Botanical mysteries and emotional catharses help heal the deep scars of a vividly drawn Indigenous community.
In Woodard’s novel, a scientific investigation brings change to an Indigenous community in Oklahoma.
In present-day Oklahoma, Jake, a member of the Choctaw nation, is in a deep depression: His family farm has dried up, his young daughter, Hailey, has died of leukemia, and he is struggling with opioid abuse. After a botched suicide attempt, Jake begins his long progress of recovery, helped by his wife, Jessica; she copes with their daughter’s death by growing a vegetable garden. Jake strikes up a friendship with an oncologist, Mark, who grows interested in the relationship between the soil quality and the health of Jake and other members of the nation. As Mark continues his research, he reconnects with his family and his own Choctaw roots. Jake and Jessica slowly repair their relationship and reconnect with Jake’s estranged brother, Adam, who has also been struggling with opioid addiction. Eventually, Mark’s discoveries lead Jake to revive his farm land, and the lonely characters start to form a small community. The contemporary narrative alternates with chapters about Jake’s ancestors, with stories detailing the lives of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. These chapters provide illuminating context and texture and reveal much about the increasingly exploitative relationships that Choctaw people have had with the American government (“He stood unmoving, creek water pooling at his feet, earth ground into the fabric of his skin, yet separate from his loved ones, in the eclipse of the white man’s machines and laws”). Sympathetic characterizations and realistic dialogue give a human face to many of the challenges facing the Indigenous communities depicted here. Mark’s investigation is intriguing and page-turning, and the author manages to keep the technical scientific details clear and comprehensible for the average reader. Even if the conclusions of some plot lines feel a little too abrupt, it’s impossible not to root for these suffering people as they labor to improve their lives and relationships. Woodard’s evocation of the slow, bumpy manner in which human bonds reform feels authentic and endearing.
Botanical mysteries and emotional catharses help heal the deep scars of a vividly drawn Indigenous community.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2023
ISBN: 9798886451047
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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