The Whole Beautiful World by Melissa Kuipers

"Kuipers' light touch and eye for telling details will keep the reader wanting more. A collection of delicate sketches that mark Kuipers as a writer of promise." --Kirkus Reviews

Original, witty, and subtle, this collection of beautifully crafted short stories features complex characters whose internal struggles manifest in their most intimate relationships, told by a writer with a compassionate eye.

A narrator watches her social sphere deteriorate after her boyfriend's rough-housing leads to his best friend's tragic paralysis. Childhood sweethearts, finally united later in life, find that they are not the soulmates they believed themselves to be. After her mother becomes depressed after a miscarriage, a daughter takes on the role of caregiver.

Set in a fictional rural towns, these stories explore young people who grow up against a religious backdrop, mothers who balk at society's imposed identities, and characters who explore their individual roles within their families as they navigate sexuality, suffering, and shame. These narrators are blunt and sometimes obsessive, but bravely optimistic as they strive to be the best versions of themselves.

As her characters struggle to discern deception from reality, using their limited resources to parse charm and charisma from credibility, Kuipers understated style is darkly witty and full of detailed observation.