You, Me, and the Sea

Donohue (How to Eat a Cupcake) spins first-rate women’s fiction in this imaginative and lyrically told tale about how the most unlikely of people become family. The story begins with a lavish engagement party and immediately swings back a few decades to the childhood of the intended bride. Merrow Shawe is growing up poor in Northern California with her widowed father and cruel brother when her father brings home an orphan named Amir, the adopted son of his late wife’s close friend. When Merrow is 10, her father also dies, leaving Merrow and Amir at the mercy of Merrow’s older brother, Bear. Their only consolation comes from Rei, a Japanese former professor hired to tutor them, who fills their heads with magical tales of lands far away, and from their habit of popping into unoccupied homes to dream about how others live. One of those visits changes Merrow’s life forever: a dog bites her; she meets a woman, Rosalie Langford, who becomes her protector; and Merrow falls in love with Rosalie’s son. After tragedy separates Amir and Merrow, seemingly forever, Merrow continues down a new path that ends with a betrayal and a surprise. Donohue’s careful plotting and richly drawn characters will keep readers enthralled right up to an unexpected ending that’s likely to be polarizing. Merrow’s life story is worth reading even for those who’d prefer it took her another way. Agent: Elisabeth Weed, Book Group. (May)