title: The Lauras: A Novel
author:  Sara Taylor 
description: Praise for <i>The Lauras</i>:<br /><br />Taylors crisply written novel, narrated by an androgynous teen, charts a years-long mother-child cross-country road trip.<b><i>Entertainment Weeky,</i>"Best New Books"</b><br /><br />As for the one we just couldnt put down: That would be <i>The Lauras</i>, by award-winning writer Sara Taylor, who gives the road trip narrative a new spin that seriously breathes new life back into the overall genre. <b><i>Refinery29, "</i>Best Reads of August"</b><br /><br />"The writers clear-eyed, honest portrayal of the nuances of sexuality in general is striking. She demonstrates the relationship between our mind and our bodies, our desires bound up with ancient memories and triggers...This book describes the lifestyles and realities of those at the bottom on the economic pilethose on the run, sleeping in cars and working in motels, who shop at the Salvation Army and drink endless coffee refills at greasy roadside dinerswith great empathy, giving complexity and dignity to those often ignored or caricatured. <b><i>New York Journal of Books</i></b><br /><br />If road trips transport you, jump into Sara Taylors dazzling novel <i>The Lauras</i> (Hogarth), about a mother and gender-fluid child discovering each other. <b><i>Elle</i><br /><i><br /></i></b>Taylors resplendent prose evoke the emotional journey of making peace with the past, the sanctuary that is driving in a car with the windows down, radio at full blast and the sense of timelessness inherent in days measured only by fuel and miles.  <b><i>Atlanta Journal Constitution</i></b><br /><br />[Sara Taylor] has been compared to authors like Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, James Baldwin, and Jennifer Egan  but even without such impressive praise, Sara Taylors second novel, <i>The Lauras</i>, isnt one youll want to miss. <b><i>Bustle</i></b><br /><br />Alexs ambiguous, aching forays into the realms of sexuality and human relations speak to universal truths about trust as well as lust Taylor gives her narrator a singular voice and dares the world to listen. <i><b>Kirkus<br /><br /></b></i>Taylor (<i>The Shore</i>, 2015) packs vastly observed stories of mothers, children, and memory into her impressive second novel. <b><i>Booklist</i></b><br /> <br /> Sara Taylors<i>The Lauras</i>just persuaded me even more that Taylor is a writer of real gravitas and potency. It feels, to read her, uncanny  a bit reminiscent of reading early Atwood three decades ago. Shes a writer whose talent, a fusion of sure-footed, calm and uncompromising, is both quiet and prodigious.  <b>Ali Smith, author of <i>How to Be Both </i>and <i>Autumn</i></b><br /><br />A beautiful, irreverent meditation of self, sexuality and growing up. On each stop of the trip is a woman named Laura. Each has played a part in Alexs mothers fractured past, and together they reveal how many people we sometimes need to make a love story.<b>Heather ONeill, author of<i>The Lonely Hearts Hotel</i></b><br /><br />"<i>The Lauras</i> is a fine achievement, engrossing, original and eloquent, and Taylor has more than fulfilled the promise of <i>The Shore</i>."<b><i>The Guardian</i></b><br /> <br />"Exceptionally movingTaylors prose is remarkable; both intense and expansive, both precise and wonderfully sfumato. That such a sophisticated book has such a simple message is a joy."<b><i>The Scotsman</i></b><br /> <b></b><br />"Elegiac and beautifully observedIt is such acute observations of her imaginary world that saw Taylors debut novel, <i>The Shore</i>, long listed for the Baileys prize, and it should be no great surprise to find her second novel following in its footsteps."<b><i>The Observer</i><br /><br /><br /></b>
zlib_text: **_“Her Unexpected_**
  
   ** _Rival”_**
  
   **Bulbs, Blossoms and Bouquets #4**
  
   **By Laura Ann**
  
  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are
  entirely coincidental.
  
  HER UNEXPECTED RIVAL
  
   **First edition. April 18, 2021.**
  
  Copyright © 2021 Laura Ann.
  
  Written by Laura Ann.
  
   **Table of Contents**
  
  Title Page
  
  Copyright Page
  
  DEDICATION
  
  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  
  NEWSLETTER
  
  CHAPTER 1
  
  CHAPTER 2
  
  CHAPTER 3
  
  CHAPTER 4
  
  CHAPTER 5
  
  CHAPTER 6
  
  CHAPTER 7
  
  CHAPTER 8
  
  CHAPTER 9
  
  CHAPTER 10
  
  CHAPTER 11
  
  CHAPTER 12
  
  CHAPTER 13
  
  CHAPTER 14
  
  CHAPTER 15
  
  CHAPTER 16
  
  CHAPTER 17
  
  CHAPTER 18
  
  CHAPTER 19
  
  CHAPTER 20
  
  CHAPTER 21
  
  CHAPTER 22
  
  CHAPTER 23
  
  CHAPTER 24
  
  CHAPTER 25
  
  CHAPTER 26
  
  CHAPTER 27
  
  CHAPTER 28
  
  EPILOGUE
  
  Other Books by Laura Ann | lauraannbooks.com
  
   **DEDICATION**
  
  ![](Images/image00141.jpeg)
  
  To my grandmother.
  
  Your petite stature was not indicative
  
  of your heart. Thank you for your
  
  unconditional love and example of
  
  kindness to all.
  
   **ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS*