A Million Reasons Why

Well-developed characters, a compelling plot, and plenty of food for thought made this an absorbing read. "Women's fiction" at its best.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

When Caroline receives a DNA test for Christmas, she never expects it to lead to anything. Months later she receives an email that rocks her world. She has a half sister!! The two decide to chat and then later meet, but there are many secrets and lies that are revealed. The ending truly made me gasp in two different places! I highly recommend this book!

I have read ALL of Jessica's books. I was excited to see a new book.

I started reading and I could not stop - read entire book in a day!
I had to know outcome!

DNA testing - Organ Donation - Half Siblings -
what does family mean??
WOW, this book is so good!!

This will make you "good cry." This is a unique family drama that exposes long held secrets, explores complicated relationships, and delves headfirst into "truths" we create for ourselves. I enjoyed this emotional read. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

Caroline and Sela are sisters but do not know about each other until the DNA test result comes back, showing they are related. Caroline is shocked to discover this information. When she confronts her parents with this knowledge, her world begins to crumble, and her life is altered.

Caroline is married to Walt and the busy mother of three children. Meeting Sela, who desperately needs a kidney, opens up old wounds and leaves Caroline questioning her past and grappling with a moral dilemma.


Told from both Caroline and Sela’s point of view, and moves fluidly between events in the past and present day. Well constructed plot with great characters and plot twists.


I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I found myself sucked into the family drama, and on the edge of my seat until the shocking conlusion .Niec

This book was so good!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s about Sela who has failing kidneys and decides to do an DNA test searching for any possible half siblings.
Caroline finds out she has a half sister and that’s just the first surprise. You can’t help but feel sadness for both characters and what they go through.
The book was engrossing and I found myself wanting to stay up late lastnight to finish it but I didn’t.
I really enjoyed the story and was kinda surprised at the ending.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

I truly loved this story!
ONE test result will change many people!
Secrets that have been hidden for years, now will be hunted out and the truth will be revealed!

Caroline has always wished she had a sibling to share clothes, secrets and fight with/for.
When her whole family take a DNA test, it is truly only just for curiosity and to use the gift they all received.

Sela, takes a DNA test to appease her family.She will eventually need a kidney transplant.
Not sure what she will learn,. but-- who knows? Miracles happen!
AND... the roller-coaster ride begins!
This is a great, well written novel of family, secrets, mental illness, love, and hurt!

You will want to put this book on YOUR book list! ***** stars!

Oh my goodness, this books rips your heart in two. Caroline and Sela are so easy to connect with and to love. I felt so much for all that Caroline dealt with for getting information regarding a half-sister.. I have to say at that start of the book, I was prepared to hate Hannah (Caroline's mother). Fred....oh Fred. He just wanted to love his wife and daughter the best way he knew how. My heart just hurts so much for Sela and her health. I loved Walt and Caroline. This book gave me so many feelings. I have to say I have very happy with the resolution and how everything ended.


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of the book. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you again NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reading this advance copy for my honest opinion!
My opinion is this is a 5 STAR read~ 2 thought strangers...2 completely different life styles eventually come together after one is diagnosed with kidney disease. One looking to find her family through DNA testing!! It brings together all the many variables that go to show how much we all need one another . Well developed characters and beautiful writing!
I highly recommend this book!
5 full stars

When Caroline, an efficient event planner and mother of three, receives an email from a woman she doesn’t know claiming to be her half sister, she dismisses it as nonsense. A second email from Sela triggers doubts. Last Christmas, her husband gave the extended family mail-in DNA tests. Told in alternating points of view, I was hooked from the start. This well-told story is packed with surprises and takes a look at family secrets, lost loves and living with a life-threatening illness. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read another Strawser novel that this skipped the line in front of books that are coming out earlier. And she delivered. Though this is women’s fiction, there are also tantalizing mysteries within.

Caroline gets an email from a woman claiming to be her half-sister. Caroline had done genetic testing for her family on a lark—she will learn that Sela’s motivations were very different.

The email sets off a reaction in which Caroline learns painful truths about her past at the same time Sela is battling kidney disease. Caroline has a husband and three kids and parents that until recently she got along with. None of them is excited for Caroline, who grew up as an only child, to meet her sister. But meeting turns out to be a good thing for both women.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES MARCH 23, 2021.

Strawser’s best yet. One chapter gives readers whiplash. Another has them flipping backwards to reread scenes. No predictable characters or outcomes here after a family’s DNA results turn up more than (some of them) bargain for.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Strawser is the Queen of the Domestic Drama, who like Picoult highlights current issues ripped from today’s headlines.

In A MILLION REASONS WHY, the contemporary topic is DNA testing. Who knew it could be so fraught with problems, as character Caroline finds when she’s contacted by an unknown kidney-needing half-sister.

Would you give an organ to someone you didn’t know, who claims you’re kin due to shared DNA? That’s the mesmerizing million-dollar question.

Read this in a day, so riveted by Strawser’s fresh story, assured writing and fully-fleshed characters.

5 of 5 Stars

Pub Date 23 Mar 2021

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#AMillionReasonsWhy #NetGalley

What will you do if you’re in those characters’ shoes? I probably got the shoe off and started to run away as soon as reading the dilemmas they have to deal with! This is massive, powerful, soul shaking, thought provoking story!
Lately I start to read so many stories about finding your siblings via ancestry websites. Most of them were thrillers and one of the sisters turns out to mad person to avenge the other one kind of premise mostly irritated me.

But thankfully this book’s genre is not a thriller.
The formulation to bring two sisters together may remind us of the other stories but we sense Jodi Picoult’s My sister’s keeper kind of dramatic, emotional vibes which also presents us a mind blowing, realistic story with well-crafted, easily relatable characters.

We have two protagonists who are also narrators of the story.

One of them is Caroline who seems like having it all: a marriage that makes everyone jealous around here, three feisty kids, a successful career. When you google happiness, her photo appears on your screen. But nothing as it seems and our other POV belongs to Sela who tries to gather crumbling pieces of her own life. She already lost her mother and best friend. Her marriage fails and she’s suffering from kidney disease now she’s at the risk to lose her two years old son. She needs a donor to save her life which creates the biggest predicament between sisters.

Sela needs Caroline’s help because she can be a probable donor match but will Caroline accept to help her stepsister?

Before passing the spoiler territory, I stuffed my mouth with spicy Doritos and I’m screaming in pain because it’s way too much spicy than I expected and but thankfully I prevented a possible blurting out. ( only thing I blurted out from my nose is huge piece of extra spicy chip!)

I have to admit not only two protagonists but also the supporting characters’ dilemmas regarding to the situations they’re dealing with making you think a lot because each one of them are right when you listen to their side of the story. You cannot get angry any of them because each of the characters look at the matters from different perspectives and you learn to respect their decisions.

The author did a marvelous job by picking up a sensitive: life and death situation and her skilled, impeccable writing style hooks you up. You start to question your own realities and think what you would do if you were in the same situation.

It’s truly moving, heart wrenching and provocative story. And the stunning part about this book, the characters still stay in your head. I’m so sure at least one more week I’ll keep thinking about them.

Of course this means I’m rounding up my 4.5 stars to 5!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this remarkable ARC copy in exchange my honest thoughts.

Wow! What an amazing book!
What I love about A Million Reasons Why:
- the way the story is told from 2 characters perspectives
-the storyline that held my attention from page one
-the themes and issues at hand. I love the complexity of family relationships.
-the ending- so good!

I will be recommending this book to everyone!!

I am a big Jessica Strawser fan. I have read almost all of her books and this one may just be best one yet. This book totally blew me mind. I was unable to put it down and found myself reading it in a day and a half. I love how the author integrated the use of DNA testing, something so prevalent in our society today, into her storyline. A story of two half sisters, both only children, who didn't realize that they have each other. This is wonderfully well written with excellently developed characters. The author's attention to detail and the amount of feeling it evokes are amazing. I read so much of this book with teary eyes. A fantastic, surprising ending that I honestly did not see coming. This is going to be a must read for readers. I definitely recommend.

I would like to thank Jessica Strawser, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I am a huge Jessica Strawser fan! I have read all of her books and this one might be the best one yet. This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers.

Wow, Jessica Strawser really knocked it out of the park with this gem! A Million Reasons Why grabbed me by the heart from the very beginning!

This novel centers around Sela and Caroline, who upon both summiting their DNA to an ancestral company find out that they are half sisters. Caroline was completely shocked her doting father had an affair and more shocking was that she wasn’t the only child she always thought she was. Sela on the other hand knew there was a father out there somewhere, but being that her mother passed away without ever telling her his identity, she hoping she would find family. Sela obviously wanted to know her father’s side, but she has so much more at stake— if she doesn’t find a donor kidney, she may not be around very long!

The storyline is extremely thought provoking and I also learned so much about the donor search/process. The storyline is extremely original and the characters are very well developed! Jessica Strawser does a fantastic job with telling a heartwarming and heartbreaking tale that will stay with you long after you’ve read the last page. I found this 5 star novel completely unputdownable! I’ve read and enjoyed all of Jessica’s novels, but A Million Reasons Why is by far my favorite from her to date! A true must read!

A simply put “beautiful book”. It was written with compassion, gives the reader all of the characters’ perspective. Written from the heart that directs the reader to ask questions that have no simple answers. I loved every page of this book and would highly recommend a read.

What would you do if the sister you never knew you had needed a kidney to save her life?
This novel raised so many thought provoking situations for me. Starting with a DNA test that reveals family secrets, to having a sister to build a relationship with amidst all her own "stuff" in her life, to some twists at the end I did not see coming.
Being adopted and an only child, so much of this book resonated with me. I have a DNA test sitting here in my bedroom that I want to do, but can't seem to bring myself to complete it when I think about all it may reveal. All of that in my head and heart really made me think deeply about some of the things in this book - all the "what ifs".
Very well done, enjoyable, thought provoking and satisfying - this book will stay with me a while.
Thankful for the ARC.

Outstanding novel with a magnetic plot that draws you in and keeps you spellbound until the end. It is an unforgettable story with complex characters and just the perfect amount of tension.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book sucked me in from the first chapter and wouldn't let me go. This is not the typical book I read, but I will be seeking out more books that are similar. The writing was exquisite. The story was rich and engaging. I will seek out more books by this author.

A DNA test as a Christmas present turns Caroline's world upside down. She discovers that she has a half-sister, and as secrets, lies and hidden truths are uncovered, her world is initially upended, only to be put back together in an utterly satisfying way. There were so many lovingly drawn flowed people in this book, each with their own challenges and sorrows -- it made my heart ache for each of them.

This novel reads so real and it surprised me in so many ways. I've give it ten stars if I could. This is a perfect book to read during a pandemic. Heartfelt, uplifting, gritty and real.

Thanks, #netgalley

Wow. This was such an emotional novel! There was a twist at the end that I completely missed and was shocked! Caroline and her family each take a DNA test as a Christmas present and the story takes off. Months later, she gets a notification that she has a half sister. But that can’t be, because she is an only child. Everything she thought she knew about her life thus far was wrong. I really enjoyed the half sister Sela’s chapters and felt so sad that she lost her mother and never had/knew her father. And then on top of that, is suffering from kidney disease. This was a very character driven novel and I could totally see it as a movie.

Excellent heartfelt novel about what defines a family. When Caroline’s husband gifts the entire family a DNA test kit for Christmas he has no idea what he started. When the results come back and Caroline finds that she may have a close relative that she had no idea existed due to family lies and coverups the fallout could change things forever. Beautifully written novel of forgiveness, loss and what it means to be a family. Loved this book so much, it will definitely stay with me for a long time to come.

Thought provoking novel on what would one do when unexpected results of a DNA test come back. Caroline and her family get a dna test kit for a Christmas gift and then she is left reeling when the results come in, digging up family secrets from the past. There was so much going on in this book but I didn't feel overwhelmed by it all. Maybe overwhelmed thinking about the choices Caroline had to make but not the actual story. This was such a rich, powerful narrative. Fans of Jodi Picoult would enjoy this one. I don't cry easily when reading this one got me at certain points, some heart breaking moments.

Much to discuss with this one for a book club. I reccomend it whole heartedly. Thank you St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Just wow! I always am amazed by how talented Jessica Strawser is! I have read every single book by her and I don’t tend to ever stop! This book throws two half sisters together after they each take a DNA test and find out about each other. One sister did it to see if she could find any siblings who could possibly be a match for her as she’s facing a health issue. Only to find out so much more. This book took so many turns by the end I was having to digest what I read. It kept me guessing how it would end. Five stars all the way!

What an excellent read! I loved how the story was told in the alternating voices of Sela and Caroline. I I really enjoyed the strengthening of the bond between Sela and Caroline. There were many twists which made the story even more interesting. I can not say enough good things about this book! I will definitely read more books by this amazing author!

A MILLION REASONS WHY was an amazing read overall. Strawser is a flawless writer and reading her words is an effortless task. I devoured this book. The relationships she creates are complex and yet so relatable that you can’t help but feel as if they are real. Just when you think you understand the plot of the story or the nature of one of these complex relationships, Strawser challenges your notions and sends you reeling. One of the plot twists is so intense, I found myself with my jaw hanging open. This story incorporates physical and mental health, complex familial relationships, the struggles and joys of being a mother, the challenge of unearthing information on someone you thought you truly knew, and the idea of coming to terms with the fact that not everything is as it seems and can be fit into a precise bubble that you’ve created. This book made me cry, laugh, and smile. It reminds me a bit of Liane Moriarty’s book but is more nuanced in its connections of characters and its plot twists. I would definitely recommend any woman, anyone dealing with chronic health issues, anyone with complex family relations, any mothers, and any siblings to read this book. St, Martin’s Press does it again!

Wow! That’s what immediate comes to mind when I think about this book. One of those ancestry kits given as a Christmas present leads to results no one would have suspected. The author deeply examines the motives and feelings of all involved. The hurts, deceptions, anger and love rolled into an unforgettable story. The author did a great job with all the medical and psychological aspects of this novel. Excellent storytelling! Highly recommend! #AMillionReasonsWhy #JessicaStrawser #NetGalley

Caroline and Sela couldn’t be more different. She has a loving husband and three children, while Sela is divorced and the mother of one. Caroline was raised with loving parents, while a single mother raised Sela. Neither knew the other existed until Caroline found an email from a recent DNA test with the shocking message that she had a half sister. What she doesn’t know is that Sela, her half sister, is dying from a failing kidney. Caroline is her only hope.

Told from alternating points of view Caroline and Sela’s stories of agony, loneliness, anger, despair, depression, confusion are true to life. The bond expressed between mothers and their children will wring reader’s hearts. Mine was dripping with emotion before I turned the last page. Yours will too. You’ll also learn a lot of information about what it feels like to have a failing kidney, and how powerful it is to become a donor.

Highly recommended for Adults.

I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A MILLION REASONS WHY by Jessica Strawser is a heart-wrenching and compelling family drama with a unique take on the theme of family found by a DNA test. Caroline’s life is near-perfect. She has a strong and happy marriage, three great kids, a fulfilling career and a close relationship with her parents. Little does she know that her world will be upended by results from a mail-in DNA test kit that her husband gifted her and her parents for Christmas. She is stunned to receive a notification from the ancestry site that a woman claims they are half-sisters. The email sets off a chain of events that threaten to undo the bonds of this close family. For half-sister Sela, knowing she has a family member related by blood is even more critical. Sela has chronic kidney failure and will likely die without a transplant. Except for her two-year-old son, Brody, Sela is all alone after the death of her beloved mother and the breakdown of her marriage. Caroline could be the only suitable match that could save her life, but could she really ask a perfect stranger to donate a kidney? Against the wishes of her family, Caroline initiates contact with Sela and what follows is an extraordinary story of what it means to be family and how far someone would go to protect the ones they love. Filled with moral dilemmas and tough decisions, I could feel the intense emotions of the characters. As secrets are revealed, each character must make difficult choices with far-reaching consequences. I was totally engrossed in this story with its many provocative themes and unexpected twists. A MILLION REASONS WHY would make a great book club selection. I highly recommend this book and thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

This book gave me all the feels! Caroline and Sela's relationship unfolded so beautifully throughout the pages of this book. I can usually detect a twist, but not in this case; there were definitely some twists in this book that I didn't see coming.

Jessica Strawser did an amazing job of packing in so many big themes. I love the exploration of family, a sisterhood (chosen and through blood), motherhood, and forgiveness. The theme of marriage/relationship was also written about so well. I love how we get so much about each character and yet it all tied together into the bigger story. It's like I really knew these families.

Thank you #netgalley and #St.MartinsPress for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Net galley for an advanced copy of A MILLION REASONS WHY by Jessica Strawser in exchange for an honest review. And honestly, I've read her other three books, all were good, but this was the best. I learned so much about kidney disease when I read this-and already had personal experience (my sister donated a kidney to her son, successfully, it's been almost 5 years). It reminded the reader of how fragile life is, it can change fast, both for the better and for worse .It was the kind of book I really like, because you can't help but put yourself in the characters shoes and wonder, if given the same situation what you would do.

Loved this book! Great characters. Fascinating story. Good read. Current subject matter. Lots of DNA tests being submitted. Timely.

I finished this book a few hours ago and I’m still thinking about it. <i>A Million Reasons Why</i> is one of those books that’s just going to stick with you; it’s so well written and the plot itself will resonate with so many readers. What if you were diagnosed with a terminal illness and needed a transplant? And at the same time, what if you knew you possibly had other siblings out there in the world, ones that had no idea you existed, but that could possibly save your life?

Caroline has the perfect life and parents, until a gift of one of those DNA test kits turns up a possible sibling match for the only child. Sela, has the opposite of the perfect life, with a terminal kidney disease, a divorce, a toddler to raise and the death of her mother still fresh in her thoughts. Sela sends an email to Caroline, just as an ice breaker, and soon the collision of their two worlds begins an cataclysmic explosion that extends well beyond the borders of the siblings.

Reminiscent of Jodi Picot’s <i>My Sisters Keeper</i> in both theme and perspectives, this novel is told by both Caroline and Sela. The reader also gets a firm grasp on the feelings and perspectives of the family members on both sides of the novel. Strawser’s writing is heartfelt, gut-punching and tells the story of what it’s like to be both a person going through a terminal illness and another grappling with the thought of finding a sibling and losing them within a short window.