Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing the chance to listen to the audiobook version of this title.

Cross my Heart and Never Lie tells the story of 12 year-old Tuva as she navigates the challenges of growing up, when part of you wants to, but part isn't quite ready yet, and your friends are at all different stages.

This recording (beautifully narrated by Laura Knight Keating) is a fun, fast listen, However, at times, it is a little hard to follow, perhaps due to the more graphic-novel nature of the original. For the same reason, the emotional content of Tuva's interior world sometimes feels a little lacking.

That said, listeners in the 10-12 year-old range will no doubt enjoy the pop-culture references, along with the tension between friendship groups, the experience of first love and Tuva's warm, funny relationship with her father.

Really enjoyed listening to Tuva's story and seeing her Friendship develop with Mariam, It was interesting to see how friendship groups can change when relationship started happening.

would definitely recommend this Audio boo

Thank you net Gallery for the chance to listen

Gorgeous middle grade novel about Tuva, a 12 year old managing all the weird and wild things that happen on the edge of teen hood. Her friends are divided, her dad's doing his best, and now she's got a crush... on a girl. It's very sweet, and the audio manages to convert the diary-style graphic novel reasonably well. The narrator was delightful. Recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and everyone that contributed to the existence of this book for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

4⭐

A cute little coming of age story, packed with all existential crises that people of young age go through. I'd say this is a good recommendation for kids dealing with transitioning towards teenage years and first love aspects.

😍 The good:
A wholesome book about growing up, presenting everything in a nice, soft way. Definitely relatable for middle-grade kids. Great that it looks at things from different perspectives as well, as the story line is focused on an LGBTQ+ love interest.

😅 The not-so-good:
This was a bit chaotic in audio form, probably due to the original structure of the book. It also seemed quite simple at times and did not delve much into some things.

4 stars
🌕🌕🌕🌕

Thanks NetGalley, HarperCollins UK Audio publisher, and the authors for a great advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

🧠 My thoughts
It was so heartwarming to listen to this cute and light-hearted audiobook. The gender topic was touched very gently and was suitable for the target audience. It was fun and fast-paced to listen to this among heavier books.

👍 What I like
- Light-hearted, cute and meaningful story
- Gender topic is touched with care

👎 What I don't like
- A bit too kid-like for my taste
- Sometimes, the lines are a bit chaotic

It was such a nice story!
Loved the narrator's voice, she read it at a good pace and the intonation was good. You heard the emotion in her voice.

Thank you netgalley for an advanced ARC of this audiobook

This is a sweet and funny early teenage story about a girl who wants to feel like she belongs and also wanting to fall in love...I really thing young girls will like this story and relate in some ways.

Growing up is never easy and learning to understand urself and others is hard. The closeness of the Daughter/father dynamic is nice to see because he wants to be someone who she can confide in.