I enjoy college reunions as a setting for books, but this one fell a little flat and seemed forced. But I'm glad Juska chose to set it in 2021 and made the pandemic such an important focus. Four years later, it seems almost unreal and we shouldn't be forgetting the effect it had on all of us. If the author wanted a cloud of doom to hang over the whole book and paint it gray, then she succeeded. I found that irritating though. Your mileage may vary.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. Not my cup of tea, but I bet others will enjoy it!

Reunion is a retrospective and current-life reunion story that brings college friends together after living through the harrowing Covid years. The narrative is relatable but somewhat predictable and at times stale. Perhaps best for those who enjoy reading college and family dramas.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Really enjoyed this story of three college friends that meet up for their 25th reunion - one year delayed due to the pandemic.. This truly hit home for me as I approach my 25th and the insights about parenting during the past democratic were poignant and dead on. Would definitely recommend this book!

June 2021 — Three friends anticipate a Covid postponed college reunion at the Maine campus. Hope — a stay at home mom with an increasingly distant husband — is desperate to return to what she remembers as her happiest time; Adam looks forward to reconnecting but feels guilt at leaving his perpetually sad wife with the twins in the house that she hasn’t left in a very long time; and NYC based single-mom Polly who doesn’t share her friends fond memories, but is persuaded to attend by her reclusive son who wants to visit a nearby friend.

This character-driven novel explores friendships and personal growth against the backdrop of lockdown parenting and recovery alongside some pretty intense environmental anxiety. With every relationship comes inevitable clashes and this story covers quite a few. I particularly “enjoyed” the generational clashes — some familiar and some brand new to me as successive generations bear less and less in common with my own. Well written probes into the evolution of friendships
— what connects people with little in common and what decisions can impact the closeness over time. I really liked that the ending for all of our protagonists had a closure that was more about understanding the nature of their issues, thereby clarifying a path towards closure, rather than any kind of quick solution to the problem itself — because there really are no quick solutions to relationship issues…

One kind of funny (to me) quote as Hope thinks about her teenage daughter Izzy: “Meanwhile, Izzy was skeptical of all things where Hope was concerned. Her Spotify list. Her low-carb bread. Her Facebook posts — too frequent, too obviously curated — why was she even on Facebook? Her overuse of exclamation points. Her leather tote. Sometimes Hope secretly wondered if Izzy had become a vegan primarily to get on her nerves.”