The stories themselves felt like an ode to small towns and the communities they hold. Small towns get a reputation for being places where nothing happens, life stands still. But these stories are bursting with life, love, heartbreak, tragedy, and more. The characters were great and I especially loved seeing them through new perspectives when they popped up in different stories. I most related to 2 characters in one of the stories who are not outdoorsy camping types, but because they’re Alaskan people expect them to be experts. Very relatable. I flew through the book and think many of you would enjoy it as well. Releases in April! I didn’t want each story to end yet I appreciated the brisk pace which made me wonder how the stories would be resolved. That being said, I think that the reason this book is rather dull is because of the sheer amount of stories that were being presented. Each of the characters were individual and almost completely different from the others, living in different circumstances and experiencing different things. As a result, not one of the stories or characters was extremely developed, making the book and its individual characters rather forgettable. It also made the book feel like it was dragging on, despite how short it is. Whether they are brought together by the spread of wildfire, by the priest who’s moved from state to state or by the hunt for a missing child, these incredible tales blaze with secrets, rage and love.

I read these interlinked stories with increasing levels of anxiety for the characters and a growing sense of admiration for the author, as she charts the lives of the girls and boys involved as they try to navigate their way through a succession of crises not of their own making. Poppy’s intake sheet for the camp contains the telling line: ‘Poppy suffered a traumatic loss when her best friend went missing and was never found. They were both six at the time’. These stories are full of trauma, loss and disturbed childhoods. Adults, who should really know better, let down their children by their careless and selfish actions. Siblings and friends become substitute parents: Like any good young adult book it is written to gain and hold the attention of a typically difficult audience (teenagers), so I knew it would be engaging at the very least.This is the line, towards the end of ‘ The Stranger in the Woods‘, the penultimate story of this brilliant collection, that finally convinced me I was reading something very special indeed. Bursting with memorable characters and small-town lore, the enchanting new novel from the bestselling author of THE CLOVER GIRLS is a magical story about the family you’re born with, and the one you choose. Thank you to Netgalley and Wendy Lamb Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a short, dark and heartbreaking read but beautifully written. There are many characters - even if you do not notice every connection instantly, each story acts as an important lesson for the reader. Highly recommended. I like that it doesn’t shy away from controversial issues, making each story strand intriguing and a little challenging at times.

Poppy has a make-believe friend, Elizabeth the mermaid, and they both appear again in the seventh story ‘ Alaska was wasted on Us,’ at Camp Wildwood, a summer camp in Alaska.This book left me feeling like I’d received an all encompassing, warm hug which I never want to be released from. So, yes it's an anthology, but it's a connected anthology, so all the stories have at least one tie to one of the other stories. Which is kind of brilliant. Also, we get introduced to so many different people in so many small towns in America. And some of these stories are straight up heartbreaking, no question. A lot of them are attempts to rebuild after said heartbreak. It's definitely an emotive book, but also really charming and thoughtful, so you won't be drowning in misery. Yes, there are dark situations, but there is also tons of light. Everyone Dies Famous In a Small Town is a short but powerful and important read and I think adults and older children would both really enjoy it.

What I found was a surprising series of interconnected story strands based around moments of American small-town living, from young adult perspectives.

Viola Shipman

Meet the teenagers who live in the small towns across these states, separated by distance, but whose stories are woven together in the most unexpected of ways. The music video reached the top spot of CMT's Top Twenty Countdown for the week of August 16, 2007. It was amazing how these different characters were connected in circumstantial yet significant ways. Indeed, the first few stories ‘Angry Starfish’, ‘Pigeon Creek’ and ‘Sea-Shaken Houses’ didn’t seem related, it is only as you read more you realise how connected everything is.