The Book That Matters Most / Ann Hood / 358 pgs

At times I felt pretty suckered into this book. I wanted to find out how the drug-addicted Maggie would pull herself out the mess she was in. I wanted to see if Ava would start up a relationship with the recently widowed John. I wanted to find out if Ava would ever find the author of the book that mattered most to her, From Clare to Here, which ends up being the only fake book mentioned in this story. And, lastly, I wanted to read other people's thoughts on classics like The Great Gatsby and Slaughterhouse-Five.

In the end, there wasn't enough talk about these great books, and there was far too many coincidences in the story for me to take it seriously. The ending was another "throw it across the room" moment for me. 

Premise: Ava's marriage falls apart after 25 years and she joins an exclusive book club to reignite her old passion for reading and to meet new people. Meanwhile, her daughter, Maggie, is studying overseas in Italy when she is seduced by an older man and succumbs to her old drug addiction. The story alternates between both characters.