A Family Reunion

The brilliant new novel from the beloved Sunday Times-bestselling author of Orange Blossom Days

In this contemporary #OwnVoices tale, a boy is reluctant to go to his family reunion, which he's sure will be boring. Vivid, poetic language and rich illustrations bring readers along for the boy's emotional journey, as he ultimately finds himself enjoying the large and joyous gathering in spite of himself. This modern kid's-eye view depiction of a Black American extended family celebrates the importance of kinship and intergenerational ties.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A longtime Nantucket resident is trying to make the best of a lonely summer. Her spirited granddaughter is learning what she wants out of life. Unforgettable surprises await them both in this magical, multigenerational novel from Nancy Thayer. “Readers come to Nancy Thayer novels for the idyllic Nantucket beaches and lifestyle, but they stay for the characters.”—Mary Alice Monroe Eleanor Sunderland loves living on Nantucket in a gorgeous cliffside home that has been in her family for decades. Yet this year she can’t help but feel a bit isolated, even as the island comes alive with summer travelers. Her best friend has skipped town, leaving Eleanor lonely and feeling nostalgic about her family’s weekend trips to the island, made less frequently in the years since her husband’s passing. Now her money-driven children complain and beg her to sell her beloved home for a steep payout. Hoping to kick the season off on a good note, Eleanor decides her seventieth birthday may be the perfect occasion for a much-needed reunion. Fresh from her college graduation, Eleanor’s granddaughter, Ari, has just ended an engagement. She longs for a change of scenery and to escape from her parents’ snobbish expectations. Taking advantage of her newfound freedom, she heads to Nantucket to clear her head before graduate school, moving in with her grandmother and taking a job at the local beach camp. As she watches Eleanor begin to form a bond with an old acquaintance, Ari herself becomes smitten with a friend’s charming older brother. But just as grandmother and granddaughter fall into a carefree routine, a few shocking discoveries throw them off course. Eleanor and Ari learn to lean on each other through every new challenge they face in life and love, in this tale filled with Nancy Thayer’s signature Nantucket magic. “Nancy Thayer’s Family Reunion is a wonderful slice of life.”—New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak

Poetry. African & African American Studies. Family reunions are special occasions, a time of connections, reflections, of meeting new members, remembering those no longer with us, more than a little gossip (a good reason not to miss one if you don't want to be the one talked about!) and (mostly) good-natured kidding, occasional recriminations and grievances aired or confined to knowing side glances, and perhaps most importantly, the chance to pass on and keep alive the history and lore of the family from one generation to the next. Grace C. Ocasio's FAMILY REUNION is all of these things, and in reading this book we are privileged guests at just such an event, invited to hear the stories of her relatives across multiple generations. Because this is an account of an African-American family, it is necessarily in part a chronicle of racism and injustice and thus a contribution to the poetry of documentary witness. There are moments of tragedy (a child permanently brain damaged by being dropped by a nurse at birth) and indignity (a woman denied a PhD by Harvard because of her race), but also triumphs (one man becomes a celebrated physician, and many in the family graduate from college and go on to successful professional careers--including the author). These poems speak candidly of the experience of being Black in America. But that is not all that they do. What they reveal most of all is how this one family's story manages to be both uniquely their own and simultaneously universal, because we can all recognize ourselves and our own messy histories in these pages, whatever our race or origin. We've all encountered that uncle, that grandmother in our own families; we've heard the lectures (or given them ourselves) on hair and clothing, behavior and expectations, the suitability of suitors, all the friction at generational boundaries. Now, more than ever, we need to be reminded that we are all one family--however dysfunctional. To say that Ocasio does this with grace may be a pun, but it is also the truth. The book ends with a brief prose account of a family reunion that is hilariously chaotic, leaving the author with "hysteria welling in my throat." Well, that's family for you! But what a treat it is to get to know this one.

From the Bestselling Author of the hit Netflix series, Virgin River! An exceptional storyteller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr beautifully captures the emotionally charged, complex dynamics that come with being part of any family. Readers will laugh and shed a few tears as they discover what it means to be loved, supported and accepted by the people who mean the most. Having left the military, Dakota Jones is at a crossroads in his life. With his elder brother and youngest sister happily settled in Sullivan’s Crossing, he shows up hoping to clear his head before moving on to his next adventure. But, like every visitor to the Crossing, he’s immediately drawn to the down-to-earth people and the seemingly simple way of life. Dakota is unprepared for how quickly things get complicated. As a newcomer, he is on everyone’s radar—especially the single women in town. While he enjoys the attention at first, he’s really only attracted to the one woman who isn’t interested. And spending quality time with his siblings is eye-opening. As he gets to know them, he also gets to know himself and what he truly wants. When all the Jones siblings gather for a family wedding, the four adults are drawn together for the first time in a way they never were as children. As they struggle to accept each other, warts and all, the true nature and strength of their bond is tested. But all of them come to realize that your family are the people who see you for who you really are and love you anyway. And for Dakota, that truth allows him to find the home and family he’s always wanted.

Fifteen poems tell chronologically of a young girl's experiences at her family's week-long reunion.

During a rumschpringe visit to Niagara Falls, Phoebe Miller meets Eli Riehl, a young man who charms her—and everyone else—with his exceptional storytelling ability. When Phoebe sketches scenes to illustrate one of his tales, Eli encourages her incredible talent, and together they embark on a lofty and unlikely business venture for two young Amish people—writing and illustrating a children's book. Eli's kindness and appeal extend beyond his knack for words to reach inside Phoebe's heart. But he is an only son with five sisters, and when his father suffers a heart attack, Eli gives up his writing to assume responsibility on the farm. Though willing to abandon his dream of becoming an author, he won't give up his beloved Phoebe. Can their love for a good story develop into something that lasts forever, or will Phoebe's deep-seated fear of desertion stand in their way?

EVERY FAMILY HAS ITS SECRETS. SOME ARE JUST TOO HARD TO TELL ---BUT TOO HOT TO KEEP. . . It's been fifteen years since the Bennetts were all in one place, at one time, and now at a total blowout of a reunion four special cousins' hidden desires and long-kept secrets will challenge their bond, test their courage, and change their hearts forever. . . Taye is a hair stylist with big ambitions. She's trusted the wrong men in the past and now she determined to land the right one, no matter who stands in her way. Michael is a widowed airline pilot struggling to manage his teenage daughter, but turbulence comes when a new passion enters his life. Alexia was the chubby little girl who has turned into a sexy superstar who seems to have it all. . .except the one thing she's always wanted to make her life complete: a child. Now she has the perfect man in mind to be the father of her child. . .without his knowledge. Rae'jean is the pretty young doctor engaged to be married, but happiness still eludes her because her past is shrouded in mystery. And before she can say "I do" she must come home to finally learn the truth.