Never Meant to Meet You

A Novel

By: Alli Frank, Asha Youmans

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

From the authors of Tiny Imperfections comes a riotously funny, emotionally real look at race and religion, love and heartache, and the realities of parenting through it all.

Self-appointed fixer of other people’s woes Marjette Lewis is uncharacteristically determined to keep to her side of the driveway when it comes to her flawless neighbor Noa Abrams. Professionally, Marjette has her hands full as she prepares for a new class of kindergarteners and her first year of teaching without her best friend, Judy, as campus “Black-up.” And at home, her son’s budding manhood challenges her expectations, and her vexing ex-husband continues to be a thorn in her side.

But when tragedy strikes Marjette’s street, and an unexpected child shows up on the first day of school with an uncle who has all the class moms aflutter, Marjette is forced to contend with both her neighbor and her own heartache over losing the life she once thought was guaranteed. Through laughter, tears, and the gift of found family, Marjette and Noa navigate the rituals of loss together and discover the strength to remake their lives—whether they meant to or not.

©2022 Alli Frank and Asha Youmans (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Narrator Bahni Turpin depicts Noa and Marjette’s deepening friendship, employing her chameleon-like facility for accents and voices to portray a wide range of characters, from Max, Noa’s handsome brother, to five-year-old Esty. Turpin’s sensitive narration immerses listeners in Marjette’s world, empathetically revealing her ongoing struggles to recover from her divorce and reclaim her life.”—Library Journal

“As these neighboring families blend, the authors do a good job exploring the common ground between African American and Jewish experiences: the characters feel like real people with racial and religious identities that inform their worldviews, but don’t define them…It’s an impressive feat sure to move romance fans and women’s fiction readers alike.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Friendship and romance go hand in hand in this warm, engaging story that should appeal to readers who enjoy novels by Susan Wiggs and Debbie Macomber.”—Library Journal

“[A] sparkling story of unlikely friendship.”—Booklist

A good story of friendship

Not my normal cup of tea and I will not be searching for books like this in the future. I honestly would have put it down after the 1st hour or so if not for the magic that is Bahni Turpin, my absolute favorite narrator who can bring characters to life in a way so few can. it you enjoy sappy friendship/love stories this should be your next read.

The raw, honest truth

Reading this book made me look at some of my own life behaviors and change them. The story and the characters were laugh out loud funny and also very sincere and insightful. Thank you.

Delightful

And warm. Characters were authentic and human and fun. Just enough sadness and gladness. Ended well. Perfect narrator.

Fabulously fun

This book was totally unrealistic, but it was such a fabulously fun read that it earned five stars anyway.

Gem of a read

This is one of the best books I could have read to start my new year. We may not always understand why things happen, but just because one chapter of our life has ended does not mean our story is over, in fact, the best part of our story could be something even better than imagined!