If Were Being Honest, Cat Shook
If Were Being Honest, Cat Shook
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

If We're Being Honest
A Novel

Author: Cat Shook

Narrator: Kathleen McInerney

Unabridged: 11 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/18/2023


Synopsis

"Narrator Kathleen McInerney's range is perfect in this touching comedic drama."- AudioFile

For fans of We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange and All Adults Here by Emma Straub, Cat Shook’s debut novel If We’re Being Honest is the snappy, smart, heartwarming story of the Williams family, and the sweltering summer that rewrote their history.

When Gerry, the beloved Williams patriarch, dies suddenly, his grandchildren flock from across the country to the family home in Eulalia, Georgia. But when Gerry’s best friend steps up to the microphone to deliver his eulogy, the funeral turns out unlike anyone expected. The cousins, left reeling and confused, cope with their fresh grief and various private dramas. Delia, recently heartbroken, refuses to shut up about her ex. Her sister Alice, usually confident, flusters when she spots her high school sweetheart, hiding a secret that will change both of their lives. Outspoken, affable Grant is preening in the afterglow of his recent appearance on The Bachelorette and looking to reignite an old flame with the least available person in town. Meanwhile, his younger brother Red, unsure of himself and easily embarrassed, desperately searches for a place in the boisterous family.

The cousins’ eccentric parents are in tow, too, and equally lost—in love and in life. Watching over them all is Ellen, Gerry’s sweet and proper widow, who does her best to keep her composure in front of the leering small town.

Clever and completely original, If We’re Being Honest reminds you that while no one can break your heart like your family can, there’s really no one better to put you back together.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

About Cat Shook

Cat Shook graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016 with degrees in Creative Writing and Mass Media Arts. Born and raised in Georgia, she now lives in Brooklyn. She is the author of If We're Being Honest, a GMA Buzz Pick, and Humor Me.

About Kathleen McInerney

Kathleen McInerney has narrated numerous audiobooks by bestselling authors such as Emily Giffin, Danielle Steel, Jeffrey Stepakoff, Mary Kay Andrews, and Linda Castillo. Her narration of Just One Day by Gayle Forman won an AudioFile Earphones Award. In reviewing Mary Kay Andrew’s Ladies’ Night, AudioFile magazine said, “McInerney makes each of the characters distinct and recognizable and gives each the perfect voice, accent, and vocal mannerisms. Most enjoyable and well performed.” She has appeared onstage in New York and around the United States in both classical and contemporary theater. Her credits also include television commercials, daytime drama, radio plays, and animation voice-overs.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jayme on April 18, 2023

When the book opens we are given a rundown of the very large Williams family, as they try to figure out who is best suited to give the eulogy for Gerry, the family Patriarch who has just passed away. This was yet another story with a large cast of characters and I wondered if I should start a flow c......more

Goodreads review by Terrie on May 27, 2023

If We're Being Honest by Cat Shook is a Southern and Family Fiction Story! The Williams family, from far and wide, are all gathered together for the funeral of Gerry Williams, the beloved family patriarch. As the funeral gets underway, Fred Clark, Gerry's BFF steps up to the podium to deliver the eulo......more

Goodreads review by Heather Adores Books on April 21, 2023

2⭐ Featuring ~ multiple 3rd POV, debut, family drama, long chapters (40-60 minutes) When the author provides a family tree we know we're in for a lot of characters to keep track of. I am not even going to try and list them all either. There's quite a bit to follow along with ~ from learning Dad/Grandp......more

Goodreads review by Katie on April 10, 2023

3.75 stars If We're Being Honest was a slow grower type read for me. The cast of characters is large and that made it difficult in the beginning to keep track of everyone. Eventually I did settle into a nice reading groove and I gotta tell you, I loved the ending for the book. Grandpa Gerry has passe......more

Goodreads review by Emily on October 20, 2022

This was so lovely! It felt like the author read This Is Where I Leave You and said, "Jonathan Tropper, your women are shit and clearly misogynistic so let's re-work this" and then she did! It was at times, laugh-out-loud funny and other times quiet, poignant, and tender. Love how family is represen......more


Quotes

"I couldn't stop reading. It is phenomenal."
—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author

“A deeply felt and thoughtful debut about a family thrown into chaos during a week that will change them all forever.”
Jennifer E. Smith, bestselling author of The Unsinkable Greta James

"If We're Being Honest delivers my favorite kind of family story: varying levels of hilarious dysfunction, all wrapped around a core of love. I would have gladly kept turning a hundred more pages to follow these cousins."
Mary Laura Philpott, author of Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives

"Shook’s delightful and perceptive debut follows a family through an eventful week that begins with a funeral and ends with a wedding... Like a stone skipped across water, Shook flits seamlessly from one character to the next, and remarkably, all emerge as three-dimensional characters. Even with its many strands of plot, the novel never feels rushed, and Shook sprinkles some wild surprises into the goings-on. Readers will find plenty to savor."
Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review

"In a deep-south small town in Georgia, the Williams patriarch, 82-year-old Gerry, has suddenly passed away from a heart attack. The revelations at his funeral are about to make his clan question everything they thought they knew, especially his four grandchildren, Alice, Delia, Grant, and Red. Their dynamics take center stage in this witty family drama. "
—Booklist

"An appealing, astutely observed debut about familial love and the secrets we keep."
—Kirkus