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If We're Being Honest

A Novel

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

For fans of We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange and All Adults Here by Emma Straub, Cat Shook's debut novel If We're Being Honest is the snappy, smart, heartwarming story of the Williams family, and the sweltering summer that rewrote their history.
When Gerry, the beloved Williams patriarch, dies suddenly, his grandchildren flock from across the country to the family home in Eulalia, Georgia. But when Gerry's best friend steps up to the microphone to deliver his eulogy, the funeral turns out unlike anyone expected. The cousins, left reeling and confused, cope with their fresh grief and various private dramas. Delia, recently heartbroken, refuses to shut up about her ex. Her sister Alice, usually confident, flusters when she spots her high school sweetheart, hiding a secret that will change both of their lives. Outspoken, affable Grant is preening in the afterglow of his recent appearance on The Bachelorette and looking to reignite an old flame with the least available person in town. Meanwhile, his younger brother Red, unsure of himself and easily embarrassed, desperately searches for a place in the boisterous family.
The cousins' eccentric parents are in tow, too, and equally lost—in love and in life. Watching over them all is Ellen, Gerry's sweet and proper widow, who does her best to keep her composure in front of the leering small town.
Clever and completely original, If We're Being Honest reminds you that while no one can break your heart like your family can, there's really no one better to put you back together.

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    • Booklist

      February 15, 2023
      In a deep-south small town in Georgia, the Williams patriarch, 82-year-old Gerry, has suddenly passed away from a heart attack. The revelations at his funeral are about to make his clan question everything they thought they knew, especially his four grandchildren, Alice, Delia, Grant, and Red. Their dynamics take center stage in this witty family drama. Different Williamses tell the story from their own perspectives, giving the reader a wider view of the situation, diving into their separate lives, including struggles, fears, and insecurities. All of the characters are dealing with messy lives and issues: an unplanned pregnancy, possible affairs, chaotic love lives, and coming out. Readers will experience the nuances of their individual grief as they process their losses, in the midst of anger and dismay at the recent surprises about a man they all loved deeply. The Williams family will never be the same, the only question is: will they change for the worse or for the better?

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from February 20, 2023
      Shook’s delightful and perceptive debut follows a family through an eventful week that begins with a funeral and ends with a wedding. One sweltering Georgia summer, the Williams clan has gathered to mourn the death of patriarch Gerry, but they’re thrown for a loop when Gerry’s best friend announces during the eulogy that he and Gerry had been lovers for decades. While Gerry’s widow, Ellen, wants nothing more than to deal with this revelation and her loss in peace, her three children and four 20-something grandchildren make that impossible. They’re all dealing with their own crises: sensible granddaughter Alice is pregnant and not sure whether to tell the father; high-strung daughter-in-law Jennifer is wondering whether her husband is having an affair; and grandson Red, a youth pastor, is trying to come to terms with his sexuality. Like a stone skipped across water, Shook flits seamlessly from one character to the next, and remarkably, all emerge as three-dimensional characters. Even with its many strands of plot, the novel never feels rushed, and Shook sprinkles some wild surprises into the goings-on. Readers will find plenty to savor. Agent: Andrianna Yeatts, ICM Partners.

    • Kirkus

      March 1, 2023
      Gathered for a funeral in small-town Georgia, a close-knit family gets the surprise of their lives. When Ellen Williams asks Fred Clark to give the eulogy at her husband Gerry's funeral, she has no doubt he's the man for the job: Fred was Gerry's best friend, a second father to the three now-middle-aged Williams children, and beloved by Ellen as well. Oops, bad call. After weaving his way to the pulpit, "white hair sticking up in odd places like a toddler just waking from a nap," Fred delivers a drunken tribute that ends with a stunning assertion about who Gerry really was--and leaves the Williams family reeling. If the patriarch they adored was living a lie, what does that say about his marriage, his love for his family, and whether anyone is who they seem? Debut novelist Shook is juggling a lot of balls here, and in a tight space. The action takes place over one week in Eulalia, Georgia, between Gerry's funeral and a wedding the four grown grandkids are sticking around for, and in that time nine Williamses grapple with their shock while probing their own emotional lives. Will Delia get back with her ex? Will Alice, who has her own secret, follow her heart? Can Red reveal his true identity; will his parents mend their marriage; can Ellen ever forgive? It's hard to keep the characters straight at first, but by the time they've finished the neighbor-donated casseroles and talked it all out, you're engaged and rooting for them. Also occasionally irritated, but that's what relatives are for. "Families are crazy--I mean, look at mine," granddaughter Alice finally tells the man she loves. "But it's what I want." An appealing, astutely observed debut about familial love and the secrets we keep.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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