The People We Keep by Allison Larkin

☆☆☆☆☆
.ePUB, 333 pages
Expected Publication: August 3rd 2021 by Gallery Books

About the Book:
Little River, New York, 1994: April Sawicki is living in a motorless motorhome that her father won in a poker game. Failing out of school, picking up shifts at Margo’s diner, she’s left fending for herself in a town where she’s never quite felt at home. When she “borrows” her neighbor’s car to perform at an open mic night, she realizes her life could be much bigger than where she came from. After a fight with her dad, April packs her stuff and leaves for good, setting off on a journey to find a life that’s all hers. Driving without a chosen destination, she stops to rest in Ithaca. Her only plan is to survive, but as she looks for work, she finds a kindred sense of belonging at Cafe Decadence, the local coffee shop. Still, somehow, it doesn’t make sense to her that life could be this easy. The more she falls in love with her friends in Ithaca, the more she can’t shake the feeling that she’ll hurt them the way she’s been hurt. As April moves through the world, meeting people who feel like home, she chronicles her life in the songs she writes and discovers that where she came from doesn’t dictate who she has to be.

My Review:

We have people we get to keep, who won’t ever let us go.

 And that’s the most important part. That’s what’s true.

This book broke my heart in so many ways, it was sad...yet hopeful. The songs April wrote read like poetry and they were SO beautiful. I connected to April so deeply, even though she is so very flawed. I didn't want her story to end but since it had to I wanted her to have her happy ending, I wanted to cheer her on and see her shine. I was totally invested in her throughout the entire book. I read this in one sitting and it is just that kind of book...the kind that that makes you want to curl up and read right away from beginning to end.

I was so pleased with Ms. Larkin's ability to write such an engaging, real-life, entertaining, phenomenal story. I adored this book. Easily one of my favourite books of recent times that I’m recommending to all my friends. This wonderful, lyrical story reminds that love, and family (even those who aren't related by blood) are worth the effort...and we ourselves are worthy too.

Disclosure:
Thank you NetGalley, Allison Larkin and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#NetGalley