Ask Again, Yes

"Ask Again, Yes" by Mary Beth Keane is an intimate novel tracing the decades-long relationship between two childhood friends, Kate and Peter. Their connection is formed against the backdrop of their families, the Stanhopes and the Gleasons, who live next door to each other in a small New York suburb. Peter's mother, Anne, is beautiful but unstable, and his father, Brian, is struggling. The Gleasons are a lovingly chaotic family. The story is marked by a violent event in their eighth-grade year that tears the families apart, forcing the Stanhopes to move and forbidding the children contact. However, Kate and Peter find their way back to each other, and their love story is tested by the echoes of their past. The book explores themes of family, trauma, compassion over blame, and the resilience of hearts. It examines how childhood events are viewed differently from the distance of adulthood, where villains lose their menace and the innocent seem less so. Keane's work is a powerful and moving exploration of the defining moments in people's lives, making a compelling case for understanding and forgiveness."