Thank you all for your comments on this post! The giveaway is now closed and by random selection, the winner of the giveaway copy of this book is Sydnee Crissman. Congratulations, Sydnee!!
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane was one of my favorite reads of the summer, if not the entire year. I had the opportunity to go hear Mary Beth speak about this book at Politics and Prose, a bookstore in the DC area a few weeks ago.
My husband noticed in the Washington Post that this author was going to be at this favorite bookstore of mine on a Sunday morning and I immediately started making plans to attend the event.
I loved hearing Mary Beth Keane speak about this book, her writing process, and her personal connection to the story that is told within the pages of Ask Again, Yes. I was able to ask her a question about how she was able to write her characters in such a real way and her research process. I enjoyed hearing her answers to this question along with the others she was asked during this event.
I received Ask Again, Yes as my June Book of the Month selection. I devoured it during every break I took while unpacking our house and settling into our new home. I also wanted to support Politics and Prose bookstore, so I purchased an additional copy for Mary Beth Keane to sign. I am giving away my first copy of the book at the end of this post, but first, let’s talk about this gripping book.
Short & Sweet Summary:
Ask Again, Yes is the story of two neighboring families in a suburban town, how their lives intersect and a tragedy that devastates both of them for the rest of their lives. Two rookie cops in the NYPD, Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, live next door to each other. Their children, born just six months apart, form a lifelong friendship that ends up blossoming into a deep and enduring love. The book follows these two families through four decades of struggle.
Themes Addressed:
Ask Again, Yes addresses the themes of mental health, alcoholism, marriage, everyday ordinary family struggles, friendship, overcoming regrets and offering forgiveness.
What I Loved Most:
There is so much to love about this story, but the thing that I loved the most was the character development and the way the author was able to believably tell this story from several realistic points of view. The was able to honestly relate the struggles of both Peter and his mother, Anne. The characters and their internal struggles were raw and sometimes hit very close to home for me.
Favorite Quote:
And then he saw what he’d never seen before, which was that Peter was fine. And Kate was fine. Lena was fine. And he, Francis Gleeson, was fine. And that all the things that had happened in their lives had not hurt them in any essential way, despite what they may have believed at times. He had not lost anything: he’d only gained. Was the same true for Peter? For Kate? Yes. And yes. Would they be somewhere more magnificent than thie were it not for everything that had happened? Would their lives have been fuller and happier? Looking at them now, he didn’t see how it would be possible. For the very first time, he felt that Peter was his blood. (p. 388)
Rating:
5/5 Stars I loved it!!
Links:
Ask Again, Yes on Amazon and Goodreads
Ask Again, Yes was voted The Tonight Show’s Summer Read for 2019
Giveaway
I would love to giveaway one of my copies of Ask Again, Yes to one of my reader friends!!!
To enter the giveaway, comment below with your favorite read of the summer.
I’ll select one commenter at random a week from today next Wednesday and will send them a copy of Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane. Make sure you share this post with your reader friends so that can be entered to read as well!
Laura C says
Unfortunately I have not read as much as I would have liked this summer, but my favorite so far as been “Where the Crawdads sing”!
Noreen Bruce says
My favorite read was The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams!
Andrew Dery says
My favorite read this summer was The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne!
Pat Hensley says
My favorite read this summer was The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers
by Maxwell King.
Amy says
Just finished Jayber Crow and enjoyed the beautiful descriptive language. I’m still clinging to summer so my next “summer” read will be A Gentleman in Moscow. ?
Sydnee Crissman says
Great question! My favorite summer read so far is Lock Every Door by Riley Sager. It really kept me on my toes! Lock Every Door is my first novel with Riley Sager, and I must say, he really knows how to get your heart pounding!
Princess F L Gooden says
My summer read is “Britt Marie by: Fredrik Backman.
Andraya’ Cheers says
My daughter and I started our own family book club and we read The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick. I also personally read Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer.
Delaney says
My favorite book this summer has to be Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sane . It was so moving.