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A Novel
by Ethan Joella
A heartbreaking, life-affirming new novel by Ethan Joella—author of the Read with Jenna Bonus Pick A Little Hope—about a young woman searching for answers about her brother's last days.
June 1975. Maggie Bishop has just graduated high school, the future hers to embrace—but she's still reeling from the death of her older brother, Chip. A devastating diagnosis the summer before prompted Chip to leave home for a few months, never revealing where he went. Maggie's search for clues leads her to The Red Maple Inn, a mountaintop resort in the Poconos.
At the Red Maple, Maggie is welcomed into a tight-knit community. As she unravels secrets about her brother's final days, she begins to connect with the people he loved, and whose lives he touched. Through the warmth of strangers, Maggie begins to heal and is able to help others cope with loss.
Set in a nostalgic resort town over two transformative summers, this dual-narrative novel explores sibling relationships, coming of age, and the quiet power of human connection. Perfect for fans of emotional storytelling and small-town summer books, The Top of the World is a timeless story about memory, grief, second chances, and hope.
"[Written] with grace and insight...characters are exceedingly likable and devoted to each other... the preponderance of touching moments allow the story to soar...A captivating and tragic tale about living to the fullest before a young life is extinguished." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In addition to evocative scenes of languid days and warm nights lit by fireflies, Joella has created appealing characters who easily evoke empathy." —BookPage
"I loved following the moving story of Maggie and Chip, two characters I won't be forgetting anytime soon. The Top of the World is a pleasure to read from start to finish." —Liz Moore, author of The God of the Woods
"An immensely affecting novel about living with zeal and approaching life's end on one's own terms, The Top of the World gifted me both courage and comfort." —Megha Majumdar, author of A Guardian and a Thief and A Burning
This information about The Top of the World 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.
Ethan Joella teaches English and psychology at the University of Delaware. He is the author of A Little Hope, which was a Read with Jenna Bonus Selection; A Quiet Life; The Same Bright Stars; and The Top of the World. He lives in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with his wife and two daughters.
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