"The Burning Side" by Sarah Damoff. After reading Sarah Damoff's "The Bright Years" and realizing it was a debut novel I was so thrilled to know she had another book already published, "The Burning Side" which I loved just as much. A story of a family, of secrets, love, pain with love being the most important. I was teary at times and worried. I wanted to write the ending myself all through the book. I could not put it down and now sad I don't have another day with "them". To say this may be my new favorite author. Can definitely say my favorite "new author". I look forward to everything she will write. I just LOVED it!

*2. Leo -* A high school history teacher. He grew up lonely and abandoned as a child, so the Russos are the only real family he ever had. He feels like he can't be a good father or husband because of his own past.

*3. Deb - April's mother -* Warm, generous, no-nonsense, the caretaker of everyone. But she and Billy are hiding a huge secret: *Billy has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's*, and they haven't told the kids yet. Deb also carries secrets about how her own "perfect" marriage began.

*What Happens:*

As they all live together in the aftermath of the fire - dealing with grief, insurance, logistics, and memories burned and intact - the fire forces everything into the open.

April and Leo have to decide what to tell the family about their divorce, while also facing their early love story, how they met, and what went wrong. The fire didn't cause the cracks - it exposed them.