Barbara Delinsky's newest novel Before and Again is a novel involving lose and secrets. It is fantastic character study that draws the reader deeply into the lives of the residents of Devon. It shows the best and the worst of people and the way that can cause others to react.
This book, along with most Barbara Delinsky's novels, is one you will defintely want to read!

Driving her five-year-old daughter to a playdate, Mackenzie Cooper's life changes in a moment when she takes her eyes off the road to check her phone's GPS. In that second, she runs a stop sign, and as a result, the other driver and Lily are dead. In the aftermath, Mackenzie finds herself divorced, estranged from her mother and brother, on probation, and moving away from her friends and former life. She reinvents herself in the town of Devon, Vermont, now known as Maggie Reid. There, she does makeup for clients at the Devon Inn and Spa, while living alone in a remote cabin with her pets. Maggie has managed to build a new life for herself in Devon, where no one knows about her life as Mackenzie--plus, she likes her job and she has friends. So when one of them, Grace, finds herself in trouble: her fifteen-year-old son, Chris, is accused of hacking some powerful journalists, Maggie stands by her. It doesn't matter if this could affect her probation or her future. And that's not even the end of the trouble: some surprises from Maggie's past are coming back to her haunt her and threaten the private, quiet life she's worked so hard to create.

So, this was a tough one. Parts of this are a heartbreaking, emotional tale. Other parts I found to be far-fetched and so incredibly slow. The novel almost has two storylines, between Maggie's attempts to find some sort of peace in Devon and then the Grace and Chris tale. For me, it was tough connecting the two, despite the fact that both Grace and Maggie were being forced to confront their pasts and the sensationalism of the media. For most of the book, the two stories run parallel without really connecting, and I found it really hard to care or empathize with Grace at all. Her entire plot is a bit over-the-top. Both she and Maggie were difficult characters--prickly, with their protective shells up.

Of course, the book is also achingly hard to read at points, as Maggie's still reeling from the loss of her daughter. As a parent, I found those parts so difficult to read. But, there was so much talking and introspection from Maggie that it felt like the novel dragged on at points. With Maggie's constant reflection and rehashing, I sometimes just wanted to shake her or move things along. (Also, the endless descriptions of how makeup application worked were far too much for me.)

Still, there were definitely moments where the plot was compelling and moved along, especially near the end. I felt for Maggie, for sure, and enjoyed pieces of this novel. But overall, I found this one slow, disjointed, and hard to get into. Oh and for some reason, being someone even mildly into football, it bothered me that Maggie's probation officer was named Michael Shanahan (a former Redskins coach, among others). When things like that start bothering you, you realize it's probably not the book for you! However, this book is pretty much well-loved by most, so please realize it may have just not been a fit for me.

Mackenzie Cooper is driving her 5 year old to daughter to a play date when she is involved in a tragic, fatal accident. The accident took the life of her daughter Lily and the other driver, The accident is caused by Mackenzie's momentary attention to a GPS and distraction to the road.

Mackenzie cannot forgive herself and pushes the people who love her away including her now ex=husband Edward and her mother.

Mackenzie begins a new life in a quiet village of Devon, Vermont. Though Mackenzie's ordeal is every parent's nightmare; Devon becomes a place we would all like to visit. Mackenzie heals in Devon, she makes a new life for herself, though she carries her guilt with her always.

A new man moves to Devon to take over the town's spa where Mackenzie works and Mackenzie begins to forgive herself and heal with Ned beside her.

I've read other Barbara Delinsky books, this is surely not her best but a worthy read nonetheless. The story line did not grab me but the characters did.

How much grief and pain can Mackenzie Cooper endure? How is she to cope after a tragic loss of huge magnitude, compounded by publicity, litigation and finally divorce? Her coping attempts included moving to a small town in a different state where she built a new life using an altered identity. She became known as Maggie Reid and worked as a make up artist in a spa. She made friends, was involved in the community and kept her past to herself. For a while, only one person there knew about her past and he kept her secret and did not judge her. Suddenly, in a split second, the new life she had created is threatened. Her past collides with her present and she is faced with troubling realities and difficult decisions.

The novel is packed with raw emotions, introspection and brutal honestly. The characters are complex and with good reason. Maggie is not the only one with secrets. Themes of family, friendship and loyalty play an important role in the intense narrative.

The author brings to readers a beautifully rendered story. Even though tragedy casts a shadow, this is a powerful story about love and second chances. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

She takes her eyes off the road for just a brief moment and her life changes forever. Her sweet, 5-year-old daughter is lost, as is most of her life as she knows it. This is a heartbreaking story, but one I found to be an enjoyable read. Who doesn't love a Barbara Delinsky novel...and this is one of her better ones!

5 emotional heart breaking stars

A split second can change your life. A glance away can be the moment when life does change. A heart refusing to heal can end a marriage. ....and guilt filling every portion of one's body can make life an unending torture.

Mackenzie Cooper has lost everything, a beloved daughter, a husband she loved, a mother who blames her, and the ability to forgive herself. For a moment in time she took her eyes off the road and a horrible collision happened, one that took the life of her child and the life she had grown accustomed to. She feels she is a outcast in her community as friends disappear, her mother shuns her blaming Mackenzie not only for the death of her grandchild but also for the death of her husband. Mackenzie's marriage falls apart to Edward as so many marriages do after the loss of a child. How can her life continue in this place where everything is a memory and all reminds her of what use to be?

Mackenzie moves away to a small town in Vermont where she buries the past and learns to move forward on her own. She acquires good friends, a job she loves, pursues her artistic passion and while not happy seems content. Then all that changes when a friend's son does something which will probably propel Mackenzie into the world she is so afraid to find herself in once again.

This story was told with much compassion and the spirit of how we can move forward and find meaning in both the life that has been lost as well as in our own selves. It was a poignant story that showed so well what it is like to lose a child and live a life in which guilt is ever present. Ms Delinsky did a wonderful job making all of her characters so vivid and real. As Ronald Reagan said, "When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses her or his partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn't a word to describe them."

Thank you to Barbara Delinsky, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for making a copy of this riveting book available to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC of Barbara Delinsky's newest novel, "Before and Again" in exchange for an honest review.

This novel pulled at my heartstrings in so many ways. Throughout Maggie's narrative I was captivated with her relationships, grief, and how she went about moving on with life after Lily. There were times when Maggie was describing what happened to Lily that I had to put the book down for a few minutes while I gathered my emotions.

I've never had a child, or lost one, but Maggie's grief felt so real. I felt her anger and pain when Edward came to town. I loved the conversations between Maggie and her mother, along with a bit of comic relief from her brother showing up.

I highly recommend this novel for anyone who loves a good redemption or overcoming grief story. Anyone who's read previous works by Delinsky would likely enjoy this. What a fantastic summer read.

3.5
I don't know many adults who are without a past regret that they dwell on - spend time thinking "what if" or "if only". Such is the case for Mackenzie Cooper. One little slip up resulted in a life changing event. It ruined her marriage and caused her to move to a new town under a different name. When a friend faces a life challenge, Mackenzie has to decided if she wants to help, even if it means bringing her past into the present and possible disrupting the nice little life she has made for herself.

This was a nice story about forgiving yourself, friendship and inner strength. The author created some very realistic characters that I enjoyed spending time with. This was my first read from Ms. Delinsky and I would like to check out some of her other books.

I received this from St. Martin's Press via Netgalley.

I have read a number of Barbara Delinsky books and was disappointed in this one. I could not muster up much sympathy for Mackensie; didn’t warm up to her or any of the other characters. The writing is decent but slow-going, the ‘ripped from the headlines’ issues compelling but not strong enough to sustain the story. I got a bit bored and skimmed pages.

I believe Delinsky may have found inspiration for Before and Again from our current climate, including such topical subjects like hacking, internet fraud and twitter feeds so the story feels relevant. Perhaps I’ve just read too many thrillers lately where the pace was much quicker.

Another book for the ardent fans of Barbara Delinsky. I found this book to be a wonderful read and loved how she combined emotions and also cyber crime. The story revolves around the lives of two women.

It has been a few years since I have read Barbara Delinsky. But, I am glad I picked her back up. This story is in true Delinsky form. Great characters with a great story about heartbreak and healing are trademarks for Delinsky. I expericed a wonderful connection with Maggie. She is so broken and yet she has created a new world for herself. See, Maggie was in an accident a few years ago and her daughter was killed. Maggie was to blame and she has never forgiven herself.
Maggie is estranged from her family. Her mother and brother refuse to speak to her. And her marriage also fails after the loss of her child. But, just when she thinks she has overcome her past, in walks her brother AND her ex husband. This throws a huge kink in her anonymity. And...the anonymity is a huge part of her new life.
There are several story lines throughout this book. This keeps the reader moving along at a very fast clip. Maggie and Edward are great together. Both are broken and need each other to get through. Then there is Maggie's good friend Grace. Her son has been arrested in a computer hacking scandal. But, Grace is hiding something, something very important.
This novel is a little long. It could have been shortened by a few pages. However, I enjoyed this heartwarming and heart wrenching tale..and yes it is both. This story pulls at your heart and makes you appreciate all you have.
I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley for a honest review.

I loooovvveeeee Barbara Delinsky books!!!! And this moved me so much. This was a wonderfully written, character driven novel. This book starts out so heartbreaking as you see a mother reeling from her loss and trying to learn how to bounce back from it. Mackenzie now going by the name Maggie lives in a small town spending her days making teapots and doing professional make up in the afternoon. Barbara Delinsky writes with elegant prose. Just reading her descriptions of how Maggie made the teapots out of clay was wonderfully detailed and beautifully written.

This novel was so engaging as it built up to Maggie having to help her friend. This novel was a one click read. The characters were real and diverse. They were beautifully and heart-breakingly written. The plot itself was well fleshed out and I did not want to miss a second of it.

This novel really brings tough topics to light. how to deal with the loss of a a child, divorce and when you get cast in bad light over such a heart-breaking situation. You see what it's like to lose everything including friends, and what it means to start over. How you can go from just surviving day to day to actually living. Barbara Delinsky is one of my favorite authors and this book just makes me love her writing even more.

5/5 Stars

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I used to read Barbara Delinsky quite a bit but have not read anything by her for years, so when I saw it on NetGalley I requested it. It is a great summer beach-y read - a good story with some twists to make it interesting but nothing too heavy. There were a few parts in the end that were a little over the top, but overall I enjoyed this quick read. I would give it 3 1/2 stars.

Slow and long. Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky was a tough read for me. Telling the story of Maggie, who is dealing with the aftermath of losing her daughter in a car accident, and the subsequent breakdown of her marriage and family relations, Before and Again is an internal character study about grief and survival after loss.
The synopsis paints this story as a mystery of sorts, with the hacking and such, but there was little mystery or suspense here. So, for me, I went into this read thinking it would be more action packed and fast paced than it was, and it didn’t work for me. I found the chapters to be very long, so long in fact that as I would read on my lunch break I rarely came across a chapter end or break in the story. This made the story feel longer than it really was, and I think small breaks in the story would make a world of difference here.
Another thing that made the book feel longer was that it was full of unnecessary detail. For example in one scene, we are given several paragraphs of Maggie’s trip to the local yarn store. We learn what time she leaves for the store, how long it takes her to drive to the yarn store, what time the store closes, the cleanliness of the yarn store, and what kind of music is played in the store. This yarn store never appears again in the story that I could see, and this is one example of just too much detail about items that didn’t matter to the overall plot being focused on. Maybe those that enjoy elaborate settings and descriptions would appreciate this type of writing, but for me it was too much as I didn’t feel that it added anything.
The unnecessary descriptions also apply to the characters, too. Now describing in detail the main characters I understand. We need to know about them! They are important! But, I don’t need to know every detail about every person that appears in the book. This made me as a reader not able to decipher those characters that were important and which were just “there”, until the major players became apparent.
The major players I actually quite enjoyed. I could understand Maggie’s grief and her decisions; I felt for her and her struggle. Her ex-husband, Ned, comes to town, and I really liked him and their relationship. I could get behind them as a couple and really wanted them to be able to work through their problems. Maggie’s got a few friends in town, and they were nice and good supporting characters. The Twitter hacking plotline felt out of place and actually wasn’t as much of a focus for the book as I was expecting going in.
I do have to say that this was my first Barbara Delinsky book, and I know she’s a popular author, so I don’t know if this style of too much detail and slow pace is her usual, or if this is different than her other books. At this point, I’m unsure if I’d read her again, just because this one was so slow, almost painfully so at times. And that’s really a bummer, because the overall themes of grief, survival, love, and family were quite lovely, and this book had a romance that I actually really enjoyed. I just wish it had been edited down some to make for a quicker read.
Bottom Line: Slow and long. Could’ve used more editing.

3.5-4.0
I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story about Mackenzie/Maggie who loses it all. Her husband, child, parents, friends and life in one tragic accident. Skip to five years later where we now find Maggie living in a new town and working in a job she loves and a community that respects her. Devon, Vermont is the perfect place for those who want to start over. When her friend’s teen age son is in trouble with the law and it’s being covered by national news everything that was perfect in her life starts to go south again. Her now ex husband shows up and has moved to Devon, her brother who she was estranged from has moved into her house and even her mother is back in her life. Throughout the story she comes to need these people in her life and learnes to forgive not only them for abandoning her but herself as well.

I really liked this story. I liked how the characters are flawed. I liked how pretty much everyone in this town has a back story and has come to Devon to escape. I like how she learned to forgive herself and love again. This is not a fluffy read and has some pretty heartbreaking and sole searching moments. Even though it could be slow at times (that’s why I am not rating it a 5) I had to know who it would end. Can there be too much detail in a book? Yes, there can. I wanted to skim over a lot of the unnecessary information because I feel that is what slowed it down. There was just enough drama in this book to keep me plugging away at it. Recommended for those who like Women’s fiction and family drama.

Before and Again is an emotional rollercoaster of a story of tragedy, secrets and moving on. I’ve read all of Barbara Delinsky’s books and this one doesn’t disappoint!

3.5 Stars

Before and Again was a poignant story. One that focused on the impact, ramifications, and chain reactions of our actions, whether intentional or accidental. Five-year-old, Lily's death and fifteen-year-old, Chris’ arrest pounded home that in a single moment life can be forever changed. We can’t turn back time, so as much as we would like nothing will ever be the same, leaving lives unequivocally altered.

Maggie and Edward. Grace and Chris. Four intertwining relationships that resulted in a myriad of realizations and repercussions. The journey of these characters was definitely emotional and moving. Each offering gripping and inspirational moments throughout the book. It’s never easy observing damaged characters learning how to navigate the aftermath of tragedy and its consequences. It’s even less easy when the author has endeared the characters to their readers. These four characters truly broke my heart with their pain, remorse, and guilt.

However, Maggie and Edward moved me the most. I can't even begin to imagine the loss of one of my children. Truly every parent’s worst nightmare. To see the growth and healing of these two was so heartening. Everything about our protagonists made me fall head over heels for them. They totally earned 5 huge stars, especially Maggie. The way she loved and forgave was something else; as was her loyalty, even at the cost of her own peril. And watching her learn to forgive herself was absolutely breathtaking.

Maggie and Edward's journey was one that brought humbleness, compassion, self-identity, truth, absolution, re-connection, and love. It was everything I would look for in a story. They were everything I would look for in my characters. Ms. Delinsky was spot on with their development, both so rich in character. So deep and real. They will be characters I remember for a long time.

With all that said, sadly this book almost became a DNF. The first quarter or so just dragged on with needless over describing, leaving me feeling bored and wondering where the intriguing synopsis came from. Plus, it felt a little preachy at times (not the religious kind of preachy). I'm glad I pushed through, though, as around 35% the story finally started to pick up, catching my attention. Once I got passed all that, it was like another author took over. I really began to enjoy Ms. Delinsky's writing and could see why others loved her work.

Between that and what felt like a rushed ending I was a bit disappointed. I wanted so much less in the beginning and so much more in the end. I wanted more happy. More building. Not just a quick summary of what went down.

Ms. Delinsky was a first time author to me. While I ended up liking the characters, and the story, I'm not sure I would read another by this author. Although, reading other reviews this is not the author's typical standard, so maybe.

This was the first time reading a book by this author. The heroine was a challenge for me. I found it difficult to understand what she wanted, other than to hide from her past. Also the subplot with Grace and Chris as well as the separate subplot with Maggie and her mother and brother felt clunky and disjointed. The subtle threat of her probation officer trying to control her because he was attracted to her felt contrived. While I'm glad she and Edward ended up starting over together, this was not an enjoyable read. Everything was hastily resolved too easily in the conclusion.

This was my first Barbara Delinsky novel. It was a good read and held my attention, although I thought there was just too much detail about applying makeup in the beginning!
I guess I am just not an aficionado of "women's lit"as it was just too much of a Prince Charming fairy tale for me.
But, if you are a fan of the genre, by all means, pick this one up.

Before and Again has to be one of the hardest novels I have ever read. The main character is in a fatal car accident that takes her young daughter’s life and then destroys her marriage. How she overcomes this tragedy makes up the heart of the story. Even though it is fiction, the emotions presented were very real and relatable.

Maggie thought she had it all, until she didn’t. That sounds trite, but the loss of her family allows her to find herself again and figure out what is truly important. Her life had been moving on a trajectory that seemed to take its own path, leaving unsuspecting victims in its wake. Delinsky’s ability to provide a flawed yet still likable and redeemable character who emotes compassion and pity, not disgust, speaks well of her writing. The underlying message of staying true to her priorities and not be swayed by societal pressures is subtle yet strong. There are excellent side characters who have their own stories and secrets, many of which wind out playing out in Maggie’s return to feeling like she is allowed to live life again.