Here We Are Now

A book about love, loss, and the power of music, perfect for fans of Nick Hornby and Fangirl. Taliah Sahar Abdallat lives and breathes music. Songs have always helped Tal ease the pain of never having known her father. Her mother, born in Jordan and very secretive about her past, wont say a word about who her dad really was. But when Tal finds a shoebox full of old letters from Julian Oliveryes, the indie rock star Julian Olivershe begins to piece the story together.She writes to Julian, but after three years of radio silence, shes given up hope. Then one day, completely out of the blue, Julian shows up at her doorstep, and Tal doesnt know whether to be furious or to throw herself into his arms. Before she can decide, he asks her to go on a trip with him to meet her long-estranged family and to say good-bye to his father, her grandfather, who is dying.Getting to know your father after sixteen years of estrangement doesnt happen in one car ride. But as Tal spends more time with Julian and his family, she begins to untangle her parents secret past, and discovers a part of herself she never recognized before.By the acclaimed author of My Heart and Other Black Holes, this is an intergenerational story of family and legacy and the way love informs both of those things. Its about secrets and the debt of silence. Its about the power of songs. And most of all, its about learning how to say hello. And good-bye.