Pack Up the Moon

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Kristan Higgins is at the top of her game, stirring the emotions of every woman with the poignant reality of her characters.”— #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr Eighteen-year-old Mallory Greenleaf is no longer interested in chess, not since her hypercompetitive dad left—the game calls up painful memories. But she grudgingly agrees to play in a charity tournament as a favor to best friend Easton Peña. After she unexpectedly beats current world champion Nolan Sawyer, she’s offered a fellowship that will prepare her to play professionally. Even though Mallory doesn’t want to play anymore, she needs the money that winning would provide; she’s delayed college to support her family, since her mother is chronically ill with rheumatoid arthritis and is unable to work regularly. The more time she spends with Nolan, the more Mallory comes to like and respect him—and the more time she spends playing chess, the more she remembers how much she loved it. But when she learns that Nolan has been keeping a big secret from her, she isn’t sure if she’ll be able to move past it to build a relationship with him. Filled with the author’s signature humor, well-developed characters, and realistic conflicts, plus the fully realized setting of competitive chess, this captivating romance will delight teen readers as well as Hazelwood’s adult fans. Mallory and Nolan are both cued white; there is some racial diversity among the supporting cast. Mallory and Easton are queer.

The storyline was a cool idea but it was so SAD-the entire way through. I keep describing it as a dark cloud…that’s how I felt the whole time and I just kept waiting for something uplifting and bright to come in and change the trajectory. But no. It’s sad and solemn and depressing the whole way. I completely understand why this man is sad of course. His wife dies tragically at a super young age and then has letters delivered to him each month after her death so she can help him through his grief. It’s sad, there’s no way around it. But he just never seemed to get better. I love that he makes a friend at some point but that’s kind of the highlight for me. The last 5 minutes are good because he finally seems happy but holy cow.Every month, a letter. That's what Lauren decides to leave her husband when she finds out she's dying. Each month, she gives Josh a letter containing a task to help him face this first year without her, leading him on a heartrending, beautiful, often humorous journey to find happiness again in this new novel from the New York Times best-selling author Kristan Higgins. Funny, heartbreaking and uplifting, New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins delivers an unforgettable romance about how love can transcend even the greatest obstacles.

Kristan Higgins can directly talk with our hearts with her lyrical words and she can write such emotional but also feel good, sweet , motivational romances. Perfect pacing and plotting lift Higgins s masterly latest. This is going to break (and restore) plenty of hearts. Publishers Weekly, starred reviewAs Lauren's disease progresses, Joshua struggles to make the most of the time he has left with his wife and to come to terms with his future - a future without the only woman he's ever loved. He's so consumed with finding a way to avoid the inevitable ending that he never imagines his life after Lauren. I love RH's Cypress Hollow books, but as another reviewer has said, it's important to know what you're getting into with this book--it's not one. Josh and Lauren are a young couple over the moon in love. They have their whole lives ahead of them. Until Lauren receives devastating news. She has a terminal condition known as IPF (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis). A acompanhar e a viabilizar esta magnífica história, temos personagens realistas, cheias de tantas qualidades quanto defeitos e unidas por uma amizade muito especial espelhando tanto a fragilidade e fugacidade da vida como a intensidade e alegria com que esta merece ser vivida. As Lauren's disease progresses, Joshua struggles to make the most of the time he has left with his wife and to come to terms with his future--a future without the only woman he's ever loved. He's so consumed with finding a way to avoid the inevitable ending that he never imagines his life after Lauren.

someday, maybe, Sarah would be holding Josh’s hand. That she would be his wife. It would be good to know that Josh had a lovely, caring, smart woman as his second wife . . . someone who had known her and would understand that he would always love Lauren just a teeny bit more." The neighborhood was quiet; Josh assumed some of the houses were second homes that filled up in the summer. The former owners had agreed to sell him some of the furniture, which was great . . . some of the stuff was quite nice, and the house was too big for him to furnish on his own. Kristan Higgins is at the top of her game, stirring the emotions of every woman with the poignant reality of her characters. #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr

Laura, a 26-year-old space designer, receives the devastating news that she has a terminal illness. Newly married to the love of her life, she is determined to make the most of her final years. To help her husband, Joshua, through the grieving process, she writes letters to him. He will receive one letter per month with a task for Joshua to complete to help him cope. One with a yard for Pebbles, grass for you to cut, a garden where you can grow tomatoes, because you love tomatoes fresh from the vine, warm from the sun. I want you to have neighbors to wave to, and I want you to shovel some old lady’s walk when it snows. I want little kids to ring your doorbell on Halloween. I want you to walk out to the mailbox and chat with the nice folks across the street. I do have one gripe but I'll keep it vague so I don't give away spoilers. I really wish the restaurant scene at the end was written in a different way. I love the eventual outcome as I had a hunch early on that was the direction the author would take, but I did not like the over the top behavior of a character. It seemed to come out of left field and did the character dirty in my opinion. Just wasn't necessary and took me out of the story as the chapters leading up to it were very moving. You did it, Josh. You made it through the first year. That after today, the first year would be over, and all those firsts would be done.

It's a journey that will take Joshua from his first outing as a widower to buy groceries... to an attempted dinner party that becomes a comic disaster... to finding a new best friend while weeping in the dressing room of a clothing store. This book is the type of read in which each person might gravitate towards something different. Josh's journey really was the heart of the story for me more so than Lauren coming to terms with her fate. I thought Lauren was a one-dimensional character but I did come around on that opinion by the end of the book. Even though you know she dies, watching her final days unfold really made for an emotional read. This book has everything in it that one could want in a love story... grab a copy and curl up with it for a weekend! You won't be disappointed. The best love story ever!!' Reader reviewKristan Higgins is beloved for her rich, heartwarming sagas—which her latest novel delivers.”— Women’s World In the last few years Anna has been honing her TV scriptwriting skills working on medical drama ‘Holby City’ for the BBC (UK), legal drama ‘Striking Out,’ for RTE (IRE) and historical adaptation Jesus His Life for History Channel (USA). There’s a particular point in the story where I cried the ugly tears but more often I was filled with the hope and anticipation of the promise of Lauren’s next letter. The narrators performances were beyond outstanding as they became Josh and Lauren, so much so that I was convinced they were the characters. You should listen to the book if the audiobook is an available option. I was unprepared to love this story knowing that it was focused on death and grief; that alone makes it exceptional. I’ll never forget it, Lauren or Josh. The ending left me in a wonderful space, which lived up to that initial promise of hope and light. Why not five stars? Not really sure ... was Lauren a little bit too perfect? I feel bad saying that but she sort of was ... plus, it really is a little bit depressing - there are fun moments and happy moments but not all the time (I guess that is real life but sometimes you just don't want to read about it)!