Colleen Hubbard’s debut novel is the story of Del, a young woman from a small town in New England who thought her past was no longer a part of her life. However, when she learns that her greedy cousins want to put a housing development of the land her deceased parents had left her, she decides to disassemble her childhood home piece by piece. In three months, almost single-handedly during a harsh winter, she moves every inch of the house to a new location.

This description of Housebreaking sounds tedious, but trust me, it’s not. The novel has tension-will Del meet the deadline her cousins have set and will she receive the money the cousins promised her. It also has well-drawn characters with Del, a quirky, defiant, strong-willed young woman in every scene.