Those We Love Most

Those We Love Most- by Lee Woodruff – 301 pages
Advance Reading Edition courtesy of Voice

On a warm June day, Maura Corrigan is walking with her nine-year-old son, James, as he rides his bike to school. The unthinkable happens: he darts onto the street and is hit by Alex, a 17-year-old neighbor. As if James’s death isn’t tragic enough for the Corrigan family, in its wake an intricate web of relationships, secrets, and betrayals begins to unravel.
Told through the perspective of four family members, Those We Love Most chronicles how this sudden twist of fate forces each of them to confront their choices, examine their mistakes, and fight for their most valuable relationships. It asks the age-old question: Why do we hurt the ones we love most? Then it shows us how we can, in the most difficult of times, forgive ourselves and others for our transgressions.

I so wanted to like this book of falling apart and coming back together but at page 165, over halfway through the book, I still really didn’t care about the characters enough to keep going.
The four protagonists were quite predictable in most of their thoughts and behaviors. The only character I wanted to keep reading for was the 17 year boy, Alex, who continues to commiserate on the Corrigan’s front lawn every night. Hmm, not enough of a reason to continue reading further when my TBR list stares at me longingly.