What July Knew by Emily Koch

On July Hooper's tenth birthday she finds a note telling her that her mum didn't die in a car accident as she'd always thought. July knows very little about her mum and sets out on a quest to find out more. But her dad goes to extreme lengths to prevent her from finding out the truth.

Oh my.... this book is both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and I couldn't put it down. The characters, story and the setting (heatwave of 1995) are so well done and utterly compelling. Everyone is going to fall in love with July and root for her, and this book deserves to be huge. Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Set in the 1990s, a period in time when peoples reactions to domestic abuse was cautious; a reluctance to interfere,; a fear of making unwarranted allegations. A belief that decent church going folk, pillars of their community were to be taken at face value. July, our ten year old protagonist, innocent in the realities of life , believes the beatings and brutality inflicted on a regular basis are her punishment in order to teach her the lessons of life. Given a school project, it becomes her mission to learn more about her deceased mother, killed in a car accident. The child’s voice as the narrator expertly captures the thoughts and actions of a troubled mind as she delves into secrets and lies a decade old. The complicit reactions of a community, demonstrating an unwillingness to intervene or involve themselves. Slowly, in harrowing detail we the reader are led through the torture of this girls journey to find truth, love and safety in an uncaring or unwilling community prepared to accept at face vale or acknowledge even to themselves the reality. Many thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

July Hooper is a 10 year old with a mission - to find out everything she can about her dead mother, Maggie. July believes if she can be more like Maggie, she will make her father happy and earn his love. But all the grown-ups in July's life are keeping secrets about Maggie's death, and her perfect step-sister Sylvie isn't much help either.

I loved What July Knew. There's 90s nostalgia, a spooky vibe, some absolutely chilling depictions of domestic violence as witnessed and ignored by the community around July. The biggest twist wasn't entirely unguessable, but what I couldn't have predicted is how emotional I would feel at the denouement. Any book that makes me cry like that is an automatic 5 stars, but that's not to play down Emily Koch's brilliant writing or the twistiness of the plot. It was so good!

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for an advance proof copy of #WhatJulyKnew

Wow what an incredible read! It addresses some tough issues really beautifully and takes you on a brilliant journey.

Seldom find a book worthy of 5 stars but this is most definitely one. What a character, 10 year old July Hooper trying to find out about her mother, who died in an accident when July was 2. Or so she thinks!

She has loads of questions and what wonderful questions they are, masked with names of celebrities because she doesn’t want to upset her Dad. If he does get upset he has a tendency to “teach her a lesson”. So yes July is a victim of domestic violence but she is also a tenacious and brave person so when given a summer school project to research a family member that is exactly what she sets out to do.

This may be told from the point of view of a 10 year old but it deals with difficult topics, domestic abuse, violence, animal abuse among others. It can make for difficult reading at times as the reader is drawn in so well that they can feel part of the scene. While it concentrates on July and her family along with a former neighbour there are several minor characters that don’t appear to have a role. However their role does become clear as possibly representing all of us you witness something not quite right but fail to act.

Despite the topics dealt with this is not a sad book, July’s character does not allow us to feel that but she certainly does make us think and will stay with you long after the final page is read.

Go read this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for this review

(Trigger warning: domestic violence.)
What July Knew is a poignant coming-of-age mystery story set in England back in 1995 when July Hooper turns ten years old. She knows just eighteen things about her mum, one being that she died after being hit by a car when July was a toddler. But then at the end of school term, an anonymous note throws that memory into question, along with everything she thinks she knows about her mum. The problem is, the subject is forbidden. And if she ever breaks that rule, she is taught a Lesson by her dad. Mind, he doesn’t need any good reason to lash out at July — her very existence seems enough. But she is determined to learn what really happened to her mum, launches an investigation, cycling around the neighbourhood where her family used to live, and finds somebody who holds some of the answers, at least. But the truth will come at a fatal cost. What July Knew is narrated mainly in young July’s voice in the current time of 1995, with two other voices interspersed in the form of notes, which adds another layer to this touching, compelling mystery. With a very young narrator, a gentle, naïve tone, the themes around the impacts of domestic violence and family secrets are sensitively managed and extremely moving. Highly recommended.

What July Knew by Emily Koch is a story about family secrets, grief and growing up. It’s 1995 and July Hooper is almost 10 years old. She lives with her father, step-mum and step sister. Her mother died in a car accident when she was a baby and she has almost no real memories of her mum. Her father refuses to talk about it, her stepmother isn’t allowed to talk about it and her grandmother can’t talk about it without crying and all July wants is something tangible and real to remember her mother by. She’s been collecting little pieces of information over the years and has 18 individual items of knowledge that she has compiled into a list.

Just before school breaks up for Summer, July receives an anonymous note telling her that her mother didn’t die in a car accident and everything July thought she knew is turned upside down. So now she decides to find out the truth about her mother, her family and what really happened.

Whilst there is no denying that July Hooper is a wonderful character and the reader can’t help falling in love with this quirky little girl, there is a very dark and disturbing undercurrent running throughout the book. It’s apparent from the start that July is starved of parental love and affection and will do anything to get her father’s approval. It’s pretty obvious that her father is incapable of showing affection and is harbouring dark secrets about July’s mother – but is he doing this to protect July or himself?

It’s not an easy book to read, there are many aspects of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse throughout the storyline and the reader can’t help feeling sorry for July and wanting to protect her.

Overall this is a beautifully written, powerful story with wonderful characters.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The story of July, who turns 10 as the book starts.July lost her mother early in her life and now lives with her father and step-mother. Fairly quickly it becomes apparent that her father is a bully who decides what happens in the house and does not allow July to know anything about her mother. A school summer project into a family member gives July an excuse to look for information about her mother and she is quite inventive in finding out about her bit by bit.
The three members of the family are played off against each other by the father. He also isolated the family and ensured that any clues were not picked up on. Both July and her step-mother cover up for him and allow themselves to be manipulated . I found this part of the book quite harrowing to read and the correspondance July has with her father at a future time offered relief and hope for the future July.
The characters are well written, the situations all too realistic and the book is a thought provoking read. At times uncomfortable, but rightly so, abuse within a family should not be pushed under the carpet.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I wasn’t at all sure I was going to finish this book but I’m so glad I did. July Hopper’s mother died when July was about 2 years old or so she seems to remember. Her abusive father has since moved in with a woman and her daughter but he has bouts of violence that affects the all. July is asked to do a school summer holiday project about what happened to her mother. She ends up going back to the street where she was born. And finds out probably more than she was bargaining for. I was cheering for her all the way I loved this book and so glad I hit the opportunity to read it. Brilliant

At ten years old July Hooper knew just a few things about her mum, Maggie Hooper. Having died in a car accident when July was just two years old she had only a short list of things she knew. Her family, grandmother yaya and her father were reluctant to talk about Maggie as it upset them too much, so every little snippet she learned was secretly kept so she could piece together her mother.

But when July and her step sister Sylvie are tasked with a summer project of finding out about a member of their family, July can think of only one person she wants to know more about, and that is Maggie Hooper. But as she delves deeper into her mothers life, she learns more than she could ever have possibly imagined.

I received this book through netgalley and I’ve really enjoyed it. This book has a big domestic violence theme throughout which could trigger some people.

There were a lot of upsetting moments during this book but these moments were essential to the telling of the story. There were a couple of great twists in there one I sort of expected but one I didn’t see coming at all. I loved the 90’s nostalgia in there, the pogs reminding me of my younger brothers vast collection that at one point he had framed.

In all it was a book that had me pulled into the story that kept dishing out small nuggets of information, making me keep reading and wanting to know more. Highly recommend!

This is possibly my favourite book of 2022. It's sweet and sad at the same time and the author is masterful of conveying the feelings of the characters in a believable and touching way. She also builds a crescendo of emotions as they start to snowball quicker and quicker, and this makes you want to keep on reading to find out what happens with July and her family. It reads a little like a mystery taking place mainly in July 1995, during a heatwave, when 10-year-old July tries to find out more about what happened to her mum. The story moves a little into the past and shows glimpses of the future too and by the end we have the missing pieces of the puzzle. It is a story of love and loss and at times of abuse which can make for difficult reading, although the author never goes into any brutal detail. However, your imagination can easily fill the gaps and you are left wishing for justice and for a positive resolution. I look forward to reading other books written by Emily Koch.

Thank you to the editor and Netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest and impartial review.

It is the summer of 1995. July Hooper has been given a summer school project to write about a family member. Her teacher suggested she write about her mother. July only knows eighteen things about her mother. One of these facts being that her mother died in a car crash when July was very young. She keeps this list of facts hidden away from her father, written in her own secret code, because they are not allowed to talk about her mother. Not ever. Not with her father, stepmother or grandmother, not with anyone.

However, July finds a note in her school bag on her tenth birthday, and it throws her world into turmoil. Did her mother really die in a car crash? Is she really dead? July starts to investigate, and meets someone who seems to be able to give her some answers - if he will talk to her. The more July learns, the more lies she discovers her family have been telling her. Desperate to find the truth, she keeps digging, but what will happen when she finds it?

This book is outside of my normal genre, but something about it called to me, and I am glad I listened. It was beautifully written, and absolutely engrossing. July is a tenacious, sweet and heartbreakingly innocent child, who only wants to find out what really happened to her mother. She idolises her father, Mick, who you quickly come to despise. Her stepmother and stepsister do the best they can, while navigating Mick’s temper, and trying to curry favour with him.

It is an uncomfortable read at times, for what is depicted in it (I will try not give any spoilers) but seen from July’s point of view, it is even more uncomfortable, as her childhood innocence makes it so much more painful to witness. The ending was a real revelation, for all involved in the story, including us, the readers. July’s tenacity and persistence pays off, but certainly not in the way she could have expected. A beautiful read, of a child’s desperate search for a connection with a deceased mother, and the heartbreak along the way.

*I received this copy from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

Loved loved loved this book!

I do like Emily Koch i find her books easy to read, with a good plot.

Little July Hooper, lives with her dad, step mum and Step sister Sylvie.

July doesn’t know much about her birth mum she knows 18 things in total and that she is dead; she wants to know more - but her father an overbearing thug won’t discuss it.

July is on a quest to find out the truth, living a hard life under a strict, often cruel environment.

The story of an inquisitive innocent child, who lives in a loveless world, cycling round the neighbourhood meets someone with the answers she yearns.

Brilliantly written, some parts were hard to read, but that’s the unfortunate grim reality. However, the story was told perfectly…

Thank you Netgalley for my free ARC, in return for an honest review! ;-)

I found this a really hard book to read - intense and gripping towards the end. It is a story with domestic abuse at its heart which makes it a hard read but I was drawn to July who bravely wants to know more about her mother and her death. You feel for her as she finds out that what she had been told by her father was not true but the reality is in many ways more traumatic for her to process. The blended family of Shell and Sylvia are well drawn as is the hold her father has over them all.

As she discovers more she comes to understand why she is treated as she is and begins to understand herself more.

A hard but worthwhile read.

Quite sad really. But a good book. Well written and a bit of an emotional book. Not my usual genre but good all the same.

I really enjoyed this. Great story line and really well written characters. The ending was amazing. Highly recommended.

This was a well written, emotionally charged story that was a difficult read at times due to its subject matter of child and domestic abuse. July is a likeable character and I really bought into her desire to learn more about her mum who she thinks died in a car crash on her second birthday. While she unravels these secrets, lots of what she thinks to be true is also unravelled. A really gripping read with some unexpected twists towards the end.

What July knew is the questioneted asked herself thoughout novel. As when never got a simple question to how her mother passed away, she is set a year 5 project around finding out where from
Step sister Silvie and Auntie Shell

Miss Glover state ' in that her mother didn't die in a car accident'

July is drawn to; her old next door neighbour,  but she doesn't understand Is what they  had to ohad to move to a much smaller property. No 2 Allmond Road and Mr Robert Slater was their neighbour at that time and he still resides their.
I can't say to much else as she comes dangerously close serval times then mets it's final blast at the end! But what July now knows would this new secret ever come to light?
Many thanks to Netgally and the publishers for giving me a free digital copy of this book in exchange for a ful crank and honest review. All options are completely my own.

It' was a hard book to read and really difficult to write this review without giving too much away but there are definitely triggering occurrences which some readers will find upsetting.

The book is mainly set in Summer 1985 during a heatwave. July is a 10 year old child who knows her mum died while she was very young but knows very little else. This makes her thirsty for knowledge and facts about her which she records in her notebook.

My heart breaks for this poor girl for so many reasons but mainly due to the way the adults in her life treat her. Also her step sister who is very mean to her but one might expect that more from a sibling,

Without giving too much away there are lots of upsetting themes in this book which I was not prepared for. The author handles them well and the characters are very believable, if very flawed.

I remember 1985 well and the only slight niggle was use of CDs and portable CD players. I don't think that cds were commonplace having only been released a couple of years prior to this and were expensive. Cassette tapes were what we mainly used.

I felt really connected to July because that was my youth - the world of pogs! This book is different compared to others in the same genre, whilst it’s gripping, it isn’t in a way where it’s thrilling, but more in a way that you need to know what happened to July’s mother. You have your guesses but you’re never really that sure until it slowly unravels.
I love a book with a young protagonist so this was an added bonus for me.