THE BOUNCE BACK

A disaster-prone artist has almost given up on her career when a dreary 9-to-5 job and a dreamy co-worker catalyze unexpected revelations.

Neale Delacroix aspires to follow in the footsteps of her family and blaze a trail through the art world, but her first major event turns out to be a literal baptism of fire: She sets herself aflame by accident. In the wake of her spectacular failure, Neale is kicked out of a prestigious artists’ collective and unceremoniously dumped by her “nonlinear life partner,” Darin. Heartbroken and humiliated, Neale finally decides to strike out on her own. She lands a boring but safe job to support herself, but she's unable to leave her artistic—and scatterbrained—self firmly behind: Not only does she find herself dangerously attracted to her co-worker Anthony, a brilliant artist in his own right, but her sister, Billie, is also determined to tug her back into the art world. But Neale must polish more than just her skills if she is to truly shine as an artist. The relentlessness of Neale’s clumsy blundering becomes achingly repetitive, but a diverse and entertaining cast of secondary characters—including many who featured in Woolridge’s The Checklist (2021)—adds both sense and sensibility to Neale’s aimless wandering. Woolridge is consistently witty, often dropping insightful nuggets related to the vagaries of art and the eccentricities of artists. But as Neale negotiates with family, makes friends, and finds her professional feet, her story reads more like women’s fiction than romance. Woolridge misses the opportunity to lead Neale to a deeper understanding of herself through her negotiation with the beautifully steady and warmly generous Anthony.

A light and undemanding coming-of-age story.