Just Jennifer

The From-Aways by CJ Hauser (William Morrow, May 2014)

Leah has left the comforts of her home in New York City and has followed, even encouraged, her husband Henry back to his hometown of Menamon, Maine where his family has lived, and where his sister still lives, for generations.  Leah leaves her job as a reporter for a big city daily with hopes of getting something at a local paper, maybe even uncovering a scoop that will set the town on its ear; Henry’s sister Charley is the editor of the local paper, is clearly not as enchanted with Leah as Henry, but agrees to give her a chance.  Already writing for the paper is Quinn, who has also drifted into Menamon with the purpose of looking for the father she never knew after the death of her mother; Quinn is also looking for a big story and together, the two women might just summon enough energy between the two of them to find the story that has touched most residents of Menamon, mostly not for the better, a story that will end in a way no one can see coming, an end that has irrevocable consequences for everyone involved.  Though Leah and Quinn are from as different of backgrounds as they can be, they are more alike than either would guess; they are both adrift, looking for something, hoping, expecting even, to find it through love and roots in a place that isn’t their own, a place they would like to make their own, but may not be interested in them.  Full of love, laughter, fear and tears, The From-Aways is a story of friendship, a story of love and marriage, and a story of expectations, ours of others, others of ours and ours of ourselves, but above all, it is a story of two women searching for something and finding it in a place called Menamon.