Fantastic book. Spanning several decades, this book explores a family as it navigates challenges- especially those in the culture of the early 1980’s.

Claire Lynch’s A Family Matter is a quietly devastating and beautifully told story about a family split apart by prejudice, silence, and the painful choices adults are forced to make or make in error. Set in England, the novel follows the adult daughter of a single father who uncovers a long-buried secret: that her mother—who she believed absent by choice—was actually ordered by the courts in 1983 to remove herself entirely from her daughter's life due to her sexual orientation.

Lynch handles this emotionally fraught territory with subtlety and care. The narrative moves between past and present, slowly unspooling the truth as the protagonist grapples with her father's illness, her own experience of motherhood, and the question of whether she should seek out the woman she never knew she missed. The writing is restrained but emotionally resonant, capturing the quiet ache of lost time and the complicated love that persists even through separation.

There are somethings that are left unsaid in the novel, but this is both a strength and a weakness by toning the emotion down a bit, but at times the reader is left wondering. The emotional core of the novel is powerful and deeply affecting. Lynch does an excellent job portraying the social and legal forces that shaped queer lives in the 1980s—and the long aftershocks of those injustices. The author's note that stated, "In the 19080s in the United Kingdom, around 9o percent of lesbian mothers involved in divorce cases ... lost legal custody of their children," was a terrible and chilling statistic.

A Family Matter is a tender, thought-provoking novel about the costs of silence and the redemptive potential of truth.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on June 3, 2025.

This was a beautiful and heartbreaking story. This story goes back and forth between the 1980’s and the present. In the present Maggie is a mother watching over her two children and spending time with her father. In the past Dawn is a homemaker harboring a secret. The consequences of Dawn’s secret are far reaching and rip her family apart. I loved the way the two stories unfolded and how the past and present collided. Definitely read the author’s note at the end, that provides some depth and context to the story. A book that will stay with me for a while. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this but i was in the mood for a quick family drama, and this was surprisingly a great early pride month read! It’s a fairly short one-sitting read (i’d call it a novella even though its marketing is deceptive) that packs a punch. I feel like the summary doesn’t give too much away on purpose so i’ll leave it vague but this actually hits on a pretty interesting topic for its setting/time period that i wasn’t aware of. It’s an emotional read and Lynch manages to let the reader in on her characters enough to make an impact despite its short length.

This short read packs a punch about imperfect families, parental love, responsibility, sacrifice and an unforgiving patriarchal legal system.

It is an emotional and crushing read written to highlight the horrors of history and who gets to decide who makes up a family.

There are no numbered chapters instead they have titles and are divided into the relevant years of the book.

It is hard to imagine that a world in which the older protagonists lived actually existed. A world where married women had to obtain their husbands’ consent to subscribe to a magazine.

I like the author’s writing style- very direct and engaging. She approached this sensitive subject with grace and empathy.

If you love realistic fiction with timely topics then you will enjoy this.

This dual-timeline book follows the lives of Dawn, her husband Heron and their only child Maggie. When Maggie was still young, Dawn left, because she was in love with Hazel. Heron uses their "illicit" and "immoral" relationship as the basis to not only get full custody, but to cut Dawn out of Maggie's life completely. In the 2022 timeline Heron has just received a termial diagnosis, and knows that now is the time to finally tell Maggie things he should have told her long ago.

I can't say that I particularly enjoyed this one. It was depressing - both Dawn having her child ripped away from her like that, and the terminal diagnosis that Heron received and some of his actions afterwards. At least it was a short book, so it was a very quick read.

This is a tragic and beautiful story. That anyone had to suffer through this type of scenario saddens me, but I am glad that people are starting to talk about these types of issues. No parent should lose their child due to who they love. I am so glad that in this case Maggie can learn about her past before it’s too late. This book, while short, really holds a punch and I am so glad that this is something that readers will get to read about.
Thank you to Scribner and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

This was such a beautiful and moving look at a terrible circumstance that plagued women who questioned their sexuality or realized that they were not hetersexual.

I will be recommending this to everyone I know. This is such an important piece for anyone and everyone to read.

While we can be thankful that as a society this is no longer the normal circumstance, one has to wonder what, in thirty more years, we will look back on that's being done now with the same lens.

The tactful, tasteful and exquisite unveiling of this multi-layered and multifaceted story is a joy. Based on the social mores of the 1980s, which have changed by the 2020s, the breakdown of a marriage, the custodial battle for a much-loved child is handled with empathy and rendered from each character’s experience. A heart-breaking and powerful exploration of judgement, the judiciary, society, which offers hope – it is never too late to bond. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my feedback and review.

A Family Matter, by Claire Lynch, begins as the story of Maggie, a married mother of two and her aging father Heron to whom she is devoted. As the story unfolds and Heron is found to have terminal cancer, we learn through a series of flashbacks what happened to Maggie’s mother, and the impact it and the secrets kept from Maggie have influenced them all over the years. Lunch is a masterful storyteller and character developer who had me invested in and rooting for these flawed characters throughout the book. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I really wanted to like this book… but I didn’t. The synopsis sounded so interesting but I just could not get past the writing style.

This one had so much potential but didn’t quite land for me. The mystery angle felt a bit overplayed—not because there was a major secret driving the suspense, but more because the characters were so passive-aggressive that it created the illusion of tension without real payoff. The plot leaned heavily on two central revelations and was told through three POVs, which sometimes made the pacing and emotional depth feel scattered.

I found myself wishing we had spent more time with Dawn—her internal dilemma and how her choices impacted her relationship with Hazel could’ve been a powerful emotional thread. Similarly, Maggie’s processing of her mother’s absence felt a bit underdeveloped, especially given the emotional weight it carried.

There were moments where the book hinted at exploring deeper themes, like the stigma queer mothers have historically faced, but those threads were never fully pulled through. Reading the author’s note at the end did help me better understand the heart behind the story, and I wish more of that nuance had been present throughout the book itself. A meaningful concept, just needed a bit more cohesion and emotional depth.

This book is outstanding. It is a dual timeline that takes place in Britain. It is character driven and follows the characters in a single family starting in 1982. Dawn and Heron are a young married couple with a baby. Dawn begins to feel that there must be something more out there. Then she meets Hazel and begins to understand what she has been missing. Going after what she wants may cost her everything that she holds dear--the laws in 1980's Britain were not favorable for lesbians.

Forty years later, life has a stab at her ex-husband and secrets of the family become revealed to their daughter. She always wondered why her mother walked out on her and now is her chance to find out.

This was a superbly written book that educates as well as gives a story that will make your heart ache from the injustices done.

Thanks to Scribner Books and NetGalley for the digital copy. All thoughts are my own.

Emotional, and heart breaking but so engaging. I wanted things to work out so badly for this family. I was angry at a lot of their choices but this is what we see every day. Especially as an educator.

Claire Lynch’s A Family Matter is a powerful, deeply resonant novel that captures the emotional complexity of identity, acceptance, and the enduring impact of family. Written with honesty and sensitivity, this story speaks directly to the LGBTQIA+ experience—particularly the challenges and triumphs that come with coming out and navigating societal and familial expectations.

Lynch excels in portraying the nuances of both personal and collective struggle. The novel not only highlights the emotional weight of self-discovery but also unflinchingly addresses the discrimination and prejudice faced by those in the LGBTQIA+ community. The characters are richly drawn and authentically human, making the narrative feel as personal as it is universal.

A Family Matter is more than just a coming-of-age or coming-out story—it’s a testament to resilience, love, and the importance of chosen family. Beautifully written and emotionally stirring, this is a must-read for anyone seeking an honest portrayal of queer lives and the journey toward self-acceptance. Claire Lynch is a voice to watch, and her storytelling leaves a lasting impression.

What an unexpected surprise this book turned into for me!

I don’t typically love when books are short because I always yearn for more, but this felt perfect. Any more and it may have dimmed the magic that the author created.

I was fascinated by the characters in this book. The family was relatable and the dynamics felt familiar. The story told was heartbreaking, poignant, enraging, and baffling at times.

A Family Matter will break your heart and heal it in under 200 pages. Bravo to Claire Lynch for capturing this beautifully.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner the opportunity to read this ARC before its intended release date of June 3, 2025.

For a debut novel this was a good start but just could not fully get into this story. I really liked the premise and had no clue that women who were in same sex marriages would lose custody of their kids. I really wish that this book read a bit easier but it was an interesting idea.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

In 1982, a love relationship between two women became a scandal that society cannot abide by. A mother lost custody of her daughter by court order. She had to leave her daughter with no visitation rights. In 2022, the former husband has cancer. As he faces his diagnosis, his daughter begins to examine her life and wonder where her mother went.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoy books with good character development and this book fits that bill. If you’re a reader who likes more of a plot, this one may be a bit slow for you. The book covers two timelines and Heron is central to each. This is a man who discovers that he is dying in the current timeline does something that he should have done years before - he tells his daughter, Maggie the real truth about why her mother actually left the two of them. In the past timeline of 1982, we learn that Dawn is a young wife and mother who follows her heart to be with the woman she loves. Maggie, Dawn and Heron all have their reasons for how things have turned out and how they feel and each perspective is described well. I couldn’t help but be angry with Heron for misleading Maggie for so long and was appalled by how Dawn was treated in 1982. Times were different then and I guess that at least Heron “came clean” once he found out that he was dying. And Maggie’s anger at both her parents is certainly understandable. The author does a great job of describing each character’s reasoning and this made the book interesting. It does move slow but is short so held my interest.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the eARC.

I enjoy family dramas and was intrigued by the premise of this novel. Unfortunately once I started it I just found the pace to be dragging and I was not eager to pick it back up. The writing was not bad, the plot just wasn't working for me.