Seven Days of Us

August 15, 2017
A family must spend seven days quarantined together--with all their disagreements, resentments, and secrets--in this debut novel.Olivia Birch feels right at home treating patients of the Ebola-like Haag epidemic in Liberia. She feels less at home, however, at her own family's country house. Since she has nowhere else to go, she returns home for Christmas, and because she was exposed to a deadly virus, her entire family must stay in quarantine with her. While monitoring herself for symptoms and missing the doctor with whom she had a secret and ill-advised romantic relationship, Olivia rolls her eyes at what she sees as her family's frivolous concerns. Her relatives, however, are dealing with their own problems. Her younger sister, Phoebe, is wrapped up in planning a wedding to a man she's not all that passionate about. Her restaurant-reviewer father, Andrew, has just received an email from the grown son he didn't know he had. And her mother, Emma, just got a cancer diagnosis that she's determined to keep from the family until after the quarantine is over. The family's already tenuous bond is turned upside down when Andrew's son shows up at the door. Soon, secrets are spilling out, and everyone realizes they don't know quite as much about their family as they thought they did. Hornak skillfully juggles each character's distinct point of view and creates a family that readers will grow to love. This holiday read is perfect for fans of cozy Christmas films like Love Actually and The Family Stone. An emotional but ultimately uplifting holiday story.

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September 15, 2017

In Hornak's first novel, the Birch family is spending Christmas together at Weyfield Hall. Really together, as they are under a seven-day quarantine order, thanks to eldest sister Olivia's return from fighting Haag virus in Liberia. This enforced closeness will both exacerbate and repair family spats, especially once an unexpected relative crashes the quarantine. Although written in third person, the narrative switches perspectives among parents Andrew and Emma, sisters Phoebe and Olivia, and newcomer American Jesse, digging into the hidden emotional life of each. Hornak writes with a sense of irony and an eye on today's social issues, including a multitude of contemporary references to news events and technology, though the seriousness of these topics doesn't always mesh well with the book's overall lighter tone. Fans of contemporary English stories such as those by Jane Green or Jenny Colgan will enjoy this novel about the shaky recovery of family bonds. VERDICT Despite some reliance on predictable plot twists and a shade too much melodrama in the ending, readers will find this a satisfyingly alternative holiday read. [See Prepub Alert, 7/28/17; "Editors' Fall Picks," LJ 9/1/17.]--Melanie Kindrachuk, Stratford P.L., Ont.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 30, 2017
Hornak’s smart, delightfully funny, page-turning debut takes a posh, dysfunctional British family—two parents, two adult daughters, each with a secret—slaps on a week’s worth of quarantine at Christmastime, and adds a dash of pathos as well as a large helping of humor. Do-gooder Olivia Birch is back from treating an Ebola-like epidemic in Liberia—hence the catalyst for the family quarantine—and doesn’t want anyone to know about her affair with one of her coworkers. Andrew, her father and a former Beirut war correspondent, has just received an email from Jesse Robinson, a son in the U.S. he never knew he had from a one-night stand in Lebanon years ago. Andrew’s wife, Emma, recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, is determined not to ruin Christmas by spilling the beans about her illness. Daughter Phoebe has just accepted a proposal from her swanky boyfriend, George, but she’s not sure she truly loves him. Jesse travels to the U.K. to meet his biological father and the ensuing coincidences, mishaps, arguments, and opportunities for self-reflection upend the Birch family relationships. As the story unfolds from various viewpoints, Hornak imbues each character with a singularity that underscores her spot-on insight about human nature.

October 15, 2017

The Birch family has to spend seven days together in quarantine over the Christmas holiday at their country home in Norfolk, England, since doctor Olivia has returned from treating the Haag epidemic in Liberia. Olivia and sister Phoebe haven't gotten along in years, and parents Andrew and Emma each harbor their own resentments and devastating secrets. Then one of those secrets arrives in person, stirring up more revelations and ensuring that the clan will never be the same after a very long seven days. VERDICT Hornak's brilliant debut manages to be simultaneously clever, funny, and poignant, as the Birch family is forced to spend an isolated week in the country during the holidays. [See full review, LJ 9/15/17; an October LibraryReads favorite.]

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.