"Everybody Says It's Everything" is the latest novel by Xhenet Aliu, the award-winning author of "Brass."

The story primarily follows adopted Albanian twins Pete and Drita as they come of age in Connecticut in 1999. Other significant characters include their paraplegic mother, Jackie, and Shanda, Pete’s recently sober ex-girlfriend/mother of their child, Dakota.

The three generations all struggle with feeling stuck or pigeonholed by society’s rules and the stories they tell themselves. They all struggle with self-worth and strive to do what they think is best though their choices may be selfish or wrong.

Ultimately, this story is about who we are, who we think of as family, and what, if anything, we owe each other, like the concept of Besa, which is introduced—this Albanian term meaning "to keep the promise."

I recommend this novel. The family dynamics ring true. The plight to find one’s place in this world, both as an individual and within a community and culture, is one that readers will relate to in a big-picture sense.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.