This wasn't quite the mystery I was hoping for. If they had actually solved the mystery, and not leaped to conclusions I probably would have rated it five stars, for I loved the rest of the story. ( )

truly lovejoy is the third of five siblings in her military family and always feels lost in the shuffle, despite her looming height at only age twelve. now that her lieutenant colonel helicopter pilot father's retiring, the family is finally settling down, right down the street from their cousins in texas. but disaster strikes in afganistan mere days before truly's father is supposed to come home, and while he's alive, he comes back a different man entirely: no longer smiling, no longer laughing.

so, they move to middle-of-nowhere pumpkin falls, new hampshire in the dead of winter, the tiny, frozen town where truly's father grew up, to take over the struggling family bookshop, lovejoy's books. initially miserable, truly finds herself reluctantly enjoying this town – working at the bookshop, birding, and making unexpected friends that solve mysteries together as the pumpkin falls private eyes.

i enjoyed this book, especially the first two-thirds, but the ending dropped off a bit for me. the mystery wasn't as enticing an element as i expected, considering the book is labeled "a pumpkin falls mystery." there don't seem to be any stakes, and then the mystery sort of dissipates at the end.

i wish more had been done with truly's father. very little was in the text other than bits here and there of him being stubborn about his injury. in addition, hatcher is pegged as truly's favorite sibling, but we get very little from him other than his trademark sunshine smile. a lot of the character fall rather flat, actually, even truly's group of friends. everyone has one standout trait, but that's pretty much it: from dancer cha cha to shy lucas to boy-crushing jasmine. while i enjoyed the friendship interactions, i felt the author could have delved a lot deeper.

i do love the characters of aunt true, kindergarteners pippa and baxter, kitten whisperer belinda winchester, shakespeare enthusiast dr. calhoun, and truly's mother dinah. but i was disappointed that all my favorite characters were sort of shuffled off to the side (with the possible exception of aunt true); i really wanted to see more of them. i will likely read the next book, yours truly, primarily to see more of those characters.

overall, though, this was a cozy, wintery read. love the minuscule town of pumpkin falls, the family bookshop, the charlotte's web reverence, the owls, the textured cover, etc. just wished for deeper character development and deeper complexities in the plot. 3.5/5 stars! ( )

A great story about a family, a community, friendship and a book store mystery. "... While books bring people together, it's people who bring communities together." (Cross my heart and hope to fly) ( )

Who wants to move from sunny Austin, Texas to the small, boring town of Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire where winter lasts at least 6 months of the year and there’s no mall or movie theater? Middle school student Truly Lovejoy has no choice when her family decides to move to her father’s hometown after “Black Monday,” or the day her father lost his arm in a helicopter accident during his final tour of duty. While helping in the family bookstore, Truly discovers an intriguing letter inside a rare copy of “Charlotte’s Web.” She becomes obsessed with finding the secrets hidden in the letter and brings her new friends in on the adventure discovering clues around town. While trying to solve this mystery, Truly also learns a few things about life, love, family and being true to herself. Written for tweens, this is a fun, heartwarming read with strong, well developed characters.

Sharyn H. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

( )

The series is billed as a mystery and there is a private investigation group formed from the new group of friends, but most of the focus seems to be on daily life of the Lovejoy family and for Truly and her new friends.
Truly's life is uprooted after her dad comes home from a tour of duty less one arm. He is having a hard time finding his way with this new reality, so the big (5 kids) Lovejoy family moves from Texas to Pumpkin Falls, Vermont to take over the family bookstore. The characters are likeable. Truly is the focus as she starts 7th grade in her new school and meets a new group of friends who stumble onto a secret letter hidden in a signed copy of Charlotte's Web.
A cute, predictable story that is worth the journey. ( )