The From-Aways

April 15, 2014
Two young women trying to find their places in the world settle in a small coastal town in Maine and discover purpose, friendship and acceptance. When Leah, a reporter, meets down-to-earth Henry Lynch in a New York City bar, she wastes no time resigning from her job, marrying him and moving into his family home in the small fishing community of Menamon. Leah's filled with romantic notions about living an idyllic life and fitting in with the locals, but she soon discovers "from-aways" can't easily dissolve barriers built by common roots and experiences. She also discovers there are things about Henry she doesn't know and wonders if she fell in love with only the idea of him. Finding work at the Menamon Star, owned by her unfriendly sister-in-law, Leah meets wisecracking tough girl Quinn Winters, another recent transplant to the area. Quinn originally came to town to confront her father, Carter Marks, once a moderately successful folk singer who had an affair with her late mother, but she puts her plans on hold as she sorts through her different reactions to him. Instead, believing no one knows she's his daughter, she remains in town, gets hired at the paper, falls in love with her roommate, and becomes a self-taught guitarist and songwriter. Quinn's amateurish prose contrasts with Leah's professional writing, but the two become drinking buddies and begin to collaborate on pieces. Soon they find themselves embroiled in a story about a building project that polarizes the townsfolk and threatens to change the nature of the entire community. Leah finds that her involvement might help her gain the acceptance she covets but could jeopardize her marriage. As events begin to spin out of control, debut novelist Hauser creates a palpable bond linking characters, readers, a community and a relevant political issue. Hauser's style is expressive, clever and compelling, and she offers readers a thoughtful and engaging debut.

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May 1, 2014
Two 24-year-old womenboth from-aways not native to the areabecome unlikely allies on a small-town Maine newspaper. Quinn Winters, with her mediocre journalism degree, goes to Menamon, Maine, to find her father, semifamous folk singer Carter Marks, who left Quinn's mother shortly after Quinn's birth. Native New Yorker Leah Gold leaves her job as a reporter on a prestigious city daily to marry Menamon native Henry Lynch and take the prodigal son home. Working on the Menamon Star, run by Leah's sister-in-law, Charley Lynch, Quinn and Leah envision themselves the Woodward and Bernstein of the small fishing village, particularly when they stumble on an earth-shaking story about the development the townsfolk are dreading, a story that impacts both their lives enormously. Hauser alternates first-person chapters between her two primary characters to build beautifully rounded characterizations of them and others and form a loving story centered on a place and its effect on its residents. This impressively crafted first novel is likely to leave readers wanting both a Maine lobster dinner and more from this author.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)