From the New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage of Opposites and The Dovekeepers comes a soul-searching story about a young woman struggling to redefine herself and the power of love, family, and fate.
Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt.
What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor, filled with emotion—from dark suffering to true happiness—a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls—including an angel who’s been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night.
Here is a character you will fall in love with, so believable and real and endearing, that she captures both the ache of loneliness and the joy of finding yourself at last. For anyone who’s ever been a hurt teenager, for every mother of a daughter who has lost her way, Faithful is a roadmap.
Alice Hoffman’s “trademark alchemy” (USA TODAY) and her ability to write about the “delicate balance between the everyday world and the extraordinary” (WBUR) make this an unforgettable story. With beautifully crafted prose, Alice Hoffman spins hope from heartbreak in this profoundly moving novel.
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“Amber Tamblyn’s crisp, emphatic narration draws the listener in…Tamblyn fully conveys Shelby’s growth from listless despair to harsh edginess to aching hope. Her voice cracks with longing, sadness, bitterness, and resignation, then lifts as Shelby heals. Her narration distinguishes characters with variations of tone and pitch as well as subtle accents, creating a satisfying listening experience that Hoffman fans will relish. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
“An emotionally resonant portrait of loss and rebirth.”
— People“[Shelby’s] snarky charm and well-hidden kindness draw you in….A deep truth this story reveals is that finding closure after great loss is not a one-time deal; life grows around such wounds in small increments over time.”
— USA Today“[Hoffman] takes us deep into the human heart, and in a relatable story, deftly examines the healing process.”
— Minneapolis Star Tribune“A luminous book that sucks you in…Allow plenty of time if you pick up Hoffman’s latest; you might not be able to put it back down.”
— Seattle Times"Faithful will take you on an emotional ride.”
— Bustle“Bittersweet and luminous, Hoffman’s novel is a testament to the quiet power of small gestures and gradual redemption.”
— Shelf Awareness“A masterful character study of a young woman reassembling her life, one moment at a time.”
— BookPage“Heartbreaking and magical.”
— Library Journal“A novel full of people—flawed, scarred, scared—discovering how to punish themselves less and connect with others more.”
— Kirkus ReviewsAlice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including the Practical Magic series and the Oprah’s Book Club selection Here on Earth, among others. Eight of her novels have made the New York Times bestsellers list.
Amber Tamblyn is an actress and an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. She stars in the television show Joan of Arcadia and is also known for playing Emily Bowen-Quartermaine on the soap opera General Hospital, on which she appeared from 1995 to 2001. She has appeared on shows including Without a Trace, CSI: Miami, and Boston Public and in the films The Ring and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.