CJ Hauser‘s debut novel is already glittering with advance praise— this is a book of substance and small town New England intrigue (no light, fluffy ‘beach-read’), so as you can imagine, I’m on tenterhooks waiting for my copy to arrive. I happen to know the lovely and brilliant CJ and know that she’s a damn marvelous writer (and winner of McSweeny’s Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award) so I feel confident in saying that her book should be at the top of your summer reading list. If you’re in New York or New England, this month, catch her on her book tour!

Some advance praise

“CJ Hauser’s debut novel, The From-Aways, is as charming, salty and fresh as its setting in small-town Maine. Through her spunky heroines, Leah and Quinn, who have both come to Maine to find roots, Hauser tells an affecting story about lobsters, loyalty and love.”

— Elliott Holt

author of You Are One of Them

∞ 

“The From-Aways is populated by twenty-somethings running from and in search of family, by people passionately in pursuit of home. CJ Hauser has written a wise, lovely, luminous novel about love and work and leaving New York.  It will make you want to get out your lobster pot and set forth for the coast of Maine.”

–Joshua Henkin

author of The World Without You

∞ 

“In The From-Aways CJ Hauser introduces us to Menamon, Maine, a town of wisecracking fisherman, activist waitresses, and secret fathers, with such deftness we immediately know and care for it like locals. At its heart, The From-Aways is the story of a hesitant friendship between Quinn, a Bernstein looking for her Woodward, and Leah, a newcomer to Menamon and her marriage to one of its prodigal sons.  These compelling, unlikely women rub the sorry states of their lives together to ignite a breathless chain of events that whips clean through to an explosive conclusion that resonated with me for days.  I loved spending time in Menamon, and was sorry when I had to go.”

— Marie-Helene Bertino

author of Safe As Houses and 2 AM at The Cat’s Pajamas

 Go here for more praise and a glowing review from Kirkus Reviews: http://cjhauser.squarespace.com/praise-for-the-from-aways/

You can find The From-Aways on Amazon or on in any good bookstore. Check your local bookstores– small and local pairs best with this novel. 

Image Source: lobsterlandtheblog.blogspot.com. This lobster says “BUY IT! READ IT! DO IT!”