In this debut novel by Larkin, we get to learn more about the author’s experience as a young English woman who meets her eccentric biological American parents for the first time.

Enter Pippa Dunn, adopted as a baby and raised British. Imagine her surprise when she finds out that her birth parents live in the South of the US, meaning a culture clash of epic proportions.

Pippa is typical English girl: She has marmite on toast for breakfast, she knows how to make a perfect cup of tea, and she even attended a posh British boarding school. Yet she has always felt different from her adopted family, misunderstood by her intelligent, sophisticated sister and practical parents.

At the age of 28, Pippa finally discovers the true identity of her birth parents. She meets her freethinking, artistic birthmother and charming, hard-working birth father. Pippa decides to move to the US to be closer to her biological parents. At the same time, Pippa begins to build a relationship with a young man with a story similar to her own – he has recently found his own estranged father.

Although the novel sounds serious and emotional, it has its share of fun and humor. Readers loved the authentic, likable characters and upbeat pace of the book, though some found it “slow and boring.”

(4.5/5)

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