I really loved this story right until the end. Halpern is a superb storyteller. Her characters are endearing, flawed, and really make you root for them. I really, really didn't like the ending of this book though. It didn't come together like I wanted it to. There was absolutely no reason for us to read about these characters parallel lives because they had nothing to do with each other. Weird...

Opening with the morbid scene of the protagonist's mother being completely crushed by a boulder, Sue Halpern writes about the life of Melody (formerly Jane) as she learns more about herself and who she really is. Written in the perspectives of two different women, Halpern attempts to connect young, grieving Melody's journey to the life of accomplished, middle-aged Candace. Candace, who lives for her work and her routine, starts to question what she really wants in her life. As the plot has both characters live at the fringes of each other's lives, it felt like reading two completely different stories side by side. As a lover of women's fiction, I still found that I lost interest in the plot early on.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

A rich, satisfying novel following a teen and a forty-something woman both struggling to find attachment and a sense of home. High school senior Melody loses her adoptive mother in a freak accident, dealing with the aftermath of an empty house and a bereft father. High-powered executive Candace moves nearby, when a shocking winter accident brings new people into her life who know Melody, and might change both their fates.

I was intrigued by the title and the synopsis of this character driven novel which tells the story of two very different females and how they navigate life and how their pasts have influenced their present.

I like stories with dual points of view and this is one, according to the synopsis, is "about destiny, belonging, and love, and makes us question our own idea of the kind we’re born into and the kind we create."

I relished the chance to read about Melody Marcus, a high school senior whose adoptive mother dies in a freak accident, and Candace Milton, a 40 something year old successful HR professional who shuns any hint of a serious relationship. She said "men are overrated", a view stemming from the failed relationship her parents had. She prefers to live life on her own terms, single and unattached. Her two friends Angela and Paul are enough for her.

When we meet Melody who is on the cusp of adulthood, she is eulogizing her "amazing" mother and navigating life after her tragic death. Her adoptive father Eddie is reeling from the death of the love of his life and finding it hard to cope.
She has to take her SATs, do the college tour, choose where she will receive her higher education which her mother has been pushing her towards and she likes a boy. She navigates this period of her life with her friend Lily and her neighbour's son Danny and one of his friends who offers her a different option to college, at least for a year.
This option causes a rift between her and her father. He wants her to continue on the path her mother laid out but without her there, she is uncertain what she wants her future to be.

Through a project for one of Lily's classes, Melody finds out about her birth mother which raises so many questions. When she hears the story about her parents and her mother, it is not what she expected. She is understandably angry and perceives her life to be "one big lie". She has so many questions about the choices Delia and Eddie made.

Candace, whom we meet in chapter three, learns about Delia's death via the news. Through the ensuing chapters we gain some insights into her life, her job, her friendships with Angela and Paul. We also see her willingness to try at a relationship with Tom, whom she met after an incident on Thanksgiving.
It was her pal Paul's budding serious relationship with Noah that forced her to examine herself, her chosen path and determine if she really wanted to be alone for the rest of her life, though.
Many chapters later, she meets Eddie through Tom. He invites her to speak with Melody about her decision to take a gap year from college. He later offers Candace a chance to do something different and challenges her to step out of her comfort zone work wise.

The chapters, which sometimes focused on Melody and other times on Candace, allow readers to follow both characters and witness their lives unfold. Their individual stories are not the same. Their lives don't connect, except for that brief instance. This novel is two distinct stories in one. It shows how two people handle their emotional trauma caused by decisions their parents made.

I like the author's writing style which made the story easy to read. It flowed but it took a while before the characters' lives overlapped and it was more fleeting to me than anything. I wanted more about them together considering that the story is about them. I particularly wanted to read more about Candace. The ending was anti-climatic for me.

If you like character drive narratives with teen angst, loss, love, relationships and family but not a ton of drama, this is right up your alley.

Thanks to Harper Perennial via NetGalley for an E-ARC of this book released in June, this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complementary digital ARC. This review is my own opinion. Melody is a high school student, soon to be going to college when her mother dies. Her father sinks into depression and Melody is basically on her own as she tries to process her mother's death. She was adopted as a three year old after being in foster care. Melody never wanted to hear her birth/adoption story so her mother doesn't tell it. By the time that Melody needs to hear it, her mother is gone. Part of the story deals with Melody, her father, the adoption and her plans after graduation. Interwoven, is a story about Candace which really doesn't need to be told. There is very little connection between Melody and Constance. The book is character driven and nothing really happens to keep me interested in this book--I picked it up and put it down numerous times. 2 1/2 stars, rounded up to 3.

Thank you to Harper Perennial for the ARC of What We Leave Behind, out now!

This beautifully written novel follows two very different women grappling with the messy emotional legacies left by their parents. High school senior Melody struggles with the untimely/unexpected, and tragic death of her mother and refuses to learn about her birth parents (even as DNA testing threatens to expose family secrets). Meanwhile, Candace, in her forties, has lived a carefully unattached life shaped by her parent’s failed marriage, only to be forced to reconsider everything after a chance encounter.

I enjoyed the dual POVs and found both women's stories compelling on their own, but even by the end, they felt disjointed and not as interwoven as I hoped. Beautiful storytelling, but the plot ultimately fell a bit short for me. It ended, and I was like, "Oh, that's it?"

Dear author,

I want you to know that I think you such a fantastic writer and I am greatly looking forward to more of your books! I sadly felt by the end of this one that this book was not for me and that is okay! I recognize that not every book I read works and star ratings are absolutely arbitrary so I even hate that NetGalley makes us leave a star review- because what good does that really do anyway? Ya know?

My biggest concern with this book was what the importance of Candace? I kept thinking that she and Melody had SOME connection the WHOLE book and when the ending happened and there was NO connection I died a little bit inside. I loved her story though!

That's all.

What We Leave Behind by Sue Halpern was such an entertaining read that I finished in a few hours.
A well written story that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
The characters were all realistic and very well developed.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in advance!

Overall, while I enjoyed the writing in this book, I don't feel like anything really happened. After the big accident that took one character's life, it really didn't feel like anything was all that exciting or interesting. The main character grieved, she had the very common angst against her remaining parent, she "revolted" a little... but all in all, it felt like a very boring glimpse into someone's life. Even the twist that happened at the end, didn't feel so exciting or revealing.

I will say that I thought the writing was good, it just didn't move along or make anything seem exciting. I will also give it stars for the fact that this was a story about a Jewish family, having normal (and some tragic), but real responsibilities and problems and they just happened to be Jewish. It was extremely refreshing and I loved that it didn't have to be about the fact that they were Jewish, but it was mentioned as a normal part of their lives, Kudos, because writers don't do that often enough and therefore we don't have examples of Jewish people in novels.

This is a sweet, yet sad story that had me wondering and guessing all the way through about its outcome for main character Melody as she sees the tragic death of her adopted mother. Does this unfortunate tragedy allow her to move forward and learn of her heritage?
Does she really have an interest in this?
There is mystery,heartache, friendship, anger and many regrets as we delve into the chapters of this neat book.
It is a good read and I believe women's fiction lovers will definitely enjoy it.

Than you to @NetGalley and to @Harper Perennial and Paperback for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

A story about a daughter grieving the loss of her adopted mother and two friends going on different paths and work life, it was a promising start but lost me near the end. I wish we got more of her family dynamics.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Perennial for the arc! Can't wait to see what this author does next!

This character driven novel is about two very different women and how they handle life, grief and the pasts that were handed down to them by their parents.

Melody is a high school senor when her adopted mother died in a freak car accident. Her father wasn't able to help her navigate her grief because he was an emotional wreck at the loss of his wife. Melody has always known that she's adopted but doesn't have any interest in finding her birth family. As she deals with her grief, she decides not to go to college but to work on a farm collective. At first it looked like this decision was made because that's what a boy she had a crush on decided to do but even after she got over her crush, she still planned to skip college much to her father's dismay. Her best friend convinces her to try to find out about her birth family and the results send her on a downward emotional spiral and threaten everything she knew about her adopted family.

Candace is in her 40s and still dealing with the emotional baggage from her parent's contentious marriage. She has no desire to marry or have children. Her best friend, Paul. is gay and he manages to get her out to socialize and meet no people but she's still happiest with her solitary life until she meets Melody's father and begins to wonder what it would be like to be in a romantic relationship

This book is interesting and the struggle each woman goes through is life-changing. My problem with the book is that I didn't like Melody or Candice. They both seemed very involved in life and didn't really get interesting until they were facing life changes. Also for most of the book, we had chapters by Melody and chapters by Candace but there was no connection between them until almost the end of the book and then it was a very tenuous connection.

A well-written, thought provoking novel that will make you think about life in a way you many never have before. Not a light read but well worth it.

What We Leave Behind by Sue Halpern is a highly recommended domestic drama following two women of different ages and backgrounds.

Delia Marcus, wife of Eddie and mother to Melody, 17, dies in a freak accident. While Eddie is deeply mourning a woman he loves, Melody, who was adopted at age 3, is both mourning and confused. She was planning on taking the SATs and then heading on to college. Now, she has never heard the full story of her adoption and her mother is dead. After talking to friends, she questions if she should even go to college, take a gap year, or work on an organic farm.

Candace Milton is a successful HR professional in her forties. She has a best friend, Paul. After growing up in a turbulent home, she is intentionally single and unattached. When her company moves to Connecticut, she leaves New York City for a home in the country located closer to her job. Friends from the city come out to visit her and on Thanksgiving they save a man who fell into the pond when he broke through the ice. His name is Tom and he may offer the emotional attachment she needs.

The chapters alternate between the separate narratives following the lives of these two women. Their individual stories are distinctive and not kindred tales. Their lives do connect, but only briefly toward the end, and in an incidental way, although it is an encouraging occurrence. Basically, the novel follows two very different women contending with their own diverse emotional trauma from their parents and their destiny.

The writing is very good and the characters are all portrayed as sympathetic, unique individuals with strengths and weaknesses. You will hope both Melody and Candace find their way through life, overcome their emotional pain, and encounter future peace of mind. The choice to tell the story of these two women, side by side, in two distinct narratives is an interesting, especially since they are not dependent on each other. It kind of comes together in the end, but not completely.

There were several little issues along the way in the plot. They include: No mention of doing or even hiring someone to do yard work or snow removal at Candace's house in the country. All the climate change comments, which added nothing to the plot. Finally, the throw-away line about not moving with a company to South Dakota, specifically mentioning the Bad Lands, came across annoyingly coastal elitist since that is not where tech companies are relocating to in SD.

What We Leave Behind is a good choice for those who enjoy domestic dramas and can appreciate the dual story lines. 3.5 rounded up. Thanks to Harper Perennial for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, BookBrowse, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Thank you for providing me a free e-arc. I unfortunately I could not finish and stopped at about 25% as this book did not hold my attention. It promised the like of Jodi Picoult novel which is my favorite author, but felt short in my opinion. It started really good with the accident in Melody’s story but I found Candice’s story very boring.

The novel tells the separate stories of Melody Marcus, a 17 year old suburban high school senior who was adopted and Candace Milton, an HR executive who lives alone and commutes from Connecticut but avoids most social contact. The novel opens with an unusual accident that takes the life of Melody’s mom.
Eventually the broadening of their social groups brings Candace and Melody’s paths to cross.

Both women have lives which are easy to identify with but the tension of the novel is slow to build. The ending is quite surprising and may make the wait feel worth it.
For a full review visit novelsalive.com on 6/24/2025

Melody’s story will grab you from the first page and keep you engaged until the end. It was both difficult and beautiful to watch this coming of age through tragedy. Meanwhile Candace is working through overcoming her own struggles in the middle of adulthood. Her story is quite a bit more quiet compared to Melody, yet it is just as hopeful.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
This quiet (read: slow) novel follows two women dealing with "emotional legacies" from their parents.
I am not going to go on and on - this book is for someone looking for a slow moving, gentle, clean novel. Not much happens. I spent way too much time wondering why I was reading two books at once (the characters dont intersect until well past half way and even then its a brush)
I liked the writing. I couldnt connect to Collette's story. I enjoyed Melody's.
3*

Thank you to #NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC!

Melody Marcus's adopted mother has just died in a tragic accident. Candace Milton has a thriving career and is happy not being in a relationship, but her best friend has started seeing someone.

In all, I really enjoyed this novel and the themes of the legacies we have from our parents is interesting. I felt like Candace's growth wasn't as well charted as Melody's, which was frustrating because I really loved the dynamic she had with Paul. The novel is well written and would make a great pick for a book club because the themes and different storylines would lead to a lot of great discussions.

3.75/5

I enjoyed this book and the dual storylines that we explored.

I was sure that I knew how the two characters and their storylines would meet, but I was wrong. I think that the book was well written and I was invested in both main characters. In my opinion, the ending was not as developed as the rest of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for my review.