At eighteen, Tess Costello and Gus MacDonald both face obstacles that threaten their future happiness. After her mother passes away at a relatively young age, Tess is left with an ineffectual father and a special needs sister, four-year-old Hope. The child frequently and loudly acts out in public. Gus, who is guilt-ridden after his older brother dies in an accident, reluctantly applies to medical school to appease his grief-stricken parents. Tess and Gus meet briefly now and then, but their lives take different trajectories. They each enter into relationships with high expectations, but the joy they seek seems to be just out of reach.

"Miss You," by Kate Eberlen, spans sixteen years, from 1997 to 2013, with Tess and Gus telling their stories in alternating chapters. We learn about their childhoods, parents, siblings, and friends. In addition, we observe them dealing with adversity, dreaming of careers in the arts and literature, and trying to find the one person who will accept and understand them. Eberlen depicts Tess and Gus as flawed but sincere individuals who pay dearly for their missteps on the road to maturity. We also encounter other memorable characters, including Tess's best friend, Doll, an attractive young woman with a knack for getting what she wants. Meanwhile, Gus is attracted to Lucy, a pretty and good-hearted classmate whom he meets in medical school.

Eberlen explores the unexpected detours that Gus, Tess, and others take during the course of the novel. She also thoughtfully deals with a number of grim issues: autism, cancer, divorce, bereavement, and adultery. Fortunately, there are welcome passages of humor that offset the scenes of heartbreak, and the author delights us with mini-travelogues of Tuscany and mouth-watering descriptions of deliciously prepared food. "Miss You" is poignant, heartfelt, and engrossing, but it is weakened by a cliché-ridden and predictable conclusion. Still, "Miss You" is an ambitious and compelling work of fiction about dashed prospects, the futility of regret, the value of forgiveness, and life's bittersweet irony.
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Thanks so much Pan MacMillan and Netgalley for allowing me to review thus upcoming #Summerread

I enjoyed the story of how the main characters kept almost meeting, of how we travelled to Florence, London and New York in this book.
There was happiness but sadness too. Tess and Gus sound great, and I was sad to close the final chapter on them. ( )

Thanks so much Pan MacMillan and Netgalley for allowing me to review thus upcoming #Summerread

I enjoyed the story of how the main characters kept almost meeting, of how we travelled to Florence, London and New York in this book.
There was happiness but sadness too. Tess and Gus sound great, and I was sad to close the final chapter on them. ( )

my fucking soul y'all ( )

fiction (love story). This has gotten good press (else I wouldn't have checked it out), but I just am not in the right mood to enjoy it at this time--too many problems happening in the world to care much about a lonely young lady vacationing in Europe (even if she is taking the cheap student/camping/hostel route) .