An engaging and moving collection about the tragic consequences of war.
Three novellas explore the heartbreaking effects of the Vietnam War.
Boatwright’s triptych examines characters who are in some way shaken by the conflict in Vietnam, with a particular focus on how the war results in emotional ripples that ultimately engulf not only veterans and their families, but others as well. The first novella, 1968: Getting Out, follows Toby Woodruff, a 20-year-old anti-war activist who enlists in the Navy to avoid being drafted. But when Toby receives orders to go to Vietnam, he attempts suicide. He is then placed under medical supervision in a hospital ward with hopes of eventually being discharged from the service. Initially, Toby refuses to speak to anyone. As he slowly opens up, he confronts some realizations about himself and his beliefs. The second work, 1982: If I Should Stay, centers on a married couple, Raz and Jane Carter, as they spend Thanksgiving with Jane’s family. The two have known each other since childhood. Despite their history, things have been fraught between Raz and Jane, primarily due to Raz’s drinking. Jane’s two brothers are similarly coping with tough issues: Charlie’s wife left him, and Tom has never been the same since returning from service in Vietnam. Finally, the third novella, 1993: Leaving Vietnam, explores a freelance photographer on assignment in Vietnam. Sarah has never really coped with the death of her brother, Walter, who was killed in the war. His untimely death stopped her from deepening her connection with others. Boatwright’s three works are evocative and highlight how people’s lives often vary from what they expected or desired. For example, while in the ward, Toby muses: “I’m just a guy who wanted to go to college and become an architect and make nice places for people to live…I thought maybe I might be able to do some good in the world, but I screwed up and screwed up and screwed up, and I lost everything.” Through simple but redolent prose, the author also examines how war affects a wide range of souls. Sarah sees the consequences in 1990s Vietnam. Jane and Raz—despite never going to Vietnam themselves—are tragically affected and altered by the war. Overall, Boatwright’s tales are stirring and engrossing, never shying away from uncomfortable subjects.
An engaging and moving collection about the tragic consequences of war.Pub Date: July 3, 2012
ISBN: 9798986434490
Page Count: 274
Publisher: Firefly Ink Books
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A heartbreaking, laugh-provoking, and absolutely Ephron-esque look at the beauty and fragility of everyday life.
A woman faces a health crisis and obsesses over a local accident in this wonderful follow-up to Sandwich (2024).
Newman begins her latest with a quote from Nora Ephron: “Death is a sniper. It strikes people you love, people you like, people you know—it’s everywhere. You could be next. But then you turn out not to be. But then again, you could be.” It sets an appropriate tone for a story that is just as full of death and dread as it is laughter. Two years after the events of Sandwich, Rocky is back home in Western Massachusetts and happily surrounded by family—her daughter, Willa, lives with her and her husband, Nick, while applying to Ph.D. programs; her widowed father, Mort, has moved into the in-law apartment behind their house. When a young man who graduated from high school with Rocky’s son, Jamie, is hit by a train, Rocky finds herself spiraling as she thinks about how close the tragedy came to her own family. She’s also freaking out about a mysterious rash her dermatologist can’t explain. Both instances are tailor-made for internet research and stalking. As Rocky obsessively googles her symptoms and finds only bad news (“Here’s what’s true about the Internet: very infrequently do people log on with their good news. Gosh, they don’t write, I had this weird rash on my forearm? And it turned out to be completely nothing!”), she also compulsively checks the Facebook page of the accident victim’s mother. Newman excels at showing how sorrow and joy coexist in everyday life. She masterfully balances a modern exploration of grief with truly laugh-out-loud lines (one passage about the absurdity of collecting a stool sample and delivering it to the doctor stands out). As Rocky deals with the byzantine frustrations of the medical system, she also has to learn, once more, how to see her children, husband, father, and herself as fully flawed and lovable humans.
A heartbreaking, laugh-provoking, and absolutely Ephron-esque look at the beauty and fragility of everyday life.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780063453913
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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