This is a hardcover book. My brother and sister-in-law included it in my Christmas package in 2017. It has appeared on numerous best book lists for this year and I had just added my name to the library hold list on December 24th. It would have been quite a while until my name made it to the top of the list so I was delighted to see it on Christmas morning.

I had seen this book on a number of Best of for 2017 lists and I put a library hold on it in December. Then my best brother and sister-in-law included a copy in my Christmas package so I was able to remove my hold. Typically it took a few months before it worked its way to the top of my TBR pile. Now that I've finished it I have that familiar feeling of slight disappointment because it's over. Oh well, I'm sure there will be more books to discover in 2018 and the future.

The book starts with a woman waking up to the smell of smoke on a Saturday morning. She checks all the rooms but she appears to be alone in the house. Curiously fires were started in the middle of her children's beds, pretty obviously arson and not an accidental fire. The woman escapes in her bathrobe and watches her house being consumed by fire. One by one her children, or at least three out of the four, and her husband arrive back home. The missing child is the youngest, Izzie, who has always been the most difficult. It's beginning to look like Izzie, for reasons of her own, has set the fires and then left town. The rest of the book is the back story and it's hard to give a synopsis without disclosing major spoilers so I'll just say if you want to know Izzie's reasons (and she does have her reasons) you will have to read the book.

Parenting is a major theme in this book. What makes a good parent? What are the best interests of a child? Does the ability to provide materially for a child trump love? Is it sometimes better to give up a child or have an abortion than try to raise one? These are big issues that people, especially women, grapple with and this book should provide fodder for lots of thought and discussion.

I passed this book on to my sister to read when we met for coffee at the Johnston Terminal at The Forks.

This book has gone through the hands of several members of my book club. We discussed the book at the June 2019 meeting and everyone enjoyed it. Now I have lent it to BellBelle.

I will take this book to the Winnipeg Holiday BookCrossing Meetup. If no-one claims it you can find it on the OBCZ shelf.

When you find a BookCrossing book it is yours to do with what you like. You can read it and keep it or pass it on or if you don't think it is your kind of book pass it on to someone who might like it or release it in a spot for someone else to find like you just did. Whatever you choose it would be great if you could write a short note letting us know what new adventures the book is on.

I picked this up at our meeting from Gypsysmom and it sounds very interesting. I may not get to it immediately but I’m looking forward to reading it.

I didn’t want this book to end because it was so good. Ng is an amazing storyteller who still gives you so much to think about.

I’ll be leaving this somewhere in Yuma for a new reader to find.