ALL WE KNOW OF LOVE
Nora Raleigh Baskin
Candlewick Press
Fiction
ISBN: 9780763636234
208 pages

Fifteen-year-old Natalie Gordon lives with her dad not too far from New York City. Her mom has been gone for over four years. She walked out on Natalie and didn’t even leave a forwarding address or phone number. 

It takes a long time for them to adjust, as Natalie cries a lot and her dad drinks. But eventually they do manage to move on with their lives. Natalie relies on her best friend, Sarah, for laughter and support, and her dad learns how to make dinner and be home more often from work. Apart from Sarah, Natalie doesn’t tell anyone else about her mom leaving. It’s a part of her life that is too private and painful, and she doesn’t feel comfortable sharing it with the world.

When Sarah and Natalie start high school, they meet Adam. He is a few years older, and Sarah isn’t that impressed with him. But Natalie is. She is intoxicated with the attention he gives her and becomes desperate for any ounce of love he offhandedly throws her way. Every month she prays that she’ll get her period, hoping she isn’t pregnant, but she always goes back to him, even after breaking up with him a few times.

And then a package arrives. It’s a gift from her mom. Natalie barely gives it a second glance, but does notice the return address. Without telling anyone, she buys a bus ticket to Florida and sets out on a painful journey to get some desperately needed answers. Along the way, she meets a handful of people who impact her life in different ways, with advice, directions, a kind smile, a loaned magazine and a sandwich. She also examines her unhealthy relationship with Adam. Natalie’s journey, the people she meets, and the impressions and perceptions she gains will change her life forever.

Nora Raleigh Baskin jumpstarts the drama on page one, propelling the reader through until the very end. Baskin cleverly weaves a few glimpses into Natalie’s past as she makes her journey, sharing the building blocks that have helped make her who she is, and uses the unique approach of slipping in whispers of the lives of those Natalie encounters along the trip. ALL WE KNOW OF LOVE is written in a heartfelt style that transports the reader deep into the very core of its characters. Baskin has created another wonderful story, which hopefully will be followed by many, many more.
 
      --- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

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