A Year to the Day - by Robin Benway

Book Synopsis

National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Robin Benway returns with a story of love, loss, and sisterhood reminiscent of I'll Give You the Sun and Every Day. Told in reverse chronological order, A Year to the Day will claim a permanent home in your heart.

IT'S BEEN A YEAR--A YEAR OF MISSING NINA

Leo can't remember what happened the night of the accident. All she knows is that she left the party with her older sister, Nina, and Nina's boyfriend, East. And now Nina is dead, killed by a drunk driver and leaving Leo with a hole inside her that's impossible to fill.

East, who loved Nina almost as much as Leo did, is the person who seems to most understand how she feels, and the two form a friendship based on their shared grief. But as she struggles to remember what happened, Leo discovers that East remembers every detail of the accident--and he won't tell her anything about it. In fact, he refuses to talk about that night at all.

As the days tumble one into the next, Leo's story comes together while her world falls apart. How can she move on if she never knows what really happened that night? And is happiness even possible in a world without Nina?

Review Quotes

"Far from the Tree dives deep into themes of heartbreak and love, and presents a profound, emotional meditation on what it means to be family."
--Brightly

"Far from the Tree is a touching story about the strength and love of unconventional families, and the unbreakable bond of siblings near and far. Robin Benway's characters are authentically crafted, full of heart, hurt, and hope."
--Brandy Colbert, author of Pointe and Little & Lion


"Far from the Tree is the kind of book that strikes close to a reader's heart. I had to know what happened to Grace, Maya, and Joaquin, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Beautiful."
--Ally Condie, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of the Matched trilogy


"A beautifully written story about the families we're born with and the families we choose, as well as the power -- and potential pain -- of that choice."
--Bustle

"A brilliant exercise in empathy."
--New York Times Book Review

"A deeply moving novel...The trials the three teens face are always confronted directly and never diminished; their relationships, both new and old, are complicated and beautiful."
--Shelf Awareness

"A sensitive exploration of what it means to be a family...With an abundance of warmth and humor, the novel continues to circle back to the message that love doesn't require perfection -- that perhaps it reveals itself most fully when we don't quite get it right, but keep trying."
--Chicago Tribune

"Benway adeptly leads readers through a tale of love, loss, and self-discovery. Expect to cry real tears at this one."
--School Library Journal

"Equally heartwarming and heart-wrenching... Benway (Emmy & Oliver) delves into the souls of these characters as they wrestle to overcome feelings of inadequacy, abandonment, and betrayal, gradually coming to understand themselves and each other."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for Far From the Tree: "Family issues are neither airbrushed nor oversimplified. From the first page to the last, this compassionate, funny, moving, compulsively readable novel about what makes a family gets it right."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)