The House We Grew Up in - Hardcover

Jewell, Lisa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1476702993 ISBN 13: 9781476702995

Publisher: Atria Books, 2014

Synopsis

“Clever, intelligent...wonderful” (Jojo Moyes, New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You).

Meet the Bird family. They live in a simple brick house in a picture-perfect Cotswolds village, with rambling, unkempt gardens stretching just beyond. Pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and tow-headed twins Rory and Rhys all attend the village school and eat home-cooked meals together each night. Everybody in town gushes over the two girls, who share their mother’s apple cheeks and wide smiles. Of the boys, lively, adventurous Rory can stir up trouble, moving through life more easily than little Rhys, his slighter, more sensitive counterpart. Their father is a sweet gangly man, but it’s their mother, Lorelei, a beautiful free spirit with long flowing hair and eyes full of wonder, who spins at the center.

Time flies in those early years when the kids are still young. Lorelei knows that more than anyone, doing her part to freeze time by protecting the precious mementos she collects, filling the house with them day by day. Easter egg foils are her favorite. Craft supplies, too. She insists on hanging every single piece of art ever produced by any of the children, to her husband’s chagrin.

Then one Easter weekend, tragedy occurs. The event is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass and the children have become adults, found new relationships, and, in Meg's case, created families of their own. Lorelei has become the county’s worst hoarder. She has alienated her husband, her children, and has been living as a recluse for six years. It seems as though they’d never been The Bird Family at all, as if loyalty were never on the table. But then something happens that calls them home, back to the house they grew up in—and to what really happened that Easter weekend so many years ago.

Delving deeply into the hearts and minds of its characters, The House We Grew Up In is the gripping story of a family’s desire to restore long-forgotten peace and to unearth the many secrets hidden within the nooks and crannies of home.

About this title

Review:

"Clever, intelligent and believable on a subject few of us really understand. Lorrie is one of the most vivid - and complex - characters I've read in years. Wonderful." (Jojo Moyes)

"Simply stunning." (Daily Mail)

"Poignant, heart-wrenching & beautifully told, the author's best tale yet." (The Sun)

"Compelling... possibly the author’s best yet... An intensely moving study of grief and family relationships, this is also a fantastically gripping story with a couple of powerful shocks." (Hello!)

"Beautifully written." (Heat)

Book Description:

The unforgettable story about a family with a secret at its core, from Top Ten bestseller Lisa Jewell, author of Ralph's Party, The Making of Us and Before I Met You.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atria Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1476702993
• ISBN 13: 9781476702995
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 388