Anna Quindlen’s books always fill me with emotion. Sometimes she makes me cry, sometimes she provokes anger, sometimes she leaves me smiling, and sometimes it’s a combination of one or more of these. But she always makes me feel something.
Polly is an English teacher at an all-girls private school. Having struggled with fertility issues, Polly has so much empathy and admiration for her students, and teaching is truly a labor of love.
Her closest friends are the three women in her book club (where they never read the books). These women have been there for each other through so much. As a joke, they buy Polly a DNA test kit, but they don’t expect her to actually do it. And then the test matches her with a secondary relative, but she can’t figure out the actual connection. So she begins a journey of self-discovery which leads to some revelations and some sorrows.
This book is all about relationships—parental, sibling, marital, friendship, and a desperation for motherhood. There are moments of beautiful loyalty, love, and anguish. And alpacas.
I really loved the characters Quindlen created here. I love the way she kept the book from veering into melodramatic territory and I loved the quiet moments as well. I thought this was beautiful.
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