The Resurrection of Tess Blessing

“How wonderful it is to spend time inside Lesley Kagen’s creative mind. In
The Resurrection of Tess Blessing
, Kagen deftly illustrates her gift for blending the serious and the funny, the light and the dark. With a touch of magical realism, she once again creates a story that’s as hopeful as it is poignant. As a reader, I feel safe in her hands.”

Diane Chamberlain, international bestselling author of
Necessary Lies

“Kagen’s talent shines in this wholly original and richly imagined story where unbearable heartache is softened with humor and a touch of magic.”

Beth Hoffman,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Looking for Me

“Read
The Resurrection of Tess Blessing
, but don’t read it in public because it’ll yank the emotions out of you. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and by the end you’ll be Tess Blessing’s best friend.”

Cathy Lamb, bestselling author of
What I Remember Most

“
The Resurrection of Tess Blessing
is Lesley Kagen at her finest, magically weaving together a tale of poignant regrets, powerful aspirations, and forgotten dreams through Tess, a woman who is really a bit of each of us. By traveling this journey with Tess we are shaken, uplifted, and transformed.”

Pam Jenoff, bestselling author of
The Winter Guest

“Confronting her own mortality, Tess Blessing, a lifelong list maker tackles the only to-do list that matters: healing fractured relationships, and empowering the children she fears she will leave behind. Poignant, funny, and searingly wise,
The Resurrection of Tess Blessing
will stay with you long after you turn the last page.”

Patry Francis, bestselling author of
The Orphans of Race Point

“
The Resurrection of Tess Blessing
is helmed by the most interesting narrator I've read in ages. She and her gifted author, Lesley Kagen, lead us through heartbreaking, humorous, compassionate twists and turns until we find ourselves on the other side, wiser but also, appropriately, resurrected and blessed. It is a journey I was delighted to take.”

Laurie Frankel, bestselling author of
Goodbye for Now

“I was hooked from the get go. Tess Blessing’s story is quietly inspiring. With faith, hope, grace, and humor, she shows us how to keep moving forward in the face of fear, uncertainty, and pain…put one foot in front of the other and call in your oldest friend.”

Julia Pandl, bestselling author of
Memoir of the Sunday Brunch

“A tender yet big-hearted coming-of-age story filled with heartbreak, secrets, and humorous observations of the convoluted adult world through which two young sisters must navigate.”

Beth Hoffman,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Looking for Me

“Heart-rending, yet humorous and filled with hope,
The Undertaking of Tess
is a rare treat from an author who truly knows how to create unforgettable characters
.
Readers who loved Kagen’s
Whistling in the Dark
will adore Tess and Birdie in this delightful novella.”

Sandra Kring, author of the national bestseller
The Book of Bright Ideas

“A bittersweet coming-of-age-in-the-fifties story that'll have you crying one minute and laughing out loud the next. Kagen's ability to capture children's deepest emotions never fails to impress."

Bonnie Shimko, award-winning author of
The Private Thoughts of Amelia E. Rye

“Good Graces
deftly dwells in ’60s Milwaukee. Through her preteen narrator, Sally O’Malley, [Kagen] evokes the joys, sorrows, and complexities of growing up.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Kagen does a remarkable job of balancing the goofiness of being an eleven-year-old with the sinister plot elements, creating a suspenseful yarn that still retains an air of genuine innocence.”

Publishers Weekly

“For all the praise garnered for
Whistling in the Dark, Good Graces
more than lives up to its predecessor.”

School Library Journal

“A beautifully written story…. You will weep for and cheer on the O’Malley sisters…[and] immediately miss them once the last page is turned.”

Heather Gudenkauf,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Little Mercies

“Moving, funny, and full of unexpected delights…. Kagen crafts a gorgeous page-turner about love, loss, and loyalty, all told in the sparkling voices of two extraordinary sisters.”

Caroline Leavitt,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Pictures of You

Winner of the Wisconsin Library Association Outstanding Achievement Award

“[A] stellar third novel…. Kagen not only delivers a spellbinding story but also takes a deep look into the mores, values, and shams of a small Southern community in an era of change.”

Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“The first-person narration is chirpy, determined, and upbeat…. Shenny steals the show with her brave, funny, and often disturbing patter as she tries to rescue herself and her sister from problems she won’t acknowledge.”

Mystery Scene Magazine

“Tomorrow River
…[and] the charming genuine voice of Shenny…is impossible to resist.”

Milwaukee Magazine

“An excellent, moving story, very well written, and one that will linger in your thoughts long after you’ve finished it.”

Historical Novels Review

“This book is packed with warmth, wit, intelligence, images savory enough to taste—and deep dark places that are all the more terrible for being surrounded by so much brightness.”

Tana French,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Broken Harbor

A Great Lakes Book Award Nominee

“Kagen’s winsome second novel offers laughter and bittersweet sighs.”

Publishers Weekly

“A truly enjoyable read from cover to cover…. Miss Kagen’s moving portrayal of a unique woman finding her way in a time of change will touch your heart.”

Garth Stein,
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Art of Racing in the Rain

“I’ve been a Lesley Kagen fan ever since I read her beautifully rendered debut,
Whistling in the Dark.
Set against the backdrop of the small-town South of the 1970s,
Land of a Hundred Wonders
is by turns sensitive and rowdy, peopled with larger-than-life characters who are sure to make their own tender path into your heart.”

Joshilyn Jackson,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Someone Else’s Love Story

“Gibby hooks the audience from the onset and keeps our empathy throughout…. Her commentary along with a strong supporting cast make for a delightful historical regional investigative tale. [Gibby] is a “shoe-in” to gain reader admiration for her can-do lifestyle.”

The Mystery Gazette

“Lesley Kagen has crafted a story that is poignant, compelling, hilarious, real, and absolutely lovely.”

Kris Radish, author of
Gravel on the Side of the Road

The Midwest Booksellers Choice Award Winner

“Kagen’s debut novel sparkles with charm thanks to ten-year-old narrator Sally O’Malley, who draws readers into the story of her momentous summer in 1959. The author has an uncanny ability to visualize the world as seen by a precocious child in this unforgettable book.”

Romantic Times Top Pick

“Innocently wise and ultimately captivating.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“I loved
Whistling in the Dark.
Living with the O’Malley sisters for the summer is an experience that no one will forget.”

Flamingnet
TOP CHOICE Award

“One of the summer’s hot reads.”

The Chicago Tribune

“The plot is a humdinger…a certifiable grade-A summer read.”

The Capital Times

“The loss of innocence can be as dramatic as the loss of a parent or the discovery that what’s perceived to be the truth can actually be a big fat lie, as shown in Kagen’s compassionate debut, a coming-of-age thriller set in Milwaukee during the summer of 1959.”

Publishers Weekly

“Bittersweet and beautifully rendered,
Whistling in the Dark
is the story of two young sisters and a summer jam-packed with disillusionment and discovery. With the unrelenting optimism that only children could bring…these girls triumph. So does Kagen.
Whistling in the Dark
shines. Don’t miss it.”

Sara Gruen,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Water for Elephants

“Delightful…gritty and smart, profane and poetic.”

Milwaukee Magazine

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

 
“Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control…we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.”

— Albert Einstein

“It is the nature of grace always to fill spaces that have been empty.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever.”

— Winnie the Pooh, Alan Alexander Milne