A series of tragedies brings Vivvie's young grandchildren into her custody, and her two estranged daughters back under one roof. Jackson, Vivvie's husband, was shot and killed thirty years ago, and the ramifications have splintered the family into their own isolated remembrances and recriminations. This deeply personal, hauntingly melancholy look at the damages families inflict on each other, and the healing that only they can provide.
Setting / LocationGlobal
Story EraModern Era
Protagonist / CoreThings we set on fire Lead Character
When sixteen-year-old Ivy starts a new life in her stepfather's castle in Scotland, she finds that her stepfather's grandmother is implacably hostile and some mysterious spirit in the castle is trying to injure her--and her new best friend is a ghost named Logan. When sixteen-year-old Ivy starts a new life in her stepfather's castle in Scotland, she finds that his grandmother is implacably hostile, and something dark and deadly is afoot. Ivy soon finds herself in mortal danger.
The complexities of a friendship. The unexplored doubts of a marriage. And the redemptive power of literature...Julie Buxbaum, the acclaimed author of The Opposite of Love, delivers a haunting, gloriously written novel about love, family, and the secrets we hide from each other--and ourselves.It happened on a tree-lined street in Notting Hill to a woman who seemed to have the perfect life. Ellie Lerner's best friend, Lucy, was murdered in front of her young daughter. And, as best friends do, Ellie dropped everything--her marriage, her job, her life in the Boston suburbs--to travel to London and pick up the pieces of Lucy's life. While Lucy's husband, Greg, copes with his grief by retreating into himself, eight-year-old Sophie has simply stopped speaking.Desperate to help Sophie, Ellie turns to a book that gave her comfort as a child, The Secret Garden. As the two spend hours exploring the novel's winding passageways, its story of hurt, magic, and healing blooms around them. But so, too, do Lucy's secrets--some big, some small--secrets Lucy kept hidden, even from her best friend. Over a summer in London, as Ellie peels back the layers of her friend's life, she's forced to confront her own as well: the marriage she left behind, the loss she'd hoped to escape. And suddenly Ellie's carefully constructed existence is spinning out of control in a chain of events that will transform her life--and those around her-- forever. A novel that will resonate in the heart of anyone who's had a best friend, a love lost, or a past full of regrets, After You proves once again the unique and compelling talent of Julie Buxbaum.From the Hardcover edition.
Ella and Micha have been best friends since they were kids. But one tragic night shatters their friendship and their lives forever. Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury since then might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella's skin like no one else can. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. And he is determined to bring his best friend, and the girl he loves back, no matter what it takes.
Summer 1944: Bombed out by the blitz, Bethany Merston takes up a post as companion to elderly Alice Summer, last remaining inhabitant of the dilapidated and crumbling Summerhayes estate. Now a shadow of its former glory, most of the rooms have been shut up, the garden is overgrown and the whole place feels as unwelcoming as the family themselves. Struggling with the realities of war, Alice is plagued by anonymous letters and haunting visions of her old household. At first, Beth tries to convince her it's all in her mind but soon starts to unravel the mysteries surrounding the aristocratic family's past. An evocative and captivating tale, The Secret of Summerhayes tells of dark secrets, almost-forgotten scandals and a household teetering on the edge of ruin.
Things we set on fire by Deborah Reed | Literally Just Books
