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I've been wanting this book for ages. It's one of the rare books that I buy and I'm so happy I don't have any regrets. This is a christian fiction book. I have not read one in a while. I've only read two in total so that's not saying much. Now before you stop reading because you read "christian fiction" let me just say that it's not that bad. There's only like one moment where if you weren't really religious and don't like to read about the stuff that you might not like. Other than that just think of it as a good children's southern read.

April Grace tries to be kind to others like her Mama wants her to be but she can't help not liking her new neighbors. She hasn't had much great experience with new neighbors before. The last time she had a neighbor she met the parents and other family members of this nice girl she hung out with. Then they all started making fun of her right to her face. Ugh. You know when she starts off her story like that you know that her new neighbors are just going to be exactly the same. April Grace is a spunky girl who's always saying funny things whether anyone else agrees. She's very smart and quick witted. She was a pleasure to read about. Her new neighbors on the other hand... The man, Ian, seemed to become a better person but his wife, Isabel, just kept on being her rotten self.

April Grace's mother is a saint. She's always talking about being nice. She goes so far as letting the new neighbors live at their house while they are fixing up their home. Ian is originally pretty rude especially to his wife. They both fight a lot but he gets better as the book progresses. Isabel was a former dancer and she can't stand the country. She really just wants to go home but that's impossible and I wish she'd just get over it. She's this skinny little thing that hardly eats. She's always rude to April Grace's family. I don't know how her mother can stand it. I would have thrown her out when she first criticized my cooking. You are a guest at someone else's home. Act like it.

April Grace's sister, Myra Sue, worships the ground that Isabel walks on. She's just so glamorous... She gets an even bigger attitude when Isabel starts staying over. I couldn't stand both of them together. They needed to be separated as well as her grandmother and her new boyfriend that April Grace knew was no good. She tried telling everyone but would they listen? No. Her mother doesn't like her attitude either. She keeps on talking about being nice but April Grace is realistic and once again because she's just a kid she isn't taken seriously.

April Grace's life is just one crazy drama after another. Her life feels like a soap opera. I love watching soap operas so it's a good fit for me. I really want to read more of her. I want to read what happens next. The ending was amazing and I want to read how the author tops this book. I haven't read many southern family books. This was a real treat. It gets serious towards the end and I like that. It was a fun read but it deals with real life situations. I think a lot of girl's will like reading about April Grace like I did. It's a family values type of book but with April Grace it feels like a book that's perfect for anyone. ( )

This review first appeared on my blog: http://www.knittingandsundries.com/2011/07/egalley-wednesday-july-6-2011-angel.h...

April Grace Reilly is eleven years old and lives in Cedar Ridge, Arkansas. She's had her share of snooty city folk looking down on her and her family, and when a couple in a shiny car pull up the drive and are rude, she goes inside the house and lets her 14-year-old sister Myra Grace (who LOVES city folk) deal with them. THEN she finds out that they're her new neighbors, and her mom finds out that she was rude, and then she has to go with her mother to apologize, and it doesn't matter that they were rude first.

What a fun and hilarious book! I LOVE April Grace; she's sassy and smart. Her parents are wonderful; her Grandma has a new, irritating beau that April Grace has well-founded suspicions of; her sister Myra Grace is big-sister irritating. As April Grace is taught lessons of kindness by her mother and father, she also finds a way to learn from her new neighbors, and sees that they aren't the only judgmental ones.

I smiled throughout this one. April Grace is a wonderful character. Her example of sibling love:

I gave serious thought to sticking out my foot and tripping her do she'd fall face first into some dirty underwear, but if she fell down the stairs and ended up breaking her head or something important, I'd be blamed for it. Plus, I'd have to do all her chores.

The next April Grace book, Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks, is due to be released in December, 2011. It is already on my to-buy list!

QUOTES (from a galley; may be different in final copy):

"Come here, dear," she said. "These people want to meet an actual little hillbilly."

I'll tell you one thing: Isabel St. James was no prize to look at the day before, when she had her makeup on. But after she'd been bellowing like a newborn calf for half the morning, it hurt my eyes to look at her. She'd do the rest of us a world of good if she'd wear a bag over her head. ( )