This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

A Million Reasons Why

Summary: When two strangers are linked by a mail-in DNA test, it’s an answered prayer―that is, for one half-sister. For the other, it will dismantle everything she knows to be true.

But as they step into the unfamiliar realm of sisterhood, the roles will reverse in ways no one could have foreseen.

Caroline lives a full, happy life―thriving career, three feisty children, enviable marriage, and a close-knit extended family. She couldn’t have scripted it better. Except for one thing:

She’s about to discover her fundamental beliefs about them all are wrong.

Sela lives a life in shades of gray, suffering from irreversible kidney failure. Her marriage crumbled in the wake of her illness. Her beloved mother and lifelong best friend passed away. She refuses to be defined by her grief, but still, she worries about what will happen to her two-year-old son if she doesn’t find a donor match in time.

She’s the only one who knows Caroline is her half-sister. That Caroline may be her best hope for a future. But Sela’s world isn’t as clear-cut as it appears―and one misstep could destroy it all.

After all, would you risk everything to save the life of the person who turned yours upside down?

From the moment Caroline meets Sela, both must reexamine what it really means to be family, the depths of a mother’s love, and the limits and the power of forgiveness.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’ve been a fan of Jessica’s since Almost Missed You! And I enjoyed Not That I Could Tell. Forget You Know Me was different from those books and I have to say my least favorite.

I didn’t know much about this book going in- except that it’s one of those books with the DNA testing focus that has become very popular and that I loved the cover.

After reading it- I am saying that A Million Reasons Why is a Jodi Picoult-ish type book- it’s a situation that has no easy answers and gives you many feelings.

 

What I Liked:

The cover! I do love this cover.

Caroline and Sela. Their personalities, how they drew strength from each other, the complicated feelings they had- of being apart, of the situation happening, of what it means for them- together and apart. I loved the deep dive into their situation.

The ending. It made me cry.

 

What I didn’t love:

Caroline’s parents. Oh, I did not love them.

 

On a more personal note- this book gave me MANY feelings. I could understand Caroline’s ambivalence about being a potential match for Sela. I could understand Vela’s reluctance to ask. I could understand both Sela and Caroline’s respective friends and family being hopeful and terrified over the idea of them matching and what would happen next. This book is FRAUGHT with family tension and Jessica Strawser did a great job of showing that, of making you feel these characters and their emotions.

 

Bottom line: It’s not an easy read- but it’s a good read. It will give you much to think and feel!

 

*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

 

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Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T