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Always the Last to Know: Book summary and reviews of Always the Last to Know by Kristan Higgins

Always the Last to Know

by Kristan Higgins

Always the Last to Know by Kristan Higgins X
Always the Last to Know by Kristan Higgins
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  • Published Jun 2020
    400 pages
    Genre: Literary Fiction

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Book Summary

Sometimes you have to break a family to fix it. From New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins, a new novel examining a family at the breaking point in all its messy, difficult, wonderful complexity.

The Frosts are a typical American family. Barb and John, married almost fifty years, are testy and bored with each other...who could blame them after all this time? At least they have their daughters--Barb's favorite, the perfect, brilliant Juliet; and John's darling, the free-spirited Sadie. The girls themselves couldn't be more different, but at least they got along, more or less. It was fine. It was enough.

Until the day John had a stroke, and their house of cards came tumbling down.

Now Sadie has to put her career as a teacher and struggling artist in New York on hold to come back and care for her beloved dad--and face the love of her life, whose heart she broke, and who broke hers. Now Juliet has to wonder if people will notice that despite her perfect career as a successful architect, her perfect marriage to a charming Brit, and her two perfect daughters, she's spending an increasing amount of time in the closet having panic attacks.

And now Barb and John will finally have to face what's been going on in their marriage all along.

From the author of Good Luck with That and Life and Other Inconveniences comes a new novel of heartbreaking truths and hilarious honesty about what family really means.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Higgins handles difficult topics with aplomb, mining even the darkest subjects (infidelity, infertility, mortality) with a sense of humor. She resists painting her characters with broad strokes, allowing readers to see the humanity in each person...A masterful exploration of all kinds of love—romance, family, and friendship—that will make even a cynic cry." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Higgins excels at creating multidimensional, sympathetic characters, an ability that is on full display throughout. This sparkling story is perfect summer reading fare." - Publishers Weekly

"Established author Higgins has once again created well-developed characters who are flawed yet good-hearted; this family's ups and downs will resonate with fans of women's fiction and uplifting stories." - Library Journal

This information about Always the Last to Know was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Kristan Higgins

Kristan Higgins is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly twenty novels, which have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two children and dogs.

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