The Other Year | Rea Frey
Can the entire course of a life be traced back to a single moment? On a coveted two-week beach vacation, working mom Kate Bakers nine-year-old daughter, Olivia, vanishes suddenly among the wavesa heart-dropping incident that threatens to uproot her entire reality. But in the next moment, Olivia resurfaces, joyously splashing. What would I do if she didnt come up? Kate wonders. How would I live without her? In another set of circumstances that hold a different fate, Kate doesnt have to wonder. Because in that other world, in the pulse-pounding seconds after Olivia goes under, she doesnt come back up. Told in parallel timelines, Kate begins to live two livesone in which Olivia resurfaces and one in which she doesnt. In the reality that follows her daughters death, she maneuvers through every mothers worst nightmare, facing grief, rage, and the question of purpose in the aftermath of such profound loss. She endures, day by day, in a world without her daughter. In her alternate timeline, while she explores a tremulous romance with her best friend, Jason, she finds herself grappling with the ex-husband who abandoned Kate and Olivia years prior. Even as Kate scrambles to hold her daughter close, Olivia pulls further away. The line between joy and loss seems to get thinner with each passing day. Woven into a single story, both Kates discover a breathtaking fragility and resilience in their respective journeys. Bringing to light the drastic polarities dire circumstances often create, The Other Year explores truths about love, loss, and the sharp turns any life can take in the blink of an eye. In this world-altering women's fiction novel, single mother Kate Baker looks away for a single moment, only to lose sight of her daughter in the ocean. As a result, her world splits into two separate realities: one where she gets to keep being a mother and the other where she doesn't. The message is clear: Love your people. A tear-jerker with heart. Brenda Novak, New York Times bestselling author Contemporary womens fiction Stand-alone novel Book length: 95,000 words Includes discussion questions for book clubs
The Other Year | 
