Palm Meridian — Grace Flahive

A rollicking, big-hearted story of long-lost love, friendship, and a life well-lived, set at a Florida retirement resort for queer women, on the last day of resident Hannah Cardin's life -- for readers of Less and The Wedding People.

It's 2062 and Florida is partially underwater, but even that can't bring down the residents of Palm Meridian Retirement Resort, a utopian home for women wanting to revel in their twilight years. Inside, hula hoopers shimmy across the grass, fiercely competitive book clubs nearly come to blows, and the roller-ski team races up and down the winding paths. Injuries can occur, hips and backs not being what they were, but everywhere you look, these women are living large.

But for long-term resident Hannah Cardin, all that is about to change. Since receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, she has opted for a medically assisted death, and tonight, she and her raucous band of friends plan to throw one hell of an end-of-life party.

In addition to the entire resort, Hannah has invited two important people from her past: Luke, her childhood best friend and longtime business partner, who she's fallen out of touch with since their retirement, and Sophie, the love of her life, who she hasn't spoken to since their sudden breakup forty years ago but has thought of every day since.

Luke arrives bright and early, but with an uneasiness Hannah doesn't have time to confront, especially while she waits to see if Sophie, who never responded to her invitation, is coming at all. As the hours roll on, Hannah's mind casts back over the highs and lows of her life and the love she shared with Sophie. But as is to be expected at any reunion of old friends -- especially one as monumental and emotional as this -- Hannah is not the only one with unfinished business. When a devastating secret from the past is revealed, Hannah must reconsider if she's making the right decision after all.

Spanning the course of a single day and seventy years, and featuring vibrant and loveable characters you won't soon forget, Palm Meridian is a joyful yet audaciously bittersweet celebration of aging and friendship that reminds us life is what we choose to make of it.