Never Meant to Meet You, Alli Frank
Never Meant to Meet You, Alli Frank
List: $42.99 | Sale: $30.10
Club: $21.49

Never Meant to Meet You
A Novel

Author: Alli Frank, Asha Youmans

Narrator: Bahni Turpin

Unabridged: 11 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/01/2022

Synopsis

From the authors of Tiny Imperfections comes a riotously funny, emotionally real look at race and religion, love and heartache, and the realities of parenting through it all.Self-appointed fixer of other people’s woes Marjette Lewis is uncharacteristically determined to keep to her side of the driveway when it comes to her flawless neighbor Noa Abrams. Professionally, Marjette has her hands full as she prepares for a new class of kindergarteners and her first year of teaching without her best friend, Judy, as campus “Black-up.” And at home, her son’s budding manhood challenges her expectations, and her vexing ex-husband continues to be a thorn in her side.But when tragedy strikes Marjette’s street, and an unexpected child shows up on the first day of school with an uncle who has all the class moms aflutter, Marjette is forced to contend with both her neighbor and her own heartache over losing the life she once thought was guaranteed. Through laughter, tears, and the gift of found family, Marjette and Noa navigate the rituals of loss together and discover the strength to remake their lives—whether they meant to or not.

About Alli Frank

Alli Frank has worked in education for more than twenty years, from boisterous public high schools to small, progressive private schools. A graduate of Cornell and Stanford University, Alli lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two daughters. With Asha Youmans, she is the coauthor of Tiny Imperfections and is a contributing essayist in the anthology Moms Don’t Have Time to: A Quarantine Anthology.Asha Youmans spent two decades teaching elementary school students. A graduate of University of California, Berkeley, Asha lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons. With Alli Frank, she is the coauthor of Tiny Imperfections.For more information visit the authors at www.alliandasha.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Greta on September 18, 2022

This was an easy, funny, touching story. Marjetta is the main character, a single mom who’s husband left her for another woman 6 years ago. She carries this torch to the point that it won’t let her move forward until she meets her neighbor, Noa who shows Marjetta that life can go on even when the un......more

Goodreads review by Stacy40pages on September 01, 2022

Never Meant to Meet You by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans. Thanks to @overtheriverpr for the gifted arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Marjette doesn’t want to get close to her new neighbor, Noa Abrams. She’s had enough with suburban drama and has her child to think about. When tragedy strikes, they become close and discover......more

Goodreads review by Esther on September 14, 2022

main character was insufferable, plot was boring, writing was mediocre at best (can we please talk about the chapter that deadass starts with the line "I am so proud of myself." FULL STOP), the jokes were terrible, and don't even get me started on the strange out of touch cultural references (paraph......more

Goodreads review by Staci on May 07, 2024

Marjette Lewis is a veteran kindergarten teacher at the local private school. She’s also the neighborhood busybody and has vowed to steer clear of her neighbor, Noa, that moved in a year ago. Noa’s husband passes away unexpectedly and her daughter ends up in Marjette’s class, situations that make it......more

Goodreads review by Sonia H on October 15, 2022

Friends are the family you choose. I loved this book, even reading all the way through the author acknowledgements. No spoilers here, but may we all be so fortunate to be blessed with wonderful people in our lives.......more

Quotes

“Narrator Bahni Turpin depicts Noa and Marjette’s deepening friendship, employing her chameleon-like facility for accents and voices to portray a wide range of characters, from Max, Noa’s handsome brother, to five-year-old Esty. Turpin’s sensitive narration immerses listeners in Marjette’s world, empathetically revealing her ongoing struggles to recover from her divorce and reclaim her life.” —Library Journal“As these neighboring families blend, the authors do a good job exploring the common ground between African American and Jewish experiences: the characters feel like real people with racial and religious identities that inform their worldviews, but don’t define them…It’s an impressive feat sure to move romance fans and women’s fiction readers alike.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Friendship and romance go hand in hand in this warm, engaging story that should appeal to readers who enjoy novels by Susan Wiggs and Debbie Macomber.” —Library Journal“[A] sparkling story of unlikely friendship.” —Booklist

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