{Thank you to Gallery Books for my gifted copy}
The People We Keep by Allison Larkin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Summary:
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.
This lyrical, unflinching tale is for anyone who has ever yearned for the fierce power of found family or to grasp the profound beauty of choosing to belong.
Publication Date:
August 3rd, 2021
Genre:
Coming of Age/Family Life Fiction
Purchase Your Copy:
Amazon Link | LibroFM Bookstore Link
My Review:
There are only a handful of books that have brought me to tears at the end, both for how the author brought everything together and also out of sadness that it was over.
The People We Keep is one of those books. There were so many amazing characters in this book, all of whom were well-developed, easy to relate to, and hard to stop thinking about.
This story, set in the 1990s, follows the life of April, who at the age of sixteen, leaves her neglectful father, broken down motorhome, and small-town behind – in search of a different life.
Over the years ahead, April moves frequently, never able to settle down, and always leaving before things get too comfortable. It is the friendships she makes along the way that ultimately will show her what a home and a family truly are.
I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to see what author @allielarkinwrites will write next! I discussed The People We Keep over on my Bookstagram account, @genthebookworm, and would love to have you join in on the conversation.
{Thank you to Gallery Books for my gifted copy}
