Goodreads says, "When Kyle McCray gets word his father has suffered a debilitating stroke, he returns to his hometown of Potsdam, New York, where he doesn’t expect a warm welcome. Kyle left suddenly two and a half years ago, abandoning people who depended on him: his father, his employees, his friends—not to mention Casey, his wife of sixteen years and a beloved teacher in town. He plans to lie low and help his dad recuperate until he can leave again, especially after Casey makes it clear she wants him gone.The longer he’s home, the more Kyle understands the impact his departure has had on the people he left behind. When he’s presented with an opportunity for redemption as the coach of the floundering middle school hockey team, he begins to find compassion in unexpected places. Kyle even considers staying in Potsdam, but that’s only possible if he and Casey can come to some kind of peace with each other.
Full of love and hope, What Happened to the McCrays? takes an intimate look at both sides of a failed marriage and two people who must finally confront the awful pain of their past or risk being consumed by it."
Kyle and Casey knew each other as kids, living across the street from each other in Potsdam, New York. Their childhood friendship blossomed into a teenage romance and an eventual young marriage. It should have been the stuff of fairy tales. But when readers encounter Kyle, he isn't living in Potsdam, but rather in Spokane as a mechanic. He is divorced and bitter. Casey still lives in New York, is a teacher, and helps run the middle school hockey team. Kyle gets notified that his father, Danny, had a stroke and he needs to come home to help him out. So reluctantly Kyle heads home and has to face everything he left behind, including Casey and their crumbling marriage. Kyle, a former hockey star, gets roped into helping the local middle school hockey team and now he and Casey are spending more time together than before. Readers slowly learn the reasons why their marriage crumbles through flashbacks - even to their teenage years so readers can get the full backstory and arc of their relationship. Tracey Lange writes such emotionally charged family dramas and What Happened to the McCrays? is no different. It is filled to the brim with a lot of heart, emotion, small-town dynamics, some heavy topics, and a strong side of youth hockey.
Tracey Lange truly got my attention when I read We Are the Brennans. I felt like she could capture family dynamics and the layers of a person very well. The same is true in What Happened to the McCrays? I think her fans will appreciate this family drama which covers a wide variety of topics, such as divorce, the death of a parent, the death of a child, infertility, family estrangement, and more. However, for me, it got a little too dark (trigger warning: suicide attempt) and I felt like that weighed down the plot.
My favorite part of What Happened to the McCrays? were the flashbacks to Kyle and Casey's teenage years and early years of their relationship as I felt that really helped readers understand their courtship and how they got to where they are today. It also illustrated how Kyle's departure from Potsdam had a ripple effect. Kyle and Casey dealt with so many heartbreaking issues that readers will keep wondering if they could ever recover from it and give their relationship another chance.
It should be noted that What Happened to the McCrays? also includes a lot of hockey details, so if you enjoy a sports romance or love the sport of hockey, you could appreciate that aspect of the story as well. I know I did, as I think Lange portrayed the life of a middle school teacher very well as well as the ups and downs of coaching youth sports.
Are you a fan of Tracey Lange? Do you plan on reading What Happened to the McCrays? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
I have this on audio and am excited to start!
ReplyDeleteThis does sound like it has a lot going on but that it all comes together well!
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