How and the Why

A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand.

Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for; they’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs―but she has questions, too. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions about her family secrets that her adoptive parents can’t answer, no matter how much they love her.

But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for.

What happens when the only person who holds the keys to your past is a voice from eighteen years ago?

• A Heartfelt Adoption Story: Told from the perspectives of both the adopted daughter, Cass, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, and the teenage birth mother who wrote her a series of letters years ago.
• The Search for Identity: Cass has the perfect life and loving parents, but she can’t answer the biggest questions: Who is she, and where did she come from?
• A Story Told in Letters: As Cass reads the letters left for her, she begins to piece together the heartbreaking, brave, and complicated story of the young woman who gave her up.
• Complex Mother-Daughter Relationships: An emotional exploration of the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters―both the ones who raise you and the ones who bring you into the world.

Cynthia Hand is the New York Times bestselling author of several books for teens, including the Unearthly trilogy, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, The Afterlife of Holly Chase, The How & The Why, and With You All The Way. She also writes the Jane books with fellow authors Jodi Meadows and Brodi Ashton: My Lady Jane, My Plain Jane, My Calamity Jane, My Contrary Mary, My Imaginary Mary, and My Salty Mary. Before turning to writing for young adults, she studied literary fiction and earned both an M.F.A. and a Ph.D. in fiction writing (although please don't refer to her as "Dr. Hand," because that sounds like a cartoon supervillain.) She currently resides in Boise, Idaho, with her husband, two kids, two cats, one crazy dog, and a mountain of books.