Cynthia Hand

A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand. Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for; they've given Cass a life she wouldn't trade for the world. She has everything she needs--but she has questions, too. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions her adoptive parents can't answer, no matter how much they love her. But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for. Alternating between Cass's search for answers and letters from the pregnant teen who placed her for adoption, this emotionally resonant narrative is the perfect read for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson.

The How and the Why

Raven K

This book was so amazing and just overall so fun. I loved every part of it.

"Cynthia Hand is the master of pulling at your heartstrings. The How & the Why tells both sides of an adoption story with love, compassion, and care." —Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of Letters to the Lost A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand. Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for; they’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs—but she has questions, too. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions her adoptive parents can’t answer, no matter how much they love her. But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for. Alternating between Cass’s search for answers and letters from the pregnant teen who placed her for adoption, this emotionally resonant narrative is the perfect read for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson.

The How & the Why

Mabel Palomera

When you catch feelings from only reading the dedication… yep.

Candyce Kirk

The How and the Why is a story that is so heartwarming, but definitely had me tearing up at moments as well. I was really afraid this book was going to break my heart, but it definitely went different than expected. I can't relate to this main character, because I was very lucky to be raised by a very loving mother, but I think it's amazing to read a story from this point of view.

Our main character Cassandra was adopted and thinks her parents are amazing, but she's almost 18 and is starting to get curious about her history. Where did she come from? Is she anything like her biological parents? Cass's search to this part of her life and going through her senior year is balanced between the letters her biological mother wrote for her while she was pregnant. What I loved the most about this is that you get to read the struggles she had while pregnant and being a teenager and how Cass was dealing with her life.

The characters felt really realistic and my heart broke for Cass's mother and Cass at times. I can't imagine what it's like making decisions like that or having to wonder where you come from. The author made everything feel real and the feelings were jumping off of the page. The How and the Why is also a beautiful story and shows us many aspects of family. Cynthia Hand is definitely an author I'll be keeping an eye on!

Leelynn Brady

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Edelweiss, Fantastic Flying Book Club, and HarperTeen for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

I have to say that… after reading this book, I feel extremely grateful and privileged to have grown up knowing who my real parents are, and have never had to guess whether or not my mother ever loved me. Sure, there may have been a moment where I got into an argument with her because of something that happened – if you’ve read my blog before, you’ll remember what I’m talking about from a previous post – but I never questioned her love for me. I never thought about what would have happened if she didn’t want me or had to give me up for some extreme circumstances, or just because she made a mistake.

Those questions of “who am I” and “where did I come from” may seem like simple things to know, if you’ve never been in a situation where you had to ask yourself those questions. Sure, you could have basic answers like most people do: I’m a human/boy/girl/person, I came from such and such city in whatever state; or I was born and raised here so I come from here. Surface kinds of answers. But when you have to dig deeper into how to answer those questions, where the answer isn’t something that’s easy to look up or something your parents taught you before you went to school, then those feelings get tougher, and the answers don’t come quite as easily.

As you can see, there were clearly some emotional thoughts I had while reading this book, and it really had me stop and think about how lucky I am, and how heartbreaking I could only imagine this journey was for Cassandra, and in some part “S”, the unnamed and mysterious biological mother of Cassandra. This book was just beautiful and can bring up a lot of deep thoughts for those that end up reading this.

I may not be a usual contemporary fan, but I believe I became a fan of this book. I feel like I’m a little too shook by this book right now to have specific coherent thoughts, but the bottom line is that I enjoyed it and I think you should definitely give it a chance when you have some time to dedicate uninterrupted time to immerse yourself in this story.

The How and the Why

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