Reunions
BUY THE BOOK:Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books-A-Million
Bookshop
Published by: Greenleaf Book Group
Release Date: September 2, 2025
Pages: 550
ISBN13: 979-8886453690
Overview
This rich and absorbing novel plumbs the friendships and secrets of four talented women during their 40-year reunion at Princeton University.
Gini, Annette, Bianca, and Apolonia come together for a joyous weekend of shared memories. Yet the reunion takes a bizarre turn when the four friends meet young Jacob, the son of their brilliant former classmate, Jake Burrage, now the reclusive founder of Burrage Pharmaceuticals.
Jacob seems to know more about the four women than any son should or could possibly know. Such as how Gini, the first female CEO of a major publishing house, had a tempestuous romance with Jake Burrage as an undergraduate; and how Annette, married to a struggling tennis player, recruited Jake to track her husband’s matches; and how Bianca, a once-celebrated concert pianist, had a brief affair with Jake in Venice; and how Apolonia, a doctor to the celebrity rich, was tutored in college by Jake, while fending off his curiosity about a scandalous affair that threatened the university they loved.
When Jacob disconcertingly calls into question pivotal moments that have shaped each woman’s life, they must consider the specter of a mind-boggling possibility borne on the cutting-edge of biotech’s wild frontier.
Book club questions for Reunions
Download the PDF
Add on Goodreads
Praise
Editorial Reviews
2026 WINNER in LITERARY FICTION – National Indie Excellence Award (NIEA)
“Reunions delves into the return to an Ivy League campus of four friends and tennis partners with very different backgrounds, loves & lovers and describes the treasures of long-ago Venetian interludes and Wimbledon tennis memories. The four women are painted in exterior and interior details with a delicacy and psychological astuteness only a great writer can muster. A captivating novel for those who love to dive into words and their nuances."
—NPR
“Hearkening back to classics in style, Reunions is a weighty literary novel about revealing encounters with old friends. As the past and present collide, memories and conversations unearth revelations about each person, with the foursome also asking the question of whether this young Jake is indeed Jake. A slow-burn literary novel, Reunions meshes classical prose with a modernized plot about a college reunion and the secrets it unearths.”
—Foreward Reviews
Reader Reviews
"A lengthy, engrossing read by one of America’s top literary minds. A mind bending saga on what it means to all our life or own. Or not. In Reunions the once popular preps are now connecting over achievements and what could have beens only to be unnerved a friend’s genius son. Before there time together ends you will be pulled in many thought provoking directions. With no sense of closure in sight."
—4.0 out of 5 stars Complex and Mentally spooky
"A great novel that blends mystery, biotech, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship, this book is a true page-turner. The story masterfully weaves together the past and present lives of four accomplished women—Gini, Annette, Bianca, and Apolonia—as their reunion is upended by the enigmatic son of their former classmate.
—5.0 out of 5 stars A fabulous read!
"Don't miss this one! This was everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the concept of this book, I enjoyed how good everything was told. Adams Cleveland David has a strong writing style and enjoyed the overall feel of this and how the characters were used in this setting. I loved getting into the friendships and secrets that I was looking for in this."
—5.0 out of 5 stars, Kathryn McLeer, Reviewer
"As a college student, this book pulls on heartstrings! Reunions is original, special, beautifully written, and a dozen other complimentary things. I love it!"
—Rating: 4 stars, Lauren Gerock, Reviewer
"Thoughtful and surprisingly tender, Reunions is a meditation on memory, forgiveness, and human connection. It quietly builds to something meaningful and sincere."
—4 stars, Beatriz Espindola, Reviewer
"Reunions is the story of four women, Annette, Ginistrella, Apolonia, and Bianca, who gather for their fortieth college reunion. These women attended Princeton University, and we see clearly the success they have each found in their post-Ivy League years. However, it is what lies beneath their success that drives this tale. There is a young man, Jacob, in attendance, the son of one of their most successful classmates, Jake, with whom each woman has a hidden history. David Adams Cleveland has written a solid story about the uniqueness of reunions and how they force us to look at ourselves as we had hoped to become and the reality of what we actually became. Through these characters, we unravel the mystery of Jacob and his extensive knowledge of the women.
David Adams Cleveland keeps the reader guessing about Jacob’s true identity, and that’s what drove the story forward for me. There are strong hints that Jacob is not exactly who we think he is, based on several factors, including what his father does for a living and the uncanny resemblance to his younger self, but is the question ever answered before the last page of Reunions? That depends on the reader, which kept this story stuck in my mind for days after I finished reading it. It is a well-written story that is, at times, quite detailed, but overall, I found the story compelling. I wasn’t a big fan of some of the characters aside from Jacob, but that, to me, is also a credit to the author."
4-Stars, Reviewed by Natasha Jackson for Readers’ Favorite
"Thoughtful and surprisingly tender, Reunions is a meditation on memory, forgiveness, and human connection. It quietly builds to something meaningful and sincere.”
—Amazon Review
“Reunions is riveting -- one of the most unexpected and original books I’ve read, seeming to exist at the intersection of campus drama, speculative sci-fi, mystery, romance, and even insider tennis writing. I loved it. But if you’re looking for a generic college nostalgia story, this is not for you...”
—Amazon Review
“Cleveland is perhaps the most exquisite prose writer in America today.. in his novels one has to deliberately slow down to capture the lyricism and insight he brings. In Reunions Cleveland has entered that mine-field of the soul: later life self-evaluation. Using the backdrop of Princeton Reunions, he weaves together stories of fascinating characters -- a tremendously enjoyable and thought-provoking read.”
—Amazon Review
"What sets Reunions apart is its willingness to push conventional literary fiction into speculative territory, raising provocative questions at the intersection of memory and biotechnology. Cleveland interweaves each woman’s personal history, romantic entanglements, professional compromises, and buried scandals creating lives shaped by both brilliance and regret.”
—Amazon Review
“A great novel that blends mystery, biotech, and unbreakable bonds of friendship -- a true page-turner. The story masterfully weaves together the past and present lives of four accomplished women as their reunion is upended by the enigmatic son of their former classmate.”
—Amazon Review
“Reunions is a captivating, suspenseful, and thought-provoking novel…a perfect blend of intrigue and emotion. It explores themes of friendship and betrayal. It's the perfect book to captivate you and cause you to think differently moving forward. I have never read a book quite like this one!”
—Amazon Review