Will I love Ask Again, Yes?

I adore books with a slow burn rather than one that races through the pages so quickly that I barely have time to draw breath.

I also adore character-driven stories. Mary Beth Keane creates characters that are so real I can hear the hitch in their voices when their nerves are stretched thin.

Ask Again, Yes has lingered in my heart since the day I turned the last page. I love books that bring me joy, make me laugh out loud, but also leave me thinking about family and forgiveness.

Not since Romeo and Juliet has there been a more heart-wrenching story about two soulmates torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. I loved this epic, multigenerational tale about a boy and a girl born six months apart who are inseparable for their entire childhoods but can’t find their way back to one another after an unthinkable tragedy.

The depiction of how regrets linger for far too long was stunning. I found myself looking inward, wondering if the wounds that I think (hope?) have healed over will someday show themselves again. I loved this literary exploration of what it means… show more.

Ask Again, Yes is a drama about two generations of two families and the tragedy within the book centres on the events of one fateful day.

Mary Beth Keane’s prose is a real pleasure to read and the story itself brings home how often lives are changed irrevocably in a moment. What I also loved about this book was that it takes the central characters from childhood to adulthood and we see how this makes them view events differently.

It’s one of the reasons I enjoy books with multiple narrators – being able to see the way they can justify… show more.

What I loved most about Ask Again, Yes was the real to life feeling of how the character’s world view from childhood of their family, grew and expanded, and yes, became ever more complicated as the characters themselves aged. I was deeply impressed by the realities of daily life accompanied by the stress of living with alcoholism, mental illness, and family dysfunction. The common thread that tied it all together for me was the deep and believable feeling of love, loyalty, and forgiveness. This novel is a thought-provoking family drama that spans generations with wonderfully flawed characters and world building… show more.