The Accidental Favorite
A Novel
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The Accidental Favorite
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Narrated by:
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Fiona Button
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By:
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Fran Littlewood
About this listen
From the New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace Adams comes a wryly resonant and deeply moving family dramedy investigating the question so many of us have asked ourselves: do my parents have a favorite?
Vivienne and Patrick Fisher have done an excellent job raising their three daughters, Alex, Nancy, and Eva. They’re well-adjusted women with impressive careers, caring partners, exciting hobbies, and sweet children. So it’s with great anticipation that three generations of Fishers gather at a beautiful glass house in the English countryside for a weeklong celebration of Vivienne’s seventieth birthday. But when Patrick’s reaction to a freak accident on the first day of the trip inadvertently reveals that he has a favorite daughter, no one is prepared for the shockwaves it sends through the family.
Decades-old unresolved sibling rivalries are suddenly unmasked. And be it newly uncovered smoking habits, ancient crushes, or private doubts about life decisions both big and small, no one’s secrets are safe. Still-tender wounds are reopened amid an audience of friends, husbands, grandchildren, and even coworkers, and as the family's past is re-written, they find themselves suddenly unmoored.
In a lively, poignant examination of memory, sisterhood, and family ties, Fran Littlewood reminds us just why it is that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.
©2025 Fran Littlewood (P)2025 Macmillan AudioCritic reviews
“Even under pressure, sisterhood is powerful in this entertaining and well-crafted novel.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“A compelling drama about a dysfunctional family that will make readers laugh out loud and cringe all at once....Littlewood’s sharp characters and emotional depth beautifully capture the messy and complicated side of adults’ relationships to their families of origin, quirks and all.”—Library Journal
“[A] fascinating look at one family and their complicated truths….Every moment feels alive....Full of tender moments and thoughtful insights, The Accidental Favorite will be a favorite of readers, perfect for those with imperfect families—which is to say all of us.”—Shelf Awareness
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