by Kevin Wilson
First published 2017
Isabelle Poole has nowhere to turn. She just graduated high school and carries her art teacher's baby. Her mother is dead, her father drinks too much, and the baby's father won't help. When Dr. Preston Grind invites her to join The Infinite Family Project, she says yes. The Tennessee compound houses ten families who raise their same-aged children together. Grind believes more parental love creates better outcomes for kids. An eccentric billionaire funds this utopian experiment. Isabelle settles into reading to the children and teaching them to cook. She bonds with her newborn son in ways she never imagined. But the arrangement starts breaking down. Couples harbor unspoken resentments. The project loses funding. Isabelle develops feelings for Dr. Grind, who carries his own childhood wounds. She questions whether she belongs in this strange experiment. The story explores how we build the families we truly need.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, social-issues, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Tennessee
Period: 21st-century
MP3 CD · HarperAudio
Content warnings: pregnancy-loss