Come As You Are
A Novel
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Central Avenue Publishing
Published:1st Mar '22
Should be back in stock very soon
Can we alter our dreams and stories from the past to create a better future for our children?
Zane and Skye are two misfit teens drawn together by their love of music and their loneliness, both part of Seattle’s grunge scene in the early ’90s. They dream of moving to LA together, Zane’s music career following the trajectory of Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder, and Skye drawing Picasso-esque portraits on the Venice Beach boardwalk. When a tragedy violently catapults them from best friends to lovers, their bond is forever strengthened and their relationship destroyed. Ten years later, they must come together as parents, putting aside abandoned dreams and broken promises. The question is, can they face the truth of who they are and become the parents their daughter needs them to be?
"The 1990s-set flashbacks capture the carefree spirit of the era and are full of references to iconic bands and venues, contrasting effectively with adult Skye’s complex entanglements with both Aaron and Zane, and her desire to give Montana a better life. Readers of character-driven relationship fiction will be drawn into Skye’s story." – Booklist
"In Jennifer Haupt’s keen-edged, intimate novel Come As You Are, an intense, imperfect bond yields to more expansive resilience." – Foreword Reviews
A Katie Couric Must-Read of 2022
"Offering complicated, flawed, yet deeply sympathetic characters, Haupt asks what it means to atone, to survive grief both alone and together, to stand on one's own feet as a woman who has been hurt or as a man who has done harm."
– Gina Frangello, bestselling author of A Life in Men and Every Kind of Wanting
"A tender novel of messy relationships linked by love and tragedy. From the smoky bars of 1990's Seattle to the beautiful vistas of New Mexico ten years later, Haupt skillfully weaves together threads of regret and forgiveness into a warm-hearted tale of moving forward."
–Luisa Smith, Buying Director, Book Passages, San Francisco, CA
"A poignant and memorable story of a single mother struggling to transcend a past of abandonment, secrets, and false dreams."
– Anna Quinn, Bestselling author of The Night Child
"Come As You Are reminds us that we all can get lost on the path to becoming good humans, even as it teaches us that better is possible."
– Erica Bauermeister, author of The Scent Keeper
“Heartfelt and insightful, Come as You Are is a delightful read. Haupt’s complex characters come to life on the page. Poignant and uplifting.” — Jean Kwok, NYT Bestseller author of Searching for Sylvie Lee, a Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick
"Haupt’s incandescent new novel centers on characters all desperate to find their best selves, each so rich and indelible, you’ll feel you grew up with them. Complex and unforgettable."
– Caroline Leavitt, NYT Bestselling author of Cruel Beautiful World and With or Without You
ISBN: 9781771682251
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
320 pages