WELCOME HOME, CAROLINE KLINE
AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!
A debut novel sparkling with wit and insight about a young woman whose reluctant return to her Jersey Shore hometown gives her the second chance she didn’t know she needed.
Caroline Kline isn't ready to strike out.
In New York City, newly single Caroline is stumbling her way through the recent implosion of her life. After a surprise breakup leaves her with no job, no apartment, and no backup plan, she’s unsure of what to do next. That is, until Caroline’s father Leo injures himself in a bad fall and asks her to move home to the Jersey Shore suburb she’d always been desperate to escape. But Leo doesn’t want his daughter to be his caretaker; he needs her to replace him as third baseman in his local men’s softball league. This isn’t just any season, Leo claims. This is the year they have a real shot at the World Series, the pride and joy of Glen Brook, New Jersey.
Caroline agrees to move home, concerned that Leo is hiding a more serious health condition than he’s willing to admit. As the first female player in a league full of old-school men, she’s up against more than a few challenges. And when a night gone wrong lands her in the path of her hometown crush—and first love—Caroline struggles to reconcile the life she thought she’d have with the life she might actually want.
Sharply observed and full of humor and heart, Welcome Home, Caroline Kline is a touching tribute to the many unconventional paths that victory, and recovery, can take.
Published by Putnam, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on April 16th, 2024.
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Praise for Welcome Home, Caroline Kline
An Instant USA TODAY Bestseller
A BookBub Book Our Readers are Loving This Spring
A First for Women Book We’re Loving Right Now
A Zibby Mag Most Anticipated 2024 Debut Novel
A Book The Skimm Editors Can’t Stop Talking About This Summer
“Compulsively readable and full of richly discussable topics perfect for book groups, Preiss’ tale should please readers who enjoyed Normal People by Sally Rooney or Maame by Jessica George” —Booklist (starred)
“A combination of Jewish humor, heartwarming family dynamics, and Bruce Springsteen, this is the ultimate summer read.” –TheSkimm
“A field of literary dreams that will have you cheering.” —Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants
“An uplifting and sassy debut—with just enough Jersey attitude and plenty of heart—about family, love, finding yourself, and finding home base.” —Margarita Montimore, USA Today bestselling author of Oona Out of Order and Acts of Violet
“Original and unexpected, this second chance romance is perfect for baseball lovers and lovers of deeply emotional, complicated relationships. I was cheering for Caroline Kline from the first page.” —Annabel Monaghan, author of Same Time Next Summer
“An auto-buy…[and] shimmering debut…At its heart, this is a story about second chances filled with humor and wit. I was cheering Caroline on until the last page!” —First for Women
“A fresh and satisfying summer read about family, rediscovering the self, and what it means to come home again.” —Jewish Book Council
“This book is wise and winning, a profound coming-of-age tale sharing the field with a thrilling and hilarious wallop of a sports saga. Courtney Preiss’s debut didn’t just make me root for the home team, it made me root for the very idea of home.” —Bobby Finger, author of The Old Place
“Preiss knocks it out of the park in her heartwarming, witty debut. When her life falls apart, feisty, jaded Caroline Kline returns to her New Jersey town and gets a second chance to discover the excitement of a good challenge, the joy of romance, and the wonder of home.” —Amy Poeppel, author of The Sweet Spot
“Sparkling and witty…A fun story about life, love, baseball, and finding your way home.” —Woman’s World
“Courtney Preiss has written a laugh-out-loud original love letter to New Jersey and hit a home run with her debut novel. Wry and big-hearted, Welcome Home, Caroline Kline is a sporty romp, a summer romance, and a thoughtful exploration of what it means to grow up. Playful with a game-face focus on what matters, Preiss had me at ‘rec specs’.” —Beck Dorey-Stein, author of Rock the Boat
“Welcome Home, Caroline Kline is lovely and engaging, funny and smart and sometimes sad. I rooted so hard for Caroline Kline…her journey is a quiet triumph.” —Marcy Dermansky, author of Hurricane Girl
"Watching Caroline's hesitant, brave, and acerbically funny transformation is exactly like watching a come-from-behind victory on the ballfield: beautiful and unexpected, riveting and memorable." —Katie Runde, author of The Shore
"With warmth, humor, and that special brand of New Jersey suburban splendor, Welcome Home, Caroline Kline is the perfect messy, mid-twenties coming-of-age story that should be required reading for anyone looking to find their place in the world. Preiss' prose absolutely shimmers as she sends Caroline on an endearing journey of discovery, from begrudgingly subbing for her ailing dad on his local men's softball league to reopening her recently broken heart to a romance of her youth. A novel that perfectly captures all those nostalgic yet life-affirming feelings that arise when returning to one's roots, Preiss' first publishing "at bat" is a total home run. This is a debut not to be missed!" —Becky Chalsen, author of Kismet
"Welcome Home, Caroline Kline is compulsively readable, riotously funny, and filled with sentences you'll want to read aloud to the person next to you. It's tender and hopeful, with a romance that will make you swoon. It's a laugh-out-loud love letter to baseball, New Jersey, and rock and roll. Most of all, it's life-affirming. You'll continue rooting for Caroline long after you finish the last page." —Mandy Berman, author of Perennials
“Brimming with warmth, humor, and bit, Welcome Home, Caroline Kline is an absolute home run of a novel. Courtney Preiss has written an unputdownable love letter to baseball, New Jersey, and the power of starting over, featuring an unforgettable heroine for whom you can’t help but root.” —Laura Hankin, author of The Daydreams
“Welcome Home, Caroline Kline is a warm, big-hearted novel about celebrating the people and places that are foundational in shaping our lives. Caroline might be dreading her return to New Jersey, but how lucky for readers that we get to accompany her back to her hometown. As she reconnects with a childhood love, rediscovers her love of baseball and makes peace with her father, Caroline surprises herself by learning she can go home again—and that there is nowhere else she would rather be. An enormously fun and rewarding read.” –Kirthana Ramisetti, author of Dava Shastri’s Last Day