Wait for Me - by Amy Jo Burns (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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"Wait for Me left me speechless...An absolutely gorgeous exploration of friendship, authenticity, and the power that a few strings and a well-written lyric can wield." ―Shelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

From the author of Mercury and Shiner comes a novel about the bond between two female folk singers, the love stories that haunt them, and the music that brings them together to burn bright.

Young folk singer Elle Harlow reaches the height of her prowess in 1973, with two wildly beloved albums to her name and a hidden history of impossible heartbreak. When she sets foot on the famed Grand Ole Opry stage, a far cry from the mountain that raised her, Elle gives the biggest performance of her life. Then, to the dismay of shocked fans, her producer, and the man who still loves her, she vanishes.

Almost two decades later, eighteen-year-old Marijohn Shaw is spending her summer pumping gas, writing songs on her broken mandolin, and longing for a mother. Her father, Abe, has always sworn he was the last person to see Elle Harlow alive, but when a meteor strikes the woods of their sleepy Pennsylvania town and a piece of Elle's past emerges from the wreckage, the truth of her disappearance sets fire to everything Marijohn believes about herself, her music, and her ability to love with abandon.

Wait for Me exalts the lush hills of Appalachia and the bright lights of Nashville as it reveals the legacy of Elle Harlow, the bold voice that defined her, the intimate betrayal that undid her, and the unexpected faith of another young woman determined to resurrect her.

Review Quotes

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"Wait for Me left me speechless with its frankness and beauty. Amy Jo Burns's enthralling prose is not unlike protagonist Elle Harlow's Appalachia: lyrical and transcendent, but homegrown and honest. An absolutely gorgeous exploration of friendship, authenticity, and the power that a few strings and a well-written lyric can wield."
--Shelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

"Amy Jo Burns has written a soul-stirring marvel in Wait for Me--a novel as wild, lyrical, and full of longing as the songs at its center. Every lyric is a clue, and every character sings with bruised, unforgettable beauty. I would follow Amy Jo Burns anywhere she leads."
--Paula McLain, author of Skylark and The Paris Wife

"Numinous and unforgettable, Wait for Me thrums with the heart of a songwriter and the soul of a gifted storyteller. With music and atmospheric beauty, Amy Jo Burns holds our hand along the broken path to wholeness, and proves once again that women can reverse the order of the world. This atmospheric novel left me breathless and in awe."
--Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea

"The novel is insightful in its depiction of complex relationships between women and of the grueling and sometimes dark sides of the music business."
--Kirkus

"Weaving together themes of artistic sacrifice, heartbreak, and the power of familial legacy, Burns captures rural Appalachia and Nashville's country music scene in vivid detail. Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid's Daisy Jones & The Six (2019) and Kristin Hannah's The Women (2024) will find themselves captivated by this multigenerational story."
- Booklist

About the Author

Amy Jo Burns is the author of the memoir Cinderland and the novel Shiner, which was a Barnes & Noble Discover pick and an NPR Best Book of the Year. Her novel Mercury was a Barnes & Noble Book Club pick, a Book of the Month selection, a People Magazine Book of the Week, and an Editor's Choice at The New York Times. A western Pennsylvania native, she lives in New Jersey with her family.