We came here to forget : a novel

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Title:

We came here to forget : a novel

Author:

Dunlop, Andrea, author.

ISBN:

9781982103422

9781982103439

Edition:

1st Atria Books hardcover ed.

Physical Description:

308 pages ; 24 cm.

Subject Term:

Women -- Fiction.

Skiers -- Fiction.

Family secrets -- Fiction.

Tango (Dance) -- Study and teaching -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Buenos Aires (Argentina) -- Fiction.

Summary:

Katie Cleary has always known exactly what she wants: to be the best skier in the world. As a teenager, she leaves her home to live and train full time with her two best friends, all-American brothers Luke and Blair, whose wealthy father has hired the best coaches money can buy. Together, they are the USA's best shot at bringing home Olympic gold. But as the upward trajectory of Katie's elite skiing career nears its zenith, a terrifying truth about her sister becomes impossible to ignore--one that will lay ruin not only to Katie's career but to her family and her relationship with Luke and Blair. With her life shattered and nothing left to lose, Katie flees the snowy mountainsides of home for Buenos Aires. There, she reinvents herself as Liz Sullivan, and meets a colorful group of ex-pats and the alluring, charismatic Gianluca Fortunado, a tango teacher with secrets of his own. This beautiful city, with its dark history and wild promise, seems like the perfect refuge, but can she really outrun her demons? In alternating chapters, Katie grows up, falls in love, and races down the highest peaks on the planet--while Liz is reborn, falls into lust, and sinks into the underground tango scene at the bottom of the world. From the moneyed ski chalets of the American West to the dimly lit milongas of Argentina, We Came Here to Forget explores what it means to dream, to desire, to achieve--and what's left behind after it all disappears. --

Holds:

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove)	FICTION DUN	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	FICTION DUN	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

NAMED ONE OF 2019'S MOST ANTICIPATED READS BY Bustle * PopSugar * PureWow * Marie Claire * BookBub * She Reads * Parade * Women.com

From the author of She Regrets Nothing , which BuzzFeed called a "sharp, glittering story of wealth, family, and fate," comes a vivid novel about a young Olympic skier who loses everything and escapes to Buenos Aires, where she reinvents herself, meets a colorful group of ex-pats, and becomes enmeshed with a man keeping dark secrets of his own.

Katie Cleary has always known exactly what she wants: to be the best skier in the world. As a teenager, she leaves her home to live and train full time with her two best friends, all-American brothers Luke and Blair, whose wealthy father has hired the best coaches money can buy. Together, they are the USA's best shot at bringing home Olympic gold.

But as the upward trajectory of Katie's elite skiing career nears its zenith, a terrifying truth about her sister becomes impossible to ignore--one that will lay ruin not only to Katie's career but to her family and her relationship with Luke and Blair.

With her life shattered and nothing left to lose, Katie flees the snowy mountainsides of home for Buenos Aires. There, she reinvents herself as Liz Sullivan, and meets a colorful group of ex-pats and the alluring, charismatic Gianluca Fortunado, a tango teacher with secrets of his own. This beautiful city, with its dark history and wild promise, seems like the perfect refuge, but can she really outrun her demons?

In alternating chapters, Katie grows up, falls in love, and races down the highest peaks on the planet--while Liz is reborn, falls into lust, and sinks into the underground tango scene at the bottom of the world. From the moneyed ski chalets of the American West to the dimly lit milongas of Argentina, We Came Here to Forget explores what it means to dream, to desire, to achieve--and what's left behind after it all disappears.

Author Notes

Andrea Dunlop is the author of We Came Here to Forget , She Regrets Nothing , Losing the Light , and Broken Bay . She lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, where she works as a social media consultant.

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In December 2009, haunted by a family tragedy, a broken romance, and the end of her career as an Olympic skier, Katie Cleary boards a plane to Buenos Aires and becomes Liz Sullivan in this satisfying novel from Dunlop (She Regrets Nothing). The city provides a vivid backdrop for a community of expats Liz connects with, including laconic Edward, flighty Gemma, and gorgeous Cali, all of whom orbit the seductive Gianluca, a tango teacher and man of mystery. The early chapters of Liz trying to pull herself together are overshadowed by the mystery of what happened to her sister, Penny, whose slow and terrible unraveling unspools through flashbacks. Katie's past as a ski champion never feels quite as authentic as Liz's experience of South America. The setting comes alive in its history, its landmarks, its rich atmosphere, and its unrivaled natural beauty, and is skillfully juxtaposed against Penny's realistic, devastating descent. Once past the dramatic reveal of what Penny did, Liz takes possession of her own story, and Dunlop, to her credit, makes the trope of the American resolving her sorrows in an exotic city with a sexy foreigner feel fresh until it tails off at the very end. Dunlop's prose is well-crafted, and when combined with the sights and sounds of Buenos Aires and the graceful insights into the surreal mechanisms of grief, it results in a memorable novel. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

To escape a highly publicized family crisis, a champion skier travels to Argentina, where she joins a community of expats who, like her, are hiding dark secrets.Katie Cleary hops a plane to Buenos Aires on a whim and reinvents herself as Liz Sullivan, a tour guide with a broken heart. In reality, her past is much more sinister. In alternating chapters, she recounts the events that led her to abandon her Olympic dream, leave her family behind, and break up with her boyfriend, Luke Duncan, who is a fellow skier and a longtime family friend. Glimpses of Katie's childhood with her beloved sister, Penny, offer tantalizing clues as to what went wrong and why they're now estranged. As Katie's life falls apart, Luke's brother, Blair, emerges as the supportive friendand maybe morethat she couldn't find in Luke. Meanwhile, in Buenos Aires, Liz meets Edward and Gemma, a pair of wealthy expats who welcome her into their "Buenos Aires Lonely Hearts Society." Through them, she meets the mysterious and brooding Gianluca, who teaches her to tango. Cutting in on a love triangle with the two brothers, Gianluca's dance lessons somehow have less fire than Liz's memories of home even though they lead to a truly steamy fling. But when the past finally catches up with her and her group, Katie learns more about Gianluca, his friends, and his country than meets the eye, putting all their sordid stories into new perspective and clearing the way for healing, forgiveness, and a return trip home.The twisty ride to the bottom is heartbreaking and compulsively readable. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

This escapist novel moves from the mountains of Idaho to tropical Buenos Aires as Katie Cleary, Olympic competitive skier, transforms into Elizabeth Sullivan, tango dancer and tour guide. Before a series of horrible events tore her world apart, Katie rose in the skiing world alongside brothers Luke and Blair Duncan. Together they form the foundation of her career and her life Luke and Blair's wealthy father funds their training, and Katie lives with the Duncan family. While Katie races towards her dream she realizes her sister Penny is also finding her own dangerous path, told in a series of chapters hinting at trouble. Katie runs away from her problems to become Liz and discovers a thrilling new life with a wealthy set of expatriates, Edward, Gemma, Cali, and tango instructor and mystery man Gianluca Fortunado. Together, the far-flung foreign friends share a need to run from their pasts and forge a new path. Part mystery and part exotic escapism, the story takes a few interesting turns and offers a glimpse into life abroad, though the fascinating characters are not fully developed.--Monica Garza Bustillo Copyright 2019 Booklist

Library Journal Review

Katie Cleary and her boyfriend, Luke, are known as "skiing's golden couple." They bask in the glow of their Olympic success, but when a dark family secret makes headlines, Katie loses everything in a spectacular reversal of fortune. With nothing to hold on to, she relocates to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and changes her name to Liz Sullivan, hoping to reinvent herself. She quickly befriends a group of expats, who also have hidden pasts. But when she meets an alluring tango instructor, she's seduced by not only the dance but also the mysterious Gianluca Fortunado. Dunlop (She Regrets Nothing) presents a dual first-person perspective: Katie describes the events of her past, while Liz, her alter ego, contemplates her life in the present. Eventually, the novelty of a life in Buenos Aires wears thin, as Liz realizes she is not the only one with a grim past. Feeling homesick, she reaches an unavoidable fork in the road, forced to make a choice about her future. Can she finally face down her demons? VERDICT Equal parts psychological suspense and family drama, this engrossing page-turner should top summer reading lists.--Julie Whiteley, Stephenville, TX

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

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