The Audrey Hepburn Estate by Brenda Janowitz (Review by Stephanie Rowitz)

Emma Jansen has been doing just fine since she left her childhood home several years ago, but when she has to return to the estate her parents worked at to save it from being demolished, she is torn between the two men she grew up with: her young love, Henry, and her best friend, Leo. This book had more heart and intrigue than I expected. I thought this would just be a light, fun read about a woman choosing between two loves, but what you get is so much more. While this book still has the “torn between two lovers” trope, you also see Emma come to terms with her painful and unconventional upbringing, the dichotomy of living on a fancy estate while still being called “the maid’s daughter,” and the typical adolescent wish to fit in with her peers. Emma also suffers two great losses as a child that leaves her with a desire to preserve the estate to keep their memory alive. As if Emma didn’t have enough on her plate, there is a dark secret that eventually comes to light and makes Emma question everything she thinks she knows about herself and her family. Throughout this book Emma wonders whether home is a physical place or something else entirely, and how one unearthed secret can completely change your idea of home. I liked that this book kept the story going in the present while also showing the reader chronological excerpts from the past. For every chapter set in the present that makes you think, “Huh, I wonder what’s going on there…” the next chapter sends you back to the past and answers those questions, and then brings you back to the present to continue the story. It’s a deeply thoughtful book that keeps you turning pages long after you say, “Just one more chapter…” An engaging read from start to finish.