ASK AGAIN, YES BY MARY BETH KEANE
05/28/2019 • SCRIBNER
★★★★★ / 5

Given that I’ve been moving at a glacial pace with my book reviews lately, I figured it would be a while before I ever got to ASK AGAIN, YES. But then again, the books on my TBR pile tend to get waylaid for whatever is the newest and buzziest, which wound up being exactly what happened here. (This, of course, doesn’t mean I’m ever on time with my reviews.) Like everyone else over on bookstagram, this title from Mary Beth Keane and Scribner has been all over my feed, and somehow despite this, I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I decided on a whim to pick it up. Of three things I was sure: 1) this title had a beautiful package, 2) the people I follow were speeding through it, and 3) it was loved and enjoyed across the board. Sure, it’s a gorgeous book, and not only has this been the quickest read of 2019 (it took me one evening), but it’s also joined my handful of five star reads for the year. I’d even hazard to say this earned its spot as my favorite book of 2019 so far.

Lena and Francis Gleeson move to the suburbs of New York City after they are freshly married, followed soon after by another young couple, the Stanhopes. Brian Stanhope and Francis Gleeson are colleagues as rookie cops on the NYPD, but the proximity of their professional and personal lives isn’t enough to stop the heartbreaking chain of events that changes the trajectory of their futures. Anne Stanhope never lets their son Peter become too friendly with the Gleeson kids next door, which doesn’t stop Peter from growing up with a love for the Gleeson’s youngest daughter, Kate. Anne’s dislike for Kate has less to do with the girl herself and more with Anne’s instability. It is the consequences of her instability that entwine Peter and Kate for years to come–a love story that is defined by, and defies, the immeasurable pain of their families’ history.

Here is your warning: there are spoilers ahead!