This was heartfelt and poignant. I found it difficult to read at times because my own father recently passed away from kidney disease so the story hit home. I found the sisters’ characters to be well-drawn, complex and realistic. There were a couple of plot twists that added to the overall appeal of this.

A great read about what can happen when you discover you have a family member you never knew about. Jessica Strawser has a way of getting in the characters inner lives that keeps you turning the pages and makes you understand the decisions the characters are making even if the choices are difficult. Recommend.

A Million Reasons Why, by Jessica Strawser, is a novel that explores DNA testing, family relationships, surprises, and hard decisions. As a reader with a friend who was in a very similar situation (no spoiler here), I felt drawn into the struggles our characters were enduring to make decisions everyone could live with. Strawser is very realistic in her choice of characters and development of situations that may be part of this process, and in doing so, develops more empathy within the reader about the subject. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC ebook version of this book in exchange for my honest review.

With the advances in DNA all the skeletons are coming out of the closet! Families are brought together, destroyed and lots of questions remain. This story explores what makes a family, what they believe to be true and how they navigate the fallout. It is human, touching and oh so real. Jessica Strawser touches every nerve in this one and it's a fantastic ride!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

What a wonderful story! I cried, I laughed, I couldn’t put it down and the twists were deliciously spot on for the story arc. The emotions depicted here feel as true as if the author had lived them. I don’t want to spoil any of this so just pick it up and read it!! Do it now!
Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for this copy of #amillionreasonswhy to read and review.

Have you ever had such a long, hard day that you want to go home and take a hot bath and gulp a bottle of wine? Well this book IS the hot bath and the bottle of wine!
What an emotionally buzzed story that leaves you feeling refreshed and cleansed! Go out and buy this book now!

This was a first book by this author and I loved the writing! This story grabs you right from the first page. Highly highly recommend!

A Million Reasons Why is a compelling book by Jessica Strawser.
This is a fantastic family drama with suspense perfectly weaved in. A gift of a DNA test leads to a rabbit whole that is hard to get out of.

Fantastic emotions and unexpected twists made this book one that was hard to put down.

Highly recommend!

From the publisher:
Caroline lives a full, happy life―thriving career, three feisty children, enviable marriage, and a close-knit extended family. She couldn’t have scripted it better. Except for one thing:

She’s about to discover her fundamental beliefs about them all are wrong.

Sela lives a life in shades of gray, suffering from irreversible kidney failure. Her marriage crumbled in the wake of her illness. Her beloved mother, always her closest friend, unexpectedly passed away. She refuses to be defined by her grief, but still, she worries what will happen to her two-year-old son if she doesn’t find a donor match in time.

She’s the only one who knows Caroline is her half sister and may also be her best hope for a future. But Sela’s world isn’t as clear-cut as it appears―and one misstep could destroy it all.

A Million Reasons Why is exactly the kind of book I like to read: The characters are nicely developed, leading me to care about what was happening in their lives. The author lets her talent with words convey the emotions of the characters, rather than overly relying on profanity. Strawser is also facile with a well-timed plot twist as well.

This is a story of whys: Why do certain things happen? Why do people make the choices they make? Why do we deal with life’s hardships differently? For those who love stories of love, loss, betrayal, mortality, forgiveness, and unforgiveness, A Million Reasons Why is sure to be a hit.

Thanks go to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

With the prevalence of DNA test kits, many people who take them are discovering new relatives, perhaps just cousins, but in some cases the relationship is a little closer than that, many times to the surprise of both people.
Caroline has a great marriage, three children, a good career and relationship with her parents. Imagine her shock when she receives an email from Sela, who is purportedly her half-sister. They are extremely close in age, so that means that their father was having a relationship with both their mothers around the same time.
Needless to say, Caroline is hurt and incensed at her father, who is also blindsided by this news. He knew nothing about Sela’s mother being pregnant, and had ended his relationship with her.
Sela has her own problems: She is suffering from kidney failure and needs a transplant, but she doesn’t want to ask Caroline to donate a kidney. She’s had no success in finding a donor on the registry, though. Her mother has recently died, and her husband has left her. The only thing keeping her going is her 2-year-old son.
This is a wonderful read!

I was provided a free ARC copy of this book by @netgalley and @stmartinspress in exchange for my honest review!
This was an exciting story throughout. You know from the beginning (if you read the synopsis) that through an at home DNA test Caroline and Sela discover the others' existence and that they are half sisters! For Sela this gives her hope of possibly finding a match for a kidney donation she so desperately needs. For Caroline her life is rocked with all of the secrets that begin to be uncovered through this revelation!
The story is about struggles and secrets, what it means to be a family and love. It will make you think, and make you question how you would respond in many different scenarios. And just because the back cover reveals a lot of surprises, don't think the story doesn't have any others! Just when you think you have a handle on what's going on, you won't (multiple times)! It was a pretty quick and interesting read. I definitely think it would be great for a book club discussion!
And because I was behind on my reading, luckily for you, the book had already been published (as of 23 Mar)!! So you can go out and snag a copy today!! 😁
#NetGalley

Caroline is a busy working mother of three with a close knit family extended family. When her husband Walt buys the whole family DNA tests for Christmas, everyone does them and sends them in, never knowing the skeletons it will let out of the family closet. Months later, Caroline receives an email from a woman named Sela who claims to be her half sister. Thinking it must be a mistake, Caroline confronts her parents only to find out the truth - her father had an affair early in their marriage and Sela is her half sister.

While Caroline's parents refuse to acknowledge Sela's existence, Caroline is interested in pursuing and relationship with her. The two begin an email correspondence, getting to know one another. That eventually transitions to phone calls, then a visit. But Sela is a living secrets of her own - one of which is that she has chronic kidney disease which is progressively worsening and will need a transplant to survive. Her world isn't as perfect as Caroline's - her mother has recently passed away, her son was born prematurely due to her illness and her marriage didn't survive. Sela is excited to get to know her half sister and nieces and nephews, explore a family she never knew and is battling with whether or not she can would ever be able to ask her sister for a kidney.

Through a series of missteps and miscommunications, the sisters come together and are torn apart, learning how to navigate an unexpected family member and all of the secrets that are brought into the open because of it. The story touches on powerful themes of morality, selfishness, duty to family, forgiveness, and all of the different kinds of love that exist in the world. A Million Reasons Why would be an excellent book club pick with plenty of potential discussion points.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’ve been a fan of Jessica’s since Almost Missed You! And I enjoyed Not That I Could Tell. Forget You Know Me was different from those books and I have to say my least favorite.

I didn’t know much about this book going in- except that it’s one of those books with the DNA testing focus that has become very popular and that I loved the cover.

After reading it- I am saying that A Million Reasons Why is a Jodi Picoult-ish type book- it’s a situation that has no easy answers and gives you many feelings.

What I Liked:

The cover! I do love this cover.

Caroline and Sela. Their personalities, how they drew strength from each other, the complicated feelings they had- of being apart, of the situation happening, of what it means for them- together and apart. I loved the deep dive into their situation.

The ending. It made me cry.



What I didn’t love:

Caroline’s parents. Oh, I did not love them.



On a more personal note- this book gave me MANY feelings. I could understand Caroline’s ambivalence about being a potential match for Sela. I could understand Vela’s reluctance to ask. I could understand both Sela and Caroline’s respective friends and family being hopeful and terrified over the idea of them matching and what would happen next. This book is FRAUGHT with family tension and Jessica Strawser did a great job of showing that, of making you feel these characters and their emotions.



Bottom line: It’s not an easy read- but it’s a good read. It will give you much to think and feel!



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

This was a very interesting book - very thought-provoking. With the current trend of DNA testing being so popular, the story was timely and believable. I would hope most people wouldn't have the outcome this family did, but it's probably fairly common to discover things you'd just as soon have been kept buried.

The relationship between Caroline and Sela was understandably complicated and it was fascinating to watch it develop. The shock Caroline felt about her father - and then later even worse about her mother - - was heartbreaking.

The story progressed with a seemingly inevitable ending - until it wasn't. First one surprise and then later another one made this book more complex.

I have family members who have submitted DNA for ancestry tracing so I have a pretty good idea of my heritage and where my family’s roots reside. This book starts out with a family submitting DNA as a lark. A Christmas gift to see what interesting family history is revealed. Little did they know that this innocent inquiry would be a “Pandora’s box”. This is a story about an unknown family member. A family secret is revealed about infidelity and a revelation that will change everyone’s lives forever. A secret that can mean life or death for one member of this family.
I found A Million Reasons Why to be an intriguing story that was believable and very interesting. I think I will keep my DNA to myself. I can do without all this drama.

*I was given an eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own*

I think I've been reading too many thrillers as of late. I expected this book to be way more sinister than it actually was. "A Million Reasons Why" flips back and forth between Sela and Caroline's POVs, as we learn both of their stories and how they are intertwined. I sort of saw the twist at the end coming, but it was still done really well, and was absolutely heartbreaking. I definitely could put myself in Sela's shoes, as someone who has kidney issues, and is facing a life similar to hers. I enjoyed the ending and the promise of more to come.

Definitely would recommend to patrons.

This book took me on a journey, which highlighted DNA testing. Reading this book about 2 people being tested and finding out they have a half-sister gave a different viewpoint. It is an emotional book because when you make the choice to have the DNA test and send it away, you don't know what you will find. Never having done the DNA test, I didn't know very much about it but after reading the book, it showed things that I would want to consider before choosing to do it. Decisions made so many years ago, now have such different consequences than when the decisions were made. For one sister, it was an answer to her prayers but for the other sister she found out that what she always believed wasn't the truth. Sela did the DNA test hoping to find a relative who would be a match because she has irreversible kidney failure. She found she had a half sister, named Caroline, and then she has to decide what to do with the information. When she goes and finds Caroline, there is a lot of unanswered questions. Sela and Caroline start to get to know each other, but then Sela has to decide when to tell Caroline, she did the DNA test to try to find a match for a kidney transplant.
A well written story that will show you what it is like for some after sending away your DNA test.

I really enjoyed this book. The idea of learning of current family you didn’t know about as the result of a DNA test was interesting. This book explored a number of topics such as family secrets, regret for paths not taken, betrayal by a family member, kidney transplants, mental health issues, sisterly bonds and family dynamics. I learned a lot about donating a kidney for a transplant which I probably found even more interesting since my husband recently had one kidney removed. The compelling story was well-written with interesting, well-drawn characters and the dialogue and situations felt realistic. Jessica Strawser did an excellent job of building the story which had many layers. I think this would be a great book to discuss for a book group because there is so much in it to talk about. I highly recommend this one. It comes out tomorrow.

So....to be honest, when I started this book and realized the premise—DNA test and newly discovered siblings, with one of them being sick and needing a donor organ—I was pretty sure I knew where this storyline was headed. Been there, read that before. Could this author really take the story down a different path than the one I was expecting?

Well, let me tell you, she most certainly did! There were so many unexpected aspects and details of these peoples' lives that I found this to be a very unique story. I was totally drawn into the drama and thoroughly enjoyed everything about it.

I can highly recommend A Million Reasons Why and am excited that this story is now out in the world. Pick it up, you will not regret it!

4.5 ⭐️
This is the kind of book that make you face the impossible. Things that you really can’t take in. What would you do?? What. Would. You. Do?
Broken relationships, secrets and illness. I was torn about each situation, feeling mad, scared and broken, each event like a slap. It was on a roller coaster of emotions.
I loved Janie a side character in this story. She was the ice breaker for my awkwardness to keep reading.
An intensely, moving story that made me crazy. I’m glad I read it. It had a Diane Chamberlain feel. Sorta of. And I recommend it.
Thanks to St Martin’s Press for this ARC via Netgalley. I’m voluntarily leaving my review.