Here We Are Now

A book about love, loss, and the power of music, perfect for fans of Nick Hornby and Fangirl.

Taliah Sahar Abdallat lives and breathes music. Songs have always helped Tal ease the pain of never having known her father. Her mother, born in Jordan and very secretive about her past, won’t say a word about who her dad really was. But when Tal finds a shoebox full of old letters from Julian Oliver—yes, the indie rock star Julian Oliver—she begins to piece the story together.

She writes to Julian, but after three years of radio silence, she’s given up hope. Then one day, completely out of the blue, Julian shows up at her doorstep, and Tal doesn’t know whether to be furious or to throw herself into his arms. Before she can decide, he asks her to go on a trip with him to meet her long-estranged family and to say good-bye to his father, her grandfather, who is dying.

Getting to know your father after sixteen years of estrangement doesn’t happen in one car ride. But as Tal spends more time with Julian and his family, she begins to untangle her parents’ secret past, and discovers a part of herself she never recognized before.

By the acclaimed author of My Heart and Other Black Holes, this is an intergenerational story of family and legacy and the way love informs both of those things. It’s about secrets and the debt of silence. It’s about the power of songs. And most of all, it’s about learning how to say hello. And good-bye.

One road trip. Sixteen years of questions.

Coming of Age Story: Sixteen-year-old Taliah has always used music to fill the void left by an absent father. But discovering who he is will force her to discover who she is meant to be. Secret Daughter: He’s an indie rock legend. She’s the daughter he never knew he had. When Julian Oliver appears on her doorstep, Tal isn’t sure whether to be furious or fall into his arms. Forced Proximity Road Trip: Getting to know your estranged rock star dad doesn’t happen overnight. It happens over hundreds of miles, a shared playlist, and one last chance to meet a dying grandfather. YA Romance: In the middle of a family crisis in a small Indiana town, a connection with a kind local boy offers a glimpse of something real—if Tal is ready to let someone new in.