Do you like literary fiction novels? If so, check out Letters From Strangers by Susan Walter. It was a solid book.

Letters from Strangers is a book about adoption. All children that are adopted should be able to trace the history of their parents when they are eighteen.

Letters From Strangers by Susan Walter, published by Lake Union Publishing is an emotional read. A raw and gritty story that will stay with the reader long after finishing the book.
I just wanted to take a peek at the story and hours later - I mean who needs sleep - I closed the book after reading the last page.
Blurb: Jane’s father is far from perfect. But his sudden death brings crushing grief. As Jane grapples with her pain, life delivers another blow ... a stack of letters pointing to a secret life. A life her father shared with another woman…who may have had his child.
Across the country, sixteen-year-old Adam is self-destructing. His adoptive parents never intended to show him the unsigned letters from his birth mother, but he is desperate for answers, even if they hurt.
Jane and Adam are on a collision course, but not for the reasons we might suspect. Because the letters do not tell the whole story. What is true is that Adam and Jane are both looking for a woman who does not want to be found.
A family saga spanning two decades, this emotional story explores how good things can grow from the ashes of old scars.

*4.5

I read this entire book on New Year's Eve and simply could not put it down!

The writing was engaging and easy to follow, and I absolutely loved getting to read all the letters in between chapters. I also appreciated the change of POVs for the second part of the book, I thought it was very insightful.

I thought the plot twist about Adam not being Ellie's son was quite well done because I only saw it coming after Jane went to her doctor's appointment!

Overall I really enjoyed my last read of 2024!

This is an excellent exploration of how family dynamics shape us. Jane is a teenager who idolizes her father, but as an adult comes to realize that he is a deeply flawed individual. We see how her family's disfunction has rippling effects that are felt through time.

Across the country is Adam, an adopted teenager struggling to find himself and his place in the world. To do this, he has to rebel against his parents (they want him to play tennis, he wants to play football), develop inner strength, belief in himself, and come to terms with who he is.

Both stories come together in a really beautiful way. This novel also takes a close look at disordered eating, from both the male and female perspective, and how to ultimately prevail. Highly recommended.

A good and emotional read. I do think that the eating disorder plot line felt a little forced, but that would be my only complaint.

✰ 3 stars ✰

“But the problem of looking at life from both sides is that real life is not two dimensional, and—contrary to the old adage—what you don’t know can hurt you . . . can hurt you a lot.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ There was a brief moment where I literally paused reading. I paused because I felt like the rest of the book would be of moot consequences, as I had felt that most of the story would center simply on the search, but due a deliberate indication that pretty much solved all puzzles. But, after mumbling and grumbling for some time, I picked it up again.

And I am glad I did.​ 👍🏻

“Losing a parent is largely inevitable, but when it happens, it’s as incongruous as losing a piece of the sky. Something that’s always been there suddenly isn’t.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ This statement resonated with me on a personal level; the same could also be said for Jane and Adam, two completely different souls, and yet tied by an invisible red thread of fate that has their paths converge. For when they both stumble upon a set of mysterious and elusive Letters from Strangers it hints of a connection that has both of them searching for hidden truths and buried secrets that are as painful as when they first came to light. 💌​ It is that mystery of uncovering whether or not Jane will be able to find her missing half-brother or if Adam could be that child, while he, himself is desperately searching for his mother in vain is what made their struggle capture the triumph of the human spirit through these vulnerable moments.​ 😥

“How do you explain to a person who grew up with all their puzzle pieces on the table that the need to find your missing one is as basic as the need to breathe?”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Sixteen-year-old Adam was a dear; a boy struggling with his own mental and physical health that led to difficult if not harmful results, his conviction and determination to soothe the lingering feelings of abandonment and loneliness, while also shouldering the burden of defying his adoptive parents to seek out the truth and heal a part of himself that he wished to change was heartfelt and sincere. ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹​ His own developing insecurities were nicely balanced against his struggle to find his missing mother - a piece of him that he wished to have a moment of closure, if not fill the void of his heart - a remnant of his existence. His relationship with his parents, his football Coach and his new friend, Matty, were all valuable parts of his own life, ones that grew as he even grew as more confident and assured of himself.​ 🥺​

​“What I was doing, I was doing for love—a love so pure and deep it overpowered all doubt.​”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Jane, too, was a strong-willed character, but certainly not with her flaws; and yet, so relatable in her thoughts and emotions. Her longing for a child of her own, steeped with sadness of those who do, thus having her marriage on the rocks because of that desire, her distant relationship with her own family, because they are a family so mired in keeping quiet their true feelings; 'how I understood that sometimes you need to find all the twisted branches of your family tree to feel rooted.' It was a hard fight to find a way to seek out the truth behind letters that felt like it was almost a palpable sin to bring forth. And yet, the truths that came forth upon their discovery was actually a blessing.​ 🫶🏻

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ If I was to applaud anything, it was the gradual, if not seamless way in which the truths did come to light. They were surprising and the writing captured the reveals was effective. It stirred the feelings in my heart on a visceral level - '—sadness, gratitude, regret, awe' - of the chances lost and mistakes made - a lifetime of regret, or the happiness of new opportunities. Those were the quiet, but emotional moments that were portrayed in such an honest way that it did touch me deeply.​ 🥲💟

​“My eyes saw what I didn’t want to be, not what I was. The psyche can be cruel too.​”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ As much as it became an immersive read, I ​do​ have to point out that if certain trigger warnings were mentioned beforehand, I may have hesitated to read it. I do get why they were not mentioned and I do understand the importance of shedding light upon it, but it definitely made it more of a challenge to read, for how much it did take up significant parts of the narrative. 🤷🏻‍♀️​ 'It’s hard to be nice to someone when you’re disappointed in yourself. There was also a certain unevenness in the alterations between Jane and Adam's perspectives that I wished didn't exist; especially in regards to the actual letters, themselves... And it's not like I am holding a prejudice against Jane's father's mistress, but I ​wished​ the author could have given her more of her past a stronger approach. I felt that her storyline was dismissed too easily, almost forgettable. I also felt that the attempt to redeem Jane's father for his conscientious, if not questionable behavior towards Jane was unnecessary and made me a bit annoyed, too.​ 🙍🏻‍♀️

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ All things considered, it still was a tender and emotional reflection of the two unique ways we confront our grief and channel our hearts to accept those painful truths in order to move forward in life, while finding it in her hearts to forgive others and ourselves for choices not in our hands - 'connecting with you forced me to confront some difficult things'.​ An honest, if not heartbreaking depiction of how parental love can be both a weapon and a blessing depending on the nature of which it is given. It is a heartfelt story of how love has the ability to find its way back to those who never let it go, even when it still hurts to remember what it felt like. A second chance of love and living that makes Jane and Adam discover the true meaning of family and how words can still mean something, no matter how long it takes to reach them. 🙏🏻🫂

*Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in
exchange for an honest review.

This book begins as a mystery but then evolves into so much more. I was drawn in by the notion of letters that point to a secret past, but it was the authenticity of the storytelling that held me. This book succeeds as both a propulsive mystery and a touching coming of age. The two characters at the center evolve in such a deeply moving and unexpected way, a day after finishing it I still can't get them out of my mind.
First we meet Jane, whose world is turned upside-down with the news that her father is dead. Her devastation is palpable, and simmering underneath it is yet another heartbreak - her inability to get pregnant after almost two years of trying. I found Jane's plight deeply sympathetic, but the character that really burrowed his way into my heart was sixteen-year-old Adam, whose wry observations brought a smile to my face, even as he was suffering from being trapped in a body that was betraying who he wanted to be.
We know from the structure that these two characters are destined to meet, but their relationship to each other is not what we expect, and I gasped out loud when the twist was revealed. Once I started part three, I was like a train speeding toward the station, ravenous to know how the plotlines resolved. I have read all of Susan Walter's books, even when she is murdering people there is still an undercurrent of truth and hope. I absolutely loved this one and hope she writes more women's fiction, she has a gift for it.