Kirkus Reviews • Best Historical Fiction of 2019
The Millions • "Most Anticipated" Books of 2019

Torn apart by war and bigotry, two families confront long-buried secrets in this haunting American novel of World War II and Vietnam.

Ray Takahashi's return from the battlefields of World War II should have been triumphant, but the fragrant, budding orchards of his rural Northern California...

"A small, declining town in Ohio. A family bereaved by terrible loss. A searing narrative about how American lives touch each other across divides both real and imagined... Set in failing small town in central Ohio, The Heart of It All asks how one manages, in an America of increasing division, to find a sense of family and community. Focusing on the members of three families: the Baileys, a white family who have put down deep roots in the community;...