Someday We'll Find It

by Jennifer Wilson

A riveting coming-of-age story about a girl sleepwalking through a hot Midwestern summer until the sudden reappearance of her mother--and a new boy in town--challenge her to dream bigger. Readers will eagerly follow Bliss as she discovers some rainbows are worth chasing. --Laura Ruby, two-time National Book Award Finalist and author of Bone Gap

Seventeen-year-old Bliss Walker has been stuck in a home that doesn't feel like hers for six years. Ever since Mama dropped her off and never came back.

Then, the summer before her senior year of high school, two things happen: Mama returns out of the blue, and Bliss meets Blake, a boy who listens like everything she has to say is worth hearing.

It should be a dream come true. But as the summer spins on, Bliss finds herself facing a painful choice: between the life she's always longed for, and the world she's starting to make for herself.

Raw and unvarnished, Jennifer Wilson's debut about one girl's messy, unglamorous, very real summer in central Illinois is perfect for fans of Emergency Contact and Far from the Tree.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction, Young Adult Contemporary, Coming Of Age, Realistic Fiction

400 pages, Hardcover

Published April 26, 2022

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Beautiful cover!! Enjoyed this one a lot. It made me sad, mad and happy!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[Caitlin Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

**2.75**
**I received an e-arc through NetGalley**

Someday We'll Find It, focuses on 17-year-old Bliss Walker during the summer before her senior year. She has been living with her extended family for the past six years when her mother dropped her off there and never came back. She begins to question her life and what she wants for herself when she meets a new boy named Blake and when her mother appears back into her life with grand plans for them both.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I found myself reading it just to finish it and I wasn't really invested in the story or any of the characters, except for Blake honestly. I thought he was a wonderful character and a fantastic contrast to Bliss's boyfriend, River, who honestly was just a terrible person. I'm glad that near the end Bliss was able to stand up for herself to multiple people and finally start making her own decisions, but for 80% of it, I just wanted to scream at her and everyone else. Her cousin Patsy was unnecessarily cruel, her mother was flighty, rude, and selfish, and her boyfriend is just an all-around terrible individual. I enjoyed the moments in the book where it was just Blake and Bliss, and I wish there had been more scenes with Aggie and Beth as well. It was just very frustrating to read a book where the main character is continuously getting berated for no good reason and to have no real resolution to that. I appreciated the ending with her boyfriend, but I thought that she deserved so much more than a tiny apology from Patsy for all of the insensitive and cruel things that were said to her seemingly just out of pure spite. Overall, it was an average book but definitely not for me.

[erin ♡]

Me: i have high standards for books - they need to have an interesting synopsis-
and ofc, a pretty cover
*smashes the tbr button*

[Halie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5✨

This was a new read outside of my usual genre. I enjoyed it but I felt the plot twists were way too predictable. I did like the characters but was bored at some points.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this ARC on a whim since it's based on rural central Illinois, which is where I'm from. But nobody goes to Steak N Shake in this story so like, does it even count? Also, Bliss has been living there for 6 years and doesn't know what corn detasseling or bean walking are??? Sus tbh

yeah this is my equivalent of people nitpicking like New York subway stops in fiction, minor details that won't matter to most readers!!

Anyway...yeah, I think this is something that teens in small towns with some fraught family relationships might relate to. It is kind of wild that one of Bliss's main problems is that she is TOO BEAUTIFUL and her flaky model mom is jealous of her and then her agent sees Bliss on a Zoom call and is like "this teenager is so beautiful, she MUST MODEL." But OK fine some wish fulfilment. OR
IS IT. (it is and the wish is "teenager whose emotional labor has been undervalued will find someone who values it and understands that she has had a uniquely hard life".)


I think I also found it kind of unsatisfying that Bliss never really figured out what she wanted to do? Which I guess is also realistic because teens like, don't have to have things figured out. But it's maybe not the most satisfying fiction. Also the title is bc she wanted to learn how to play "Rainbow Connection" on what she thought was her mom's ukulele and she thought it was her mom's favorite song but then like...it wasn't? Or her mom lied about it being her favorite song I guess? IDK but then it wasn't like Bliss really discovered a love of music after that or anything.........so.........ok.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Allenhuss]

Made it to page 100. Reasons I am quitting:
1. The first words of the book are "River and me"
2. She has "fussed" with her tube top twice by page 14
3. "He spits into his Mountain Dew can"
4. River scoops his dip out to "get it on" with Bliss. She says he tastes like tobacco.
5. People who enter the party include "Nathan and them"
6. The floral wallpaper "Granny musta picked out special"
7. Patsy and her shirt "buttoned all catawampus"
8. The sentence "He grinds against me and kisses me up real good."
9. "Don't cha" is actually written that way.

[Diana-christie Biancardi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like the mom at all. The cover is awesome.

[Teenage Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot:
Bliss Walker knew her boyfriend River was crazy for her. River waited an entire year for Bliss to break up with her then boyfriend, when River could have had any girl he wanted. Choosing Bliss, they were happy, with plans to live at Granny’s once River owned the house, and travel around the USA in River’s white pickup truck. Sure River got mad at her a lot, like having to drive her into town so she could buy ingredients to bake her cousin Patsy a birthday cake, or got mad at her when she took too long to get ready, but they were in love and perfect for each other. Right? Bliss found herself in this small town six years ago when her Mama dropped Bliss off at Aunt Trish’s place, saying that she had to model in Japan and could not take Bliss with her. Fighting for her place, she and her cousin Patsy almost became sisters, but an incident with Nathan kept them at the feuding cousin's relationship point. When stranded on the side of the road, Blake Wu picks her up and offers to take her anywhere. To repay him, and being very drunk at River’s party, Bliss finds Blake standing over the gravesite of an elephant and decides to kiss him. Horrified because she cheated on River, Bliss was going to stay away from Blake, which lasted mere hours as Patsy got them a job working for Blake by walking beans. When her Mama comes back for an unexpected visit, Bliss’s summer gets turned upside down as she has to choose between doing what her Mama wants her to do, doing what River wants her to do, or doing what she wants to do.

Thoughts:
Jennifer Wilson wrote this book about a hot summer in a small town, where beauty queen Bliss finds herself being torn in two. From a third-person point of view, you follow seventeen-year-old Bliss who is trying to be what everyone wants her to be - a perfect girl for River, a yes girl for Mama, helpful to Aunt Trish, and a friend to Patsy. It is only Blake who wants Bliss to be herself, and for Bliss that is difficult because she doesn't know who she is. Wilson writes the characters to be full of life, and that life is essentially hating on Bliss. You feel bad for our girl at every turn because no matter what she does someone is mad at her. The worst is River. Wilson writes him to be the typical “I-love-you-but-also-hate-you” boyfriend, as where he is hot and cold towards her, telling her one minute he loves her, the next fuming mad because she asks him to do a reasonable thing (like take her home early). Where River is the worst, Wilson makes it clear by giving us the comparison to Blake, who seems to like Bliss for more than her body. Blake and Bliss’s relationship is near perfect, near because Bliss did cheat on River which is not cool, as Wilson writes easy conversion between the two of them where Bake is trying to figure Bliss out, only to find out that Bliss does not know who Bliss is. Other characters in the book are Nathan (jerk), Patsy (jerk), Mama (a big jerk), and Aunt Trish (who's trying their best). I wish Wilson gave more people who cared about Bliss because it does get challenging reading a book where the main character gets dragged on by everyone and does not stand up for themselves. The ending is good as Bliss does find her backbone, I just wished it came early on in the book. Based on rural central Illinois, realizing that some boyfriends are not meant to be, and figuring out who you are, this book is for those who want a sticky night summer read, about bean fields and love in unexpected places.

[Elisha Jachetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

**4.5 Out 5 Stars**

SOMEDAY WE’LL FIND IT by Jennifer Wilson is a YA coming-of-age novel in which Bliss Walker learns what it means to have choices, even when it never seemed like any existed at all. When Bliss’ mom left her for a modeling contract in Japan, Bliss went out of her way to be perfect for everyone in her life who stayed with her; her aunt, uncle, cousin Patsy, and even her boyfriend, River. It’s not until Bliss crosses paths with Blake that she’s woken up to how often she sacrifices what she actually wants for everyone else. However, after many years of people-pleasing, it’s not so easy for Bliss to assert herself, and when she does, everything around her starts crashing down. Set in rural America, SOMEDAY WE’LL FIND IT explores poverty, life in small towns, unexpected romance, and deep family wounds.

This novel is so beautifully and exquisitely written. The descriptions the author uses are not only masterful but also make everything in this book come alive. My five senses were completely awakened and I was able to picture exactly what the author depicted. Frankly, it was such a joy to read prose from someone who possesses such a strong command of language and imagination.

In many ways, this book mimics real life. It doesn’t necessarily have the ending I wanted, nor did it unfold in all the ways I’d have liked, but it did happen in a way that felt authentic. For example, Bliss flip-flops back and forth quite a bit throughout the book, because she’s struggling in almost all areas of her life. The longer her indecision went on, the more frustrated I got with her as a character, but it was exactly how a real human in real circumstances would behave, not on a perfect timeline tied neatly with a bow, but messy and all over the place.

I also truly loved the character of Blake. From the first moment he met Bliss, he was able to see her exactly as she was, when no one else in her life could, not even Bliss herself. There were times I wanted him to be more reactive and not be so composed, but I at least appreciated that unlike everyone else, he didn’t make any demands on Bliss. Instead, he simply invited her to follow her desires and respected them. Since he was a mirror to her, he also learned to express himself more as she did.

Overall, SOMEDAY WE’LL FIND IT is an exceptional novel that shines a light on the cruelty and unfairness of the world, what it means to accept someone as they truly are, and that the most important person we need to impress is ourselves.

Review originally posted on YA Books Central: https://www.yabookscentral.com/someda...

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Point #1: the writing of this book reflects the character, her age, her socioeconomic status, and the culture of that area. Reading the full novel makes it clear that these choices are made explicitly by the author. This is obvious, but apparently not obvious enough. If this bothers you as a reader, I recommend staying away from historically accurate or culturally accurate fiction going forward.

Point #2: the plot is the plot… you’ll get that from the other reviews. These things, to me, are more important than that.

Point #3: I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did.

At her book release event, Jennifer Wilson said this book was initially a story about a bad boyfriend, but it turned into something more than that. However, “coming of age story” is a phrase that gives me the ick — so to me, this is a book about the collective human experience of bad boyfriends, bad families, and bad luck. This book did what a lot of YA fiction fails to do: it avoided falling into traps like “the protagonist is barely flawed, and when she is, it’s quirky and hehehe also an asset to have that flaw anyway” or “I’m going to tell you how she’s feeling about this, in case I didn’t make the situation clear enough when I showed it to you initially” or “this character just has to tough out this bad stuff and then is going to have a magical happy ending that she deserved the whole time!” These are big annoyances for me, and Someday We'll Find It did not fall victim to one.

Our protagonist, Bliss, is so painfully realistic (as mentioned before, down to her dialect.) As an outside perspective, we get annoyed with her for allowing these situations to progress as they do. But as a reader in her head, we also -get it- completely. It’s written so that we understand the hero worship of a parent, understand that draw to manipulative men, understand the feeling of being a burden, and understand the sense of shame when all of that isn’t understood by the people around us.

As someone who tends to avoid YA, I was just so thoroughly impressed. This book was such an incredible portrayal of these big important things like assault and poverty and neglect and narcissism. It struck me as how perfectly this was done because Jennifer Wilson has shown them in how they casually play into in our everyday lives. None of those things are concepts that Bliss focuses on, but they’re there. And in that fictional universe, when Bliss is twenty four and in therapy, she’s gonna figure out just how much she experienced without realizing it, just like the rest of us.

[Makayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was halfway through this book, I thought I knew how it was going to end. With a feel-good ending where she gets the guy, makes up with her mom, gets her family back, and she lives her dreams. It.. did end that way, but with a twist. Someday We'll Find It is a story about a girl, stuck in her small Illinois town, in a fog. Plagued by thoughts like "if I had just done this...", this girl is a victim of gaslighting and twisting that only people close to her would be capable of. As someone who has experienced these things, this is written so well. Doing what other people say because not only is it easy, but it's the path of least resistance where at least they'll get to see that other person happy. Even if it doesn't make you happy. Bliss's character development through the story is a slow progress to a not perfect, not fully free person, but one that is more aware of choosing the word "no". Especially when you think, and you're supposed to want it, you can still say no.
For a debut novel, I absolutely adored it and can't wait to see what Jennifer Wilson brings to the table next. I am going to gush about this book for years to come, and I hope others will join with me. Especially as a way to describe what I had been through and felt when trying to make the important people happy.

As a side note, being from Illinois I loved reading this. I could SMELL the humidity. I'm terrified of tornados. It felt amazing to be able to find myself in Bliss's shoes.

[Christy Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the best coming-of-age stories I have read. Realistic and well written it is the story of a young woman at a crossroads of her life and a summer that will change her future and lead her down previously unthought-of paths.
Biss is a young woman who has lived with her aunt and uncle and cousin for the past 6 years. Her mother rather unceremoniously left her with them in pursuit of a modeling career. Bliss hasn't seen her since. She sleeps on the rollout mattress of her cousin Patsy's bed. She works hard to help her aunt and uncle with chores and not be a bother. Her only solace is with her boyfriend River, Her future, and almost everything she does is with him. She meets another young man that becomes her boss on a summer job and unexpectantly her mother comes back into the picture. In a series of events that rock Bliss's life in the sweltering summer between her Junior and Senior year, her self=awareness awakens and she sees a different future for herself. Who and where will it be with?
I loved everything about this book. The characters are so relatable I felt like I knew them. The plot is engaging, and the sweltering summer setting in rural Illinois is so real you can feel the heat. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope to read more from Jennifer Wilson. Thanks to #NetGalley#SomedayWe'llFindIt for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Gabby]

This book was a bit of a mess.
My main issue is the way sex is used and handled throughout the story. The novel begins with the main character saying her and her current boyfriend, River, got together because she got drunk at a party, passed out, and woke up "to him all over [her]." Her cousin gets with River, who coerced the protagonist into losing her virginity to him when she was 13. That's slightly unpacked, but not much. The main character is described to look just like her mom, who works as a model. She also talks about having sex "millions of times" like it's nothing, and I wish the author had explored the main character growing up with a model mother and valuing herself based on her looks. Why she always felt the need to have a boyfriend and have an intimate relationship with him. Don't worry; the main character doesn't know what she wants from her life, but she is never not with a guy. <3
The guy we're supposed to root for, Blake, is solid. Them having oral sex during a tornado for....reasons? Not solid. Seriously, what am are readers supposed to take from that moment? The main character is once again connecting with men through physical relationships, and nothing else.
So fitting for this book, while writing this review the tornado sirens went off, and so I write this from my basement.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bliss Walker has been living with her aunt, uncle, and cousin since the day her mother left her five years ago. Bliss holds on to the hope that some day her mother will return and they will live together again. Bliss always feels out of place in the home and tries her best to not cause any problems. She has a boyfriend who she can see herself building a future with and a cousin who she loves (and sometimes hates). In her summer before senior year, Bliss finds herself short on cash and gets a job with her cousin Patsy walking beans on an organic farm. She meets Blake, the owner's son, and she finds herself drawn to him. When her mother returns, with a plan for Bliss, Bliss starts to realize that she's never really followed her own dreams, that she is always going along with other people's plans in order to not make waves and to keep them happy. When Bliss finally starts to embrace her own plans and dreams, she learns that finding her own voice can make life both better and more difficult.

[Tara Babcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was... Bliss. Bliss is the main character and her complicated relationships with her mother, cousin, boyfriend and others drive this story. However it was the wonderful descriptive passages that hooked me as much as the plot. I found myself no able to put it down. There was just something beautiful about the writing. And I think lots of young women will see themselves in Bliss - trying to please everyone partly because they don't know what they want or what would truly make them happy.

[Natasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 38%

[emmy · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
1. River is a terrible person. Manipulative, moody, and abusive. He SA'd Bliss while she was passed out and that's why they're dating. The first sentence of the book is literally "River and me started going out one night when I got drunk, passed out, and woke up to him all over me" I'm sorry...no. He deserves jail time for life. Thank you. He is an absolute jerk to Bliss and finds something to be mad about anytime she's with him. And she just takes it.
2. Patsy was annoying. She resented Bliss because of her looks and that she was living with her family (not her fault btw but I will get to that). Her being mad at Bliss for Nathan wanting to date her (also will get to more of that in a minute) was pathetic. And she lashed out so much at Bliss for anything and everything. And Bliss just takes it.
3. Her mom is flighty, manipulative, narcissistic, and self absorbed. And every time she opens her mouth it is blatantly obvious. And again, Bliss just takes it. Her mom leaves her at her aunt's house to be in Japan for a job that was supposed to last a few months. Nope. 6 years. With not much contact. And then shows up out of nowhere with a guy in tow expecting things to be the same. This stresses Bliss out so much that she pushes down her feelings and doesn't talk about how she is hurting because she's afraid her mom will leave her again.
4. Nathan. SA'd Bliss after she repeatedly had said no. Just like with River, put these boys behind bars. I have absolutely no sympathy for people who do this. NONE. It doesn't matter if it's a character in a book or real life but these types of people deserve jail for life. And I will shout that from the rooftops for the rest of my life. This topic can be put in books but I just felt that it could have been handled better.
5. The language was a lot for me, but it did feel typical for an average teen.
6. Sex scenes do not belong in YA books. Say it again with me SEX SCENES DO NOT BELONG IN YA BOOKS. Honestly, if you're going to put in in a book, classify it as NA or Adult.

[kaelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

started out good but got to be super annoying and difficult to want to finish

[eve.lyn._.reads]

dnf 71%
Someday We'll Find It. FIND WHAT? I had to dnf this. Here are the reasons why:
-The first sentence "River and me started going out one night when I got drunk, passed out, and woke up to him all over me."
{This random dude makes out with you when your drunk and sleeping? what?}
-The amount of times she fusses with her tube top . . . just wear more clothes!
-River: Her jerk boy friend in substitute for worse words. He's possessive and his mood swings are so immature.
-The amount of times "getting it on" and "kissing me up real good" is used
-Bliss: Bliss is loves her boyfriend. Yet even if she does she meets this random dude and gets into his car. Oh guess what than she kisses him, and hopes to "get things on." Knowing that she is cheating on her boyfriend no matter how stupid he is. Bliss felt like the not-like-other-girls pretty girl who gets all the guys and faces no consequence. She watches Blake like a hawk even if she pretends not to going on and on about his V chest line or something? Then they move on to go and do more than kissing.
-[Now here is why I stopped. I hate her boyfriend and Blake isn't that bad. However, they are making out and then taking each others clothes off and more? I just couldn't read it. She cheated on her boyfriend but goes on and on about how she loves him so much.]
-Bliss' Mother: Absolutely horrible. Self-centered.
-Patsy: Bliss' cousin is horrible. I understand that she hates Bliss but when your own cousin tell you she was raped by Patsy's boyfriend she just says something around the lines of
"stop making up excuses." She bad mouths and straight-out humiliates Bliss.

-This just wasn't for me-

[Kirsten Anderson]

DNF. Too much major language in the first chapter for me :(

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warning: I am a teenager, I talk like a teen and I type like a teen. I only like to write reviews because I like to talk, take my opinion how ever you would like!

2.5 rounded up to 3

*Mild Spoilers*


So one of my friends heavily recommended this book to me so I picked it up. I was not the biggest fan for a handful of reasons. Starting off with the characters and relationships. I found Bliss incredibly irritating, I'm not sure if it's only because I found her name annoying or if she was just hellishly dense. To me Bliss felt too perfect, her flaws seemed nonexistent or self made with an easy fix. Everyone in her life seems to underestimate her and she completely lets them, except her mother which will be touched on later. I found Blake very 1 dimensional. He was boring and had very little growth. When his problems were shown I wanted to know what was going to happen but we never got to see it. Him and Bliss really lacked chemistry and at least to me their relationship felt a bit creepy and rushed. Blake felt very saviorish for me to really want him to end up with Bliss, he just came and swooped in to save Bliss from her deep dark terrors. Patsy was my favorite character in the way she was written because she was an amazing decoy villain. Patsy was fun to hate while simultaneously rooting for her. Her whole story was also left semi unfinished which wasn't great but Patsy as a character made this book feel more human. Her and Bliss were a fun dynamic because it was super believable, they felt like catty sisters which was so refreshing in the story that felt way too distant. River was confusing to read about because half the time he felt like a different character but I guess that was the fun of him. Mama was maybe one of the best written characters because I hated her so much which felt intentional in the writing. Her relationship with literally everyone in this book was so irritating which made her a phenomenal villain. She was so annoying and she was always there, like you could not get rid of her no matter what because someone was always talking about her.

Scenery: I've lived all around Illinois all my life, so the setting was comforting and well written. The setting felt like the only thing that Jennifer Wilson really knew what she was talking about. Her people felt fictional but her world felt so real. It was very warm and comforting because of how well the world was set up. I had clear visualizations of each location and felt like I knew where I was. Every location felt complete and pretty much necessary with only a few exceptions.

Plot: The plot was fine but it could have been more. I think if Bliss hadn't felt so fake it would have helped the plot overall. A lot of the plot felt pushed by the fact that Bliss was too perfect, like how easily she had pulled Blake, how innocent everyone viewed her as, and her ability to fit the role of perfect housewife. She was viewed as an outcast because she made herself an outcast. Clearly she didn't do it on purpose but because she was dropped off with her aunt she made that a part of her personality. Bliss' story was dull and seen before, there was no big twist or anything, it was very predictable and to be quite honest average. I wish there was more exploration into Bliss' drive and her motivation because she felt so robotic. This book was riddled with the most metaphor's I've ever seen, which is saying something because I took AP English. These metaphors could of had a strong deep meaning and something so real but it flopped. I cannot stress it enough how much these metaphors felt like a waste (I'll touch on that later anyway). I feel like none of these characters had a real story arc that was completed except for like Patsy and her beauty school love. Overall plot wise this book felt lost and way too far gone.

(SPOILERS) Metaphors: The amount of metaphors is ridiculous, even more so because they didn't add anything to the story. I will talk about the three that pissed me off the most. First and foremost our opening image is literally Bliss and River getting stuck which later on leads to River abandoning Bliss. Cue throughout the rest of this book Bliss consistently revealing her feeling stuck in her relationship with River. Also River's story feels very stuck as River is stuck with his way of life and fear of change. Also River consistently abandons Bliss whenever he gets the chance. So yeah the car was a metaphor just not a good one. Secondly, The ukulele is maybe the biggest waste and only felt there to set up the book title. This stupid ukulele is Bliss' way of connecting to her mom, which her mom doesn't even remember! Which like is almost another metaphor in itself because Bliss's mom lets her down and forgets everything they've ever done together that was important, but that was a waste. Theresa felt so foreign in this story it was crazy like she was just some rando they found on the side of the road. There were like six other metaphors showing Bliss being let down or forgotten by her mom so why was this ukulele so present. If this was the one thing her mom and her had shared that would have been so powerful. If her mom had told Bliss like "I remember that thing, I used to love it now it feels like a waste of space" we would have gotten this disconnect of Bliss and Theresa instead of this gap, plus Bliss still goes through with the Rainbow connection thing which doesn't make sense because she knew her mom wouldn't care because that ukulele meant nothing to her. Finally maybe the most infuriating metaphor, the dumb glass bowl. Where did this glass bowl really come from, it's an honest question because we never find out the truth. Because we never really knew the origins this metaphor got lost. When Bliss breaks this stupid glass bowl we see Theresa lose her mind. Was the glass bowl a metaphor for how fragile her mom's mental state was? We also get to hear what Trish thinks, she's like it's my bowl. Does that make it a metaphor for how Theresa and Trish's lives were constantly shoved together because of negligent parenting? Was it a symbol of for love like how conditional Theresa's love for her daughter was? Why was this glass bowl the literal climax of the book? I could keep on going because there are so many metaphors that are unconcluded throughout this book.

Alright I've got homework I should probably do and I've definitely written enough. Bye y'all!

Kisses,
Summer

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! I expected some light reading, but it really was very deep. I saw so much of myself in her - wanting to love and help everyone around her, not realizing she was compromising her own well-being.
The interactions between Bliss and - well, everyone - you could see her past affecting every reaction, but you also knew that she was hoping to be and do better. She has obviously been wounded, but is trying to move past the hurt of her youngest years in order to give herself a better future.
The setting is its own character. In some ways it could be any mid-western, middle of nowhere town, but the "bean walking" and "corn tasseling" was so outside of my realm of knowledge, I felt like I was meeting a 'whole new world.'
An all around good read!

[Caitie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that discusses coming of age in a small town and how one thing can change the way you look at the world. Bliss Walker has lived with her aunt, uncle, and cousin in their small Illinois town ever since her mother left her there six years earlier. Bliss, on some level, still feels the sting of her mom's absence but finally thinks she has life figured out. But the summer before her senior year, Bliss's mother reappears in her life with big news. Bliss is thrown for a loop, but is also happy that her mom wants to be in her life again. But Bliss's cousin Patsy is wary of her aunt, warning Bliss that her mom must want something since she hasn't been back in six years.

I think this is an important book about finding your own personal truth about what you want in life and how the people you think you can trust may not have your best interests at heart.

[John Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent most of the second half of this book waiting for Bliss to wake up and smell the coffee. Between her need to people please and chronic indecision, she bordered on annoying, but..There was still plenty of reason to feel empathy for her as the issues she had spent all seventeen years of her life a prisoner of, are ones lots of teens and adults face on a daily basis. Fortunately, sufficient situations break down, or come to a head by the end of the book, that she finally reaches out for said cup of coffee. Definitely a book worth adding to library collections where real-life issues and how to get through them, are valued.

[Sundria (Sundi) McCormick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but I did feel the sex was a bit too common place for kids that age. Not saying it doesn’t happen but it felt too mature for these kids. Could not stand the mother and the cousin was too wishy washy for me. Love how they ended up but wow, what a mean girl to your own family member. So immature on so many levels and then not even trying to understand or care about how she tested her cousin. I wanted to throat punch her so many times.

[Jessel De La Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much thanks to NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

I loved the cover first, it is so gorgeous! The story is quite fun even though there are lots of stressful happenings that made me want to scream at Bliss so she can make a nice decision for herself. Finished reading this in less than a few hours.

All in all, it is a cute coming-of-age novel and I'd rate this book 3.6 stars.

[Lisa Mcbroom · Rating 3 out of 5]

WArNING: Two incidents of date rape and mental abuse. Bliss feels stuck. Stuck at her aunt's and uncle's house, stuck in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend River, deserted by her mother, and having to put up with her jealous cousin Patsy. When she meets college boy Blake and her mother returns , Bliss learns to stand up for herself and decides what she wants in life.

[Lily Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. It wasn't a bad book, just not the best I've read. I thought for sure I'd quit listening after about 10 minutes, but I'm glad I kept listening.

Lots and lots of swearing. But a teenage book about love, loss, confusion, and growing up. A teen who is confused with where she is going, and what she needs to do with her life. She figures things out at the end, and it is CRAZY!

[Kaylina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily my favorite book I've reviewed through NetGalley and one I have every intention of buying my own copy of!!

Someday We'll Find It tells the story of Bliss, a teenage girl living with her aunt and uncle in rural Illinois, after her mother left her behind to pursue her modeling career. Bliss has it all figured out: she's dating the popular boy, River, and she works doubly hard not to let her aunt and uncle see her as a burden. But then she meets Blake, a boy who seems to see her like no one else does, and then, her Mama returns. Bliss is swept up in all the change, and has to figure out what's best for her: the life she worked so hard to prepare for herself, and the life she's always wanted.

I will say that this story probably won't be for everyone, but the reasons many people won't enjoy this book are exactly what made me love it. Bliss's voice is so strong; she really felt like a living breathing person, and so did every person around her. But the strength of her voice made the story start a bit slow, as you get a feel for what the world looks like through Bliss's eyes. (But once I got sucked in, there was no turning back!) She talks the way I would expect a teenager from a small town who had limited education growing up to talk, so if you can't handle intentionally bad grammar, you probably shouldn't pick up this book. Personally, I thought it made her feel even more real.

I would also consider Bliss to be an unreliable narrator (which again, not for everyone, but I love.) We are seeing the world and the people in it through her lens and have to make our own judgments. The people in Bliss's life, and even Bliss herself, are deeply flawed. Even the smallest side characters were lively and flawed and entirely real. I felt every range of emotions reading this book: happy, sad, and absolutely furious. If you have to like the characters in a book to enjoy the book, this one is not for you. But if you like seeing an honest look at family, at the ways people can be terrible to one another even with the best of intentions, or if you like characters that live in gray areas, and watch them figure things out anyway? Pick this one up ASAP

I felt like I was really on this journey with Bliss, and even when she made the wrong call, I was rooting for her every step of the way. (And did I mention this is a debut??? Can't wait to see what Jennifer Wilson comes up with next.)

TW: discussions of SA, domestic violence, abandonment

[Kerensa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fully think my enjoyment of this book is directly tied to the fact that I (for reasons unknown, even to myself) read My Louisiana Sky countless times as a kid.

Many things about Someday We'll Find It are different from My Louisiana Sky, but they're both coming-of-age stories set in small towns and they both feature a major storm/tornado. So there is that.

Someday We'll Find It is about Bliss Walker, who has been living with her aunt and uncle for six years while her mother modeled in Japan. Bliss is something of a people pleaser and rather passive in her interactions with those around her, as she refuses to let herself want things to intensely for fear of driving others away or being too much. But her mother suddenly returns to her life and there's a guy who keeps asking Bliss what she actually wants. A subtle coming of age journey ensues.

I empathize with other readers who found this book frustrating, although I liked it. Bliss' relationships with those around her definitely are frustrating to read about at times. You want her to stand up for herself and push back instead of getting pushed around. But at the same time, this book isn't about Bliss doing a complete 180 and being totally able to speak up for herself by the end. It's her taking the first steps to be able to do that. She does make progress, but she's not a completely different person from who she started out as. So keep that in mind, I suppose.

If there were anything I would want more of in this book, I think more of Blake would have been nice. But overall I think this is a solid and enjoyable small-town coming-of-age story. I don't know if I'll reread it, but I'll be curious to see what Jennifer Wilson writes next.