House and Home

"[One] of the most engrossing books this season."
—O at Home

"Altogether so superior it's hard to believe that it's a debut."
—Booklist

"This novel is a delight. It grabs you from the opening paragraph . . . and holds you with its cathartic exploration of home and family."
—The Oregonian

Ellen Flanagan has two precious girls to raise, a cozy neighborhood coffee shop to run, terrific friends, and a sexy, if irresponsible, husband. And she adores her house, a yellow Cape Cod filled with quirky antiques, beloved nooks, and a million memories. But as her eighteen-year-roller-coaster marriage heads toward divorce, she's about to lose it all—her house, her husband . . . and her sanity.

Set in the gorgeous surroundings of Portland, Oregon, Kathleen McCleary's funny, poignant, curl-up-and-read debut strikes a deep emotional chord and explores the very notion of what makes a house a home.

The story of a woman who loves her house so much that she'll do just about anything to keep it. Ellen Flanagan has two precious girls to raise, a cozy neighborhood coffee shop ...

Publishers Weekly

After initiating a separation from her husband-whose repellently named invention, the splotch-catching "hot dog diaper," has bankrupted them-Ellen Flanagan, faced with supporting two young daughters, makes the levelheaded decision to sell the family home in the suburbs of Portland, Ore., to pay off debts and keep her business (a smalltown coffee shop) afloat. One daughter takes the change in stride, another plots to disrupt the sale, and Ellen soon finds herself struggling with her own deep feelings for the house. Obnoxious buyers make things worse, and lurking behind all her preparations to move is the possibility-alternately tempting and unsettling-of reconciling with husband Sam, who seems blindsided and bewildered. HGTV.com columnist McCleary's tale of real estate woe (plus a little entrepreneurship gone wrong) will resonate with unhappy homeowners, as will her portrait of a regular woman pushed to extremes trying to do the right thing for her family. (July)