Paradise by Julie Cohen

 I loved this story so much.  I was caught up in Katie's drama immediately, and the more I read, the more involved I felt in Katie and Nic's worlds, wondering what would happen, if Katie would get her memory back, and what might happen if she did.  Whilst it's set post-lockdown, as the world is starting to edge towards normal, it isn't a pandemic novel.  It's a story about friendship, and love, and what happen when you are lying to yourself, as well as to everyone else.  

I was another little girl growing up reading Harriet the Spy, and so it felt easy to imagine myself friends with these two girls, feeling envious of their detective investigations!  You get to know both of them very well, and their summer lives are so colourful and engaging.  The lake, and the pond, felt very real, as did the families of both girls, and I was swept up in their stories, reading the last third of the novel all in one go because I couldn't bear to put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publishers for my copy.