Strangers at the Feast by Jennifer Vanderbes
Simon & Schuster
August 2010

Here’s the blurb from the publisher:

On Thanksgiving Day 2007, as the country teeters on the brink of a recession, three generations of the Olson family gather. Eleanor and Gavin worry about their daughter, a single academic, and her newly adopted Indian child, and about their son, who has been caught in the imploding real-estate bubble. While the Olsons navigate the tensions and secrets that mark their relationships, seventeen-year-old Kijo Jackson and his best friend Spider set out from the nearby housing projects on a mysterious job. A series of tragic events bring these two worlds ever closer, exposing the dangerously thin line between suburban privilege and urban poverty, and culminating in a crime that will change everyone’s life.

I am so excited about this book! There is nothing greater than being excited over a  book and then getting the said book in the mail. It’s the best feeling ever! I have to tell you though, when I received this one, I thought for one heart-stopping second that the cover was actually torn, FOR REAL. You see how the cover is torn? Well that tear looks so real that I ran my hand over it numerous times to confirm that it wasn’t.

Anyway, I love the idea of following a family on a specific day. What makes it more intriguing is that the day happens to be Thanksgiving. I don’t know about you but I’ve experienced my fair share of family drama on Thanksgiving. I mean, who hasn’t?

I am also in full FALL mode. My kids are in school and summer is pretty much over for me. I’m ready for Pumpkin Soy Lattes and warm, cushy sweaters. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this book.

What about you? Besides the long-awaited Mockingjay, what are you excited about?