Review THE HOW & THE WHY by Cynthia Hand @CynthiaHand @HarperTeen

I received this book at no cost from the publisher

The How and the Why by Cynthia Hand
ISBN: 0062693166
Published by HarperTeen on November 5, 2019
Pages: 464
Source: Publisher
Goodreads

Imprint: HarperTeen (November 5, 2019)
On Sale: 11/05/2019
Pages: 464
List Price: 17.99 USD Age: 13+
ISBN: 9780062693167
ISBN 10: 0062693166

Praise for THE HOW & THE WHY

“The novel’s great strength is the emotional depth of its characters and the complexity of their relationships. A heartfelt and hopeful story about coming of age as an adoptee.” ―School Library Journal

“Hand explores adoption’s multiple dimensions with great insight and sensitivity. Inclusive and illustrative: an engaging lesson in timeless family values.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Cynthia Hand is the master of pulling at your heartstrings. The How & the Why tells both sides of an adoption story with love, compassion, and care. You’ll be reaching for your tissue box with this one — if you can stop turning pages long enough, that is.” ―Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times Bestselling Author of Letters to the Lost

“Beautifully rendered and superbly shaped. Hand has crafted an absorbing novel that focuses on family, friendship, teen pregnancy, adoption, personal choices, and serious health issues. Give this exquisite novel to readers seeking an emotionally intricate story.” ―Booklist (starred review)

A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, perfect for fans of Far From the Tree, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand.

Today Melly had us writing letters to our babies…

Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for. They’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs—except maybe the one thing she wants. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions her adoptive parents can’t answer, no matter how much they love her.

But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for.

Alternating between Cass’s search for answers and letters from the pregnant teen who gave her up for adoption, this voice-driven narrative is the perfect read for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson.

REVIEW

ALL THE FEELS.

What a gorgeous and heartfelt story about adoption, family, and friendship. Cynthia Hand has always been one of my favorite authors and I have waited patiently for this latest one and I wasn’t disappointed. This story is told in alternating voices between Cassandra, now 18 and a senior in high school paired with her birth mother, S at age 16. At her side is her best friend Nyla, who was adopted at age 3 from Liberia so the two share a lot in common. The story is based on Hand’s own search for her birth mother. It is written with such love and emotion that you won’t be able to forget this story quickly. While the story is so true to life, there are some helpful coincidences that take place but are necessary to move the plot forward.

Photo Content from Cynthia Hand

Cynthia Hand is the New York Times bestselling author of several books for teens, including the UNEARTHLY trilogy, THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE, MY LADY JANE and MY PLAIN JANE (with fellow authors Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows), THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE, and the upcoming novel THE HOW AND THE WHY (Fall 2019). Before turning to writing for young adults, she studied literary fiction and earned both an M.F.A. and a Ph.D. in fiction writing. She currently resides in Boise, Idaho, with a husband who’s addicted to typewriters, two kids, two cats, one crazy dog, and a entourage of imaginary friends.

INTERVIEW

What is on your nightstand?

Refuge, by Alan Gratz, which I am reading to my kids, A Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson, which I just finished and was so good it gave me goosebumps, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, which I am reading for my book club this month and is totally freaking me out, and the big fat tome, Mary, Queen of Scots by John Guy, which I am reading to research on our latest Jane book.

What author would you totally fan?

Laurie Halse Anderson. I have fangirled all over her twice, as it happens. I was at Calvacade of Authors West with her last spring and watched her go through an exhausting day with hundreds of high school students, and then take about an hour after the event was done taking pictures with the other authors at the event, who of course were all such huge fans of hers, too. She was so generous and super gracious that it made me love her even more.

What makes you cringe?

People being unkind or catty to each other. That’s the worst. We live in a time where it is so easy to be unkind to people without having to see their hurt in person, and I hate that.

Do you obsessively plot out each point or just go with the flow?

I do a bit of a combination of those things. I generally have a basic idea of the shape of the story. I know the beginning, a few points in the middle, and how it ends. But then I give my characters the freedom to do what they’re going to do, and so often that ends up taking the story in directions that I never could have foreseen. It’s a mysterious, magical process.

Is there a word you love to use?

Quintessential. For some reason I love this word, but I don’t use it very often.

I also love ephemeral. I used that a bit when I was writing the Unearthly series, which has so much philosophical discussion of life and death, but I haven’t used it much since then.

Also, if you have any pictures of your pet you would like to share, please attach them. My readers love animals!

Yes! We have a ton of pets in this house: one crazy but sweet Golden Irish named Poesy, two Italian mobster cats, Frank and Stella, and one beautiful beta named Max, who we only realized months after naming him that he is BETTA-MAX.