The Road to Tender Hearts by Anne Hartnett is about a broken family years following the oldest daughter’s death on her prom night.

PJ’s ex-wife Ivy and her fiancé Fred live a few houses down the street from him. He visits them every morning and Ivy still looks out for him. Their remaining daughter, Sophie, still lives in the area too. Ivy and Fred are about to go to Alaska for a couple months, leaving PJ on his own which can be problematic as PJ is an alcoholic.

A terrible tragedy in town leaves him as the only surviving relative of his grandniece Luna and nephew Ollie; they’ve never met. He decides to take them on a road trip to find out if Luna’s real dad is a famous soap actor. The plan also includes a visit to PJ’s high school love interest who was recently widowed.

Sophie and a stray cat named Pancakes (a “killer” cat with quite a personality) join them for the journey. Their trip includes quirky stops (wax museum, purse museum and alpaca ranch), along with plenty of family drama and self discovery.

I loved this book. One line to remember- “a person needs three things to be happy: something to do; someone to love; and something to look forward to” (177). The story and characters were unique, funny, at times maddening, and overall, engaging from start to finish.