It All Comes Down To This: The unforgettable story of three sisters discovering the truth about the past

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Having read Therese Anne Fowler’s last novel A Good Neighborhood, I was eager to read her new novel It All Comes Down To This. It added to my interest to learn it was set in Maine, and when I opened up the book was thrilled to read it’s set on Mount Desert Island. On our first visit there, staying at Acadia National Park, we fell in love and returned year after year. I found this a really entertaining and compelling read, full of complicated family bonds, secrets and lies in need of untangling. All three sisters have their own struggles, flaws and secrets, each yearning for the missed opportunities that could’ve led to a far different life than the one they’ve found themselves in. Sophie, the youngest, seems to be living a carefree lifestyle, living well beyond her means, hob-nobbing with the rich and famous, with clothes and accessories to impress. Okay, well, no, I am not high, I’m just relieved to be done with treatment. All those days of feeling terrible.” She coughed, and coughed some more, then, after catching her breath, said, “I’m so tired of that. And food doesn’t taste like anything. And I’ve got all these damned pills. Surgeries. Infusions. So many trips to the clinic. It takes up your whole life! It’s too much, and I’m glad to be done with it. Is that crazy?” This commission is for all the followers of Jesus! We are to live on mission! This is what it all comes down to!

Today is the end of the book. Today, we learn what Jesus left us with before He left the earth to be with the Father in heaven. Church, it all comes down to this. Though this novel wasn’t my favorite by this author, I will still be eagerly awaiting her next book, hoping that it’s more in line with A Good Neighborhood. This is yet another book that I felt missed a golden opportunity to explore emotional connections on a deep level. And why was that? Remember at the very beginning of Matthew as Matthew pointed to Jesus’ birth and its fulfillment of prophecy. Matthew 1:23 says, “See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us.’” [on screen] Oh. Well. I just tried some of that marijuana you brought me. Do you have any for yourself? Are you a secret smoker? If you aren’t, you should be! It will make you feel m-u-u-c-h better.”Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love. The cabby pulled up close to a gap between parked cars, making space for Marti to get out safely. “Here you go.” This is an important coming of age novel. Sophie has a lot to come to terms with: who she is and wants to be, her changing family circumstances, her sister leaving home, and what it means to her be a person of colour. At the same time, it's sure to educate and open the eyes of readers as well. I designed It All Comes Down to This to be a big-hearted tale that utilizes dramatic irony, one of my favorite story forms. Everyone’s got a secret, and the reader is in on all of it while the characters are not. The result, I hope, is a smart, entertaining, compelling, even endearing story that in its slightly subversive way also takes on issues of class and feminism and identity. It’s a story about fate and coincidence and choice, about how we can remake ourselves in the face of adversity. It’s about Art. And family. And love. He is now out of prison and has money left from his grandmother and wants nothing more than to buy a secluded lake home in Mount Desert Island, Maine, to paint since he is an artist.

These three sisters have very complicated relationships with one another. Each sister has painted a slightly skewed picture of their life to the other two. There are hidden truths, deceptions, and secrets, but each one remains hopeful for change in their future. It's also a story about storytelling: the stories we tell one another, the stories we tell ourselves, and the literal act of writing stories—with a slightly meta twist that I’ll leave for you to discover.Here’s a tip to carrying out the mission of God: you can’t do it on your own; we can’t do it on our own. We need Jesus. His authority as the Son of God and King of the Universe fuels the mission in us! It’s a book to have a little fun with — not to take seriously — even though serious issues are examined — Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Jesus wants disciples. He wants those who are willing to be baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Those who will identify with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection through water baptism. Those who will identify with and unite with a local church filled with other disciples of Jesus. Therese Anne Fowler is a “new to me” author whose books I’ve heard good things about but never got a chance to read. When I heard she had a new book out and I happened to get approved for an ARC, I figured now would be as good a time as any to acquaint myself with Fowler’s works. Now having finished this book, I’m thinking I probably should’ve started with a different book of hers, as this one turned out to be a huge disappointment.