Lisa Tucker's "The Song Reader" made me a fan. so when I spotted "Once Upon A Day" on the shelves, it was a no-brainer to add it to my pile.

Good move.

Tucker's tale of how a St. Louis cab driver struggling to move forward following the deaths of his wife and daughter manages to help a family unable to move forward decades after a violent encounter is captivating.

Reading OUAD is a bit like watching an M. Night Shyamalan film. 

Information is revealed piece by piece, keeping you turning the pages even as you are guessing how all those pieces will eventually fit together.

At the heart of this novel are questions about protecting your loved ones. Can you go too far in the name of love? Is it worse to stifle in the name of protection or to risk losing it all in the name of freedom? 

Stephen and Dorothea come from opposite ends of the spectrum, and it is up to the reader to decide who has suffered more from those choices.

Tucker's tale is a thriller in the true sense of the word. 

Check out the discussion questions here.

- Tricia Ambrose