Every single character is so likeable! The family dynamic and the diversity in this book is so wonderful and it makes me love YA genre even more!

I liked this book to an extent. I don't think this story was for me. Reading this as an adult, I can not really give a fair review considering that the target audience was not me! It was ok and I would read other works by Kronzer.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙔𝘼 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚, 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚.

📍 Read if you like:
• Family Relationships
• YA Love Stories
• Fun Reads
• Acting/Theatre

I love when stories focus on families and how far they would go to save their home and each other. This was such an interesting premise and it sounded so intriguing.

I enjoyed the idea behind a theatrical play to save these characters’ home. A Victorian murder mystery play was so fascinating and had me wanting to read more.

This is a Young Adult book and it definitely reads that way. While I didn’t mind it too much, I couldn’t really connect with the characters. I enjoyed them but didn’t relate to them.

There’s a lot of family drama and “finding your own path” vibes. The romance was good and I enjoyed the queer rep.

I don’t think I was the intended reader of this story. I was never a theatre/play person, but I do think those who love those will enjoy this.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Amulet Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Anxiety, cursing, character with cancer, homophobia, racism, sexism, blood, abandonment

If you've ever been a theatre kid then this book is a perfect way to relive the glory days! In this novel, we follow Finn Turner who is a struggling actor of a different sort. Finn struggles to remember his lines in a family that is famous for their theatrical performances. At the start of this novel, Finn's mother has written a play based on the original owners of their family home with the funds from this play meant to help with repairs of said aging mansion. However, the family is also hosting the cast in an immersive experience inside the family home to prepare for their performance set in 1891. Can they pull it off to keep the roof over their heads? Or will it all come crashing down?

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel. This is not a thrilling or fast-paced story; it is actually quite slow. However, there is a lot of attention to detail that made this story incredibly immersive. The descriptions of the cast living the 1891 life were incredibly detailed and I loved Joan's character as the local historian - it made this history nerd feel very seen! I felt like I could vividly picture the house and all of the characters in the play. This has a large cast, so I was shocked at how unique each character felt. The characters were incredibly well-rounded and I liked that it was a mix of characters enthusiastic for the play and people just roped in to help so that there were all kinds of personality types. I also felt like there was a good amount of depth to both the friendships and familial relationships throughout the book. I really liked how the author had people communicate with one another and have genuine conversations that built up character relationships without feeling forced. In the romance plot-line there was also such great banter and a real chemistry between the couple that had me swooning for them! In general, there were a lot of comedic moments that had me literally laughing out loud at the story and I liked the balance of comedy and seriousness.

However, I did have a few issues with certain elements of the story. The pacing of the novel was really uneven. The beginning was slow-moving with roughly 30-40% of the first half being only one day. Then, the second half of the novel rushed through multiple days and the actual performances of the play. I personally would have liked to get more from that second half because while major progress is happening in terms of character development and plot lines, there had been so much build up about the play in the first half that it was just odd to barely focus on it. Another issue I had is the trope used in this story, which I think was made unnecessarily complicated.(view spoiler) Lastly, it was very weird to me that Finn's height was brought up so often and frequently a source of negativity/conflict with other characters. It seemed over-exaggerated to me and again just unnecessary.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that I wished would have been a bit better paced and chosen a slightly different trope. However, the good greatly outweighed my issues and I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves theatre, history, and witty banter!

Even though this book did not hit anywhere as hard as Unscripted, Kronzer's debut novel, this book proved that Kronzer can write really well. This book features a male protagonist struggling to figure out what he really wants in the midst of participating in a fully immersive theatre experience put on to save the historic home in which he and his family live. It's fairly low stakes but stakes do exist and provide Kronzer the ability to explore character relationships in a truly remarkable way.

I am thoroughly convinced that I will love everything Nicole Kronzer writes. She has a way of writing the most authentic, sincere, teenage characters and I have been so excited for this book since I heard about it! Nicole's debut, Unscripted, left big shoes to fill and The Roof Over Our Heads did NOT disappoint! Many of my library teens are theater kids and I just know that they are going to adore this book. Finn is everything I look for in a solid literary character. He's got charm for days and is completely vulnerable to the reader. And just like in Unscripted, Nicole manages to maintain an upbeat tone throughout the book while tackling very real and serious issues. Cannot recommend Nicole Kronzer and this book enough!

This books sounded really fun and I loved the cover. I just don't think I had time to get into the book before the publication date. I will be going back and reading it again and hope I can get into it more.

The Roof Over Our Heads is an extremely relatable book with an internal character struggle that many people can or have been able to relate to in their lifetime: who we are and how to reconcile that with familial expectations.

Finn is your average guy: he has two moms and two older brothers. Sounds normal, right? Well, let's add in the family's notoriety as a theater family. And while we are at it, Finn and his family live in a historical house that will never be theirs. But Finn is struggling... in so many things and in so many ways. The house is falling down around him, his moms are concerned with the house being shut down and knocked down, and Finn can for the love of goodness ever remember his lines! It is an embarrassment to be in a theater family and to not be able to remember his lines! But Finn has a plan to.piggyback off of his mom's plan to save the house they love.

Enter a living theater. Finn and his family as well as friends and the community come together to take part in Nomi and Lula's Victorian level scheme to save the only house be has ever known. And of course there are girls in the mix and a treasure to find and a personal discovery to attend to as well. Over the course of prepping g for the immersive show, Finn has pressure galore to singlehandedly keep the house together, protect Lula from her self in her road to.recovery, cook, act, and think ten steps ahead to make sure everything stays afloat. As the days pass, things become more and more complicated and Finn is thrust into one of the lead roles, he must discover what he wants and how to make his family proud and of course vet the girl. The only question though: which one will he get?

This book was a fun read that had you rooting for all the characters despite them being very human. It is easy to relate to Finn as you read his journey of self realization about what he loves and who is family expects him to be. Many can and will relate to the internal struggle of finding out who you are and loving yourself for it. And who doesn't loves good trope?!? Friends to enemies to lovers? I was definitely here for it!

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and NetGalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Ahhhh!!! I'm in love. Really great book

This book is so much fun! I haven’t read many books set in Minnesota, and as a St Paul native with familiarity with the James J Hill house (which at least partially inspired the Jorgensen House), I was having such a fun time imagining the lives of the characters.

Personal connection aside, each of these characters is just so likable! Finn especially, a character who is juggling so much of not only his own issues, but taking on problems in other areas as well. I love the idea of an old mansion being a live-in historical experience and with the characters staging an authentic theater production in an effort to save the Jorgensen House, I was briefly tempted to look into acting myself. (Like Finn, however, I would struggle with memorizing lines.) Though the story focuses on Finn, I do like that we get little stories from everyone who has banded together in this production. Rather than being just names on a page, Kronzer introduces each member of the cast and includes their lives in the story as well.

Every aspect of this book, from the descriptions to the characters to the house itself felt familiar to me, as though I was the invisible, silent audience that the crew at the House welcomed during their show. As a reader, you are welcomed in to the story. It is a fun, comforting read about the importance of family and the meaning of home.

“The story of this house had been started by the Jorgensens, but we were characters in that story, too. We couldn’t lose it.”

Many teens spend their summers before senior year of high school traveling or at the beach or hanging out with friends. Not Finn Turner. He’s spending two weeks of his summer vacation putting on an immersive Victorian show in the historic mansion his family lives in. They’re desperate to save the only home they’ve ever known, but despite Finn’s entire family being actors, he always seems to have trouble remembering his lines. Still, this is their only chance, and Finn is determined to do what it takes. But with things going wrong, his longtime rival Jade seemingly everywhere, and his crush too busy to connect with him, Finn is in for an exciting two weeks. Will they manage to save the house in time? Or will everything come crashing down…maybe even literally?

As a theatre nerd, I absolutely loved this book! As a Victorian nerd, I absolutely loved this book! And as a book nerd, I absolutely loved this book! THE ROOF OVER OUR HEADS is such a fun romp with moments that simultaneously made me laugh out loud and wrenched my heart. All of the characters are very fleshed out and realistic, and I felt like they might jump off the page. Plus, the concept of the play is so unique! I wish I could both act in and see a play like this! Need a book to warm you up during these chilly winter months? Then find yourself a copy of THE ROOF OVER OUR HEADS right away and immerse yourself in Nicole Kronzer’s incredible story!

Content Warnings: Mild language, character with cancer, homophobia, mentioned racism and sexism, blood, theatrical murder, mentioned abandonment

THE ROOF OVER OUR HEADS by Nicole Kronzer releases January 3, 2023 from Amulet Books.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Thank you to #NetGalley, Nicole Kronzer, and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Our main character FInn lives in a family of actors! One of his moms is an actor and the other is a director. His brothers are also both actors. They live in one of the best neighborhoods in the Minnesota that is home to one of the best theater regions. Soon though a new director moves to town and threatens to sell the only home Finn has known? Will he and his family be able to get through it?

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I was in theater in high school but I was more on the backstage crew. The flow of the book was great and I think others will really like it!

Fun book combining 1900 House vibes with theatre. Lots of characters and a more philoshophical twist makes this a bit more appealing to high school rather than middle school readers, but if there's a lot of interest in theater, this might work for your younger crowd as well.

Fun book combining 1900 House vibes with theatre. Lots of characters and a more philoshophical twist makes this a bit more appealing to high school rather than middle school readers, but if there's a lot of interest in theater, this might work for your younger crowd as well.

This was a charming read. I really enjoyed the concept and thought the characters had true depth and heart.

So I really wish I could actually see the play in this book? That was my main thought throughout. This was a really beautiful read and really surprising as well. I knew I would enjoy it I think, but I didn't think it would worm its way into my heart the way it did. I loved how meaningful all the relationships felt and how the characters were deeper than originally thought. They definitely grew on me as the story continued. This book is simply charming and a nice addition to the Ya contemporary space!

A book about life goals, determined to do so much, not asking for help, not allowing others to help, forgetting that goals change, and not opening up about real feelings. The good news is that this is all done in a light, easy read with a few surprises. The story is very enjoyable and I only wish that I could have seen the production they put on and tasted the food!

Thanks to Abrams Kids + Amulet books for the e-publicity copy of THE ROOF OVER OUR HEADS, by Nicole Kronzer, expected pub date January 3, 2023.

THE ROOF OVER OUR HEADS is an incredible ode to family, theater, and the power of relationships.
What starts off as a fun theater story of saving a historical house (MN friends, you'll totally feel like you're on Summit Ave with this one) through an immersive Victorian theater experience becomes a story of growth, self-realization, family bonds, the power of friendship, and thoughtful explorations into relationships that weren't accepted in the Victorian era including racism and LGBTQIAP+.

Definitely put this one on your TBR - it's one I'll be recommending for sure.

The Roof Over Our Heads by Nicole Kronzer is a fun, entertaining book. My impression was that I would have liked it better if it had been a film rather than a book. The character of the house (as well as the image of the costumes) would have been much more impressive if we had been able to see it rather than imagine within the boundaries of Finn's description.
At the beginning of the book I was not drawn to any of the characters. In fact, the male protagonist was more than a little irritating and seemed to whine and pout far too much. But as the book went along, Finn seemed to have character development and growth and got to be much more likeable. I liked that there were several strong female characters and that the LGBTQ relationships were just as deep and meaningful as the heterosexual relationships rather than superficial and strictly physical.

Thank you NetGalley and ABRAMS Kids, Amulet Books for allowing me to read a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the views and opinions expressed in this review are purely my own and not affiliated with any brand.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I'm not someone who is into the theater scene and wasn't in theater in school. But Nicole Kronzer writes a story that is easy for anyone to follow, even if you know little about theater. The characters were all very likable and relatable. The life issues were also very relevant to todays struggles. Overall, this was a fast read and a very enjoyable book. Would recommend to a friend.

P.S. I wish I could actually see the play described in the book!