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The Unsinkable Greta James
by Jennifer E. Smith'Warm, funny, and bursting with heart' Rebecca SerleAn indie musician reeling from tragedy reconnects with her estranged father on a week-long cruise in this tale of grief, fame, and love from bestselling author Jennifer E. Smith.Just after the sudden death of her mother - her most devoted fan - and weeks before the launch of her high-stakes second album, Greta James falls apart on stage. The footage quickly goes viral and she stops playing. Greta's career is suddenly in jeopardy - the kind of jeopardy her father, Conrad, has always warned her about.Months later, Greta - still heartbroken and very much adrift - reluctantly agrees to accompany Conrad on the Alaskan cruise her parents had booked to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. It could be their last chance to heal old wounds in the wake of shared loss. But the trip will also prove to be a voyage of discovery for them both, and for Ben Wilder, a charming historian on-board, who is struggling with a major upheaval in his own life.In this unlikeliest of places - at sea and far from the packed venues where she usually plays - Greta finally confronts the heartbreak she's suffered, the family hurts that run deep, and how to find her voice again.'Gorgeous, heartfelt' Amanda Eyre Ward'Thoughtful and tender and true' Janelle Brown'Filled with music, passion, and love of all kinds' Jill Santopolo'A total delight!' Christine Pride'Full of hope . . . vibrant' Linda Holmes(P) 2022 Quercus Editions Limited
The Unsinkable Greta James: A Novel
by Jennifer E. SmithAn indie musician reeling from tragedy and a public breakdown reconnects with her father on a weeklong cruise in &“a pitch-perfect story about the ways we recover love in the strangest places&” (Rebecca Serle, bestselling author of In Five Years)&“The characters are drawn with a generosity that allows them to be wrong but also right, loving but also prone to missteps, and ultimately deserving of a resolution that&’s full of hope.&”—Linda Holmes, New York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022—BookPageRight after the sudden death of her mother—her first and most devoted fan—and just before the launch of her high-stakes sophomore album, Greta James falls apart on stage. The footage quickly goes viral and she stops playing, her career suddenly in jeopardy—the kind of jeopardy her father, Conrad, has always predicted; the kind he warned her about when he urged her to make more practical choices with her life. Months later, Greta—still heartbroken and very much adrift—reluctantly agrees to accompany Conrad on the Alaskan cruise her parents had booked to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. It could be their last chance to heal old wounds in the wake of shared loss. But the trip will also prove to be a voyage of discovery for them both, and for Ben Wilder, a charming historian, onboard to lecture about The Call of the Wild, who is struggling with a major upheaval in his own life. As Greta works to build back her confidence and Ben confronts an uncertain future, they find themselves drawn to and relying on each other.It&’s here in this unlikeliest of places—at sea, far from the packed city venues where she usually plays and surrounded by the stunning scenery of Alaska—Greta will finally confront the choices she&’s made, the heartbreak she&’s suffered, and the family hurts that run deep. In the end, she&’ll have to decide what her path forward might look like—and how to find her voice again.
The Unsinkable Greta James: the heart-warming and uplifting new novel from the internationally bestselling author
by Jennifer E. Smith'Warm, funny, and bursting with heart' Rebecca Serle'Beautiful, moving, hopeful' Emily StoneGreta James is adrift. Literally.Just after the sudden death of her mother - her most devoted fan - and weeks before the launch of her high-stakes second album, Greta James falls apart on stage. The footage quickly goes viral and she stops playing. Greta's career is suddenly in jeopardy - the kind of jeopardy her father, Conrad, has always warned her about.Months later, Greta - still heartbroken and very much adrift - reluctantly agrees to accompany Conrad on the Alaskan cruise her parents had booked to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. It could be their last chance to heal old wounds in the wake of shared loss. But the trip will also prove to be a voyage of discovery for them both, and for Ben Wilder, a charming historian who is struggling with a major upheaval in his own life.In this unlikeliest of places - at sea and far from the packed venues where she usually plays - Greta must finally confront the heartbreak she's suffered, the family hurts that run deep, and how to find her voice again.'Gorgeous, heartfelt' Amanda Eyre Ward'Thoughtful and tender and true' Janelle Brown'Filled with music, passion, and love of all kinds' Jill Santopolo'A total delight!' Christine Pride'Full of hope . . . vibrant' Linda Holmes
The Unspoken
by Thomas Fahy"In five years' time, your greatest fear will consume you. It will rob you of your last breath." Five years ago six children who lived with their families in Jacob Crawley's Divine Path religious cult escaped by burning the compound to the ground. They are reunited at the funeral of Jacob's son, Harold. Harold died of drowning -- his worst fear -- even though his body was found miles from any water. And it seems that each of the teens is marked for murder -- as Crawley had predicted years earlier. Can any of these teens save themselves? Horror author Thomas Fahy now brings his unsettling talent to teen fiction with The Unspoken.
The Untamed Warrior's Bride (The Legendary Warriors #2)
by Michelle WillinghamA dramatic Medieval romance from this bestselling authorTo claim what should be his…He must claim her! Piers of Grevershire might have been born illegitimate, but he&’ll fight for the land he knows is his. To do so, he must win Lady Gwendoline&’s hand in marriage! What starts as a secret mission of vengeance soon becomes more as Gwen&’s unique fire ignites a powerful connection between them. And when they&’re married, Piers finds earning Gwen&’s trust means revealing his true identity—and the betrayal that risks destroying their fledgling bond…From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.The Legendary WarriorsBook 1: The Iron Warrior ReturnsBook 2: The Untamed Warrior's Bride
The Unwanted: A Novel
by Boris Fishman"The Unwanted is a tightrope of a novel: tense, precise, stunning in its scope and power."—Tea Obreht, New York Times bestselling author of The Morningside“Urgently contemporary and prescient in equal measure, Fishman’s The Unwanted channels the spectrum of literature’s finest, emotionally visceral dystopian masterworks, from Dune to The Handmaid’s Tale, in a fable of survival, resistance and, ultimately, maternal love.”—Lea Carpenter, author of IliumAward-winning, New York Times Notable author of A Replacement Life—“a born storyteller with a tremendous gift for language” (San Francisco Chronicle)— delivers a fierce and staggering new page-turner full of cruelty, tenderness, and heroism, about a young girl and her parents fleeing civil war and the brutal dictatorship that has targeted their family.Susanna, George, and their eight-year-old daughter, Dina, have been lucky, so far, in these four years since war broke out in their country. Even as their fellow "minority-sect" neighbors and classmates are murdered or imprisoned, George’s loyal work teaching "dominant-sect" literature has kept them fed and protected. But then the day comes: the university fires George—despite his years of collaboration, he is no longer safe. Left without money or allies, it is time for the family to run.Embarking on a harrowing trip through refugee camps and across the sea, both George and Susanna are forced in their own ways to make sacrifices to keep Dina safe, while Dina fights to understand the chaotic world crashing down around her. But with each member of the family struggling to survive in circumstances beyond their control, lies and betrayals multiply until it seems impossible for any of them to reach across the abyss. The Unwanted is a stunning story of what the most powerless among us will do for dignity and safety.
The Unwelcome Surprise
by Olga HerreraPerfect for fans of Something's Wrong! and Can I Be Your Dog?, The Unwelcome Surprise is a charming new baby story full of debut author-illustrator Olga Herrera's incredibly humorous art, and that explores the fears and joys that come with change. Every morning, Bongo walks downstairs to get his food, passing his dried-up potted plant, his old stained chair, and his stinky stained carpet. Until one morning...something is different! Something monstrous is in his way! Bongo is beside himself with worry; will it take his walks? What if it eats his food? Or even worse...what if it takes his family?!
The Unwilling Bride
by Margaret MooreIn this USA Today–bestselling medieval romance, two nobles betrothed at birth become bound by desire, but treachery could tear them apart.Promised to Merrick of Tregellas when she was but a child, Lady Constance was unwilling to wed a man she remembered only as a spoiled boy. Sure, he had grown into an arrogant knight, she sought to make herself so unappealing that Merrick would refuse to honor their betrothal. Yet no sooner had this enigmatic, darkly handsome man ridden through the castle gates than she realized he was nothing like the boy she recalled. And very much a man she could love . . . Haunted by secrets from his past, Merrick was unwilling to return to Tregallas—until he caught sight of his bride-to-be. Beautiful and spirited, Lady Constance was everything he wanted in a wife. She stirred his passion—and his heart—as no woman ever had before. But what would happen when she discovered the truth?When enemies begin plotting their downfall, only trust can save a match never meant to end in true love.Praise for The Unwilling Bride“The Unwilling Bride is filled with intrigue and betrayal that can only be resolved if there is love and trust. . . . I highly recommend this thoroughly engrossing tale!” —Romance Junkies“Readers cannot help but be enamored by the resolute Constance and the irresistible Merrick. Both are superbly drawn and realistic characters full of integrity, fortitude, and, of course, vulnerabilities, which are what make the reader come to care for them.” —Romance Reviews Today
The Unwitting: A Novel
by Ellen FeldmanIn CIA parlance, those who knew were "witting." Everyone else was among the "unwitting." On a bright November day in 1963, President Kennedy is shot. That same day, Nell Benjamin receives a phone call with news about her husband, the influential young editor of a literary magazine. As the nation mourns its public loss, Nell has her private grief to reckon with, as well as a revelation about Charlie that turns her understanding of her marriage on its head, along with the world she thought she knew. With the Cold War looming ominously over the lives of American citizens in a battle of the Free World against the Communist powers, the blurry lines between what is true, what is good, and what is right tangle with issues of loyalty and love. As the truths Nell discovers about her beloved husband upend the narrative of her life, she must question her own allegiance: to her career as a journalist, to her country, but most of all to the people she loves. Set in the literary Manhattan of the 1950s, at a journal much like the Paris Review, The Unwitting evokes a bygone era of burgeoning sexual awareness and intrigue and an exuberance of ideas that had the power to change the world. Resonant, illuminating, and utterly absorbing, The Unwitting is about the lies we tell, the secrets we keep, and the power of love in the face of both.
The Unwritten Rules of Friendship: Simple Strategies to Help Your Child Make Friends
by Natalie Madorsky Elman Eileen Kennedy-Moore"Nobody likes me!" is a complaint that parents hear all too often, and few utterances make them feel more helpless. Now help is at hand: This practical and compassionate guidebook enables parents to sharpen any child's social skills by pinpointing the child's particular social strengths and difficulties. Some children have trouble resolving arguments, some find themselves in a constant clash of wills, and some have trouble making any friends at all. Each chapter--from "The Shy Child" to "The Little Adult," from "The Short-Fused Child" to "The Sensitive Soul"--uses case studies that focus on the specific social conventions that certain children don't "get," and offers drills that parents and teachers can use to help children understand the unspoken underpinnings of social situations, the knowledge essential to building, sustaining, and repairing relationships.
The Uprising: The Mapmakers in Cruxcia
by Eirlys HunterThe land holds the truth ... the maps will reveal it. Sal, Joe, Francie and Humphrey Santander are mapmakers looking for their father, a famous explorer who disappeared on his last expedition. Their search takes them to Cruxcia, where the people are fighting to protect their land from the all-powerful Grania Trading Company. The Santanders’ mapping skills may be the missing piece in the Cruxcian race to save the ancient valley—and the key to reuniting their family.
The Ups and Downs of Raising a Bipolar Child
by Judith Lederman Candida FinkHELP IS HERE Bipolar disorder has recently been identified as one of the most misunderstood and underdiagnosed conditions affecting children -- and it is dramatically on the rise. The Ups and Downs of Raising a Bipolar Child gives parents the sound advice and expert information they need to cope with this challenging diagnosis, and shows how to provide essential care and support for a bipolar child as well as for the rest of the family.
The Upside of Digital Devices: How to Make Your Child More Screen Smart, Literate, and Emotionally Intelligent
by Nicole DreiskeTrying to police and protect a child from screen time is unquestionably one of the most confusing and frustrating responsibilities of good parenting. It's a tough job being a 'media monitor' all the time. Technology is at the center of everything we do—TVs, smart phones, computers, and tablets are no longer luxuries, they are necessities for navigating life today. But technology can also be detrimental to growing minds, and parents must master the necessary skills to help their children not only survive in this digital world, but to actually thrive. Kids love smart phones, tablets, computers, TVs, anything that gives them screen time. They come by their dependence honestly—they learn it from us, the 'adults.' We've become a culture of screen addicts, and that's especially challenging for parents. But the solution is not found in constantly policing the time kids are glued to a screen or in protecting what they are being exposed to; it's found in how they are engaging and interacting with that screen. Nicole Dreiske, founder and director of the International Children's Media Center, is one of the most respected pioneers in the understanding and cultivation of new techniques for transforming the way kids view, use and engage in electronic screens. In The Upside of Digital Devices, recipient of The National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval, she provides parents with simple, practical instructions as well as a variety of effective tools for creating meaningful moments and critical thinking skills that can mark a turning point in their children's lives and futures.
The Upside of Ordinary
by Susan LubnerEleven-year-old Jermaine wants to be famous: limo-riding, camera-flashing, crowd-waving famous. Since her family isn't likely to move from Maine to Hollywood so she can become a movie star, she decides she'll make a reality TV show about her family and friends. Jermaine quickly realizes that her everyday life is boring, so to kick up her show a notch, she starts staging events to elicit more humor, more drama, more excitement. This laugh-aloud debut novel takes a lighthearted look at unbridled ambition, the cult of celebrity, the reality behind reality TV, and the upside of being part of an ordinary family.
The Upside of Over
by J. D. BarrettWhat happens when one of the country's most popular identities goes from reading the news to being the news? Olivia Law had always been the good girl. Great grades, perfect career, husband, house and hairdo. She'd learnt image was everything so she refused to look below the surface of her life. When not at work her minutes were filled with causes, chairing boards and dining at fabulous restaurants with her equally fabulous husband, David. She kept up the Botox, blow-dries and worked hard. It wasn't enough, but whenever doubt crept in she'd head to a pilates class or plan a renovation on her trophy house. Then she turned 45. Olivia wasn't prepared for David to leave. The fact that they hadn't had sex for two years should have triggered warning bells ... it didn't.In an attempt to fix her broken marriage Olivia exposed herself like never before. But when her confession goes viral, the husband, house and job disappear. The woman who once offered glamorous reassurance and a steady gaze is labelled a princess of perversion. Humiliated, defeated, facing fifty shades of failure, she's left wondering who the hell she really is? Stripped bare, she abandons perfection ... and something remarkable happens. Olivia Law just might get her sass back (and this time, it's the real thing). The brilliant new novel from J.D. Barrett about break ups, breakdowns and break throughs. Batteries not included.
The Upside of Over
by J. D. BarrettWhat happens when one of the country's most popular identities goes from reading the news to being the news? Olivia Law had always been the good girl. Great grades, perfect career, husband, house and hairdo. She'd learnt image was everything so she refused to look below the surface of her life. When not at work her minutes were filled with causes, chairing boards and dining at fabulous restaurants with her equally fabulous husband, David. She kept up the Botox, blow-dries and worked hard. It wasn't enough, but whenever doubt crept in she'd head to a pilates class or plan a renovation on her trophy house. Then she turned 45. Olivia wasn't prepared for David to leave. The fact that they hadn't had sex for two years should have triggered warning bells ... it didn't.In an attempt to fix her broken marriage Olivia exposed herself like never before. But when her confession goes viral, the husband, house and job disappear. The woman who once offered glamorous reassurance and a steady gaze is labelled a princess of perversion. Humiliated, defeated, facing fifty shades of failure, she's left wondering who the hell she really is? Stripped bare, she abandons perfection ... and something remarkable happens. Olivia Law just might get her sass back (and this time, it's the real thing). The brilliant new novel from J.D. Barrett about break ups, breakdowns and break throughs. Batteries not included.
The Upstairs House: A Novel
by Julia FineA Good Morning America Book of the Month Selection • A Buzzfeed Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A The Millions Most Anticipated Book of the Year"A massively entertaining and slyly enlightening story nestled inside another story like a ghost within its host." —Kathleen Rooney, author of Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey and Lillian Boxfish Takes a WalkIn this provocative meditation on new motherhood—Shirley Jackson meets The Awakening—a postpartum woman’s psychological unraveling becomes intertwined with the ghostly appearance of children’s book writer Margaret Wise Brown. There’s a madwoman upstairs, and only Megan Weiler can see her.Ravaged and sore from giving birth to her first child, Megan is mostly raising her newborn alone while her husband travels for work. Physically exhausted and mentally drained, she’s also wracked with guilt over her unfinished dissertation—a thesis on mid-century children’s literature.Enter a new upstairs neighbor: the ghost of quixotic children’s book writer Margaret Wise Brown—author of the beloved classic Goodnight Moon—whose existence no one else will acknowledge. It seems Margaret has unfinished business with her former lover, the once-famous socialite and actress Michael Strange, and is determined to draw Megan into the fray. As Michael joins the haunting, Megan finds herself caught in the wake of a supernatural power struggle—and until she can find a way to quiet these spirits, she and her newborn daughter are in terrible danger.Using Megan’s postpartum haunting as a powerful metaphor for a woman’s fraught relationship with her body and mind, Julia Fine once again delivers an imaginative and “barely restrained, careful musing on female desire, loneliness, and hereditary inheritances” (Washington Post).
The Urn Carrier
by Chris ConvissorNineteen-year-old Tessa is suddenly tasked with spreading her great aunt's ashes all over the US and Canada so the rest of her relatives can receive their inheritance. After her initial dismay, she finds the road trip full of mystery and surprises. Old family secrets, girlfriend problems, and beautiful sunsets accompany her as she honors her aunt's wishes.
The Use of Fame: A Novel
by Cornelia Nixon"Rarely has a marriage so come alive in a work of fiction. . . So intense, beautifully written, shining with 'felt life,' it is truly gripping—riveting." —Joyce Carol Oates Abigail McCormick and Ray Stark are both poets, married nearly twenty–five years in what has always been a passionate relationship despite deep class differences. Ray is the son of West Virginia coal miners and was abused as a child—but now he is a distinguished poet with a part–time position at Brown. Abby grew up in San Francisco’s posh Pacific Heights and, having abandoned poetry, she spends her energy on a new teaching position at UC Berkeley. Abby’s decision to accept the post sets the stage for Ray to stray, especially as he struggles with a heart condition.He’s tortured by his affair with the graduate student he’s fallen in love with, but is determined to stay married—he fights to get over Tory for years. A despairing Abby finds solace in her return to riding horses and writing poems, but as she suffers privately, she becomes dependent on sleeping pills and alcohol. Ray’s health worsens—proves nearly fatal—and another cross–country move threatens to push them further apart. Alternating seamlessly between Ray’s and Abby’s perspectives, The Use of Fame is a gripping exploration of how closeness and despair can warp a lover’s perception.
The Usual Desire to Kill: A Novel
by Camilla BarnesAn often hilarious, surprisingly moving portrait of a long-married couple, seen through the eyes of their wickedly observant daughter—for fans of A Man Called Ove and The Royal Tenenbaums.Miranda&’s parents live in a dilapidated house in rural France that they share with two llamas, eight ducks, five chickens, two cats, and a freezer full of food dating back to 1983. Miranda&’s father is a retired professor of philosophy who never loses an argument. Miranda&’s mother likes to bring conversation back to &“the War,&” although she was born after it ended. Married for fifty years, they are uncommonly set in their ways. Miranda plays the role of translator when she visits, communicating the desires or complaints of one parent to the other and then venting her frustration to her sister and her daughter. At the end of a visit, she reports &“the usual desire to kill.&” This wry, propulsive story about a singularly eccentric family and the sibling rivalry, generational divides, and long-buried secrets that shape them, is a glorious debut novel from a seasoned playwright with immense empathy and a flair for dialogue.
The Usual Family Mayhem: A Novel
by HelenKay DimonRevenge is a dish best served cold—especially when it comes in the form of one of Grandma’s “special” pies. Get the best of family hijinks, girl power, and hilariously justifiable crime in the latest novel from award-winning author HelenKay Dimon.Kasey Nottingham needs a splashy idea at her company where they find and develop the next big thing for investors—her job depends on it. Impulsively, she pitches Mags’ Desserts, a beloved small-town business run by her grandma Mags and live-in “best friend” Celia, two women who overcame deadbeat husbands and financial ruin to build a word-of-mouth clientele. Kasey expects her boss to say no. Instead, he sends her home to North Carolina to land the deal…and now she has a problem.Mags and Celia aren’t interested, which isn’t a surprise, but something else is going on in their kitchen. Locked cabinets. Cryptic conversations. Unexpected notations on business records. The ladies have secrets and whatever they’re hiding is big. As reports of mysterious deaths of abusive men in the area surface—all in households that recently received a delivery from Mags’ Desserts—Kasey worries Gram and Celia have gone into the poison pie business.As investors start circling, Kasey enlists Jackson Quaid, Celia’s nephew and Kasey’s long-time crush, as her reluctant investigation assistant. Jackson is practical. Kasey has a wild imagination. Together, they dodge Kasey’s boss and gather intel. And kiss. Lots of kissing, though probably not the best idea to start an unexpected romance. Doing it while keeping two feisty ladies from going to jail for knocking off bad husbands—even if those husbands deserve it—might be impossible…but Kasey never shied away from a challenge.
The Usual Rules: A Novel
by Joyce MaynardA teenage girl learns to cope with sudden tragedy in the wake of 9/11 “in this moving story of love and loss [that] will make you laugh and cry” (Judy Blume).It’s a Tuesday morning in Brooklyn—a perfect September day. Thirteen-year-old Wendy is heading to school, eager to make plans with her best friend, worried about how she looks, mad at her mother for not letting her visit her father in California, impatient with her little brother and with the almost too-loving concern of her stepfather. She’s out the door to catch the bus. An hour later comes the news: A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center—her mother’s office building.Through Wendy’s eyes, readers follow her slow and terrible realization that her mother has died, and the family’s struggle to move forward with their lives. Wendy’s journey takes her to California, where she forges friendships with her father’s cactus-growing girlfriend, a teenage mom, and a sad bookstore owner with an autistic son. Along the way, she begins to understand the deep love and connection she has with her brother. The Usual Rules is an unexpectedly hopeful story of healing and forgiveness that offers readers a picture of how—out of the rubble—a family rebuilds its life.
The VBAC Companion
by Diana KorteThe Cesarean Rate is finally dropping in the United States, primarily because women who have had this operation are saying no to a repeat cesarean. They are doing so because vaginal birth after cesarean, or VBAC, is generally safer than the alternative. For most women, though, VBAC is still a scary prospect. InThe VBAC Companion,Diana Korte explains the risks and benefits of both VBACs and repeat cesareans. She tells how to work on overcoming fears about labor, how to find a VBAC-friendly doctor (or midwife) and hospital (or birth center), and how to get extra support, from a labor assistant, childbirth educator, or VBAC support group. Korte also describes pain-relieving techniques for labor, and routine hospital procedures to avoid. Throughout the book are VBAC success stories, told in the mothers' own words, for inspiration on the path to a safe and joyful birth.
The Vacation
by Polly HorvathFrom the author of the Newbery Honor Book Everything on a Waffle<P><P> When his mother decides on a whim to be a missionary in Africa and drags his unwilling father with her, Henry is left in the care of his Aunts Magnolia and Pigg. Henry's sure they dislike him and he's trying to keep his distance, but that becomes more difficult when Mag decides they should take a destination-less road trip. Mag, convalescing from an illness that makes her look like death, is downright crabby. Pigg, tense from driving, is becoming more assertive and less willing to submit to Mag's whims. And while they poke each other - literally - Henry is finding it hard to keep his resolution.They go to Virginia Beach (it's too hot); try camping in the Everglades (Henry accidentally spends four days floating in a swamp); visit their daddy, Henry's granddaddy (Henry's never met him!); and lose Pigg to love in Oklahoma (what would the radio psychologist Daly Kramer say?) before they finally receive word that Henry's parents are coming back and will meet them in Tulsa to finish the trip with Mag and Henry. But his parents are bickering and Henry is in despair - until he surrenders to the road and decides to let whatever happens happen, but to be there in it all.<P> Complete with her signature cast of eccentric characters, absurd situations, and heartfelt moments, Polly Horvath writes an on-the-road epic like no other!
The Vacationers: A Novel
by Emma StraubAn irresistible, deftly observed novel about the secrets, joys, and jealousies that rise to the surface over the course of an American family's two-week stay in Mallorca. For the Posts, a two-week trip to the Balearic island of Mallorca with their extended family and friends is a celebration: Franny and Jim are observing their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, and their daughter, Sylvia, has graduated from high school. The sunlit island, its mountains and beaches, its tapas and tennis courts, also promise an escape from the tensions simmering at home in Manhattan. But all does not go according to plan: over the course of the vacation, secrets come to light, old and new humiliations are experienced, childhood rivalries resurface, and ancient wounds are exacerbated. This is a story of the sides of ourselves that we choose to show and those we try to conceal, of the ways we tear each other down and build each other up again, and the bonds that ultimately hold us together. With wry humor and tremendous heart, Emma Straub delivers a richly satisfying story of a family in the midst of a maelstrom of change, emerging irrevocably altered yet whole.