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Published Jun 2021
416 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
From Laurie Frankel, the New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is, a Reese's Book Club pick, comes a timely, topical novel about love and family that will make you laugh and cry...and laugh again.
In a town where nothing ever changes, suddenly everything does...
Everyone knows everyone in the tiny town of Bourne, but the Mitchell triplets are especially beloved. Mirabel is the smartest person anyone knows, and no one doubts it just because she can't speak. Monday is the town's purveyor of books now that the library's closed―tell her the book you think you want, and she'll pull the one you actually do from the microwave or her sock drawer. Mab's job is hardest of all: get good grades, get into college, get out of Bourne.
For a few weeks seventeen years ago, Bourne was national news when its water turned green. The girls have come of age watching their mother's endless fight for justice. But just when it seems life might go on the same forever, the first moving truck anyone's seen in years pulls up and unloads new residents and old secrets. Soon, the Mitchell sisters are taking on a system stacked against them and uncovering mysteries buried longer than they've been alive. Because it's hard to let go of the past when the past won't let go of you.
Three unforgettable narrators join together here to tell a spellbinding story with wit, wonder, and deep affection. As she did in This Is How It Always Is, Laurie Frankel has written a laugh-out-loud-on-one-page-grab-a-tissue-the-next novel, as only she can, about how expanding our notions of normal makes the world a better place for everyone and how when days are darkest, it's our daughters who will save us all.
"Frankel's sharp plotting—with several surprising reversals—and memorable characters reflect a deep imagination that adds texture and complexity to what would otherwise be a fairly familiar setup. Readers will be captivated by this story of adversity and resilience." - Publishers Weekly
"Frankel has given us another socially conscious 21st-century fable in a voice that is part pastor, part political speechwriter, and part Fannie Flagg...Clever, charming, and always on message." - Kirkus Reviews
"One Two Three is a coming-of-age story that examines intergenerational trauma, sisterhood, and agency. Franke creates unique personalities for One, Two, and Three and builds a memorable world in Bourne." - Booklist
"In One Two Three, Laurie Frankel's signature wit, warmth, and fierce compassion shine with the story of three courageous, memorable triplets. I loved this book from the first line to the last." - Shelf Awareness
"I loved One Two Three from start to finish. What you always get with a Laurie Frankel novel is an engrossing plot—she's a terrific storyteller—but for me the best part of any of her novels are the three-dimensional characters she's created, characters for whom she has empathy and palpable affection, characters who seem to leap off the page and into the heart of the reader. And that's never been more evident than in One Two Three. I highly recommend it—it's a book that will immediately draw you in and provide great reading pleasure." - Nancy Pearl, author of the Book Lust series and George & Lizzie
"One Two Three is a powerful and nuanced novel about hope, human frailty, and love. Laurie Frankel takes a clear-eyed look at the mess we make of the world when we privilege profits over people and, brilliantly, without flinching from the truth, allows no hint of contempt, disgust, or hatred to enter the conversation...One Two Three is the blueprint for a true revolution." - Nicola Griffith, author of Hild and So Lucky
This information about One Two Three 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.
Photo: Natalia Dotto
Laurie Frankel is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of five novels. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Publisher's Weekly, People Magazine, Lit Hub, The Sydney Morning Herald, and other publications. She is the recipient of the Washington State Book Award and the Endeavor Award. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty-five languages and been optioned for film and TV. A former college professor, she now writes full-time in Seattle, Washington where she lives with her family and makes good soup.
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