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Reese's Book Club: A Novel
by Beck Dorey-Stein
Two sisters examine what they owe each other and what they are willing to sacrifice to make their dreams come true in this "epic story" (Reese Witherspoon) from New York Times bestselling author Beck Dorey-Stein.
What would you give up for the person you love most? What would you expect in return?
Mia and Cricket have always been close. The gifted daughters of a young single mother, the "Lowe girls" are well-known in the small Maine town they call home. Each sister has a role to fill: The responsible and academically minded Mia assumes the position of caregiver far too young, while Cricket, a bouncing ball of energy and talent, seems born for soccer stardom. But the cost of achieving athletic greatness comes at a steep price.
As Mia and Cricket grow up, they must grapple with the legacy of their mother's secret past while navigating their own precarious future. Can Mia allow herself to fall in love at the risk of repeating a terrible history? Will Cricket's relentless chase of a lifelong goal drive her sister away? When does loyalty become self-sabotage?
A sharply observed and tender portrait of sisters, love, and ambition, Spectacular Things is a sweeping story about the impossible choices we're forced to make in pursuit of our dreams.
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (10/09/2025)
I finished The Correspondent by Virginia Evans and Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein. I really liked both of them. I just started When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips because I'm craving some dark academia. :slight_smile:
-Cheri_Mcelroy
"By the time the plot returns to Cricket's decision, secrets about the siblings' father have been revealed, which make for intriguing parallels with Mia's story. This one fires on all cylinders." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
This information about Spectacular Things 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.
Beck Dorey-Stein grew up in Narberth, Pennsylvania, and taught high school English for three years before serving as a White House stenographer from 2012 to 2017. She is the author of the novel Rock the Boat and the memoir From the Corner of the Oval, which was a New York Times bestseller. She now lives in Maine.
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