Unfollowers

DEBUT Ruggerio’s novel, winner of the 2021 Juniper Prize for Fiction, delivers a stunning tale of love and sacrifice in a sweeping tale that spans 35 years. When 13-year-old Barb, the daughter of missionaries in Ethiopia, meets Declan, a pilot with a difficult past, her life becomes enmeshed with his in a way that affects her relationships with her future husband, Ross, as well as her mother and family. Barb leaves Ethiopia to attend college in the United States, where she meets and marries Ross; however, her love for Declan remains strong. Barb loves both men in different ways as she deals with the effects that her rule-following mother has on her. The complicated relationships among Barb, Declan, and Ross will engage readers as they navigate love, faith, and what it means to be true to themselves. Although this novel starts slowly, its raw depiction of Barb and the people in her life will stay with readers long after they put the book down.