Three Story House

June 16, 2014
Santo (The Roots of the Olive Tree) turns home improvement into a metaphor for self-discovery in this well-crafted novel. Cousins Lizzie, Elyse, and Isobel have been inseparable since childhood, when their family dubbed them the “Triplins”—a cross between cousins and triplets. Lizzie, under pressure by her estranged mother, reluctantly agrees to help save her late grandmother’s Memphis home from demolition. After all, she’s an elite soccer player who has just destroyed her ACL and has nothing but time on her hands. Hearing of Lizzie’s state of affairs, Elyse, whose sister is about to marry the man of Elyse’s dreams, and Isobel, a former child star at loose ends, join her. While slogging through the renovations, each woman must confront her own insecurities as well as a few surprising family secrets, including the truth of Lizzie’s parentage. Told in three parts, each from a different triplin’s point of view, the novel skillfully draws readers into its fictional world. Fans of historic homes will appreciate Santo’s focus on the number of repairs beloved old houses often require. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners.

July 1, 2014
Three twentysomething cousins who have been close since childhood find themselves sharing and salvaging a condemned house in Memphis overlooking the Mississippi. All three women are at crossroads. Lizzie, whose grandfather built the house, is a soccer player trying to come back from an injury that threatens her dream of Olympic glory. Isobel, who spent her adolescence and teens starring in a successful television series, is desperate to jump-start her stalled career. And Elyse has long been obsessed with the man her sister is about to marry. The house, oddly shaped and situated, is called Spite House, a term for a house built expressly to thwart or annoy. As the renovations progress, the cousins uncover Spite House's secretsboxes stuffed with mementos, hidden rooms, a spectacular mosaic underneath the kitchen's linoleum. They also uncover truths about their families and themselves. Dividing her novel into three parts, one for each cousin (and reflecting the three floors of the house), Santo (The Roots of the Olive Tree, 2012) delivers genuine and appealing characters and a strong sense of place.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)