"If you know a YA reader who needs some hope and likes a little romance with a feel-good ending, I highly recommend this book. While reading it, I kept thinking of someone I know who will love it. And isn't that the sign of a good book? When you can't wait to share it?"

-Barbara Belford, Windy City Reviews

"The way Stielstra describes the Opulence atmosphere through Katie's eyes (and the sense of awakening she would go on to experience during that defining summer) might make one wish they could pack a bag and run away there themselves: 'It was like people out here knew how to live with space between them. In the city, there are so many people all in the same place that you storm along and grab your own space before anyone else can take it and act like there's no one else there. And then, when you're with people you do know, it's all hugs and air kisses and oversharing about your diet and other people's marriages and the state of your bowels, for all I know. Out here, there was plenty of space for everybody, so you were actually glad to see each other as it happened, and chat and have a friendly word, and then leave spaces for breathing. I was a total stranger, but that was okay.' (33-34)

-Lena Sleight, Billings Gazette, Billings Public Library

"A superbly crafted, inherently interesting, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' novel for ages 13-18, Opulence, Kansas, by Julie Stielstra, is an exceptional and unreservedly recommended addition to middle school, high school, and community library YA Fiction collections."

-Midwest Book Review

"Julie Stielstra has written a captivating story for young people and this adult. Her characters feel like real people, the descriptions of the land almost poetic, and she has created a story readers will enjoy."

-Nancy Julien Kopp, Writer Granny's World

"Opulence is complete with heartache, romance, conflict, and resolution. Unpredictable events exhilarate the reader with delightful developments."

-Carmaine Ternes, librarian, author, presenter, and book reviewer