Synopses & Reviews
From the #1
New York Times bestselling author of
Orphan Train comes a novel of love, risk, and self-discovery.
Angela can feel the clock ticking. She is single in New York City, stuck in a job she doesnt want and a life that seems to have, somehow, just happened. She inherited a flair for Italian cooking from her grandmother, but she never seems to have the time for it—these days, her oven holds only sweaters. Tacked to her office bulletin board is a photo from a magazine of a tidy cottage on the coast of Maine—a charming reminder of a life that could be hers, if she could only muster the courage to go after it.
On a hope and a chance, Angela decides to pack it all up and move to Maine, finding the nudge she needs in the dating profile of a handsome sailor who loves dogs and Italian food. But her new home isnt quite matching up with the fantasy. Far from everything familiar, Angela begins to rebuild her life from the ground up. Working at a local coffeehouse, she begins to discover the pleasures and secrets of her new small-town community and, in the process, realizes theres really no such thing as the way life should be.
Review
“Kline has a perfect sense of character and timing.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“[Christina Baker Kline] is not only a deft and snappy writer, but a true cartographer of the human heart.” Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Still Summer
Review
“A book about love and disappointment and risk and risotto, utterly appealing on every level.” Lauren Fox, author of Still Life with Husband
Review
“A story about the way life really can be, with a little bit of luck and just the right seasoning.” Dani Shapiro
Review
“An unassumingly beautiful story of human relationships and self-discovery...the ideal page-turning light read, with a tremendous payoff.” People
Synopsis
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train, and the critically acclaimed author of Bird in Hand, comes a novel of love, risk, and self-discovery--includes a special PS section featuring insights, interviews, and more.
Angela can feel the clock ticking. She is single in New York City, stuck in a job she doesn't want and a life that seems to have, somehow, just happened. She inherited a flair for Italian cooking from her grandmother, but she never seems to have the time for it--these days, her oven holds only sweaters. Tacked to her office bulletin board is a photo from a magazine of a tidy cottage on the coast of Maine--a charming reminder of a life that could be hers, if she could only muster the courage to go after it.
On a hope and a chance, Angela decides to pack it all up and move to Maine, finding the nudge she needs in the dating profile of a handsome sailor who loves dogs and Italian food. But her new home isn't quite matching up with the fantasy. Far from everything familiar, Angela begins to rebuild her life from the ground up. Working at a local coffeehouse, she begins to discover the pleasures and secrets of her new small-town community and, in the process, realizes there's really no such thing as the way life should be.
About the Author
Christina Baker Kline was born in England and raised in Maine. She is the author of six novels, including The Way Life Should Be and the runaway bestseller Orphan Train. Writer-in-residence at Fordham University from 2007-2011, Kline is a recent recipient of a Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Fellowship and several research fellowships to Ireland and Minnesota. She lives outside of New York City, and spends as much time as possible in Northern Minnesota and on the coast of Maine.