Shannon's Library

LET’S GET EXCITED ABOUT THIS BOOK!

England, 1976. Mrs. Creasy is missing and the avenue is alive with whispers. The neighbors blame her sudden disappearance on the heat wave, but ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly aren’t convinced. As the summer shimmers on, the girls decide to take matters into their own hands. Inspired by the local vicar, they start looking for God – they believe if they find Him they might also find Mrs. Creasy and bring her home. Spunky, spirited Grace and quiet, thoughtful Tilly go door-to-door in search of clues, uncovering much more than they ever imagined. As the amateur detectives try to make sense of what they’ve seen and heard, a complicated history of deception begins to emerge. It seems everyone on the avenue has something to hide.

Part coming-of-age story, part mystery, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is a quirky and utterly charming debut about a community in need of reconciliation and two girls learning what it means to belong.

Shannon’s Rating — PG-13 (Three annoyingly, unnecessary F-words in an otherwise clean book.)

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LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK!

I was a bit reluctant to post a review of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep. Why you ask? Because I liked it TOO much! So much, that I might want to choose this book to host and read with my book club next year. If I post it on here, then it won’t be a surprise for my fellow book-clubbers. Worse…they might decide to read it right now instead of waiting until next year when we can discuss it together. But I don’t want to keep this book a secret until next year either. I guess the only solution is to write this review. However, if you are a member of my book club…stop reading right now and pretend you didn’t hear about this book. I’ll tell you all about it in person in January.

Ok. Let’s continue.

I loved this book. Nay. I loved, loved, super loved this book! The writing is so unique and beautiful. I cannot believe this is Joanna Cannon’s first novel. I had to read it with tabs nearby because I kept wanting to mark and remember so many phrases. I loved her imagery and only wish I could formulate sentences the way she does. It really is something special.

Grace and Tilly have become my new favorite literary duo. Their friendship is written so perfectly. Two girls on the cusp of adolescence, trying to figure the world out together. Their innocent search for God (and a missing woman) on their neighborhood street was absolutely endearing.

While sitting in church one Sunday, the girls are confused about a verse of scripture the vicar reads.

“When the Son of man shall come…then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”

Matthew 25:31-33

Grace and Tilly wonder why God only likes sheep and not goats. And then Tilly asks an even more difficult question, “I don’t understand. How does God know which people are goats and which people are sheep?” Grace replies, “I think that’s the trouble. It’s not always that easy to tell the difference.“

As I followed along with Grace and Tilly’s detective investigation, I found myself growing attached to all of the neighbors on their street – even as I learned about their flaws, mistakes and the secrets they were keeping. And therein lies the genius of this novel. THIS is the trouble with goats and sheep. All people have a bit of goat in them and a bit of sheep in them as well. No one is perfect. It’s not that easy to sort people into two groups of good and bad. In fact, it’s impossible to do so.

Should you read this book? Only if you’re in the mood for something unique, thought-provoking, delightful, and intriguing. Only if you’re in the mood for a cute story of friendships, neighborhood charm, a bit of mystery, and a whole lot of British 1970’s nostalgia thrown in. And only if you are not part of my in-person book club. If you meet all of those criteria…GO READ THIS BOOK! You won’t regret it!