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Description
New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt returns with a tantalizing, courageous story about mothers and daughters, guilt and innocence, and the lengths we go for love.
As a teenager, for a moment, Ella Fitchburg found love—yearning, breathless love—that consumed both her and her boyfriend, Jude, as they wandered the streets of New York City together. But her glorious life was pulled out from beneath her after she was accused of trying to murder Jude’s father, an imperious superior court judge. When she learns she’s pregnant shortly after receiving a long prison sentence, she reluctantly decides to give up the child.
Ella is released from prison after serving only six years and is desperate to turn the page on a new life, but she can’t seem to let go of her past. With only an address as a possible lead, she moves to Ann Arbor, Michigan, determined to get her daughter back. Hiding her identity and living in a constant state of deception, she finds that what she’s been searching for all along is a way to uncover—and live with—the truth. Yet a central mystery endures: neither Jude nor Ella can remember the events leading up to the attempted murder—that fateful night which led to Ella’s conviction.
For fans of Miranda Cowley Heller’s The Paper Palace and Allegra Goodman’s Sam, Caroline Leavitt’s Days of Wonder is a gripping high-drama page-turner about the elusive nature of redemption and the profound reach of love.
As a teenager, for a moment, Ella Fitchburg found love—yearning, breathless love—that consumed both her and her boyfriend, Jude, as they wandered the streets of New York City together. But her glorious life was pulled out from beneath her after she was accused of trying to murder Jude’s father, an imperious superior court judge. When she learns she’s pregnant shortly after receiving a long prison sentence, she reluctantly decides to give up the child.
Ella is released from prison after serving only six years and is desperate to turn the page on a new life, but she can’t seem to let go of her past. With only an address as a possible lead, she moves to Ann Arbor, Michigan, determined to get her daughter back. Hiding her identity and living in a constant state of deception, she finds that what she’s been searching for all along is a way to uncover—and live with—the truth. Yet a central mystery endures: neither Jude nor Ella can remember the events leading up to the attempted murder—that fateful night which led to Ella’s conviction.
For fans of Miranda Cowley Heller’s The Paper Palace and Allegra Goodman’s Sam, Caroline Leavitt’s Days of Wonder is a gripping high-drama page-turner about the elusive nature of redemption and the profound reach of love.
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Praise
Author Longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize
Named a Best/Most Anticipated Book of the Season by Bustle and Zibby Mag
Named a Best/Most Anticipated Book of the Season by Bustle and Zibby Mag
"Leavitt is clearly in her element here... [her] graceful prose... heralds the power of steady perseverance, sturdy faith and the raw restorative power of love."
—New York Times Book Review
“Caroline Leavitt has crafted a novel rich in empathy and a story that will resonate with every reader. When Ella and Jude's young love goes awry, they struggle for a maturity that allows them to see that their past mistakes are in fact doors to a new, more beautiful life.”
—Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful
"A versatile, talented writer... Her gift for creating complex, unpredictable yet self-aware protagonists is on full display... fresh and provocative and deep... It’s a tribute to Leavitt’s seasoned skills that as the plot thickens, the characters evolve and the pages fly."
—Los Angeles Times
"I was so inspired by [Leavitt's] inspiration for this book... resilience forged from regret... [The] book is a wonder. It's called DAYS OF WONDER and it's a must read."
—Mary Calvi, CBS New York
“A propulsive and heartwarming story about the lengths a mother will go to clear her name and save her loved ones. A true escape to look forward to this spring.”
—Zibby Owens, Oprah Daily
“The New York Times-bestselling author of Pictures of You and Is This Tomorrow is back with her most audacious, empathetic novel yet... [A] gripping epic.”
—Bustle
“What a phenomenal novel! Poignant, thrilling and moving, Caroline Leavitt's Days of Wonder grabbed me from the very first page and wouldn't let go. Leavitt is a master of plotting, pacing and language. This intricately woven, beautifully written novel is a joy.”
—Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvia Lee
"Days of Wonder is as intricately patterned as a high-quality Persian rug... A page-turning exploration of love, motherhood, and secrecy... almost impossible to put down."
—New York Journal of Books
"There is good reason Caroline Leavitt is considered our great American storyteller. Days of Wonder, her incandescent novel of young love, loss and regret will not leave you when you reach the end. Ella Fitchburg is a total original, her struggles for truth, connection and forgiveness are our own. This layered novel is woven with the tender thread of love, which saves Ella and redeems a past she cannot escape. Superb."
—Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Left Undone
"Sometimes, though very rarely, a novel comes along that is so full of life, love and wonder that it almost feels impossible to imagine the writer’s hand behind it --- the kind of novel that breathes with spirit, vitality and a convincing, complex range of human emotions. This year, that novel for me is Caroline Leavitt’s DAYS OF WONDER... Heart-rendingly beautiful, achingly poignant, and innately and almost miraculously full of love and wonder. If there is one thing Leavitt can do, it’s write a love story, regardless of whether the love is romantic, parental or something else entirely. And in DAYS OF WONDER, her talents are on full display."
—Book Reporter
"Caroline Leavitt has always known how to draw her readers in from the very first page, and her newest book, Days of Wonder, proves that she's still at the top of her game... This moving mediation on motherhood, family – both the one we're born into and the one we create – is surely one of Leavitt's finest. Her richly developed characters and the palpable sense of place make the story leap from the pages and come alive; when it's over, the truths it tells continue to resonate."
—Yona Zeldis McDonough, Lilith
“As compassionate as it is complex, Days of Wonder is a completely absorbing story of loss, injustice, and the canyons of misconception left behind. Both a coming-of-age love story and a tale of motherhood, the emotional resonance will stay with you long after the final page.”
—Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy
"No one writes the mother-daughter relationship in novels better than Caroline Leavitt. I also give Days of Wonder my highest recommendation, and it may be Caroline Leavitt’s best book yet."
—The Citizen (New York)
"Days of Wonder is unputdownable for all the best reasons. It's packed with style, pathos, and humor. It's got a killer plot, a great heroine, and brilliance on every page. It is, in short, a masterpiece. If you're not a Leavitt fan, you just haven't read Days of Wonder.”
—Darin Strauss, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Half a Life
"Prolific novelist Leavitt spins a tale of young love, loss, and new beginnings… readers who crave drama will love it."
—Booklist
“In this heart-rending page-turner, Caroline Leavitt spins a complex web of mother-daughter relationships in the aftermath of a tragically impulsive act that shatters the lives of two teenage lovers. With a tender, incisive eye, she shows how resilience can be forged from regret and hope from remorse.”
—Julia Glass, New York Times bestselling author of Vigil Harbor
“Fearless… the tabloid scandals start early and never stop in Leavitt’s latest… If you love old-fashioned Hollywood melodrama, this may be just your cup of foxglove tea.”
—Kirkus Reviews
"Caroline Leavitt rewards readers with emotionally resonant, gripping, and topical page-turners. Days of Wonder (Algonquin Books) is her latest. Radiant with empathy... marvelously satisfying."
—National Book Review
“Caroline Leavitt is a national treasure. I've been reading her novels from the very first and I can say that no one writes about the bond of motherhood like Leavitt. I loved Days of Wonder and simply couldn’t put it down. A warm, big-hearted story of love and longing, the novel gets at the very essence of what it means to be a mother and a daughter, a friend and a wife. Like all of Leavitt's novels, this latest offers the most profound narrative pleasures. Days of Wonder may be her best yet.”
—Joanna Rakoff, bestselling author of My Salinger Year and A Fortunate Age
"A poignant story of loss and redemption."
—Audiofile Magazine
—Audiofile Magazine
"Caroline Leavitt is a terrific writer and a model literary citizen; her generosity is legendary. Her latest novel, Days of Wonder, succeeds at seemingly incompatible aims. It’s a page-turner and an investigation into questions concerning our criminal-justice system, the nature of rehabilitation, love, adoption, and how we pay for our mistakes."
—Washington Independent Review of Books
"Told through multiple perspectives, “Days of Wonder” warns of the corrosive power of secrets, raises questions about love and parent-child relationships, and reveals that real freedom comes from facing our truths."
—Traverse City Record-Eagle