Jo and Ginny have been best friends for decades. When Ginny reveals she has terminal cancer, she asks Jo to take care of her teenage son, Victor. Jo is already struggling with her own teen daughter (drama!), but she feels she owes it to her oldest friend to help where she can. Jo has no idea what that ultimately means for her family.
This is the set up for this introspective and ultimately uplifting book about being steadfast and doing the right thing even when everything you’ve thought you’ve built seems to be crumbling.
I’m not going to lie. Jo really got on my nerves in the first part of the book. Everything always seemed to be about her, and how worried she was about what everyone else would think. She was a definite people-pleaser. Everyone knows the type: someone who tries too hard and it becomes painfully obvious that they’re desperate to be hitting the right tone and intent.
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Jo’s daughter, Phoebe, is a hellion. There’s no other way to put it. She acts like a spoiled brat and obviously likes to push boundaries (and her mom’s buttons) for entertainment. Jo’s husband, Patrick, has also known Jo long enough that he usually just steps back and lets her spiral. And poor Victor, who lost his mom, is thrown into all of this crazy in a new town where he is the only person of color.
However, when there is a big family revelation (right about halfway through the book), everything changes. Long-held beliefs are shaken, loyalties are questioned, and everyone is forced to take a step back to re-evaluate their perspectives on the situation.
I thought the author handled the challenges facing the family with awareness and insight. I thought that each character’s reactions were individualized. It was obvious that a lot of thought went into the various characters and their personalities.
The author also provides a searing, and accurate, commentary on racism. At times it was difficult to read, but as the white mom of an Ethiopian son, I am familiar with some of the prejudices that the townspeople showed towards Victor. It’s an unfortunate part of human nature to accuse what is easiest to see, not what is most difficult to understand. I think the author did a good job with handling this subject, especially when it came to how the family ultimately handled all of it.
I went into this book expecting one thing and feeling one way about most of the characters, but my opinion of them completely transformed through the author’s thoughtful portrayal. I highly recommend this book about resilience and the importance of family.
Author Bio
Kerry Fisher is a million-copy bestselling author. She writes women’s contemporary fiction, is a USA Today bestseller and her books have been translated into twelve languages. She was born in Peterborough, studied French and Italian at the University of Bath and spent several years living in Spain, Italy and Corsica. After returning to England to work as a journalist, she eventually abandoned real life stories for the secrets of fictional families. She lives in Surrey with her husband, and a naughty Lab/Schnauzer called Poppy, who joins in the huge dances of joy when her young adult children come home.
