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Everybody says it's everything : a novel  Cover Image Book Book

Everybody says it's everything : a novel / Xhenet Aliu.

Aliu, Xhenet, 1978- (author.).

Summary:

"Growing up in Connecticut with their adoptive mother, Jackie, twins Drita and Petrit (aka Pete), had no connection to their Albanian heritage and knew nothing about where they came from. Their American lives were all about the Barbie doll that Drita wanted from the mall, and roller skating at the local rink. The twins were as close as could be. But in their teenage years, their paths diverged; Drita was a good girl with good grades and good manners who was going to go to a good college, Pete was a bad boy who had a baby with an addict and was going nowhere fast. Even their twinhood was not enough to keep them together. Fast forward to their twenties: Jackie has suffered a stroke, and Drita has abandoned her graduate study at Columbia University to move home and take care of her mother, giving up all her dreams for the future in the name of family obligation. She hasn't heard from Pete in three years. Then Pete's girlfriend Shanda and their son show up unexpectedly without him, and Drita discovers that he's fallen in with a guerrilla group of Albanian immigrants in the Bronx supplying the war in Kosovo with weapons and fighters. She becomes determined to bring him back into the family-but what she learns about their Albanian roots and Jackie's past threatens to tear them apart for good"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780593732274 (hardcover)
  • Physical Description: 306 pages ; 25 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York : Random House, [2025]
Subject: Adoptees > Fiction.
Families > Fiction.
Guerrilla warfare > Fiction.
Kosovo War, 1998-1999 > Fiction.
Secrecy > Fiction.
Siblings > Fiction.
Twins > Fiction.
Connecticut > Fiction.
New York (State) > Fiction.
Genre: Domestic fiction.
Novels.

Available copies

  • 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Lakeshore Branch FIC Aliu 31681010411106 FICTION Available -

  • Baker & Taylor
    Estranged in adulthood, adopted twins Drita and Pete are drawn together by Pete’s young son, leading Drita on a journey to uncover their Albanian roots, the truth about their adoption and the chance to rebuild their fractured family.
  • Random House, Inc.
    In this unforgettable novel from the award-winning author of Brass, twins growing up in the United States in the nineties unravel larger truths about identity and sibling bonds when one of them gets wrapped up in the war in Kosovo.

    “A glowing work of art . . . Aliu has used her many talents to craft a wonderful, vibrant, must-read book.”—Jason Mott, National Book Award–winning author of Hell of a Book

    Raised in Connecticut, adopted twins Drita and Petrit (aka Pete) had no connection to their Albanian heritage. Their lives were all about Barbie dolls, the mall, and roller skating at the local rink. Although they were inseparable during their childhood, their paths diverged once they became teenagers: Drita was a good girl with good manners who was going to attend a good college; Pete was a bad boy going nowhere fast. Even their twinhood was not enough to keep them together.

    Fast-forward to their twenties. Drita has given up on her dreams for the future, abandoning her graduate studies to move back home and take care of their mother. She hasn’t heard from Pete in three years when his girlfriend and their son unexpectedly show up without him and in need of help. Realizing that Pete’s child may offer the siblings a second chance at being family, Drita becomes determined to find her brother. But what she ends up discovering—about their connection to their Albanian roots, the war in Kosovo, and the story of their adoption—will surprise everyone, and become what brings them together, or tears them apart for good.

    In Everybody Says It’s Everything, critically acclaimed author Xhenet Aliu tells the story of a family both fractured and foundering, desperate to connect with the other and the world at large, but not knowing how.

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