In her spellbinding literary debut, Clayton delivers a heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting tale of second chances and the messy emotions that often accompany them, all complicated by the tragic reality of opioid addiction. After she is widowed, Marren Halleck decides to challenge herself by training for a mountain climb in Tanzania to summit Kilimanjaro. When she meets Chris, a handsome Texan, Marren feels a spark of chemistry—but she’s torn. Will moving on from her late husband and longtime love Brody Halleck, whose addiction to opioid painkillers eventually led to his death, be possible or wise? And although Marren doesn’t realize it, Chris is hiding an important part of his life from her, one that might doom any chance of a lasting relationship between them. Clayton sensitively handles the delicate topic of prescription drug addiction, showing how naturally dependence can begin as she depicts baseball player Brody’s career-ending injury. She demonstrates with persuasive power how the slide into opioid addiction can happen in an instant, and makes readers see that between black and white there are infinite shades of gray, especially when an addictive prescription substance prescribed can lead a patient to behavior that once would be impossible to believe. Somewhere Above It All is frank and clear-eyed about grief and domestic abuse without ever feeling exploitative.
Clayton’s active writing style ably engages readers from the very first page, and her talent for pacing and story structure provide sound underpinning to the series of surprises revealed just before the novel’s conclusion, twists that readers likely won’t see coming. Evocative prose (“I look up at the night sky. It’s a dark chalkboard speckled with tiny flecks of white chalk, a deep black abyss heavily populated with stars”) enchants, not just making the Kilimanjaro adventure gorgeous but also enriching character and storytelling. Romance readers will ugly cry throughout this spectacular and emotional tale–a testament to the author’s skill.
Takeaway: Lovers of real-world romances will tear up at this heartbreaking yet uplifting love story facing grief and addiction.
Great for fans of: Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Forever, Interrupted, Erich Segal’s Love Story.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
