You, Me, and the Sea

March 25, 2019
Donohue (How to Eat a Cupcake) spins first-rate women’s fiction in this imaginative and lyrically told tale about how the most unlikely of people become family. The story begins with a lavish engagement party and immediately swings back a few decades to the childhood of the intended bride. Merrow Shawe is growing up poor in Northern California with her widowed father and cruel brother when her father brings home an orphan named Amir, the adopted son of his late wife’s close friend. When Merrow is 10, her father also dies, leaving Merrow and Amir at the mercy of Merrow’s older brother, Bear. Their only consolation comes from Rei, a Japanese former professor hired to tutor them, who fills their heads with magical tales of lands far away, and from their habit of popping into unoccupied homes to dream about how others live. One of those visits changes Merrow’s life forever: a dog bites her; she meets a woman, Rosalie Langford, who becomes her protector; and Merrow falls in love with Rosalie’s son. After tragedy separates Amir and Merrow, seemingly forever, Merrow continues down a new path that ends with a betrayal and a surprise. Donohue’s careful plotting and richly drawn characters will keep readers enthralled right up to an unexpected ending that’s likely to be polarizing. Merrow’s life story is worth reading even for those who’d prefer it took her another way. Agent: Elisabeth Weed, Book Group.

May 1, 2019
Though her childhood was unusual, Merrow couldn't have picked a more idyllic place to grow up. Set on the Northern coast of California, Horseshoe Cliff wasn't a safe, suburban enclave, but it was undeniably appealing?it was home. She learned to swim, ride, and forage, exploring the bluffs while avoiding her older brother's temper and her father's sad eyes. When Amir, the orphaned son of a family friend, arrives, Merrow is overjoyed to share the wonders of Horseshoe Cliff with him. But the unthinkable happens, and Merrow's family is shaken to its core. Merrow reexamines her sense of self and realizes that nothing in life is sacred; there are no guarantees. Bestselling author Donohue (Every Wild Heart, 2017) opens the novel with a fairy-tale ending and a twist, moving backwards through time to give readers a full picture of Merrow's childhood. A companion to Erica Bauermeister's The Scent Keeper (2019) and Catherine Ryan Hyde's Have You Seen Luis Velez? (2019), this coming-of-age novel will warm hearts and inspire anyone with a less-than-perfect childhood.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)