Florida Book Award
Bronze Medal



IndieNext Notable Title



Kristy Kiernan's Matters of Faith was so good and true and real that I forgot I was reading a book. I felt as though I was standing helplessly beside good people whose ordinary family life is slowly, inexorably tumbling into the darkness of the unknown.

--Jacquelyn Mitchard
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Deep End of the Ocean and
All We Know of Heaven

In this tense, well-paced novel about belief, Kiernan explores what happens when faith and love test the limits of family fealty....The thoughtful themes, interesting characters and page-turning drama of this novel will likely make it a book club favorite.

--Publishers Weekly

Kiernan's stunning second novel explores how one family reacts to a devastating tragedy. .. Unforgettable and moving, Kiernan's novel is an achingly real portrait of a family in crisis, one readers will react to passionately.

--Booklist

At age twelve, Marshall Tobias saw his best friend killed by a train. It was then that he began his search for faith; delving into one tradition, then discarding it for another.

While his parents, Cal and Chloe, were at odds over his behavior, they found common ground with his little sister Meghan, whose severe food allergies required careful attention...even as it took a toll on their marriage.

Now Marshall is home from college with his first real girlfriend. Meghan is thrilled to have her around, but there is more to Ada than meets the eye—including her beliefs about the evils of medical intervention. What follows is a crisis that tests not only faith, but the limits of family, forgiveness, and our need to believe.