Whatever It Takes by Jessica Pack -- Review

About the Book

Sienna has no memory of her late mother, yet every significant day of her life—birthdays, the first day of high school, graduation—has been marked by a letter written during her last weeks of life. Sienna knows her father feels grateful to be able to offer up these connections to the loving, talented woman his daughter never got a chance to know. Yet for Sienna herself, the letters have become a dreaded burden, a reminder that every milestone is less than it would be if both parents were still living.

A month before her twenty-fifth birthday, Sienna finds a lump. Facing a cancer dignosis, Sienna begins to ask questions about her mother’s terminal illness—questions that reveal unsettling inconsistencies and voids in the stories she’s been told. The deeper she digs, the more the image of her mother as a contented homemaker warps into something much darker and far more troubling. If Sienna’s dad lied about this, what else did he lie about?

What does it mean to be a good parent? What role does the past play in who we are? And to what lengths should one go to protect a child? Like the best of Jodi Picoult, Whatever It Takes delves into these fascinating questions of family and identity with power, insight, and love.​

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About the Author

Jessica Pack is a pseudonym for Josi Kilpack, author of twenty-six novels--including the twelve-volume Sadie Hoffmiller culinary mystery serie.  A four time Whitney award winner, including Novel of the Year, she is a recipient of the Utah Best in the State for fiction.  She lives in Norhtern Utah with her husband and their four children.

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Review

Whatever it Takes by Jessica Pack is a tragically beautiful story about a young women trying to find her place in life.  It’s about a family that is built upon love, but also lies.  Lies used to protect.  It’s about a journey to find a birth mother, discovering truths, and learning to still love and forgive.  This story is inspiring and heart-wrenching all at the same time.  It is filled with the hard pieces of life and full of strong emotions.  Readers will be hurt and touched as they fall into this story and come to know and love its characters.
 
Genre: contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Kensington
Publication date: May 28, 2019
Number of pages: 352
 
A review copy of this book was provided by the author via her street team.  A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.