Stella Rose

"Warmhearted and sincere, Stella Rose is a sensitive portrait of loss, friendship and the families we choose. . . . A big-hearted novel of love and loss, narrated by a woman grappling with grief while caring for her best friend's teen daughter."—Shelf Awareness for Readers

“Tammy Flanders Hetrick has written a marvelous first novel. Stella Rose is the dramatic, clear-eyed story of a dying mother who leaves her beloved friend the most precious legacy imaginable: her sixteen-year-old daughter to raise. Stella Rose is a celebration of love in many forms, from wildly romantic passion to friendship, from eternal family devotion to an abiding love of the world we all live in.”—Howard Frank Mosher, author of A Stranger in the Kingdom and Where the Rivers Flow North

“For fans of commercial women's fiction, Stella Rose is a good bet. . . . [Hetrick] doesn't soft-peddle the dilemmas of friendship and grief. And fans of the genre will love her depiction of The Girls — Abby and Stella's extended group of margarita-quaffing, ever-supportive friends.”—SevenDays.com

“In this fascinating exploration of the interconnectedness of lives, Hetrick mines the ways in which relationships both grow and flounder under the stress of devastating disease, familiarity, and responsibility. Stella Rose takes the reader through the volatile territory of adolescence as a teenager navigates unchartered possibilities replete with equal doses of hazard and potential.”—Yvonne Daley, author of Octavia Boulevard & director of the Green Mountain Writers Conference

“ . . . stunning . . . well-written . . . a novel that will stay with the reader long after reading the book.”—Ann McCauley, Story Circle Book Reviews

“Tammy Flanders Hetrick’s novel Stella Rose proves to the reader that Love is not just stronger than Death, but stranger. Succumbing to illness, a brilliant woman bequeaths her teenage daughter, their home, and a series of instructions for life while grieving to her best friend. Hetrick deftly studies the ties that bind, unraveling mysteries that complicate and, finally, enrich intimacy.”—Verandah Porche, author of Sudden Eden & recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Marlboro College

“I’ve been really lucky with my books lately – I’ve now had three in a row that were exceptional. This book is certainly out of my usual genre but I’m so glad that I read it. It drew me in from the beginning as the writing just seems to wrap itself around you and carry you right into the world created by the author. . . . I felt like I was sitting in the room with these characters, almost like I was a part of the family. It was hard to let go.”—Broken Teepee

“What sets it apart from other books of a similar plot is the fact that it’s not simply a sob story about death or the loss of a loved one. Rather, Stella Rose is an exploration of living fully, not in the wake of death, but for the sake of living.”—Centered on Books

“This debut novel is beyond amazing! I recommend it to anyone and everyone!”—I’m A Book Shark

“ . . .this novel was as equally heartbreaking, as it is heartwarming. And it’s a definite tear-jerker, but I fully enjoyed it.”—Life of a Female Bibliophile

“I found it to be a wonderful debut for this author and I look forward to reading more from her in the future. I would recommend Stella Rose to those who love a good, emotional, contemporary tale that flows poetically.”—Electively Paige