Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos

Synopsis: Sing Them Home is a deeply moving portrait of three grown siblings who have lived in the shadow of unresolved grief since their mother’s mysterious disappearance when they were children. Everyone in Emlyn Springs, Nebraska, knows the story of Hope Jones, the physician’s wife whose big dreams for their tiny town were lost along with her in the tornado of 1978. For Hope’s three young children, the stability of life with their distant, preoccupied father, and with Viney, their mother’s spitfire best friend, is no match for their mother’s absence. Larken, the eldest, is an art history professor who seeks in food an answer to a less tangible hunger; Gaelan, the only son, is a telegenic weatherman who devotes his life to predicting the unpredictable and whose profession, and all too much more, depend on his sculpted frame and ready smile; and Bonnie, the baby of the family is a self-proclaimed archivist who combs the roadsides for clues to her mother’s legacy, and permission to move on.


When, decades after their mother’s disappearance, they are summoned home after their father’s sudden death, they are forced to revisit the childhood tragedy at the center of their lives. With breathtaking lyricism, wisdom, and humor, Stephanie Kallos explores the consequences of protecting the ones we love.
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This novel by Kallos contains twists and turn that I had not expected, as well as some which were to be expected.  The ending most definitely surprised me, but filled me with joy to know that the siblings and their lives have worked out for the better.  The devastation one small town has been through in such few years is incredible.  The death of their father most certainly brought these siblings closer together which allowed them to grow and mature.  This entire family has had a number of hardships and it is unfortunate the situations they have had to go through, but Kallos writes this novel with passion and the deliverance is exhilerating.  I couldn't put this book down for a long period of time before picking it up to finish.  This novel is a page-turner which will encourage you to take a look at your own life and family and wonder what you could improve because the main idea is that life is too short to hold grudges and ignore family ties.