Reviewed by Saifunnissa Hassam for Readers' Favorite

Stephen Panus’s novel, The Circles We Carry, is a heart-wrenching and profoundly thoughtful story of a family’s unexpected, deep loss and their harrowing journey through grief in search of a way forward. Jesse Brennan is 17, a junior in Naperville High School in Illinois. He is also a phenomenally talented quarterback, with a potentially extraordinary future in football. Jack, his father, is a very successful sports media executive. Kate, his mother, is very supportive of Jesse and Jack, strengthening their family bonds and love with her stability and different perspectives on life’s challenges. Suddenly, in an unpredictable and unbelievable turn in life, Jesse dies. Their lives are torn apart in an instant. Grief grips Jack and Kate. Time and the outside world move on. But for Jack and Kate, their days and nights are meaningless in their unbearable loss.

The Circles We Carry is a beautifully crafted story of a family’s love, loss, grief, hope, and redemption. The earlier chapters created a solid foundation for the rest of the story, a vivid contrast to the very different circumstances following Jesse’s death. The story gained great strength by not shying away from the terrifying grief that Jack and Kate feel in every moment of the days, weeks, and months that follow. The author shows the very different ways in which Jack and Kate respond to the grief, trying to live an everyday life, and even finding it difficult to help and console each other. The gradual shift forward, in small but significant ways, stood out vividly, and I liked the way those shifts happen for Jack and Kate separately, and in very precious moments, when they are together, or when they do something together, in Jesse’s memory. The story gained momentum and pivoted toward hope when Jack heads out to Montana. I loved the details of his soul-searching encounter with a Cheyenne healing woman. A story within a story, beautifully crafted. The main story remained strong and vivid also because Kate’s own transformative journey is tightly interwoven into Jack’s life. And I loved the support and love that Jesse’s favorite uncle Charlie and Grandpa Brennan bring to the family’s challenging journey. I highly recommend Stephen Panus’s The Circles We Carry for its compelling characters and its interwoven themes of family love and grief, broken dreams, and learning how to live again.