Lily's Promise

by Kathryn Erskine

From National Book Award–winning author Kathryn Erskine comes a heartfelt, poignant novel that tackles grief, change, and the struggle to let your voice be heard. Perfect for fans of Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Erin Entrada Kelly, and Ali Benjamin. Shy, eleven-year-old Lily made her dad an important promise before he passed away—that she would “Strive for Five” and speak her mind at least five times. But speaking up one time, let alone five, is easier said than done. It’ll be even harder now that Lily must attend public school for the first time. Fortunately, she meets curling-obsessed Hobart and quiet Dunya at the beginning of sixth grade. Their kindness gives Lily hope that life without Dad might just be bearable. But when Lily and her friends are bullied by Ryan and his mean clique, she quickly discovers the true meaning of friendship and speaking out. Despite the anxiety she feels, Lily knows she needs to stand up for herself and others. And she’ll use the tools her dad gave her to not only keep her final promise but bring her whole school together. Following Lily’s journey and the snarky, insightful, and humorous commentary from Libro, the actual book, who guides readers through this thoughtful tale, makes Lily’s Promise a strong title for social emotional learning. 

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Juvenile, Childrens, Friendship, Grief

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 2021

About the author

Kathryn Erskine spent many years as a lawyer before realizing that she'd rather write things that people might actually enjoy reading.
She grew up mostly overseas and attended eight different schools, her favorite being the Hogwarts-type castle in Scotland.
The faculty, of course, did not consist of wizards, although... how did the headmistress know that it was the wee redhead who led the campaign to free the mice from the biology lab?
Erskine draws on her childhood and her second childhood through her children for her stories. She still loves to travel but nowadays most trips tend to be local, such as basketball and tennis courts, occasional emergency room visits, and the natural food store for very healthy organic chocolate with life saving flavonoids.

Reviews

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixth grader Lily, painfully shy, is attending public school for the first time. She had always been homeschooled by her father, and, before he died, he encouraged her talk to other kids “Girls make excellent friends” and left her a Strive for Five challenge: “to speak up, make herself heard, step out of her ‘comfort zone’ at least five times… and pretty soon, it [will] become second nature.’ (18-19)

On the first day Lily, overwhelmed at the noise and rudeness of the students, (1) makes her first friend, Hobart (not a girl) and (2) observes many instances of bullying, some against Hobart (and even the new teacher) and most generated from Ryan and his followers. During the year as she forms a group of new friends from those students many others would think different, she finds her courage and voice to become an upstander, rather than a bystander, earning her the five charms left by her father. Lily and her new friends influence both young adolescents and adults, such as Hobart’s father, alike.

One unique and very compelling element are the chapters narrated by Libro (the book) is it reflects on the characters and events of the preceding chapter and on the author (Imaginer) herself.

[Fornia · Rating 3 out of 5]

in middle grade, good people are good and bad people get defeated, or change, or have understandably nasty backstories. the lines are clearer in a way that almost feels attainable even in the morass of the world we live in today, yk?
my heart is so full

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lily's Promise is an engaging middle grade book that tackles several issues including bullying, grief, immigration, and friendships. Alternating chapters are narrated by Libro, the book itself, who breaks the fourth wall to address the reader. It's a fun, self-aware character who also refers to "The Imaginer," or author, and gives its opinions as to what is happening or about to happen.

Lily is attending public school for the first time. She has always been homeschooled by her father, until recently, when he passed away. She has never had close friends, and has difficulty speaking up. Before he died, her father asked her to "strive for five," meaning find five opportunities to speak up and speak out. Almost as soon as she arrives at school to begin sixth grade, Lily meets Hobart, a friendly kid who has endured more than his share of being the victim of Ryan, the class bully. As the school year progresses, Lily becomes friends with Hobart and others who appear at first to be outsiders in one way or another. Lily finds opportunities to use her voice to help those around her. The challenge is, can she do it?

Review based on an ARC provided by NetGalley.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Libro chapters were a major interruption and annoying to me.

[Courtenay · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, any book I want to throw across the room at the end can't earn anything higher than 2 stars. Lily's Promise had so much promise -- shy female protagonist Lily and a diverse cast of characters going up against a school bully in a 6th-grade class election.

My second big complaint was about Libro, the gimmicky, snarky voice of Kathryn Erskine's book, pages, muse, authorial voice, call it what you want; it didn't work for me at all. It was intriguing at first, but it didn't improve as I went along. I felt it was too didactic and unnecessary (kids are incredibly smart. They don't need to be told what to think). They totally disrupted the flow of the narrative. The one positive was each of the interrupting chapters was SHORT. White space is good for this age group. I saw that entire second voice as pages that could easily have been edited out, but I kept reading to see how the author was going to tie them in. Having Dunya or Skylar or Hobart as the second voice would have made it a far more captivating and successful read for me.

When I reached the end (which I won't give away), I thought, "What a complete cop-out." So yeah, the way Lily's story was being told until the final chapter would have garnered it 4 stars. Libro, unnecessary, 1 star. Ending, 1 star. I can't rate this any higher than 2.5. Adults may love it -- it raises some thought-provoking questions about how we relate to "the other" in society which is incredibly important in 2021 -- but the way the message was handled felt too forced.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lily is timid to the point of invisibility. But she’s working on it.

While I liked Lily and her struggle to make herself heard, I found myself more than a little exasperated by Hobart. He’s frankly a bit of a bore. Anyone who burbles on incessantly as he does about a single subject is a bore. Hobart’s obsession is, unfortunately, about curling. Yes, that Canadian sport that’s a combination of bowling and skittles and is performed on the ice is Hobart’s passion and he’s quick to lunge into the subject regardless of what other people might think. He’s defensive about it, too, which doesn’t help.

But there are other characters to alleviate the tedium that is Ho-hum’s obsession. We even get insight from Libro, the book itself. It’s a delightful surprise and an imaginative one since Libro can’t be seen or heard by any of the characters. It has decided opinions about what is happening within its pages and its tart “voice” is a sparkling addition to what’s happening on its pages.

t ends as it began, with Lily about to embark on a truly frightening performance. But, surprisingly, the novel doesn’t let us know what happens next. Perhaps it doesn’t need to do so because what’s significant is everything that happened before it. Lily learns to raise her voice to help others around her. It’s what puts the sass and spark into this novel and will appeal to shy children who have trouble speaking up when needed.

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an amazing story that touches on so many important topics in ways that children can understand. I loved Lily and her friends! I loved her journey and the journeys of the other characters! Most of all, I loved Libro the narrator. I was loving this story right up until the last chapter and was ready to rate it 5/5 stars, however I absolutely hate stories that have poor endings and this story didn't really have an ending. It just stops. I understand what Erskine was going for with this ending, and some people may like it, but for me it ruined the whole experience. So I would recommend this story to others with the warning that the ending is bad, but the other 99% of the story is good.

[Janaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I debated whether to have this be 2 or 3 stars. It was fine... I guess. I picked it up because I so wanted to love it. I thought I could resonate with quiet, shy Lily. But it was so preachy and so on the nose I didn’t really like it. It’s not even that I didn’t agree with a lot of her points—but the book (literally, “the book” because the book commentates on the story. Drove me a little nuts actually) just told me what and how to think, and what was right and wrong. There was no room for me to figure it out for myself, as a reader. And I didn’t love that. Even now as I’m writing my thoughts I’m getting all bothered again and keep thinking I should change it to 2 stars. But it’s not a bad book, and it had so much potential to be really sweet. It just wasn’t. Which was too bad.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review. I really loved the book. Lily is such a normal kid with normal kid issues. Hobart is a delightful friend. Everyone should have a Hobart in their life. Dunya is wonderful and every bit the helper. But, my favorite character has to be Libro, a self-described snarky omniscient narrator who not only helps readers ask questions, process feelings but also see a peek of story crafting behind the scenes. I really hope to Libro show up in another book. Libro is great! I'm a middle school librarian and I will definitely share Lily's Promise with students.

[Patti Sabik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute story about a girl who makes a promise to her dad before he passes away. As she honors this promise she becomes more and more aware of her inner strength and slowly begins to chip away at her shy exterior. While most of the characters were loveable, yet stereotypical, or empathetic bullies my favorite part of the book was Libro, the self-aware book narrator who would break the fourth wall and interject snarky and humorous comments every so many chapters. I loved this insight and extra commentary on the characters that some of the readers may not pick up on themselves or need "adult" guidance understanding. A humorous and heartfelt read.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter loved this book so much, she wanted me to read it and I enjoyed it. I found the way it was written a little choppy and a tad "young-sounding," for the age it was geared to, but overall the message and story were delightful. The "Libro" chapters went both ways for me- I loved them in some cases (the idea of a book having a voice was cute and unique and so fun) and found them highly annoying and unnecessary in others (I didn't need the pushy voice portrayed). Still, the concept and message were spot on overall and the book would appeal to lots of readers. A cute read and I can see why my daughter loved it so much.

[Zazie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Libro chapters were annoying and unnecessary so I skipped them after chapter 9.

The rest of the chapters were so boring that I don't know why I didn't just dnf this one early on. I guess it was because I had already given up on so many books by now but maybe this one should really have been one of them.

I am so disappointed in this one because since I found out about this book I have been wanting to read it and I thought for sure this one was gonna be great but it really was the opposite and hope that no one bothers with this one and anyone who does try it I hope you enjoy it more than those of us who ended up hating it.

[Israa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book because there is a Muslim girl wearing hijab on the cover. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. It's not a religious book, but inclusion and welcoming immigrants is an important theme here. While the Muslimah is not the main character, she represents a positive image of immigrants, Iraqi people, and strong women. The themes of bravery, bullying, inclusion, friendship, and coping with loss of loved ones can all be discussed. While I did not like the lack of an actual ending, the reader will understand the author's purpose, and I thought this was a clever way to end the story. I will recommend this clean novel for our middle school library.

[Glenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book follows a shy 6th-grader as she starts attending a regular public school after being home schooled by her father, who recently passed away. She tries to step out of her shyness comfort zone as a promise to her dad but it's hard! At school and home, there are lessons on kindness, friendship, bullying, xenophobia, courage, and forgiveness. This would be a great classroom read as there is a "libro" character (the book, itself) who poses questions and thoughts to the reader every so often. These questions and comments would be great for class discussion.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher for an e-ARC of this one.

I really loved Mockingbird and had high hopes for this one. I really like Lily & Hobart, but I found myself frustrated by the interjections of The Book. I felt its contributions to the story were minimal and interrupted the flow of the story. I'd be turning the page hoping to find out what happened next, only to get color commentary from the book on what I'd already read.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely book should be required reading in every classroom, from at least third grade through seventh grade. So inspiring and important! Lily's promise to her late father was to "Strive for Five," and speak up when she sees injustice happening around her. How shy, quiet Lily learns to adjust to school, after being home-schooled all her life, makes for a fascinating read. Highly recommended. In fact, I know some adults who could learn lessons from this book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily has been homeschooled and is now starting starting public middle school, so as she navigates that transition, she works through many friendship issues that will resonate with middle grade readers. In some chapters, the story is also told by libro, the book itself, which is a unique addition that will make for good discussion amongst students.

[Barb Keltner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book ... except for the cover that's kind of cutesy and might not attract some readers who would surely enjoy it. My favorite part was that every other chapter was written by a very "unique" character!

[Flavia Nogueira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting a better book ending. The writing is good, the plot is also fine. The story development was somehow consistent. But, right at the end, I was hoping for a spectacular redemption, and that never happened (or left us with a cliff-hanging I should say).

[Melissa Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This book deserves to be in any middle school library! It supports SEL and sadly, many students can find this story relatable.
I enjoyed this graphic novel, 4.5 STARS!

[Gabriela Freitas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to get this reading going. I felt like some parts were so slow, and some were rushed, so it was hard to feel engaged all the time. Besides that, I think this is a very sweet story, and my favorite part was the friendship development among them.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

Link to my book talk: https://youtu.be/TBoI1W3hq9U

Lily's Promise is an entertaining and funny book that has great lessons for middle graders. The author does a beautiful job of describing all the scenes and the book has diverse characters. I feel personally connected to the characters. I really like Hobart in the book, he is funny and has strong opinions. I highly recommend this book to all middle-grade readers.

[LS Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have enjoyed the book so much more if I had skipped all the chapters by Libra. They made no sense to me and added nothing to the story.

[superawesomekt]

DNF after the first few chapters. Did not like the format of the book "talking" after the characters. Annoying.

[Stacy · Rating 1 out of 5]

skews too young to be interesting

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for younger readers. I mean, the message is good for us all❤️

[Ry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the end of this book. Not going to spoil but if you think it is boring you will regret not reading it through. It has a great lesson/theme. Recommend for kids that are shy.

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 rounded up. Maybe

[Abby Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I love it because it speaks from a quiet kid's perspective, which we normally don't get from books. I also loved it because I am the quiet kid.