April & Oliver

Best friends since childhood, the sexual tension between April and Oliver has always been palpable. Years after being completely inseparable, they become strangers, but the wildly different paths of their lives cross once again with the sudden death of April's brother. Oliver, the responsible, newly engaged law student finds himself drawn more than ever to the reckless, mystifying April — and cracks begin to appear in his carefully constructed life. Even as Oliver attempts to save his childhood friend from her grief, her menacing boyfriend and herself, it soon becomes apparent that Oliver has some secrets of his own — secrets he hasn't shared with anyone, even his fiance. But April knows, and her reappearance in his life derails him. Is it really April's life that is unraveling, or is it his own? The answer awaits at the end of a downward spiral...towards salvation.

"The opening chapters of this emotional whirlpool of a debut novel are gripping, owing to Callahan's sharp, savvy storytelling. Callahan spins a dark, gritty tale of love, yearning, and choices while presenting engaging characters and substantial action that packs more than a few punches. Wise beyond words." Library Journal (starred review)

"In a first novel suffused with grief and longing, childhood soul mates reconnect in the aftermath of a death." Kirkus Reviews

"The urgency of Callahan's narrative and its volatile juxtapositions...make it impossible not to care deeply for these characters and their thwarted yearning and their heart-wrenching stories." Bob Shacochis, National Book Award-winning author of Easy in the Islands

"Grappling fates are the DNA of suspense, and Tess Callahan braids loss, longing, romance and violence into a tense, gratifying narrative." Sven Birkerts, author of Reading Life: Books for the Ages

A devastating tragedy serves to reunite two friends from childhood, in this emotionally compelling and sexually charged first novel from an exciting new voice in fiction. 336 p.

A painter, teacher and mother of twins, Tess Callahan has written for the New York Times magazine, Cottonwood, The Stylus Anthology: 1950-2000, the Boston College magazine, New York Newsday and elsewhere. April & Oliver is her first novel.

Read an exclusive essay by Tess Callahan