"A pitch-perfect depiction of New England campus culture, COVID-era child-rearing and how the complexities of adulthood accumulate." People, "The Best Books to Read in May" An engaging story. . . . as cozy as a rainy summer weekend in midcoast Maine. . . . so true to life. New York Times Book Review "A beautiful excavation of a liminal time period that united the world in collective vulnerability. . . . Juska has a talent for deeply immersive details and rich character development.Reunionpulls the reader in, as if we too were returning to Walthrop and assessing the state of our life. Chicago Review of Books A master of the whip-smart character-driven drama. Philadelphia Magazine [Juska] totally captured what it feels like to go to your twenty-fifth. . . . Im emotional about this book. . . . it got me. News Center Maine "Masterful and surprising." The Philadelphia Citizen "If a novel is about people approaching fifty, can it still be called a coming-of-age story? After reading Elise Juskas Reunion, I would argue that it can. I loved this story about the importance of long friendships, especially when life gets difficult in ways we can't imagine when we are young. This is a perfectly crafted page-turner of a novel, full of warmth and wisdom." Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes and The Half Moon "REUNION had me hooked from its perfectly tense opening, and kept me enthralled throughout with its masterful storytelling and memorable characters. This is Elise Juska's best book yet." Liz Moore, New York Times bestselling author of Long Bright River In this elegantly rendered novel about a long-awaited reunion that doesnt go as planned, Elise Juska deftly and grippingly explores the richness and complexities of longtime friendships, the anxiety of living in a world that feels perpetually on edge, and the possibilities of community and connection that still somehow remain. Lynn Steger Strong, author of Flight and Want REUNION is a masterful portrayal of the experience of being a parent and human being in a world that seems to be tipping toward the end times. Relatable and riveting. Chip Cheek, author of Cape May In the appealing latest from Juska (afterIf We Had Known), three friends attend their 25th college reunion in Maine. . . . Hijinks ensue as the Natty Light flows freely, and long-held secrets work their way to the surface. . . . the characters are well drawn, and Juska does an especially good job of portraying how her cast navigates a new normal. Its a diverting twist on theBig Chill. Publishers Weekly "Fans of J. Courtney Sullivans Maine, Hannah McKinnon's The View From Here, and Jonathan Troppers This is Where I Leave You will enjoy Juska's blend of introspection and intrigue. Warm and witty, Reunion makes a delightful case for reconnecting with the people who knew you when you barely knew yourself." Booklist REUNION begins with three deftly drawn protagonists reckoning with the past and present in early midlife, and opens out into an interrogation of the future and what it means to be young now. Juska's masterful ending is as startling as it is moving and true. Kate Christensen, author of Welcome Home, Stranger "In Elise Juskas insightful and elegant new novel, three college friends return to the campus they left decades before and are forced to face the hard truth of how their lives have turned out. A beautifully written and skillfully woven tale of what-ifs and what-might-have-beensI loved it. Daisy Alpert Florin, author of My Last Innocent Year EliseJuskasReunionis such a wildly vivid snapshot of midlife that you may feel like you're reading your own diary. How wise and deeply humane and tenderis thisbeautifully writtenstoryof three old friends who reconnect at a collegereunion on the coast of Maine, how laser sharp the dialogue. The subtle knowingness and crystallized moments of connection and longing between mothers and sons, and husbands and wives, and women friends will stop you in your tracks. Susan Conley, author of Landslide Poignant and humane, Reunion is a campus novel alive to the ways that personality and privilege intertwine to shape an education and a life. Suspenseful, surprising, and moving all the way through." Cara Blue Adams, author of You Never Get It Back A deftly written page-turner that kept me up way beyond my bedtime for several days to find out what would happen to Juska's characters. So relatably human and touching, this novel had me riveted until the very last sentence. Caitlin Shetterly, author of Pete and Alice in Maine A vivid, engrossing read. . . . The idyllic beauty of a Maine college campus is the perfect backdrop for Juskas characters to reconnect with each other and with who they were in another era, to attempt to distance themselves from the secrets and struggles of the lives theyve left behind, and to feel both the comfort and the pain of nostalgia. Katie Runde, author of The Shore "Elise Juska is so good at describing people, places, and moments that you not only picture them, youfeelthem." Curtis Sittenfeld Praise for The Blessings: "There's no shortage of novels about the quirks and tragedies of large families, butThe Blessingsis a uniquely poignant, prismatic look at an Irish-Catholic clan as it rallies after losing one of its own." Entertainment Weekly "A bighearted novel. . . . Juska's moving, multifaceted portrait of the Blessing family gleams like a jewel." The Philadelphia Inquirer "In the tradition of Elizabeth Berg's and Alice McDermott's work,The Blessingsis a knowing portrait of a sprawling Irish-American family in Philly across the last thirty years, in all their shared strength and separate weaknesses. Elise Juska is deft and tender, letting us get close to her characters in their most vulnerable moments. The ties that bind are never simple, and often painful, but as one daughter acknowledges, 'these are the hidden intimacies, the private exchanges, on which she builds her life.'" Stewart O'Nan "Several generations of the Blessings, a Philadelphia-based, Irish-American family, come beautifully to life in a deceptively simple tale that examines the foibles, disappointments and passions that tie family members together. . . The author brings a depth of understanding to the human condition. . . . the reader leaves feeling lucky to have spent some time in their presence." Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Juska's compelling narrative tackles complex issues about society's judgment of and responsibility for others." Shelf Awareness Praise for If We Had Known: "A tender, whip-smart meditation on the origins and aftermath of tragedy. Here Juska asks us an important and quietly devastating question: In what ways are we responsible to and for each other?" Carmen Maria Machado, author of the National Book Award Finalist Her Body and Other Parties "What a gripping and wise book this is." Robin Black, author of Life Drawing