The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood

   The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood.  2016, paperback by W.W. Norton and Company. Adult fiction


   This is one of the most intriguing books I have read all year. The main character, Ava, is mother to two young adults and joins a friend's book group. When she was a child, Ava's sister died, and not long ago, her mother seems to have killed herself. Ava is never the same. Her own daughter is supposed to be in Florence studying, but is really in Paris, on drugs and in big trouble. Ava's son, her former husband, the policeman who investigated her sister's death, and the book group all play key roles in helping Ava sort out her own life and her family. At the beginning, each person in the book group is to choose "the book that matters most" to discuss at a monthly meeting.  The choices are interesting, the discussions are lively, and what the books reveal about the members of the group fuel the plot of the story. Just when you think you have it all figured out, things change and then change again and readers will find themselves wondering at the talents of writer Ann Hood.