Authentic characters fill ‘April & Oliver’

  Tess Callahan explores themes of love, loss and the scars life leaves on us in her painfully poignant novel “April & Oliver.”
  Though they haven’t seen each other in years, Oliver comes to April’s rescue after the sudden death of her brother, Buddy, in a car accident.
  The three grew up together, with April and Oliver finding solace in each other as they kept young Buddy entertained.
  Their relationship might not ever have been truly defined in their youth, but powerful memories of the events that shaped them into who they are now bond them in an unbreakable way. Each understands how the pieces of their pasts fit together, and when they are reunited, tensions build as they juggle a jumble of emotions.
  While April tries to stay submerged in her grief, surfacing only to punish herself with an abusive boyfriend, Oliver floats along his river of predictable responsibility. He always has done what’s expected of him, going to law school and getting engaged to a nice young woman. But as he tries to be a good friend to April, the secrets he has unwittingly kept from his fiancee, and in some part himself, begin to put a strain on his relationship.
  “April & Oliver” is a lovely story. The characters are heart-rendingly believable as the pair struggle to find the seeds of who they once were and where exactly they went off the tracks. It’s a tale of first love and the enormous depth of feeling left for someone who knows exactly from where each of your scars comes.