During the past year and a half there has been a lot of death and loss and scariness, so this may not be the book to read right now if you're struggling with sad news and life changes, but it was a gripping novel about how lives can change in an instant. Yes, children are resilient, but it doesn't mean they aren't affected by change and loss and grief. Well written!

This was a Netgalley download from 2020 that I have neglected. Honestly, I don’t know why I waited so long to read this because I absolutely loved this debut- another favorite for me and also my final five star read of the year.

You and Me and Us is a heartbreaking, but beautiful story about a family facing a terminal cancer diagnosis. In their final months together, we watch them navigate through the painful and unimaginable moments with so much love and strength. This story will pull at all your heartstrings and leave you sobbing, but it also will fill you with so much hope and joy. I needed a good cry and this book absolutely provided that. I’ve also never been more thankful for my family’s health and being able to celebrate another Christmas together. ❤️

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow Books for this copy. This should be on everyone’s must read list!

You and Me and Us by Alison Hammer

“You and Me and Us is a beautiful book. It will make you become a part of this family’s circle, rooting for them, feeling their pain, and aching for them. You will want to give advice, and a hug, and whisper “be nice to your mom” to CeCe. You will feel their pain. You will cry. And, then, you will feel hope, and in that hope, there is a chance.”-Green Gables Book Reviews

Tommy and Alexis are in love. They have been a part of each other’s lives for nearly as long as they can remember.

But, things happen in life, and Tommy married Monica. The time they were apart isn’t a time they talk about. Tommy and Monica’s marriage ended badly. Monica made a selfish choice, and it wasn’t repairable-or forgivable. A do-over was not possible. But, because of Monica’s bad choice, Tommy and Alexis met again, by chance, in Destin, FL, where they knew each other from before. And, now they are Tommy, Alexis, and CeCe.

Life is good! They have a good routine. Except, teenager CeCe barely speaks to her mom. When she does, it is sarcastic and rude. She even goes as far as telling Tommy she wishes he and her mom would get a divorce. But, they’ve never gotten married. Tommy has asked her to marry him many times, but Alexis had a poor example of marriage growing up and doesn’t want any part of it.

Part of why CeCe is upset with her mom is because her mom is never there for her. She misses events, is late for them, or is more worried about what she’s missing on her cell phone than what CeCe is doing. CeCe knows she can count on her dad always. He never has, and she knows, will never let her down, but work is more important to her mom.

Tommy puts his family first. He hopes he can change this rift between Alexis and CeCe. It’s more important to him now than ever before.

Alexis and CeCe are both concerned about the deep cough Tommy has developed. Alexis encourages him to go to the doctor; he must need an antibiotic.

Tommy has cancer. It’s too advanced, and he doesn’t want to fight it. He wants to spend his last summer in Destin, with Alexis and CeCe. Alexis is reluctant because she knows Tommy’s ex-wife, Monica, will be there, filming her new Netflix show. CeCe doesn’t know about Monica, and with as much as CeCe wants to be an actress, she doesn’t want her to know about any connection to Monica.

CeCe had plans for the summer, and now her dad has cancer? How can this be happening? They arrive in Destin, and Tommy has a puzzle, a long-standing tradition between him and CeCe in the summers at the beach, and he has a bucket list of things he wants to do before he dies. He knows there isn’t much time left for him, but he wants it to be here with the two people he loves the most.

You and Me and Us is a beautiful book. It will make you become a part of this family’s circle, rooting for them, feeling their pain, and aching for them. You will want to give advice, and a hug, and whisper “be nice to your mom” to CeCe. You will feel their pain. You will cry. And, then, you will feel hope, and in that hope, there is a chance.

You and Me and Us by Alison Hammer is absolutely a five-star book.

I hope you will read it.

I received a free copy of You and Me and Us to read and review. I appreciate that it was given to me!

SIGH. I'm gonna try my best with this one, so y'all bear with me.....
Alexis - 40-something working mom, great at her job, not so great at the mom part.. Her teen daughter, CeCe, relies mostly on her father, Tommy. For years, this dynamic has worked fine for their little family. Until Tommy gets a diagnosis of terminal cancer. The family decides to spend their last summer together in Destine FL (close to my hometown of Pensacola!!) where Tommy and Alexis first met. Here, mother and daughter start the difficult journey of coming together in a way that can't include help from Tommy. Rough? Absolutely. Impossible? Nothing is impossible.
This book TORE AT MY HEART, y'all. It was both heart-wrenching and uplifting. The author was so effortless in tackling such huge topics like loss, grief, family relationships, etc. I won't soon forget this great book, and I haven't stopped crying yet, either.
Thanks to Alison Hammer, HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC.

Alison Hammer writes with such warmth and understanding for her characters that it's hard not to find yourself pulling for them and even feeling like you've made new friends. Here, the "little piece of me" isn's so little--it's a blood test that reveals Paige's father isn't who he thought she was. This book explores what that feels in slo-mo, from discovery to denial to reconciliation with the people closest to her, and it's done so with masterful shifts in time and perspective.

It turns out that understanding the secrets of the past can reveal how and why tensions have played out, and the overall feeling I got after reading it is that some secrets are best revealed, even if through the miracle of technology, and even when it's awkward and uncomfortable. This book was perfect for my wintery, covid-anxious mind. I'll read anything Alison Hammer writes! I highly recommend Little Pieces of Me.

What a great book!! Knew I would love it and I did. I was deeply invested in the characters. I enjoyed the two points of view: a mother and her teenage daughter. It felt like women’s fiction meets coming of age mixed with family drama. All genres I adore reading! Already miss spending time with this family. The author, Alison Hammer, is one of my writing pals and it’s been so wonderful being a part of her writing journey and seeing this book come to life. And I was thrilled and honored to see my name in the acknowledgments. Can’t wait for Alison’s next week!

This was tough for me to read at times and even tougher to rate how I felt at the end. It's told from two perspectives. There's Alexis Gold who spends most of her time at the advertising agency she founded while her partner Tommy handles their home life. Their daughter Cece is the other perspective and she has aspirations of becoming an actress, harbors a ton of resentment towards her mom, and considers her dad to be one of her best friends. Their world falls apart when Tommy tells them he has terminal cancer. Instead of doing treatment, he'd rather spend what time he has left at their beach house for one last summer and that's exactly what they do. It was easy and quick to see why Tommy was the center of their lives. He's a loving partner, doting father and just a good man and reading about how he slowly weakened made me emotional. It was actually Alexis and Cece I struggled with, especially the latter. I sympathized with Alexis because she was honest, flawed, driven and when push came to shove, she put her family first. With Cece, I found her to be really bratty? Maybe I'm just getting old but I couldn't connect with her and I really thought I would since I've been in her position. Regardless of how I felt about them, everybody handles their pain and grief differently, which is what I believe the author was trying to convey with such two different women. Ultimately it was their mutual love for Tommy and his journey is that moved me the most.

Do I recommend? I do think you really have to be in the right mood or mindset to pick this one up. And if you are, it's another "borrow from the library" type of book.

An emotional and very sad story where the characters not only suffer from the diagnosis of one of them which will affect everyone's lives but the characters also go through a series of domestic situations that have affected the union and affection between them. The relationship between mother and daughter is affected by the routine life of both and the little time shared, both delegate great love to the father figure the only person with whom both have and works as a link for both and this will no longer be in their lives. Moving and sad with a lot of teaching of love, forgiveness and patience for the loved ones. For me it was very strong because I have a close relative with cancer and it touched me very deeply.

What a beautiful book about family relationships. When Alexis finds out her partner Tommy has a terminal cancer, she realizes that what she thought was important isn't. He has been her support and carried the family load as she has worked on starting her own business. Now she will be his support. Add in a teenage daughter and a spoiled ex and family will need to be the priority. This was such a sweet book.

Fair warning... keep a box of Kleenex near you when you get toward the end. There's a heart-wrenching scene that is written so well that I felt I was in the room with them experiencing the pain and love.

We know parents like Alexis who could be described as workaholics. She loves her only child, CeCe, but finds herself more comfortable at the job she worked so hard to build from the ground up. And her near-perfect partner, CeCe's dad, Tommy, makes it easy for Alexis to spend more time and energy on her job than on parenting. He's one of those dads's that every child wants: doting, funny, a good listener, and hey, he's CeCe's dad, which is usually the parent a teen girl doesn't clash with (compared to the volatile mother-daughter relationship during those teen years!)

But this story is about more than family dynamics. It tackles cancer, dying, regrets, hopes, friendship, and what we all hope for out of life - whether we are a teen stumbling like CeCe is, or a parent stumbling, as Alexis does.
It is a quick read that will take you to the gorgeous beaches of Destin Florida (love that area!) and into the heart of what is important in life.

Alison Hammer has written a beautiful, meaningful love story. You and Me and Us will make you cry while you cheer on Tommy, Alexis, and CeCe.

I truly enjoyed this story.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this ARC. It was heartbreaking, tear jerking, and absolutely soul warming.

Alexis is a workaholic mother who, despite her attempts, can’t seem to connect with her daughter teenage daughter, Cece. Cece feels abandoned by her mom due to her obsession with her work. She feels like she’s given her mom all the chances in the world and it’s just not worth it anymore. She and her dad, Tommy, have the best relationship and Tommy always has the right things to say to them both to keep the waters calm.

Alexis and Cece both need to try a little harder to understand each other because a big change is coming to their lives, whether they like it or not.

With a special trip to where Alexis and Tommy’s story began, a bucket list creates new memories, an ex causes some tension, and romance thrives in this hard-hitting, beautiful story

This book was deceptively easy to read in that I had expected a tear jerker of a story but I hadn't expect to have it cause to lay away thinking about the choices I've made and have I wisely used the time I've had with people I love.

A realistic portrayal of what life can look like in the aftermath of a much-loved man's fatal diagnosis and how his final months play out in both his immediate family and those who love them. Hammer writes well and doesn't rush things as she tells their story.

Alexis is Living her dream life working long hours at the business that she co-created with her best friend. Her partner, a psychiatrist works from home and is more hands-on with their teenage daughter. Alexis and her daughter don't have the greatest relationship but Alexis reasons with herself that since Tommy is better with the household stuff and they have a great partnership then things will turn out fine eventually.

Everything seems to be on-track until the family is dealt a devastating blow and learn that they have one final summer to live as a family. The trio packs up and heads back to Tommy's home town where he met Alexis back when they were teenagers.

During their final summer, the family comes to grips with what makes a family a family and what the most important things in life really are.

This book is beautiful and heartbreaking and all the things. Amazing. Pretty sure this book gutted me—in a good, cathartic way.

See, when I was ten I lost my dad to cancer. Like the father in You and Me and Us, my dad’s name was Thomas. So, this one was a hard one for me. I legit started crying writing that sentence.

All the stars. All the tears. All the feels.

First of all, bring out the box of tissues because you will need a bunch by the time you've absorbed the last word and closed the book.

I did experience some irritations, but they had nothing to do with the writing style. For one of them, Alexis drove me nuts! She was so wrapped up in her job that she couldn't eke out enough moments in her work-focused life to be active in her daughter's life. And irritation number two was Cece's snarky attitude. Granted, she is a teenager and that's who they tend to be. But it was still irritating to see how little respect she had for her mother.

All of that was balanced out by Tommy. His love for, and patience with, Alexis and Cece were beyond amazing. I fell in love with him and his commitment, emotional strength, and down to earth personality. Is there really a man like him out there? If so, I want to meet him!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is one you will not be able to put down once you've read the first word. The story is a beautiful portrait of love, anger, loss, relationships, growth, insecurity, and healing. Put this on your to-be-read list so you can enjoy the myriad of emotions you will experience as you flip through the pages as fast as you can.

The description pulled me in. I was curious how the author was going to develop the mother/daughter reconnection amidst such heartbreak. I felt for the mom, left out of the family gang and not understanding how to get herself back into it. When tragedy strikes and she realizes she has no choice anymore, she has to find a way to connect with her daughter because their family unit is going to be shattered.
the mom seems to fixate on strange things, the ex-ewife for instance. Why does she hate her so much when she doesn't even know her. You can sense her insecurity at not being the only love in her husbands life but her extreme reaction to Monica seems over dramatic for a woman who is fairly practical in her thinking.
The scenes between the husband and wife are very sweet and reading about his general decline over the course of the summer is tense and heart breaking. The conflict between mom and daughter was also very well written. I have been on the end of a tennagers disdain and disappointment and this was very similar.
A little more description of the scenery and town in Florida would have been good. Something to help us place them. Beyond the front porch and a short piece about the beach there isn't much more available. Apart from the lack of description of place, I really enjoyed this. I started it Sunday morning and read all day. There were tears and some wry chuckles and a wonderful sense of family at the end. I went and hugged my daughter. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

YOU AND ME AND US has it all. Laughter and tear--and a thousand human emotions in between--it has young love and long-time love, deep friendships, new friends, superstars and exes. I dare you not to cry reading this story that grapples with motherhood and marriage, forgiveness and faith, and learning to face the hard stuff.

#You And Me And Us #Bet Galley
This book will be hard to put down. Alexis the mom is a workaholic and gives her partner Tommy the largest part of raising their daughter CeCe. Tommy has wanted to marry Alexis for many years but she has turned him down not because she doesn't love him but because of her own fears.
Tommy is diagnosed with terminal cancer and chooses to live life as best he can for as long as he has. Tommy wants to go to Destin,Florida as they have many memories there.
Secrets that were hidden are found out. FaCe is at a loss and filled with fear as she watches her father get worse. She falls in love for the first time, and gets angry and rebellious with her mom.
It's a story with many kinds of love and heartbreak and new chances for mother and daughter to be closer.
My first read by this author but it will not be my last.