Halfway to Harmony
by Barbara O'Connoron January 12, 2021
Genres: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Pages: 240
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
A heartfelt middle-grade novel from New York Times bestselling author Barbara O’Connor about a boy whose life is upended after the loss of his older brother—timeless, classic, and whimsical.
Walter Tipple is looking for adventure. He keeps having a dream that his big brother, Tank, appears before him and says, “Let’s you and me go see my world, little man.” But Tank went to the army and never came home, and Walter doesn’t know how to see the world without him.
Then he meets Posey, the brash new girl from next door, and an eccentric man named Banjo, who’s off on a bodacious adventure of his own. What follows is a summer of taking chances, becoming braver, and making friends—and maybe Walter can learn who he wants to be without the brother he always wanted to be like.
Halfway to Harmony is an utterly charming story about change and growing up.
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- To have their feelings shattered and built back up repeatedly, until they melt into a puddle of goo
- Adorable characters that have large personalities
- Character stories that are engaging and relatable
- A middle grade book that tackles grief and healing
- New friendships and cute budding romance (between adults)
- A heartwarming coming-of-age story
- A three-legged doggo sidekick down for adventure
Many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Turn the Page Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review and for inclusion on this blog tour. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Barbara O’Connor (even from Minion, who read Wish and really enjoyed it), but I had never actually read her work myself. I always love seeing middle grade books that tackle grief and healing, though, so I decided to give this one a try, and y’all, I am so freaking glad that I did!
Halfway to Harmony is a heartwarming coming-of-age adventure about the people we lose, the people we discover, and the people that help us find ourselves. It will break your heart and give you the warm fuzzies all at the same time.
I admit that I had some misgivings going in, because I don’t read a lot of contemporary books, and I tend to want more action and forward moment in the books I read. There’s not a lot of action, per se, in this book, as it’s definitely character-driven. But with quirky, fun characters like these? That was absolutely no problem for me, and I sailed through this book without wanting to put it down.
Halfway to Harmony is a character-driven book … so it’s lucky that it’s filled with a cast of unique characters that will pull you into their world and refuse to let go.
If you’re looking for something that’s filled with action and forward momentum, this isn’t the book for you. Sure, things happen, but the focus is on the characters and their interactions with each other. Usually not the type of book I read, but these characters are absolutely fabulous.
Walter is the main character, who’s coming to grips with the death of his older brother, Tank, who he looked up to. Grief is a hard thing to deal with, especially when you’re that young.
Posey is the new girl next door, the one who seems loud and outgoing and like she has the whole world figured out. She loves spouting little nuggets of knowledge from the book by that very title that she read recently.
Banjo is a mysterious stranger they meet in the woods (no, not like that, I promise), who ends up with an immediate crush on Evaline, Posey’s mother, and spends much of the book attempting to woo her while also chasing his dreams.
These characters are packed full of personality, and they’ve all got things they’re working towards. Walter’s quiet personality is offset by Posey, and the two become fast friends. For me, though, Banjo really stole the show, and his infatuation with Evaline was both adorable and charming, and I loved seeing his antics!
Walter felt anger swirl around him and then hit him hard, like a punch. How could his mother put Tank’s things away in boxes like that? How could she erase Tank right out of the house like he’d never even lived there?
There’s a grand adventure in this. Maybe not the seeing-the-world sort of adventure, but a quieter kind that I think most readers will be able to relate to.
If you live pretty much anywhere rural, you’re used to the crazy adventures that can pop up, especially if you live near a forest. For me, this raised all sorts of feelings of nostalgia, because a grand adventure for a kid might be very different than that of an adult (even though, to be fair, I think Walter’s adventure is quite the adventure for anyone!) The scale felt perfect for these characters, but also reminded me so fondly of my own childhood.
I don’t want to spoil too much about the adventure, but I will say that the air balloon on the cover comes into play! More than that, though, the best part of the adventure is that the characters have to come together in order to solve it, and it seems like there are always hiccups and bumps in the road that they have to find solutions for.
There’s a sliver of a romantic subplot, and honestly, that was one of my favorite things about this book!
To be fair, there’s so much about this book to love. I’m sure you’re looking at me a little crazy right now, because romance really isn’t my thing, right? This was just so stinking cute, though. Romance may not be accurate. Banjo is so obviously stricken and is doing his very best to woo Evaline with his charms.
These interactions were absolutely some of my favorites, especially the way Posey reacts to Banjo being sweet on her mother. It is just a subplot, though, so it’s not very in-your-face or at the forefront, so I think it has the ability to appeal across the ages that might read this book! A little something for everyone.
“Love apples,” Banjo whispered. He took a tomato out of the bag and bit into it, sending juice running down his chin. “That dear, dear Evalina is giving me a glimmer of hope. A token of her affection. A sly, sly symbol of the very depth of her heart.” He looked at Posey. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
Posey jumped off the side of the truck and landed with a thud. “Sorry to burst your bubble, Jubilation, but I would not.”
The children in this book tackle some pretty big problems, such as grief and making friends, which I think is so important in middle grade stories!
Very few people enjoy reading books where a certain message is shoved down their throats overtly, which is why I so appreciate when important lessons are conveyed through a really compelling story, such as in Halfway to Harmony.
The big one, first of all, is Walter and his struggle with the grief of losing his brother and not knowing how to move on. The family as a whole has just been sort of broken and drifting apart since Tank went to war and never came home, and they’re all grieving as their own little silos. Walter has to learn what it means to not have his older brother around to look up to, but also how to continue being a part of the family now that there’s a member missing.
Friendship is also a really big theme. Walter’s friendship with Posey sort of accidentally falls into his lap, and she becomes basically his only friend, because he’s not very good at making friends. Fear not, though! Like so many other things, Posey has read a book on this, and Caesar Romanoff has got their back, with his tips for how to make friends. I really enjoyed this, not only because there are some really great tips in general packed into a compelling story, but there’s also the larger narrative that Walter is already making friends, without even realizing it, which makes the struggle to learn how to make friends a teensy bit ironic.
“Yeah, right.”
“It is!”
Walter raised his eyebrows. “Quit your griping?”
“Well, not those exact words, but that’s what he meant,” Posey said. “No one wants to be friends with a griper.”
About Barbara O'Connor
Barbara O’Connor’s awards include the Parents Choice Gold and Silver Award, American Library Association Notable Books, IRA Notable Books for a Global Society, School Library Journal Best Books, and Kirkus Best Books. Her books have been nominated for children’s choice awards in 38 states and voted as a state favorite by children in South Carolina, Indiana, Kansas, and South Dakota.
Barbara was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. She draws on her Southern roots to write award-winning books for children in grades 3 to 6.
She currently lives in Asheville, NC. Her latest book is Wish, a middle grade novel published by FSG.
Enter to win one (1) finished copy of Halfway to Harmony by Baraba O’Connor! Open USA only. There will be 1 winner.
January 11, 2021 – January 18, 2021 12:00 AM CST
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See the full tour schedule here.
January 11
Turn the Page Tours – Welcome Post/Author Interview
January 12
Woven From Words – Book Review, Favorite Things About Halfway to Harmony
January 13
The Bookwyrm’s Den – Book Review
January 14
Belle’s Archive – Book Review
January 15
Nat Reviews Books – Book Review
January 16
A Bronx Latina Reads – Book Review
January 17
Turn the Page Tours – Book Review
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This book sounds so good! I can imagine how important lessons like these are for our growing youth.
Jenny recently posted…Blog Tour Review: New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow by Jessica Redland
Super important! I love books that can cram in some life lessons without making them feel like life lessons.