Stories from the Roof

Stories from the Roof is a novel about love and friendship, small betrayals and second chances. In Queens, NY, two young girls, Sylvie and Aviva, become best friends. But friendship isn't always the same for everyone. Sometimes you think you are both sharing all your secrets and all your thoughts, but you're not. Sometimes you think you know your family, and you do, but there are still some secrets you have no access to. Sometimes love is clear, but not always. And sometimes, sometimes a careless act lasts forever. But it's also true that sometimes, you just might get a second chance to try again.

Sylvie and Aviva reconnect after an absence of twenty years. Sylvie's father died just a year ago, right after Sylvie found out that he had hidden letters to her from Harry, her first boyfriend-almost- lover. Her mother calls to tell her that Aviva's husband has just been killed and that Aviva fell, in some strange accident, from the roof of her garage. Sylvie agrees to return to Queens from eastern Long Island to attend the shiva and to visit with Aviva who must recuperate.

While home, she is determined to look for the letters. When her mother speaks, Sylvie notices changes in her diction that she finds somewhat mysterious. She worries about her mother; she is guilty about her father's death and their unresolved last fight about the missing letters and she is chastened about missing a chance at love.

At the shiva, she sustains Aviva with stories, some of romance, some of memories, and some that reinforce their shared sense of personal history. She runs into Harry who is back in his old apartment where their connection to each other began. And when she finally finds the letters, she is driven to meet with him. Ultimately, as she and Aviva share care and secrets, they move toward forging a path to the future that is built on the past.