I received a free copy of Never Meant to Meet You by Alli Frank from TLC Book Tours. All opinions are my own.
About Never Meant To Meet You:
Self-appointed fixer of other people’s woes Marjette Lewis is uncharacteristically determined to keep to her side of the driveway when it comes to her flawless neighbor Noa Abrams. Professionally, Marjette has her hands full as she prepares for a new class of kindergarteners and her first year of teaching without her best friend, Judy, as campus “Black-up.” And at home, her son’s budding manhood challenges her expectations, and her vexing ex-husband continues to be a thorn in her side.
But when tragedy strikes Marjette’s street, and an unexpected child shows up on the first day of school with an uncle who has all the class moms aflutter, Marjette is forced to contend with both her neighbor and her own heartache over losing the life she once thought was guaranteed. Through laughter, tears, and the gift of found family, Marjette and Noa navigate the rituals of loss together and discover the strength to remake their lives—whether they meant to or not.
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You can purchase Never Meant to Meet You on Amazon.com
About the Authors:
Asha Youmans was raised in Seattle, WA, by an educational and civil right pioneer father and a children’s hospital administrator mother, along with a sister and a brother she admires and adores.
As a child, Asha was a member of a two-time city champions Double Dutch team, among the first wave of girls to integrate Little League baseball and rode a unicycle, tumbled and juggled as a member of a traveling circus acrobatics team. She also read everything she could get her hands on from X-Men comic books to the “Clan of the Cave Bear” series to Camus.
Enrolled in gifted programs while attending public school, Asha went on to graduate from one of America’s premier private academies, Lakeside School, from which her father, TJ Vassar, earned a diploma as the school’s first black graduate. After receiving a degree from the University of California, Berkeley, Asha returned to Seattle where she taught in public and private schools for nearly 20 years.
Asha is a fabulous home cook who loves storytelling and connecting with others by making them smile. She lives with her white husband, two ethnically ambiguous sons, and a dog that is part Yorkie and part who-the-heck-knows. This is her first book.
Alli Frank: The robustness of a farm girl, the honed sophistication of a city woman, a dash of Jewish chutzpah, and a heaping cup of endurance athlete and voila, you have Alli Frank.
Alli was raised in Yakima, WA, the only child of two parents who instilled in her that hard work coupled with a resilient spirit will take you where you want to go. So up some of the highest mountains Alli climbed, down insanely steep terrain she skied and across long swathes of land she ran. To pay for all this adventure, Alli has worked in education for over 20 years in San Francisco and Seattle – from an overcrowded, cacophonous public high school to a pristine private girl’s school.
She has been a teacher, curriculum leader, coach, college counselor, assistant head, private school co-founder, sometimes pastor, often mayor, and de facto parent therapist. A graduate of Cornell and Stanford Universities, Alli can still be found with her nose deep in a book or hunkered down at the movies, never one to miss a great story.
Alli lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband, two daughters and terribly cute mini-Bernedoodle. When she needs good food (cause she can’t really cook) she turns to her co-author Asha Youmans.
My Opinion:
Never Meant to Meet You is a change from my usual historical fiction books and I must say that it was rather enjoyable. What you have is a story of women and how friendships can develop.
Marjette and Noa are an unlikely pair to forge a bond of friendship but they do, finding that they have far more in common than they could have ever thought. As they navigate the changes in their lives they will be glad for the other to be there even though it was never expected to be.
This is a book that surprises with the fun characters and fascinating story featuring themes that impact us all….love, loss, betrayal and friendship.
Rating:
4.5
