cover image I Couldn’t Love You More

I Couldn’t Love You More

Jillian Medoff. Grand Central/5 Spot, $13.99 trade paper (432p) ISBN 978-0-446-58462-3

In Medoff’s poignant—though occasionally melodramatic—follow-up to Hunger Point, 38-year-old Eliot Harmon is a hardworking mother of Hailey—and stepmother of Charlotte and Gail—in Atlanta’s suburbs, where she lives happily enough with her partner, Grant, and the kids. However, Eliot’s close ties to her mother and sisters Sylvia and Maggie put a constant strain on her relationship with Grant. As if that weren’t enough, Eliot’s college boyfriend, Finn—whom she never quite got over—reappears and wants back into her life. As Eliot struggles to choose between the man she loved and the man she loves, a mishap at the beach forces everything into perspective. Distracted as Finn divulges his still-strong feelings over the phone, Eliot loses sight of Hailey and Gail, who are swept separately out to sea. Unable to save both, Eliot must make a terrible decision, one that will put her entire life—past, present, and future—suddenly into perspective. Medoff’s exploration of fidelity, family, and parenthood provides a complex look at the difficult role of a stepparent. Agent: Jennifer Gates, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth. (May)