User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
What will you do if you’re in those characters’ shoes? I probably got the shoe off and started to run away as soon as reading the dilemmas they have to deal with! This is massive, powerful, soul shaking, thought provoking story!
Lately I start to read so many stories about finding your siblings via ancestry websites. Most of them were thrillers and one of the sisters turns out to mad person to avenge the other one kind of premise mostly irritated me.
But thankfully this book’s genre is not a thriller.
The formulation to bring two sisters together may remind us of the other stories but we sense Jodi Picoult’s My sister’s keeper kind of dramatic, emotional vibes which also presents us a mind blowing, realistic story with well-crafted, easily relatable characters.
We have two protagonists who are also narrators of the story.
One of them is Caroline who seems like having it all: a marriage that makes everyone jealous around here, three feisty kids, a successful career. When you google happiness, her photo appears on your screen. But nothing as it seems and our other POV belongs to Sela who tries to gather crumbling pieces of her own life. She already lost her mother and best friend. Her marriage fails and she’s suffering from kidney disease now she’s at the risk to lose her two years old son. She needs a donor to save her life which creates the biggest predicament between sisters.
Sela needs Caroline’s help because she can be a probable donor match but will Caroline accept to help her stepsister?
Before passing the spoiler territory, I stuffed my mouth with spicy Doritos and I’m screaming in pain because it’s way too much spicy than I expected and but thankfully I prevented a possible blurting out. ( only thing I blurted out from my nose is huge piece of extra spicy chip!)
I have to admit not only two protagonists but also the supporting characters’ dilemmas regarding to the situations they’re dealing with making you think a lot because each one of them are right when you listen to their side of the story. You cannot get angry any of them because each of the characters look at the matters from different perspectives and you learn to respect their decisions.
The author did a marvelous job by picking up a sensitive: life and death situation and her skilled, impeccable writing style hooks you up. You start to question your own realities and think what you would do if you were in the same situation.
It’s truly moving, heart wrenching and provocative story. And the stunning part about this book, the characters still stay in your head. I’m so sure at least one more week I’ll keep thinking about them.
Of course this means I’m rounding up my 4.5 stars to 5!
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this remarkable ARC copy in exchange my honest thoughts.
Rating: really liked it
I was thrilled to receive a Publisher’s invitation to read a VERY early copy of this book as Jessica Strawser writes terrific Contemporary Fiction, and this book is no exception!
This will be perfect for your BOOK CLUB to read and discuss, and it just published TODAY!
Walt surprises his wife, Caroline, and her parents with what he thinks will be a unique and fun Christmas gift-sending in their DNA samples to see what they will find!
What they find is a half sister that nobody knew about!
Oops! Guess that skeleton isn’t staying in the closet!
Caroline’s half sister is Sela...a single mother to two year old Brody.
She is also a woman in need of a kidney transplant.
But, how do you make the “BIG ASK”, to a half sister you have only just met?!
The book begins slowly, with a lot of introspection by Caroline, as one would expect when you are considering such a big decision, on top of such shocking news.
And, everyone has an opinion.
We hear from both sisters, in alternating chapters, and each woman is thoughtful as they navigate this new relationship.
I felt their nerves, in the sometimes awkward conversations!
Each new revelation seemed to lead to another.
As Sela’s disease progresses, I learned a lot about the process of Kidney donation-
Sometimes through Sela’s wonderful nurse, Janie.
Sometimes through Caroline’s investigation into the process.
You may think you know exactly where this book is going but TRUST me, you DON’T!
An altruistic donor is someone who was willing to donate a kidney but isn’t a match for the person asking-but they donate anyway. It starts a kidney donor chain, creating endless recipient-donor pairings, with the person they were willing to donate to-receiving a kidney from someone else who is a match for them-because of the kidney that was donated on their behalf.
Imagine if this book inspires some Altruistic donations!
How wonderful would that be? 🥰
Another thought provoking buddy read with DeAnn!
Be sure to check out her wonderful review, as well!!
Rating: really liked it
I could give you A Million Reasons Why this didn’t work for me but I’d rather keep this review short and sweet.A simple DNA test just for fun. Then the results came back. Caroline and her family are positively stunned by what they discover. Results show she has a half-sister that no one wants to acknowledge. But Caroline must know the truth and is determined to reach out.
Coincidentally, Sela had her own reasons for submitting a DNA test. One that should she find blood relatives may save her life. You see, Sela needs a kidney!
I’m all about suspending believability for a good read. But wow, this was just asking too much. As an RN maybe my medical knowledge worked against me but the behavior and actions of the transplant team and everyone else involved just put me over the edge.
I’ve enjoyed books by this author in the past and will once again be reaching for her next. Hoping this was just an exception to the rule.
A buddy read with Susanne that left us both disappointed.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press
Rating: really liked it
A Million Reasons Why was a sad story but a believable one. With the help of a DNA kit, Sela is able to locate her half-sibling, Caroline. Sela is in need of help. She has chronic kidney failure. She feels tired, unable to do much exercise and sometimes feels like she can't take care of her child. Her best friend and her ex-husband are pushing her to do the Big Ask. To ask her half-sibling whom she has never met for a kidney. Sela feels conflicted but she also wants to live.
Caroline had no clue that her husband's Christmas gift to her family was going to be the one responsible for creating chaos. Caroline's world implodes when Sela's email arrives. She is shocked, to say the least. She can't believe that one of her parents was not faithful. It shocks her to her core. Worse, she and Sela are almost the same age.
Sela's email also opens old wounds for Caroline. Sela lives in the town Caroline thought about moving to with her boyfriend, Keaton many years ago. When a job doesn't pan out, Keaton breaks her heart without a good explanation. Yes, she is now married to Walter, she has three children and Walt is attentive, sweet and a great dad but Caroline still thinks about what it could have been.
The road for Sela and Caroline is not an easy one. So many secrets affecting them all. Some are hard to forget and to forgive but can they find a way to do so?
A Million Reasons Why was a well-written and well-developed novel. I was rooting for both sisters to find a way to each other and also I really wanted Sela to get a new kidney. At times, I felt like Caroline had it all and Sela was due for something good to happen to her. I was not happy with the decisions taken by Caroline's parents but I guess, it works in the end.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Rating: really liked it
2.5 stars. Couldn’t buy into it.
Caroline’s husband purchases DNA testing kits for the extended family as a Christmas present. They are shocked by the results which lead to the unraveling of several long hidden family secrets.
This is a thought-provoking read that will ask you many tough questions. I enjoyed being challenged in my thinking and putting myself in the characters shoes to analyze my thoughts and feelings. I learned a lot about chronic kidney disease which I thought the author did a respectful and informative job presenting.
Unfortunately, right from the start I had believability issues with the plot and my doubts continued throughout. I liked the idea of the story but the execution didn’t work for me. I just couldn’t buy into it and much of it felt predictable. The dialogue and characters actions didn’t ring true to me which prevented me from feeling invested and engaged. I felt there was some unnecessary plot detail which made the novel drag at times. This family had so many buried secrets that it became far too dramatic, especially near the end. Overall, it was just too much for me. This is my first book by this author. I have a couple of her other books on my shelves that I’d like to try out to see if perhaps this was a one-off. Please read the many raving reviews, as I know I’m the outlier on this one.
Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for my review copy!
Rating: really liked it
DNA tests in books seem to be all the rage and I get it, with all the sites where you can send in a swab to discover or learn more about your ancestry, which countries you are from, etc. DNA tests can bring people together, even help you find a sibling you did not know you had!
Caroline is married with three children. She is close with her parents and in-laws.
Sela is divorced and suffering from Kidney failure. Her mother has passed away and while she is still grieving, she needs to find a donor. She has learned that Caroline is her half-sister....
What would you do if you learned you have a sibling close to your age? What if you learned that your parents are not perfect? Will you image of them change? What would you risk for someone you just met? What would you do if you were either woman? How would you feel if your world were turned upside down? What makes a family? What sacrifices are you willing to make for your family?
There are quite a few surprises in this book. Also, a lot of "what's as in what would you do or what- ifs?” Also, plenty of secrets and denial to keep piling on the drama - and there is a lot of family drama! As you know there is no drama like family drama. This book gives new meaning to the term "save that drama for your mamma." As the secrets come out, characters in this book must take a long hard look at themselves, those he/she loves, and things he/she thought was the truth and examine his/her life choices. Who will you root for? Will you feel for each character or just certain ones?
You will also learn some about kidney donations, asking for help, not wanting help, and the stain of stress on individuals. Organ donation, we are asked if we want to be organ donors when we get a driver’s license, that is an easy yes or no and something that will happen in the event of death. But ask yourself, would you donate an organ now, today, to a family member? Would you donate an organ to a stranger? That is a BIG decision. This part was very thought provoking for me.
There are a lot of themes in this book - love, marriage, infidelity, missed opportunities, loneliness, chronic disease, regret, secrets, deception, motherhood, friendship, choices, and family. I was all over the place on how I felt about certain characters while reading this. This would make a really good book club book as there is a lot to discuss.
I found this to be an enjoyable thought-provoking book.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Rating: really liked it
What I loved most about this book is there's so much going on in the story that you can't help but ask yourself, what would I do if I was this character? How would I handle this situation? So many dilemmas to ponder which made for an intriguing read.
Caroline is married with three young children. After submitting her DNA sample to an ancestry site, she is caught off guard when a woman named Sela contacts her claiming they are half-sisters. So, that bombshell rocks Caroline's world. Sela also has something else she is debating about telling Caroline. You see, Sela needs a kidney transplant and because they are related, Caroline might very well be a match. Not really the easiest favor to ask of someone you barely know, right? The story alternates between the perspectives of Caroline and Sela.
This certainly is a story full of dilemmas. Every character in the book, not just Caroline and Sela, are faced with really tough decisions. This book would be great for a book club discussion because there is so much to debate and maybe even judge regarding actions of the different characters.
It's always challenging to write a review when the bulk of what you want to write about is basically spoiler territory. I will keep my mouth shut and just say if the premise sounds interesting to you, definitely check this book out. There is also so much more to the story than you might expect which is an added bonus.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: really liked it
*Outlier Alert!* A Domestic Drama with more twists and turns than the Indy 500!When a mail-in DNA test reveals that Caroline has a half sibling, she and the rest of her family are left reeling. While Caroline is curious about her half sister, no one else in her family wants to meet her.
For Sela, the results of the DNA test give her hope, for she is in kidney failure and desperately needs a donor. Following a separation from her husband and the premature birth of her son, Sela is scared.
When the lives of these two women become enmeshed, their lives as well as the lives of everyone around them will be altered forever. As it turns out, nothing is as it seems.
Upon finishing this novel, my first thought was that the author threw in everything but the kitchen sink: Tricks wrapped in Secrets, wrapped in Lies, leaving no one unscathed and then I thought of the title of this book: “A Million Reasons Why” and in the end, that summed it up perfectly for me. I found this book to be completely and wholly implausible because of how far-fetched it was and therefore, found A Million Reasons Why it wasn’t for me.To date I have read all of Jessica Strawser’s novels and really liked both “Almost Missed You” and “Not That I Could Tell.” While this book wasn’t my favorite I look forward to seeing what this author comes out with next.
This was a buddy read with Kaceey!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Jessica Strawser for the arc.
Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 11.8.20.
Rating: really liked it
"A Million Reasons Why" by Jessica Strawser is Women's Fiction with touches of Suspense!
When results from a DNA test and secrets from her parents past are brought to light, it causes everything Caroline thought she knew about her family to shift. For Sela, the half-sister Caroline never knew existed, it means hope for a life that would stop tumbling down around her.
As these two strangers learn what it means to become sisters, there is a tight-rope of fear and mistrust that lingers between them. Will well-meaning friends and family, attempting to protect them, hinder their relationship, or will their own secrets from the past cause a break before their bonding has a chance to begin?
This is the second book I've read by this author and I found it to be just as immersive as The Next Thing You Know. This author writes Women's Fiction the way I enjoy reading it, with deep emotion, passion, and a hint of suspense sprinkled in that gives occasional twists through the story.
The backstories of this family's journey are compelling with alternating highs and lows between the two main characters. When the twists surface, they feel unexpected and hit at just the right times to keep you reading, wondering, and wanting more. They also add depth to both the characters and the story overall.
I listened to the audiobook with two narrators, Cassandra Campbell and Natalie Naudus, which lends a unique voice to each of the two main characters. The voicing from both narrators' is top notch.
I highly recommend this book, and author, to readers who enjoy Women's Fiction with a little something extra in the writing. I ordered her debut novel Almost Missed You and thought I'd try a print copy, rather than an audiobook, this time to compare the two formats. Can't wait!
Rating: really liked it
I found this to be just an okay read. The premise is intriguing, especially because a member of my family has just been "found" through a DNA test, she donated eggs 20 years ago and has been contacted by a biological child that resulted from that donation. Since this was fresh in my mind, I was drawn to the story.
While overall, it was decently intriguing to see the family dynamics and interplay of how the news affects everyone involved, I thought that the drama was so amazingly drawn out and got a bit irritating after a while. The inner musing and pondering and debating just got tedious.
I didn't really connect with any of the characters either. I thought that Caroline was holding onto what happened in the past way too tightly, and if shouldn't have affected her life so much. And I thought the twist involving Sela was odd.
I like this author and think that she comes up with some fascinating premises for her books, so I will continue to read them and see what she comes up with. This wasn't a bad read, but it was so much longer than it needed to be for the story to play out.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
I was so excited to read another Strawser novel that this skipped the line in front of books that are coming out earlier. And she delivered. Though this is women’s fiction, there are also tantalizing mysteries within.
Caroline gets an email from a woman claiming to be her half-sister. Caroline had done genetic testing for her family on a lark—she will learn that Sela’s motivations were very different.
The email sets off a reaction in which Caroline learns painful truths about her past at the same time Sela is battling kidney disease. Caroline has a husband and three kids and parents that until recently she got along with. None of them is excited for Caroline, who grew up as an only child, to meet her sister. But meeting turns out to be a good thing for both women.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES MARCH 23, 2021.
Rating: really liked it
“Some opinions, you keep to yourself when someone you love is involved. Kind lies.”
There may not have been *
a million reasons why* I was eager to get my hands on this book or even a few. There was one simple truth, Jessica Strawser pens compelling fiction. Making her newest release a highly anticipated read and an effortless grab after a months-long reading hiatus. Hello, new motherhood.
Unfortunately, my experience with this novel served as yet another reminder that picking up a favorite author’s newest work and finding greatness is never a foregone conclusion.
The entire framework of
A Million Reasons Why is shared within the front flap of the novel’s dust jacket, so none of what I’m about to share can be construed as a spoiler. The experience is more about the emotionality the author attempts to sell along the way, rather than the often predictable happenings fed by the nature of the storyline itself and the overly generous synopsis. Or a character study, if you will.
Within the pages of this novel lives two women with vastly different lives. Strangers brought together by the results of a mail-in DNA test and one very important who. Caroline and Sela are half-sisters, a product of their father’s long-ago infidelity.
For Caroline, the harmless gift idea her husband came up with for her close-knit family brings forth jarring revelations. Opening her eyes not only to the reality of her parent’s seemingly perfect relationship but also her own. Sparking an immature revisit of what might have been.
Sela, on the other hand, growing up without a father, now motherless, recently divorced, and battling kidney failure, views the test as little more than a way to appease those urging her to do the “big ask” and possibly identify a donor.
What neither Caroline nor Sela foresees is their ability to embrace sisterhood so easily. Yet, the storyline isn’t without flaws.
Overly wordy and internal dialogue-centric makes for tedious page-turning. An existence that feels like little more than a page suck at times, given some of Caroline and Sela's incessant musings and rehashing of the past never evolve into anything of importance. Absent from the pages, the one relationship that should have garnered significant page time, that of Caroline and Sela's mothers.
The biggest downfall by a long shot, the jarring revelation. I wholeheartedly agree, this slow-moving character study needed a bold moment to break up the monotony. However, what transpires feels like one step too far in the wrong direction. Borderline cringeworthy even.
Overall, I found Strawser’s fourth novel to be predictable women’s fiction punctuated with a regrettable twist.
*Thank you to St. Martin's Press for gifting a copy in exchange for the honest thoughts I shared here.
Rating: really liked it
I poured my heart into this next book, a story of half-sisters linked through a DNA test and swept into a tangle of moral dilemmas. It's a bit of a shift for me, and a long time coming. I hope these characters will speak to all of you the way they've spoken to me.
Rating: really liked it
I’m grateful I’ve had some time to catch up on books I’ve really been wanting to read, like this one from Jessica Strasser that published back in March. I’ve read all of Strawser’s books and am already eager for her newest, The Next Thing You Know, arriving in 2022.
If you haven’t tried her books yet, I would categorize them as suspenseful contemporary with a side of juicy and tense drama.
A Million Reasons Why is about two strangers who take a mail-in DNA test that links them. They find out they are sisters. One is thrilled; the other’s world is completely rocked. Like it or not, they are now sisters and have to decide what that means together.
One sister, Caroline, is living the perfect, happy life with her family, while Sela is seeking a donor match due to advanced kidney disease. Her life and her son’s livelihood depend on her finding a match. You can probably see where this is going with two sisters finding one another; but the road they take after they find each other is uncharted and surprising.
Overall, A Million Reasons Why is an emotional and thought-provoking story of what makes a family, secrets, motherhood, and ultimately, perhaps, (hopefully) forgiveness.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Rating: really liked it
What if....? What if I found out my dad had an affair while my mom was pregnant with me?
What if I found out I had a half-sister as a result?
What if I I found out my only sibling was dying from end-stage kidney failure?
What if I found out I was a match and could donate a kidney to save her life?
Ultimately, A Million Reasons Why, is a book of "what ifs," and while it's vaguely intriguing (and a lot thought-provoking), I also found the internal dialogue a little too long-winded and philosophical. Add to that the completely unprofessional behavior of the renal nurses, which is not only implausible, but would also result in employment termination...and I ultimately found this novel to be average, at best.
The whole story involving Keaton seemed unnecessary, and frankly, a little unbelievable (what are the chances Caroline would choose to live in the one American town where her unknown half-sister lived?)
I would probably only recommend this book if you literally have nothing else to read.
2.5 starsAvailable March 23, 2021My sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my review copy.
