Beautiful, epic family story. The twists and turns were so big, but the emotions and the reactions showed a natural progression of exactly how families relate to each other. Even though the surprising tragedy (literally I gasped at the incident) has never happened to me or anyone I know, I felt like the author and the story was describing feelings I have had a family and parenthood and marriage. Kate and Peter were so relatable. But even Francis, Lena, Ana and Brian were as well. I could just feel how devastated they were every misunderstanding and every moment of brokenness. And yet the longing of family remaining ever strong. It is no wonder there was so much hype about this book. It lived up to it well.

This quite reminds me of A Place for Us. Not in the plot or anything but the theme of family and what it means and what it can survive. There was a complexity to the characters that read very true to real life. I felt as if I was reading a true story. It was real and raw. The story of two families divided by a tragic event. The story of two neighboring children of these families that are drawn together at birth. The story of how much a family and people can truly go through and still be strong. The story of what people may be running from. Or towards. This writing was beautiful and I could picture everything. I could cast characters in my mind and see the story playing out. This book will stick with me I think. I’m at a rating of 4 right now but I can see in coming weeks this rising. I have to ruminate more on the meanings of the book. But it was truly delightful and I can see why it was one of the best books of the year.

Maybe I don’t read as much general fiction as I should, because my hand floated past this book of my shelf far too long before I picked it up. I regret I didn’t read it earlier. This family drama is packed with ups and downs and characters you can truly fall in love with. I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a book that sprinkles warmth and heart alongside the drama.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This book was amazing and I would highly recommend this to all my friends and family. So well written and loved how each of the characters were fully developed and the story line it self.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

Trigger warnings: Cheating, attempted murder (Shooting), alcoholism, miscarriage, mention of multiple mental disorders—paranoid personality disorder, schizophrenia, schizoid personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder—and possibly more triggers that I didn’t catch.


Story | I went into this book expecting to compare it to Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. The two books are apples and oranges. This one was more of a “love story” between two characters, and that was not the case with Ng’s novel.

I picked this one up earlier in the year—around when it first came out—and put it down for some reason. I’m happy I picked it back up because the story was actually pretty interesting. It deals a lot with mental health. All the characters have inner turmoil that they need to deal with, plus everything else that is going on around them. If you’re not big on character-based books, then this one may not be for you.

Characters | Some characters fell a little flat, and where this is a character driven-story, it makes an impact. It definitely affected my rating of the novel. There wasn’t a single character that made me want to remember them for years to come. With that being said, I did feel sympathy for all of them.

It seemed like all the characters were meant to be seen as villains at some point in the story. If it wasn’t attempted murder, it was a problem with a poor habit. There was a lot of bickering and fighting. I did root for Kate and Peter, and they proved that love can work with just a bit of elbow grease.

Unfortunately, my least favorite character is Anne, but Brian also made it to the top of that list. I didn’t like him from the beginning, and I could see why him and Anne were together. Peter was not blessed with good parents, and I’m sure Anne would have been a better mom if not for her “mental” problems. I don’t think it was even stated what was actually wrong with her. Listed in the book is just a bunch of possible illnesses.

Writing | The writing is your basic good fiction writing. Nothing wowed me while reading it, but it also didn’t bore me to death.

Overall | Would I read this again? Not in the foreseeable future, but there is something inside me that thinks I would. I rarely reread books because there are so many others I need to get to for the first time. It felt a little drawn out toward the last third of the book, but the book redeemed itself at the end. I just wish the characters came alive a little more. This was a good book, and if you’re looking for another contemporary fiction book, I recommend you pick this up.

Loved this book! A family drama that I couldn't put down, with so many characters to love. Would appeal to a wide audience of readers.

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane delivers characters who will surprise you again and again with the many challenges her characters face. If you need an encouraging read about family and relationships—this is it. I can't recall reading a book where at the end of the story I found myself caring about and surprised by every character.

A beautiful novel that highlights various life complexities between two neighboring families spanning four decades. Told through multiple points of view, the book will pull you in and make you fall in love with the characters.

When I went into this book, I was ready and prepared for a great novel about the affects of the police career on family and friends. I was excited about the notion of this book as I was hoping for a book that would hit close to home that I could relate to. This book was less about that and more about the families at the heart of the drama. With forgiveness, hope and second chances, this book was quite the roller coaster of a ride.

Peter and Kate are two kids who from the beginning were doomed. With parents with conflicting issues, they should have been pulled apart, but from the beginning they kept finding themselves in each other's lives. The reader goes on quite the journey with these two and it was enjoyable to read their ups and downs.

After reading this book, I went to a book club to discuss it and it was a great chat. The first thing we debated which I didn't even think about was - "who is the villain?" There were a few in this book and it was interesting to see where we all came from and who we thought was the victim and the villain.

If you like to read those books that center around family drama, then this should be the next one you pick up. This one walked the close line about having just the right amount of drama, it wasn't soap opera level - but close!

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2804412930



<b><u>4.5 STARS</u></b>

<blockquote>Would they be somewhere more magnificent than this were it not for everything that had happened? Would their lives have been fuller and happier?</blockquote>

I'm not always a big fan of slower novels and stories like this, but for some reason this one <B>stuck with me</b>. I kept thinking about all the characters days after I finished reading this book. I think this is such a simple story, a story that could belong to any one of your friends, neighbors, or coworkers, and that's why I couldn't help but obsess over this. The characters are all so raw and real, and the author did an amazing job to immerse the reader into their stories.

This book spans a huge amount of time (40 years!), and is truly an epic saga. The only trouble was that there were rather large time jumps, and I wish I had known the details of what happened in them. For example, (spoiler), <spoiler>I wish I had been able to see exactly how Kate and Peter reconnected and the start of their romance, rather than seeing it come out from Francis and Anne's perspectives.</spoiler>

<I>UGH</i> this was such a beautiful novel about such a simple subject -- life and all its winding roads.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read a copy of Ask again, Yes in exchange for a honest review.

This is a great family drama about forgiveness that is well written. It was a little slow to start for me but once I got going it was an enjoyable read. I wish there was more of Kate and Peter so I could have made a stronger connection with them. At times I felt the story line jumped ahead to fast.

Beautifully written literary novel about two families who for a time are neighbors, from the 1970s through today. Sometimes many chapters in a row are set in the same time period, then there will be a big time jump, and character perspectives vary as well. It's often a sad book but with some beautiful thoughts on forgiveness and hope as well. In both its structure and its masterful writing, it reminded me a little of "The Children's Crusade" by Ann Packer and "Commonwealth" by Ann Patchett so if you liked those books, I'd recommend this one to you, and vice versa. 4.25 stars.

I feel pretty terrible that Ask Again, Yes took me over two months to read. Thanks to NetGalley, I owned the book and that made me keep putting on the back burner while I read the books I had to return soon first.

I think that Mary Beth Keane did an outstanding job painting a portrait of two families inextricably linked. The Romeo and Juliet vibes in this book are strong. That doesn't necessarily detract from the book, it's just always in your head. The book goes through the span of a few decades, and you see each character change.

I think the best part about this novel is that it reflects life very well. Things are not black nor white, and nothing is left tied up with a nice pretty bow. The writing itself can be a bit convoluted and wordy, so I had to knock off one star solely for that.

Thank you to NetGalley, Scribner and Mary Beth Keane for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.

A beautifully written novel about family, love, mistakes, forgiveness, tragedy and trauma. Taking place over four decades, the lives of the characters are written with such compassion and grace even when discussing horrific tragedy. You get drawn into these lives of neighbors and their families and become invested as the pages turn.

So what was this book about? Life! This book was about life! Ugly, messy, complicated life. It touches on so many things - friendship, love, duty, mental illness, alcoholism, letting down your loved ones, letting down yourself, family dynamics. See - just life! It's difficult to read a book like this and be entertained. It's hard, because it all hits so close to home. But the writing was beautiful and honest. I definitely recommend this one if you don't mind a little bit of reality that grabs you right around the kneecaps and doesn't let you go!!!

This book was about 2 families and how one charged event changes those 2 families and how those repercussions play out over time. It is definitely a slow burning novel that is character driven and my struggle with it was definitely that I did not connect with the characters. With such an impactful premise, I was hoping to feel some emotions about the characters or the story but it fell really flat for me. The second half of the book did pick up for me a bit but I felt it was a little too neatly tied up for me but at least it was more interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley and Scribner for the opportunity to read and review this book!

After reading and hearing some mixed reviews on Ask Again, Yes, my expectations were set low. I love a great family drama book and I was afraid after reading so many great ones that received rave reviews as well this one wouldn't quite hit the mark. I'm glad I looked past the negative reviews. This story definitely grows on you. Each character is so well written about and exposed you can't help but feel every emotion. Mary Beth Keane's writing of sensitive issues is superb.

This is my favorite book so far this year. I loved reading about these two families and how they interact with each other. I just love this authors writing style. I hope she hurries and writes another book soon.

A beautiful, character-driven novel, Ask Again, Yes, is the sweeping story of two families whose lives are thrown first together, and then later, apart, and the two children at the center of it all.

Mary Beth Keane’s Ask Again, Yes takes place over about 30 years and deals with a lot of serious issues - family dynamics, alcoholism/addiction, mental illness, marriage, motherhood, and anxiety. The story moves quickly and I was easily pulled into the vivid portrayal of life and how it can change over time. This book brought me on a roller coaster of emotions and I loved every moment of the ride. The characters were incredibly human and while I didn’t always agree with their decisions, I loved that they were flawed characters who truly felt real to me. Kate is a woman who I admire greatly, and with whom I would love to enjoy a cup of coffee and have a long talk about motherhood and life.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

When I first read the synopsis for this book I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it, but I decided to give it a chance after seeing all of it's great reviews. Let me just say that I'm glad I did. This story spans over 40 years and tackles the tough topics of mental illness, infidelity, and addiction. I was immediately sucked in and found myself unable to put it down. While I found some situations relatable (other actions of the characters completely blew my mind), it was the emotion that was written into the pages that was addictive. Both Kate and Peter drew on my heart strings for different reasons and I kept hoping for their healing and happy ending. If you haven't had a chance to pick this one up you definitely should and it would be a perfect pick for any book club.