It seems like everyone is talking about Jamie Zeppa’s debut novel, Every Time We Say Goodbye, a 2011 New Face of Fiction selection!

“[A]n astute and effortlessly readable portrait of a family in crisis. . . . Zeppa has fortified this raw material with a rich family history, shifting dynamics and a gentle voice that allows the novel to waft, rather than plod, as it pieces together its characters’ disparate narratives. . . . [Dawn’s] disappointment is rendered with such empathy that even the most stone-hearted of readers will be moved. . . . [Zeppa has] craft[ed] a smart, accessible novel that has put Sault Ste. Marie on the map of the family epic.” Emily Landau, National Post

“Zeppa’s fine sense of observation and atmosphere of Sault Ste. Marie remains throughout. You know its middle-class homes, cramped apartments, cheap hotel rooms; you breathe its daily life. . . . Much to admire.” Winnipeg Free Press

“[Zeppa] shimmer[s] with promise. . . . Jamie Zeppa, an accomplished travel writer . . . explores family dynamics and those emotional bugaboos—abandonment and longing—in her compelling first novel, Every Time We Say Goodbye.” ELLE Canada

“Rife with raw and stifled emotion, broken dreams and broken hearts, [Every Time We Say Goodbye] is less a quiet triumph than a thunderous tour de force that keeps you laughing, hoping and turning every page until hours have slipped by.” Heather Camlot, Sweetspot.ca

“[It] doesn’t do it justice, just to say what it is about. Better to say what it does to the reader, for the reader. . . . It grips your heart and doesn’t let you put it down until you have come to the final words. Then you are left, like so many characters in the book, somewhat bereft. I am so very glad that a friend recommended this book to me . . . this book is so very well written––so tender and even funny at times, that I firmly believe it will soon be considered a Canadian classic, with pride of place beside Ann-Marie MacDonald and Carol Shields, two of my favourite Canadian authors. The fact that Every Time We Say Goodbye is her first novel . . . is even more amazing. . . . Read this book!” Natashya, KitchenPuppies

“Jamie Zeppa takes [the traditional] definition [of family] and flips it on its head in her wonderful new novel. . . . Fabulous coming-of-age story. . . . Every character has a purpose and a place in the novel and the ending will once again take you in a completely different direction than you thought you were going. Jamie Zeppa is one of Knopf Random Canada’s New Face of Fiction authors and after reading her fabulous . . . debut, it isn’t hard to figure out why!” Reeder Reads

“A captivating family saga—full of deeply felt observations and breathtaking tenderness—Jamie Zeppa’s debut is sure to steal your heart.” Ami McKay, author of The Birth House

“In Every Time We Say Goodbye, Jamie Zeppa does for Sault Ste. Marie what Alice Munro does for Southwestern Ontario. The sense of place is palpable. The suffering characters are reminiscent of the quiet tragedy of Richard B. Wright’s Clara Callan. There is a certain small town tragic, silent, suffering that belongs to Canada and Zeppa has boiled down its essence. It is also a great read. It captures the teenage girl’s longing for excitement and the tragedy that follows such inclinations.” Catherine Gildiner, author of Too Close to the Falls and After the Falls

“A tender, exquisitely written story that aches and laughs and hopes, and never quite leaves you. Jamie Zeppa’s Every Time We Say Goodbye is driven by characters so real you nearly become them. A deeply penetrating novel.” Tish Cohen, author of The Truth About Delilah Blue and Inside Out Girl

“Every once in a while a delicious novel comes along, one that pulls you in and twirls you through its world until you look up and three hours have gone by. Or six. While there are many stories about families, what distinguishes this book is the compassionate wisdom that underpins it, the grace that echoes through it. To read this masterful (and humorous!) novel is to feel what it is to forgive and live bravely: with a tender, laughing, ever-opening heart.” Alison Wearing, author of Honeymoon in Purdah

BookLounge.ca is giving away 10 signed copies of this fantastic debut novel. Click here to get the details. You can also read the first chapter of Every Time We Say Goodbye here, or meet Jamie Zeppa at one of her tour stops.