Best Years of your Life

For readers of The Paper Palace, Still Alice, Girls with Bright Futures, and Big Little Lies, Best Years of Your Life is a gripping domestic drama about family secrets, impossible choices, and the devastating consequences of crossing lines you never thought you would.

Christine and Joss built a life most people envy. They're respected college professors, devoted spouses, and loving parents. For years, they believed that would be enough.

Then Joss begins forgetting things.

At first, it's small. But as the symptoms worsen and the future she envisioned begins slipping away, the foundation of their marriage starts to crack.

Lonely and desperate for connection, Christine finds herself drawn into a friendship with one of her students—a relationship that quickly blurs the line between comfort and betrayal.

Meanwhile, their eighteen-year-old daughter, Abbie, is struggling to find her place. When the most popular girl on campus suddenly takes an interest in her, Abbie finally feels like she belongs. But acceptance comes at a price. Soon she's helping orchestrate a college cheating scheme that could destroy far more than her future.

As secrets multiply and loyalties fracture, mother, wife, and daughter become trapped in a web of lies neither generation can control. When their hidden lives finally collide, the fallout will change all three women forever.

Perfect for readers who love emotionally complex family dramas, morally gray characters, and page-turning stories that spark conversation long after the final chapter, Best Years of Your Life explores the tension between desire and responsibility, ambition and integrity, love and betrayal.

This book is for you if...

• You're looking for books like The Paper Palace, Still Alice, Girls with Bright Futures, or Big Little Lies.
• You love family dramas centered on secrets, relationships, and impossible choices.
• You enjoy morally gray characters who make messy, realistic decisions.
• You're fascinated by the dark side of academia and college life.
• You enjoy stories involving academic scandals, cheating schemes, and ethical dilemmas.
• You love multi-POV novels that reveal different sides of the same conflict.
• You're interested in stories that explore memory loss, caregiving, and the impact of illness on relationships.
• You enjoy emotional suspense where the biggest threat comes from the secrets people keep.
• You love books that make excellent book club discussions.

The Paper Palace meets Big Little Lies on a college campus. A compelling novel about love, loyalty, betrayal, and how one bad decision can change an entire family's future.

This is a white-knuckle ride of a novel that will leave you wanting to discuss with a reading buddy or book club. —Lauren Edmondson, author of LADIES OF THE HOUSE

Jen Craven is the author of upmarket women's fiction, where one decision changes everything. The author of two historical fiction novels, "Best Years of your Life" is her debut contemporary work. She writes from northwestern Pennsylvania, where she lives with her family.