaw. That's real life: sometimes we fix things, sometimes they just get better, and sometimes they don't get better.
Finally, I appreciated the novel's sense of time and the acknowledgement that all things, good and bad, start, change, and end. What is now cannot continue forever, which is surely a great blessing and deep curse.
I strongly recommend this novel and look forward to future work from Sophie Lefens.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Beautiful story in a place so fully realized I spent days imagining scenes in my head of this small Michigan town. The characters were, as other readers have said, people I wished to have as friends of my own - not just their singular qualities but their closeness and ardent presence to each other's lives. I'm a sleep-deprived mom of a baby who stayed up late to finish this book...not something I've done since my baby was born! I'll read whatever Lefens writes. She's preternaturally talented on the page and every sentence is as dense with possibility as a poem. Clear-eyed, moving, and written with a tenderness for the humanity of each character. Rare to find a book so tightly crafted but also immersive and engrossing. I'm excited to talk about this book with everyone I know!
Review of advance copy received from Author
I read this book at my table splattered with washable paint, my kids running around me while I flipped its pages, and felt a deep connectiveness to its words, to its ode to motherhood. To friendship and love and loss. To fear and bravery. In all aspects this novel is rich. Rich in character, concept and prose. A truly breathtaking debut.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is honestly one of the best recently-published novels I’ve read in a couple years. Lefens has created a world that I have never been to before but somehow feels like home. In fact, she has rearranged and reimagined the idea of home for me in so potent a way, it will be a long time before I hear that word and don’t think of this novel.
August 4, 2026
A beautiful debut novel. It was so well-written and the characters so well-developed that I was sad when it ended. I wanted to stay in Ada’s world a little longer. It was such a real representation of motherhood and the fear of death that comes on suddenly, as soon as you have your first child. It was relatable and the imagery felt familiar while also thought-provoking.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Beautiful prose and interesting premise come together to create a compelling novel exploring grief and motherhood. Lyrical and with a setting that enriched the story. I really enjoyed reading this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner for the ARC.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Author
The best book of 2026. I laughed, I cried, and I loved.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Ada and her son, Lenny, left the city and moved to her Aunt Leigh's home near Lake Michigan, several years ago. As Leigh ages and Ada begins having what feel to be prescient visions of her own end, she invites her three closest friends for a long weekend, determined to decide who will raise Lenny should something happen to her. The long weekend turns into months and Ada realizes that the slower pace, natural beauty of the orchards and wildlife, and reconnection with these beloved friends is what all four of them craved and needed.
This was a slow and quiet novel. That may sound like a bad thing to some readers, but I loved this. From the very start, I was captured by the lovely writing, the exploration of Ada's past: her abandonment by her own mother, her fears about being Lenny's mother, the ways she allowed Leigh to be her everything, and the ultimate realization that keeping everyone at an arm's length wasn't serving her. I appreciated the friendships and how each of the characters had their own personalities and dynamics with one another. All three of Ada's friends integrated into life by the lake, but they each had their own stories. I liked all of the other characters already present in the community including Ada's high school love interest, Peter. The ragtag group from Leigh's church were quite the "characters," and brought humor to this somewhat serious literary piece. And this added element of the spiritual by way of Leigh's church was handled with delicacy and subtlety. Lenny's 3-4 year old conversations and interactions also brought a smile to my face many times over. I definitely shed a few tears, and I felt drawn into this friend group as if it were my own. I did feel like, at times, deeper conversations could have been recorded or an emotional punch could have been made as conflict occurred between the friends, but at the same time, I felt like the near-vignette feel to the scenes served the novel well.
Overall, I loved every second I spent in this tender world full of friendship, motherhood, family, risk-taking, and the depths of love.
Thank you NetGalley and Mariner Books for the digital review copy and the opportunity to serve as an early reader.
This was a slow and quiet novel. That may sound like a bad thing to some readers, but I loved this. From the very start, I was captured by the lovely writing, the exploration of Ada's past: her abandonment by her own mother, her fears about being Lenny's mother, the ways she allowed Leigh to be her everything, and the ultimate realization that keeping everyone at an arm's length wasn't serving her. I appreciated the friendships and how each of the characters had their own personalities and dynamics with one another. All three of Ada's friends integrated into life by the lake, but they each had their own stories. I liked all of the other characters already present in the community including Ada's high school love interest, Peter. The ragtag group from Leigh's church were quite the "characters," and brought humor to this somewhat serious literary piece. And this added element of the spiritual by way of Leigh's church was handled with delicacy and subtlety. Lenny's 3-4 year old conversations and interactions also brought a smile to my face many times over. I definitely shed a few tears, and I felt drawn into this friend group as if it were my own. I did feel like, at times, deeper conversations could have been recorded or an emotional punch could have been made as conflict occurred between the friends, but at the same time, I felt like the near-vignette feel to the scenes served the novel well.
Overall, I loved every second I spent in this tender world full of friendship, motherhood, family, risk-taking, and the depths of love.
Thank you NetGalley and Mariner Books for the digital review copy and the opportunity to serve as an early reader.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
When Ada is left to raise her young son alone, she retreats to her aunt Leigh’s lakeside home, seeking some kind of peace for herself and happiness for her son Lenny. Ada had spent extended periods here in her childhood, when Ada’s mother needed to … leave.
Ada comes to believe that her death may be near, so she invites three close friends to spend a long weekend. She hopes to decide which friend could best meet her son’s needs after her death. It becomes a perfect retreat for all the friends, for various reasons, and they stay … at least for a while.
I am sure this will be, foolishly, slapped with a “chick lit” label. There is so much here about friendships and careers and fears and child-raising and more. It is really a great book. I probably shoulda given it 5 stars.
Ada comes to believe that her death may be near, so she invites three close friends to spend a long weekend. She hopes to decide which friend could best meet her son’s needs after her death. It becomes a perfect retreat for all the friends, for various reasons, and they stay … at least for a while.
I am sure this will be, foolishly, slapped with a “chick lit” label. There is so much here about friendships and careers and fears and child-raising and more. It is really a great book. I probably shoulda given it 5 stars.
October 14, 2026
Her Kind is one of the best novels I’ve read in a long time. The author beautifully gives voice to the experience of being a woman, friend, and especially a mother in a way that was almost revelatory for me. Her descriptions are so sensory that opening the book felt like escaping to a beloved and familiar place from childhood. I was enchanted by the characters, the imagery, and the story that all felt so different from everything else I am reading. I will be thinking about this book for a long time and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves good writing.
October 14, 2026
A quiet, beautifully written debut. Hoping this is Sophie’s first of many!!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
her kind by sophie lefens is one of those novels that will stick with you long after you've read it. its atmosphere is languid and muggy, its language poetic, its lessons understated and all the more powerful for that. her kind follows ada and her son lenny as they move in with ada's aunt leigh, and ada's long time friends come to stay. ada grapples both emotionally and spiritually with her place in her own life, with the idea of "deserving" beauty and peace in lieu of admiration and acceptance of the same. in that exploration, this novel becomes a tribute to love and all its forms. it is about the occasional unmooring of the passage of time, about the completeness of motherhood, about fear and mortality in the land of the living, and about how the fear of love is usually more simply the fear of loss.
this was one of the most beautiful books i have read in quite a long time. lefens's voice is distinct. you can sense her longing for beauty, her love for her village, her devotion to her child. it isn't often that a book simultaneously makes you feel seen and makes you believe the author sees you right back. this book, for me, is on par with madwoman by chelsea bieker and doll parts by penny zang in both its intellectual poise and emotional prowess. the way men speak about women is important, but in my opinion sometimes the way women speak about each other is infinitely more so.
leigh's home feels like a burrow, a respite from the troubles of modern living. the characters are all realistically flawed, that perfectly imperfect kind of characterization that isn't cheesy but instead welcoming. i found ada's personal growth encouraging and realistic. leigh's all encompassing love for cal and the lake will make me emotional if i let it. and the themes lefens deals with (that of mortality, motherhood, female friendship, family, and more) are handled delicately and gracefully without being unrealistically poetic and lighthearted. see these quotes to understand what i mean:
- "But I judged her for not knowing what I was beginning to learn: how love can annihilate and reform you."
- "When I became a mother, I felt I had joined an ancient history of heartbreak."
- "Did I fear the dead or did I envy them?"
if i had to pick a song to encapsulate what this book feels like, i'd pick salt circle by eliza mclamb. it played on a loop in my head while reading this. if i try to give examples of why, i have to stop myself from typing out the whole song. just go read the lyrics and you'll get it. (i never have had to pick a song to describe a book, but i do it often anyways.)
i will read anything this woman publishes until the end of time.
this was one of the most beautiful books i have read in quite a long time. lefens's voice is distinct. you can sense her longing for beauty, her love for her village, her devotion to her child. it isn't often that a book simultaneously makes you feel seen and makes you believe the author sees you right back. this book, for me, is on par with madwoman by chelsea bieker and doll parts by penny zang in both its intellectual poise and emotional prowess. the way men speak about women is important, but in my opinion sometimes the way women speak about each other is infinitely more so.
leigh's home feels like a burrow, a respite from the troubles of modern living. the characters are all realistically flawed, that perfectly imperfect kind of characterization that isn't cheesy but instead welcoming. i found ada's personal growth encouraging and realistic. leigh's all encompassing love for cal and the lake will make me emotional if i let it. and the themes lefens deals with (that of mortality, motherhood, female friendship, family, and more) are handled delicately and gracefully without being unrealistically poetic and lighthearted. see these quotes to understand what i mean:
- "But I judged her for not knowing what I was beginning to learn: how love can annihilate and reform you."
- "When I became a mother, I felt I had joined an ancient history of heartbreak."
- "Did I fear the dead or did I envy them?"
if i had to pick a song to encapsulate what this book feels like, i'd pick salt circle by eliza mclamb. it played on a loop in my head while reading this. if i try to give examples of why, i have to stop myself from typing out the whole song. just go read the lyrics and you'll get it. (i never have had to pick a song to describe a book, but i do it often anyways.)
i will read anything this woman publishes until the end of time.
September 2, 2026
Upon starting this book, I assumed it would be solely focused on the relationships between mother and child and between good girlfriends. While these are certainly prominent, Lefens does a beautiful job portraying the reality of a wide range relationships. Not just between people, but places, memories, and tangible items. Relationships aren't stagnant or black and white or even grey. We can't predict what will happen, and how they each individually shape us, which in turn shapes our other relationships. You don't need to be a mom or a woman to read this book. Just a human who cares about how we all can relate to the beautiful, the morose, the painful and the promising in our world. Looking forward to reading it again to see even more elements I'm sure I missed the first time. And of course, hoping Lefens writes another book! You completely get sucked into this book. Even with a baby at home, I tore right through it. The attention to detail makes you feel as you are a part of the group.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I am convinced that women need close female friends to be whole. Both through family and community. We can exist alone, but there are always pieces of our world missing until we find special karmic souls to connect with through our life's journey. If I had to choose mine, I would say mine are Denise, Lisa, Beth, MaryLou and Amber. Perfection would be to have them all together with me in my home, coexisting together.
I am certain I connected so strongly with Sophia Lefens's debut novel, Her KInd, simply because I have been blessed with strong relationships with dear women who make my life more abundant through their presence.
The main character, Ada, has lived a troubled life. Abandoned by her mother throughout her childhood, Ada sees her Aunt Leigh as the one stable adult she can rely on. When her husband also walks away from their marriage and infant son, she turns to the only refuge she has, her aunt Leigh. Ada, and her now three year old son Lenny build a life at her aged aunt's lake home, where time together in nature and the lure of the water become balm to their souls. In such a calm serene setting, Ada is jolted by fear when she begins to have reoccurring premonitions or dreams that she will soon die, leaving her son Lenny alone in the world as she has often been left. Her only balm for her troubled mind is to gather her friends to her there, and decide whom she would leave Lenny with if she dies. Sage, Agnes, and Joanna are each going going through their own life's difficulties, and each also find a home with Leigh at the lake house. Death does indeed come to Ada and her friends, but they learn and grow from their time together.
Lefens 's novel is well written, with strong, real characters. She imparts a soul into each of her characters which makes them relatable. I think anyone who has experienced the gift of true and honest friendship can identify with Lefens's book.
I feel that I connected strongly with Lefens's book for several reasons. I have shared special relationships with friends and family so dear that they are the ones I run to when I am frightened or in grief. I also have lost loved ones that left gaping voids in my life. Finally, the poignant serendipity of her aunt Leigh's memory fading touched my heart. My husband and I are experiencing that now with a shared family member and seeing her decline slowly is a sad but real event.
Her Kind is set to publish on October 13, 2026 and would be a fine read for a book club. It would be interesting to see which character(s) each person relates with most strongly and who each one would choose in their own lives to be with if faced with challenges like Lefens's character Ada is.
Thank you NetGalley for the Advance Reader's Proof in exchange for an honest review.
#HerKind #NetGalley
I am certain I connected so strongly with Sophia Lefens's debut novel, Her KInd, simply because I have been blessed with strong relationships with dear women who make my life more abundant through their presence.
The main character, Ada, has lived a troubled life. Abandoned by her mother throughout her childhood, Ada sees her Aunt Leigh as the one stable adult she can rely on. When her husband also walks away from their marriage and infant son, she turns to the only refuge she has, her aunt Leigh. Ada, and her now three year old son Lenny build a life at her aged aunt's lake home, where time together in nature and the lure of the water become balm to their souls. In such a calm serene setting, Ada is jolted by fear when she begins to have reoccurring premonitions or dreams that she will soon die, leaving her son Lenny alone in the world as she has often been left. Her only balm for her troubled mind is to gather her friends to her there, and decide whom she would leave Lenny with if she dies. Sage, Agnes, and Joanna are each going going through their own life's difficulties, and each also find a home with Leigh at the lake house. Death does indeed come to Ada and her friends, but they learn and grow from their time together.
Lefens 's novel is well written, with strong, real characters. She imparts a soul into each of her characters which makes them relatable. I think anyone who has experienced the gift of true and honest friendship can identify with Lefens's book.
I feel that I connected strongly with Lefens's book for several reasons. I have shared special relationships with friends and family so dear that they are the ones I run to when I am frightened or in grief. I also have lost loved ones that left gaping voids in my life. Finally, the poignant serendipity of her aunt Leigh's memory fading touched my heart. My husband and I are experiencing that now with a shared family member and seeing her decline slowly is a sad but real event.
Her Kind is set to publish on October 13, 2026 and would be a fine read for a book club. It would be interesting to see which character(s) each person relates with most strongly and who each one would choose in their own lives to be with if faced with challenges like Lefens's character Ada is.
Thank you NetGalley for the Advance Reader's Proof in exchange for an honest review.
#HerKind #NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
2.5/5
I thought I would be drawn in by this found family story, but the main character holds those around her at such an emotional remove that I feel an emotional distance to the story itself. I felt like I had to pull myself through to the end of the story, and I felt as though none of the characters, including the main character, Ada, felt like real, fully developed, people.
Ada has to raise her young son alone after his father decides he no longer wants to be a father, and she brings her son, Lenny, to her aunt Leigh's lakeside home, where her aunt and uncle raised her. Ada feels her mortality and becomes convinced that she will die soon. With Leigh getting older, Ada decides to invite her three closest friends to the house to decide who would raise Lenny if something happened to her (but of course, she doesn't let them know this). Her friends are all varying stages of unemployed or semi-employed artists who can drop their lives at the drop of a hat and come. (They are described in the blurb as a brash, unemployed seamstress; a gentle, disillusioned violinist; and a serious painter).
The women find a sense of comfort and purpose in each other and their existence in the small nearby town, supplemented by the constant presence of Ada's childhood sweetheart Peter, whom she has never stopped loving. The women extend their stay, but as Leigh's mind deteriorates and the women consider their futures, Ada and all the women must make decisions for their future.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.
I thought I would be drawn in by this found family story, but the main character holds those around her at such an emotional remove that I feel an emotional distance to the story itself. I felt like I had to pull myself through to the end of the story, and I felt as though none of the characters, including the main character, Ada, felt like real, fully developed, people.
Ada has to raise her young son alone after his father decides he no longer wants to be a father, and she brings her son, Lenny, to her aunt Leigh's lakeside home, where her aunt and uncle raised her. Ada feels her mortality and becomes convinced that she will die soon. With Leigh getting older, Ada decides to invite her three closest friends to the house to decide who would raise Lenny if something happened to her (but of course, she doesn't let them know this). Her friends are all varying stages of unemployed or semi-employed artists who can drop their lives at the drop of a hat and come. (They are described in the blurb as a brash, unemployed seamstress; a gentle, disillusioned violinist; and a serious painter).
The women find a sense of comfort and purpose in each other and their existence in the small nearby town, supplemented by the constant presence of Ada's childhood sweetheart Peter, whom she has never stopped loving. The women extend their stay, but as Leigh's mind deteriorates and the women consider their futures, Ada and all the women must make decisions for their future.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.
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