The Key to Everything: A Novel

· Revell
5.0
1 review
Ebook
352
Pages
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

Peyton Cabot's fifteenth year will be a painful and transformative one. His father, the heroic but reluctant head of a moneyed Savannah family, has come home from WWII a troubled vet, drowning his demons in bourbon and distancing himself from his son. A tragic accident shows Peyton the depths of his parents' devotion to each other but interrupts his own budding romance with the girl of his dreams, Lisa Wallace.

Struggling to cope with a young life upended, Peyton makes a daring decision: He will retrace a journey his father took at fifteen, riding his bicycle all the way to Key West, Florida. Part declaration of independence, part search for self, Peyton's journey will bring him more than he ever could have imagined--namely, the key to his unknowable father, a reunion with Lisa, and a calling that will shape the rest of his life.

Through poignant prose and characters so real you'll be sure you know them, Valerie Fraser Luesse transports you to the storied Atlantic coast for a unique coming-of-age story you won't soon forget.

Ratings and reviews

5.0
1 review
Meagan Myhren-Bennett
June 30, 2020
The Key to Everything By Valerie Fraser Luesse Peyton Cabot's father came home a changed man - the war and its horrors were too much - they broke him. Seeking to numb his pain he has sought refuge in bourbon, but it just may be his downfall. There was nothing Peyton could do to stop the accident from happening and now his father's body was as broken as his spirit. With another family tragedy on top of his father's injury, Uncle Julian seeks to seize control of the Cabot family fortune and further destroy Peyton's father. Peyton's willing to do all he can to help his mother and protect his father, even if it means the summer he planned to spend with Lisa is only a lost dream. When Peyton's parents send him to spend time with Aunt Gert in Saint Augustine his summer is about to become one he never imagined. Hoping to get a chance to better know the man his father used to be Peyton sets out to follow the journey his father made when he too was just fifteen years of age. Can he learn what his father discovered all those years ago? Or have too many changes come? As Peyton pursues his journey he grows into a person he hopes his father would be proud to call son. But, as his mother tells, this journey is more than pedaling a bike. Peyton has choices to make - choices that will stay with him long after he puts his bike away and returns to his life. He makes discoveries about his family that will forever alter how he sees them. This is an excellent read and one I would have no hesitation recommending to most readers. It is set in the post-WWII South but it has a timeless message that is for any era. There's right and there's wrong and those who pick the right with no thought of gain are few and far between. The Key to Everything is well-paced with an emotional tug throughout most of the book. It is a celebration of family and of life. Sometimes we have to risk everything to obtain that which is most important and the journey from here to there often helps us to see more clearly just what is truly important. Valerie Fraser Luesse brings her characters to life so that reader has no choice but to be drawn into their lives and care about what matters to them. In my opinion, this book is worthy of more than one read and I applaud the author's work. I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.
Did you find this helpful?

About the author

Valerie Fraser Luesse is the bestselling author of Missing Isaac and Almost Home, as well as an award-winning magazine writer best known for her feature stories and essays in Southern Living, where she is currently senior travel editor. Specializing in stories about unique pockets of Southern culture, Luesse received the 2009 Writer of the Year award from the Southeast Tourism Society for her editorial section on Hurricane Katrina recovery in Mississippi and Louisiana. A graduate of Auburn University and Baylor University, she lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband, Dave.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.