The Stories We Carry

A stubborn bookseller confronts childhood secrets after a mysterious stranger shows up in her small Southern town, in this captivating contemporary from Pearson (A Long Time Comin’). With no kids of her own, 64-year-old Glory Pryor has poured her life into her meticulously curated Gilmore, N.C., bookstore, By the Book. Ever since she married Eli Pryor five years ago, however, he’s been pushing her to retire so they can move closer to his kids. In the process, Eli has stirred up memories of Glory’s broken family—especially her brother, Davis, who disappeared from her life after he was kicked out of their rigidly religious parents’ home. The past comes back to haunt Glory in the form of Adelle Simonette, a widow and single mom who claims to be a reporter working on a story about By the Book. But Adelle has ulterior motives that stem from the tangled links between their families and force Glory to reevaluate her memories of her brother and the faith she cast off after he disappeared. Pearson’s flawed, immensely likable characters drive a layered narrative that reveals its secrets slowly as it explores themes of redemption, grief, and faith lost and found. This family drama satisfies. (Oct.)