The House We Grew Up In: A Novel

Clever intelligentwonderful Jojo Moyes New York Times bestselling author of Me Before YouMeet the Bird family They live in a simple brick house in a picture-perfect Cotswolds village with rambling unkempt gardens stretching just beyond Pragmatic Meg dreamy Beth and tow-headed twins Rory and Rhys all attend the village school and eat home-cooked meals together each night Everybody in town gushes over the two girls who share their mothers apple cheeks and wide smiles Of the boys lively adventurous Rory can stir up trouble moving through life more easily than little Rhys his slighter more sensitive counterpart Their father is a sweet gangly man but its their mother Lorelei a beautiful free spirit with long flowing hair and eyes full of wonder who spins at the center Time flies in those early years when the kids are still young Lorelei knows that more than anyone doing her part to freeze time by protecting the precious mementos she collects filling the house with them day by day Easter egg foils are her favorite Craft supplies too She insists on hanging every single piece of art ever produced by any of the children to her husbands chagrin Then one Easter weekend tragedy occurs The event is so devastating that almost imperceptibly it begins to tear the family apart Years pass and the children have become adults found new relationships and in Megs case created families of their own Lorelei has become the countys worst hoarder She has alienated her husband her children and has been living as a recluse for six years It seems as though theyd never been The Bird Family at all as if loyalty were never on the table But then something happens that calls them home back to the house they grew up inand to what really happened that Easter weekend so many years ago Delving deeply into the hearts and minds of its characters The House We Grew Up In is the gripping story of a familys desire to restore long-forgotten peace and to unearth the many secrets hidden within the nooks and crannies of home.