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Hannah must choose the impossible—put her nephews into foster care so she can stay true to her dream, or take them on and lose everything she's worked so hard to achieve.
17-year-old Hannah Lynn has just one goal: to get out of Evans Beach, Maine. It's where she lost her mother to cancer. Where her estranged sister, Pauline, fell apart before moving out. Where her father, Larry, holds court as a local legend who once played twelve games for the Red Sox. Hannah has never fit in, but that doesn't matter now that she is finally on the cusp of escape. All she needs is a little help from her chemistry tutor, Richard, a fellow junior who she finds equal parts compelling and infuriating.
Then, one winter night, Hannah's life is turned upside down. Pauline's two sons are taken by the state, leaving Hannah and Larry the only people standing between the boys and the child welfare system. Her father promises that it will only be for a little while, just until Pauline gets back on her feet, but Hannah knows nothing is that simple when it comes to her troubled older sister.
But Hannah's life—and future—is upended after they take the boys in and her father's health unexpectedly declines. Hannah might be a kid herself, but as her struggling nephews' surrogate mother, she faces a soberingly adult decision: is she willing to sacrifice everything to raise them alone? Or would she be giving up everything to leave them behind?
Drawing on his clinical psychology background, Moldover challenges readers to face some of life's most difficult questions through the eyes of an unforgettably complex heroine. Unflinching yet ultimately hopeful, Just Until is a heart-wrenching tale of the weight some teenagers carry when no one else can do it for them—one that will linger with readers long after the final page.
"[A] compelling narrative." —Booklist (starred review)
"An honest, moving portrayal of a family finding their way through life's challenging moments." —Kirkus Reviews
"Moldover employs sensitivity and nuance to depict Hannah's determination to secure financial stability and do right by her nephews and herself. Her evolution from reticence to fierce advocate radiates with heart." —Pulishers Weekly
"Just Until takes readers on an incredibly emotional journey alongside eighteen-year-old Hannah as her home situation spirals out of control, forcing her to make life-changing decisions for her entire family. This gruff but loveable teen made me cry and gave me hope for humanity. This story bursts with heart!" —Kip Wilson, Author of White Rose and The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin
"An incredibly gripping, powerful story about a young woman, Hannah, who faces tough choices in a tough world. At a crossroads, she must dig deep to find a path that is at once hopeful and healing. In Just Until, Moldover has created characters I cared for so deeply. And I was turning the pages so fast that I got paper cuts. Compulsively readable." —Jennifer De Leon, author of Borderless and Don't Ask Me Where I'm From
"Hannah's thoughtful, whip-smart first-person narrative will instantly resonate with readers. My heart ached alongside her as she wrestled with dreams of escaping small town life, and the realities of unexpected family complications." —Alex Richards, author of When We Were Strangers and Accidental
This information about Just Until was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Joseph Moldover is the author of Every Moment After, a 2019 Massachusetts Center for the Book "Must Read." His short fiction has appeared in Stonecoast Review, MonkeyBicycle, One Teen Story, Typehouse, The MacGuffin, and elsewhere. He works as a clinical psychologist in Massachusetts, where he lives with his family. You can visit him at josephmoldover.com.
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