This used to be us: a novel

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
The Dial Press
Publication Date
2024.
Language
English

Description

There are two sides to every love story—and every breakup. Get ready for an emotional roller coaster of family, marriage, and divorce that will have you both laughing and crying, from the bestselling author of Before We Were Strangers. “Hilarious, unnervingly relatable, romantic, and heartbreaking in the best way.”—Julia Stiles “This book is a gut-punch to the feels.”—Karina Halle, New York Times bestselling authorAfter twenty-two years together, Danielle and Alex are getting a divorce. Once fiercely in love, they can barely stand the sound of each other’s voice. Instead of shuttling the kids between two broken homes, Alex and Dani decide to share a nesting apartment while swapping days with their two teenage boys at the family home.In the apartment, Dani and Alex, on their own, begin to reflect on the last two decades—why they fell in love and why the marriage fell, spectacularly, apart. With the newfound space and time, they are given a chance to rediscover their autonomous selves again. They both get back in the dating pool. Dani finds major success at work as a showrunner on her own TV project, while Alex faces the challenges of a new relationship.Still, they find that they just can’t stay away from each other, and somehow, the distance allows them to remember (for the first time in years) what each used to love about the other. When a family crisis draws them back into each other’s orbit, Dani and Alex are once again put to the test, which leads to a dramatic conclusion that will have readers weeping.

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ISBN
9780593729281

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Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Carlino (The Last Post, 2019) has written an exquisite novel about love and the pain that comes with divorce and loss. Dani and Alex were madly in love--until they weren't. Told from alternating perspectives, the novel allows Dani and Alex to explain exactly how they despise each other in their own words. With two teenage boys in the mix, these characters don't walk into divorce lightly. Sharing custody, they decide to have a nesting apartment so as not to disrupt their sons' lives, and they switch off living in their house and taking care of the boys. Dani brings her extensive record collection to the apartment, where she writes memories on the album covers. During their time at the apartment, both Dani and Alex listen to the records, read Dani's memories, and are transported back to a time when they were falling in love. However, their rekindled love is cut short by some devastating news. This heartbreaking novel will have Tracey Garvis Graves' readers hanging on every word.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

Carlino (The Last Post, 2019) has written an exquisite novel about love and the pain that comes with divorce and loss. Dani and Alex were madly in love—until they weren't. Told from alternating perspectives, the novel allows Dani and Alex to explain exactly how they despise each other in their own words. With two teenage boys in the mix, these characters don't walk into divorce lightly. Sharing custody, they decide to have a nesting apartment so as not to disrupt their sons' lives, and they switch off living in their house and taking care of the boys. Dani brings her extensive record collection to the apartment, where she writes memories on the album covers. During their time at the apartment, both Dani and Alex listen to the records, read Dani's memories, and are transported back to a time when they were falling in love. However, their rekindled love is cut short by some devastating news. This heartbreaking novel will have Tracey Garvis Graves' readers hanging on every word. Copyright 2024 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2024 Booklist Reviews.
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