Family Family

Laurie Frankel seems to write as a form of wish fulfillment: she writes the world as she wants it to be, and hopes it can become. Her new novel about adoption is easy to read and hard to describe; thank goodness we can talk about it more at our Spring Book Preview event! The story begins with an actress named India, who finds herself at the center of a media firestorm for criticizing her new movie in the press. Her precocious ten-year-old twins, recognizing their mother is living a PR nightmare, take it upon themselves to seek help from a person uniquely positioned to do so: a family member their mother doesn’t know they know about, and whom they’ve never met. Alternating between the present day media fracas and India’s early days as an actress, and moving between LA, Seattle, and NYC, Frankel firmly roots her tale in the world of theater and film, exploring the many forms family can take and the limits of love. With its unforgettable scenes, bold plot choices, Shakespeare and musical theater references, and at least one gasp-out-loud moment, this is a book I’m still thinking about months after turning the final page. I can't wait to talk about it with everyone I know—especially because this is a book that begs to be discussed!