Grand Central Publishing | 2009 | 336 Pages | List Price: $23.99 | Get it for less at Amazon

APRIL AND OLIVER came to me by way of my book club as our August selection. Our host wanted a juicy page-turner, ideal for the hottest month of the year. As the club’s organizer, I always want something engaging that can lend itself to a hearty discussion. Tess Callahan’s foray into the publishing world hits the mark in all areas with this engrossing debut.

An untimely death thrusts once-inseparable childhood friends—now virtual strangers—April and Oliver back into each other’s lives. The title characters couldn’t be any more different: April is elusive and aimless, defined by her bad choices in life and in men. Levelheaded Oliver is finishing law school and starting a new chapter in life with an impending wedding.

Or are they entirely different?

At a surface level, the two are seemingly at odds: he the big man on campus and she the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. It is their history, their friendship and the undercurrent of unrequited sexual tension that has them reconnecting once April’s younger brother Buddy dies. Oliver quickly witnesses April’s downward spiral with a toxically violent boyfriend and feels compelled to help her. The more Oliver is exposed to her life, the more he finds himself protective, repulsed and intoxicated by her—feelings not lost on his fiancée, Bernadette. As the story unfolds, we learn that April is not the only one struggling, for Oliver too has demons of his own. These realizations come to a dramatic climax and satisfying end, rendering APRIL AND OLIVER an engaging read.

The success of APRIL AND OLIVER is due in large part to Callahan’s effective character development and ability to bring the reader into the action in such a way that you feel a bit voyeuristic reading it. April is, at the outset, a train wreck. She repeatedly puts herself in unsafe and awkward situations, despite knowing the potential hazards and likely ill-fated outcomes. Yet, Callahan writes with a sense of empathy for April and the intimacy of her writing had me wanting to reach out and protect April myself.

Callahan’s empathy works for all of her characters. In addition to her title characters, she has crafted a believable supporting cast that richly inhabits the story. I loved Nana, April’s sassy, yet failing grandmother who is April’s support system and offers the clarity she ultimately needs. Oliver’s brother Al, is also protective of April and a salacious flirt who provides comic relief when situations are fraught with tension. April’s other relationships with various men though prove to be destructive and induced fear, anger and ultimately sadness as I read.

If there’s any criticism, it could be that I struggled at times connecting the dots on some of the relationships and found myself re-reading parts to ensure I understood who was connected with whom. However, these instances were minimal and did not detract too much from the overall story.

I do know I got out of APRIL AND OLIVER what I had hoped to get—an engaging read that will lend itself to healthy discussion. It has fully realized characters with whom you can identify or at least empathize with. It delivers just the right level of intrigue and you are continually turning the page wanting to know what will happen next. Because of that, I am going to remain mum on any other key details. I will tell you that at the time I am writing this, my book club has not met to discuss APRIL AND OLIVER, yet a number of us couldn’t wait and have already begun stealing some time for a quick phone call or e-mail to share opinions, “can-you-believe-its?,” and “what-did-you-think-of-thats?.” All of this is leading up to what I know will be an interesting discussion for our group.

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