July Hooper knows 18 things about her mother. These are kept on a secret list she keeps hidden, because her mum died when she was young, and her Dad doesn’t like to talk about her.
On Julys 10th birthday an anonymous note is slipped through her door and changes everything.
July is determined to find out the truth. Will she like the answers she finds?

I found this a compelling book to read. I really like July. She has had a difficult childhood and wants to know more about her mother and what she was really like.
I liked the way the characters developed and as I got to know more about them my opinion kept on changing and it got me thinking.
It was a hard hitting emotional read.
This was my 1st book from this author and I am keen to learn more about her and read more from her,

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title

Content warnings: death of a parent, domestic violence, child abuse

Thank you to NetGalley UK and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

I’m not sure how best to capture what I thought about this book, mostly because I thought it was so brilliant.
The authors writing style is so engaging, I was really hooked in right from the beginning. The imagery scattered throughout was fantastic - the way July describes the slivers of information people tell them about her mother as scarps of fabrics, ribbons buttons, was a favourite of mine in particular.
This was a sad, thrilling, mysterious book. July is a 10 year old girl who just wants to know about her mother, surrounded by adults who will tell her nothing. I got so invested in unravelling the mystery - readers were given just slimmest bits of information, sometimes as July learned them, sometimes from an alternative perspective - the views of the people peripheral to July’s story was another aspect I hugely enjoyed. So many times I thought we were getting to the truth just to be given another tiny hint or flash forward that totally changed everything!
I loved the letters scattered through the story. To begin with, we’re led to believe that they’re from July’s father Mick and her mother Maggie. I suspected early that the prison letters couldn’t be from Mick as it was so different from the nasty character in the 1995 timeline. I didn’t suspect the Mum letters weren’t from Maggie until much later on, then believing they would be from a future July but I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was Sylvie.
I loved the development of July and Sylvie’s relationship. They’re nasty to each other - what siblings aren’t? But at critical times, Sylvie shows her truer character, the one where she fiercely loves July and wants to protect her. I was pleased by the end of the story, where we get a glimpse into a future where their relationship is so strong.

tldr; this is an emotional, but fantastically written mystery about a ten year old girl desperate to understand where she comes from. 5⭐️

July Hooper knows very few things about her mother who died when she was young. When a school project leads her on a mission to find out more, her entire life is changed as she discovers more about her mother, her father and herself.
What July Knew was so good. It was very hard to put down. July was such an interesting and tragic character and I just rooted for her the whole time. She was so well thought out that there were times I’d forget she was just a character in a book. The author did an incredible job with the setting also. Being set in the 1990’s brought me back to my own childhood, with some stark differences, but the references were so spot on. As difficult as the book was to read at times, it was such a well executed plot and just so easy to read. I would definitely recommend this book!

July is ten years old living with her father, step mother and step sister, the subject of her mum is taboo and she is not allowed to ask about her. July keeps notes of the things she knows about her mum but curiosity gets the better of her and July asks more and more questions.
A really good book with some hard subject matters.

What July Knew is a heart wrenching mystery about growing up with family secrets, grief and loss. This beautifully written story is compelling and the characters rich and well-developed. It addresses a number of topical issues, including domestic violence, and illustrates how difficult it is to break free of coercive control and the associated self- blame. Highly recommended. Thanks to Emily Koch, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

An emotive and a difficult read in parts, this book stays with you. July is a lovely bright girl trying to please her bully of a father.

This was a hard read but a great one. Ten year old July Hooper's mum died in a car accident when she was 2, at least that's what she always believed. But what is the truth? July has been brought up waiting for the next lesson her brute of a dad, Mick, would beat into her. Her stepmother, Shelley is powerless to help her, and Mick seems to favour her daughter Sylvie, the same age as July. When the girls are given a summer project to write about a member of their family that they'd like to get to know better, it's the ideal opportunity for July to investigate. But she can't ask her dad, as she's learned to her cost over the years. What did happen to Maggie Hooper? And why does everyone but July seem to know. The tragic events of the summer of 1985 have far reaching consequences. Hard to read about the abuse suffered by July and realise this happens in real life to so many children. It breaks my heart. #netgalley #whatjulyknew

We tend to think looking at the world through a child’s eyes must be a wondrous thing. Seeing the world for the first time; no cynicism, and simple joy at the simple things. But the downside is children cannot get all the context of the situation; they can see only what we explain to them which can lead to confusion and sometimes danger. In Emily Koch’s magnificently tense thriller What July Knew we have an unique thriller that gives a warm setting of the 1990’s but hides within its cold secrets and a huge amount of worry over the fate of our main character – a ten-year-old girl named July.

In 1995 July lives in a small community where her Dad Mick is a well-respected landscape gardener and member of the local church. He has remarried and so July lives with her ‘Auntie Shell’ and sister rebellious but equally aged step-sister Sylvie. While July loves her Dad and enjoys having Sylvie’s love there is a nagging question – what her birth mother Magge Hooper was like. All July knows is that she died when July was just two years old in a car crash. Her Dad refuses to tell her anything else; July keeps only a small number of facts and so many questions – what was her favourite colour; did she like the Beatles and so on. When her school teacher announces the summer project is to write about a family member then there appears an opportunity to learn more but will her family be pleased if the truth comes out. Especially when someone has written a secret note to July saying her Mother did not die in the car accident.

Emily Koch has written a stunningly smart thriller that weaves a powerful mystery into a story that manages to capture the warmth of childhood and yet delivers shocks, tension and fear in equal measure making it one of the tensest reads I’ve had in a very long time. The warmth comes from July. While third person we are getting very much for most of the story July’s thoughts and comprehension of the world. She is smart, loving, playful and this bespectacled little girl just wants to know her missing mother and keep her family’s love. We will marvel at her ingenuity; how she starts to put pieces of the puzzle together and also laugh at her occasional mix-ups. She brings heart to the story, and we want her to find the truth. Alongside this is the 1990s setting while clearly this helps as the lack of Internet access ensures July gets no answers) we also get what for many of us may be familiar – warm summer; familiar fashions, pop references and even flumps and pogs! So the background and the centre of the story are quite warm; it’s just everything else that will unnerve us.

We are used to the idea of the unreliable narrator but here we have more the unaware main character. Here Koch as well as making us try to piece the clues for July’s mother we also have to interpret her world with adult eyes and that will make us see less a warm and friendly environment but an increasingly dangerous one. This is achieved by three key plot strands – in terms of the key questions to what happened to Maggie Hooper we get many conflicting clues and revelations that start to conflict and Kock keeps us guessing throughout. We feel like July we know we have the answer and then feel disappointment to find it was not quite the truth. Around this is the idea that so many adults have taken that July is better off not knowing what happened. This almost conspiracy means nothing is simple; everyone has motives for lying that they believe are for the best. People have been hiding it from July nearly all her life. It’s a cruel kindness that makes us feel more for July and also makes us start to distrust those around her – the idea that children cannot be informed and should be left in ignorance and all done out of ‘love’ is a chilling one.

But the other key strand is the more we follow July the more we recognise she is in great danger. Her home is not the place of sweetness and light that July believes it to be. July deeply loves her father and just wants his love but we see he is a man who does not like to be disobeyed and wants to control all of life’s events. We start to realise he is so worried over July finding out the truth that he will lose that fragile temper he has. We find the duality of the Mick as a pillar of the church and the Mick indoors quietly terrifying and we also see another part of the 1990s which is how people in roles of power and just nearby keep their heads down; ignore the warning signs and turn the radio up to avoid hearing things they don’t want to but Koch quietly makes us witness. We are so used to thrillers where the simple mystery of a murder has to be solved post event here we have a unique thriller where the investigation into a seemingly simple act is the most dangerous aspect as the truth will shatter an uneasy peace. This makes the latter third of the book terrifying aided by some cryptic notes from a few years later and the ending is a magnificent set-piece of emotions, revelations and final explanations.

What July Knew is a thriller that just as much can warm us with the way of being a child again it will chill us as to the danger some families face on a regular basis. It’s a powerful mystery but equally a passionate look at social issues we tend to forget about. A thriller that I hope raises some questions and makes us all take a closer look at the world. I strongly recommend this book!

What July Knew is a unique and emotional read, following ten year old July. She lives with her father and stepmother and stepsister, and spends a lot of her time worrying about doing the wrong thing and angering her father Mick, who is a very angry man. Very quickly into this story, we start to feel July’s tension and anxiety, but what’s more heartbreaking is the fact that July just accepts this and thinks it’s normal.

July’s mother died in a car accident when she was 2 years old, but she starts to suspect this might not be all there is to the story, prompting her to begin to investigate during her summer holidays. I really enjoyed this element of mystery, even though a lot of it was wrapped up in the abuse and awful family life July has to endure. There are many, many flawed characters in her life – people trying to do right sometimes but not quite managing, and others who seem downright awful, but the characters felt (unfortunately) realistic in the way they don’t just fit into one type of box.

I loved that this story was set in the mid 90s, meaning July as a child experienced a very different childhood to those that 10 year olds would experience today. I would have been 5 in 1995 and I remember school life without computers, mobile phones, the internet etc. The setting and time period feels very nostalgic, despite the emotional subject matter!

I found it took me a while to really get into the story but once I did I really enjoyed it, so give it some time if you don’t feel gripped from the first chapter. The more you read, the more involved you feel in July’s story, and she is such a sweet, likeable character!

Rating – 4.5 stars rounded off to 5
 
💔Sparkles with sensitivity and endearing yet heart-breaking innocence.  
  
Thanks NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for this ARC!  
 
Synopsis -

It’s the summer of 1995. 10 year old July Hooper’s curiosity about her mother is endless. She only knows 18 things about her, having lost her to an accident at age 2. But when she receives an anonymous note, July sets out to discover more about her mother, starting with a visit to her old neighbourhood where she used to live.

Review -
 
👏First of all, I applaud the author for the intricate way in which she delves deep into the mind of a 10 year old girl. Narrated in July’s first person, although it initially looks like she has a stable family life with a loving step-mother, the usual irksome step-sister and a reliable father – once we get to know more about their inner workings, my heart ached for her. 
 
July won me over fairly quickly. She displays remarkable observation skills, emotional intelligence and determination for a girl her age. Her craving of her mother’s love was really moving, as she dreams and fantasizes about her, making a cleverly disguised list of every bit of information, she has tactfully managed to extract from her father and grandparents. 
 
What really broke me was July’s innocence in yearning for her father’s appreciation and approval, despite the physical and mental agony it puts her through. Forbidden to even talk about her mother in his presence for the scare of the “lessons” she might be taught in return, I was truly appalled and burned with anger at the way her trust and simple curiosity was being “handled”.  
 
As July finds the bigger, more important pieces of the puzzle of her mother’s life, unearthing the mystery behind her death, this story really hits hard. 
 
It was heart-wrenchingly sad to watch this lovely little girl losing her naivety to the secrets and lies harbored by the people around her, forcing her to grow up almost overnight with a maturity she doesn’t need.  
 
Dark, old family secrets are at play reaching a stormy, devastating conclusion - set in a nostalgic 90s era, oozing the feels, making it all the more genuine and convincing. 
 
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘒𝘯𝘦𝘸 is an immersive, poignant read that remarkably balances the delicate nature and behaviour of a 10 year old child along with some serious matters of domesticity - by subtly weaving them all together with love, compassion and a touch of suspense.

I enjoyed this book though in places it was a very hard read. Abuse is never an easy subject to read about but I felt Emily Koch handled very well. 10 year old July is a delightful child despite her life and the fact she believes all fathers hit their children. She is curious as to why her mother died but no one talks about it so she decides to find out herself what happened. It's heartbreaking yet uplifting. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone.

July lives with her dad, her stepmother and stepsister. She knows very little about her mum who died when she was young because her dad doesn't like talking about her. He gets angry and July's life revolves around keeping him happy. When her teacher sets a holiday project to research a family member, July sets out to find out more about her mum.
Set in 2 time lines, this story follows July's journey. It would be suitable le for young adults as well as adults. Just a warning, there is domestic abuse in this story.

Achingly beautiful, heartbreaking yet inspiring. I couldn’t help but love July, the pull of each chapter as she searches for the truth of what happened to her mother, was just exquisite.

An emotional read. Heartwarming, heart wrenching. A gripping story of July who knows 18 things about her mother but not what really happened. Some tough subjects but written well.

This book intrigued me as it went in directions I wasn’t expected (almost always a plus point). The characters were very well depicted and the tension was written with skill. During the read I was thrown by the short chapters written by another character but felt that it would all be explained in the end - which obviously it was. Usually this type of off piste chapter would leave me irritated if they weren’t in some way clear as to purpose and moving the story along but as previously said, I let it go this time. Abuse of any kind is difficult to read about but I feel Emily Koch treated that aspect with an even and delicate hand, especially as so often the abused feel they deserve it or actually enjoy the aftermath of good attention so much they will excuse the actual abuse.

I loved What July Knew. I’ve read other books by the author so knew I was in for a good time. The blurb made me really want to read the book as I had to loads of questions I couldn’t wait to be answered. I read the book quickly because I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I loved the premise of the book; July starts to find out about her mother for a school project and opens up a can of worms. What is the truth? What will it cost? This is the kind of book that absorbs you and won’t let go.

This story was an intriguing read, and a book that sucked me in straightaway and I could not put it down. I loved July, felt her pain, was fascinated by her story and how she went about finding everything out about her mother and savoured every clue she discovered in her secret notes.

It was an unusual premise for a book, but a great one and I can’t wait to read more from this Author.

July Hooper is ten years old. She lives with her father, stepmother, and stepsister. Though she and her stepsister are only ten months apart in age, Sylvie is much more polished that July. She is more popular at school, and she gets along with July's father better that July does. For July is always annoying her father and he is seldom, if ever, kind to her. Whenever she asks him any questions about her mother, she gets punished and she often goes to school with bruises that he has inflicted upon her. She had always believed that her mother had died in a car accident when July was only two years old. However... on her tenth birthday, her teacher slips her a note which says "She didn't die in a car accident". She spends her summer vacation on a mission to find out more about her mother...

July Hooper was endearing in her innocence. We meet her in the pivotal summer she turns ten years old. She adores her father, Mick, and tries valiantly to please him and receive some affection from him. Mick though, is a violent man. July is often 'taught a lesson' when she misbehaves, or, when she asks questions about her dead mother.

This novel portrays family violence in a way that you can easily recognize that happenings such as portrayed in the book could be taking place right now, maybe even next door. The perpetrators of these violent acts are often completely different when out in public. They can be personable and charming, yet when they close the door and are in the privacy of their own homes, they can switch on a dime - and turn into monsters.

The book was more than just a story of domestic abuse though. It had more than a little element of mystery. What really happened to July's mother? What were the circumstances that led to July's family telling lies about her, and about her death?

The setting was written in a very sensory, and skilled way. The intense heat of the summer was almost palpable.

As the summer of 1995 progresses, we meet more of July's family and acquaintances. We become more immersed in the mystery surrounding July's mother. We wish fervently that July will get the outcome she deserves...

The ending was quite unexpected, yet felicitous in its authenticity. Highly recommended! July is a girl you should meet.

I adored it! I loved July - she was incredibly sweet and I just wanted to protect her. It was so twisty and turny and I had it read in 24 hours.

July only knows 18 things about her mum! This book can be heartbreaking at so many points. However this is such a great book to read!