The How & the Why
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"Cynthia Hand is the master of pulling at your heartstrings. The How & the Why tells both sides of an adoption story with love, compassion, and care." —Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of Letters to the Lost
A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand.
Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for; they’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs—but she has questions, too. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions her adoptive parents can’t answer, no matter how much they love her.
But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for.
Alternating between Cass’s search for answers and letters from the pregnant teen who placed her for adoption, this emotionally resonant narrative is the perfect read for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson.
But what secrets do the letters hold, and can Cass handle the truth of who she is?
A Story of Adoption from Both Sides: Follows Cass on her eighteenth birthday as she begins the search for her birth mother, and simultaneously reveals the heartfelt letters that mother wrote to her all those years ago.Letters from the Past: Uncover the raw, honest, and sometimes funny voice of a sixteen-year-old girl facing an impossible choice, revealing the full story of why she placed her baby for adoption.The Search for Identity: For Cass, who loves her adoptive parents deeply, the quest for answers isn’t about replacing her family—it’s about finally understanding herself.A Heartfelt Story of Family: Explores the intricate bonds of family—the one you’re born into and the one that chooses you—in a poignant novel perfect for teens and adults alike.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Growing up in Idaho with loving parents, Cassandra McMurtrey has always known she was adopted, but now, at 18, she's curious about her birth mother. Because the adoption was closed, her parents have little information to give. But with the support of her best friend, Nyla, an adopted orphan from Liberia, Cassandra begins a search that leads to a stack of letters written by "S," her birth mother. Hand (My Plain Jane) drew on the search for her own biological mother in this compelling novel, which offers two dramas in one: witty letters penned by "S" alternate with events from Cassandra's senior year as she develops a crush on a new student, plays a lead role in a school play, and worries about her adoptive mother, who is in dire need of a heart transplant. Many characters emerge as heroes here, sacrificing their own desires for others: "S," who is determined to find the perfect parents for her unborn daughter; Cassandra, who remains considerate of the feelings of birth mother and adoptive parents; and her adoptive parents, who put their own concerns aside to do what's best for their child. If the tidy ending relies too heavily on coincidence, the rest of this compassionate story rings true. Ages 13 up.
