ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES

A family struggles to save itself in this follow-up to Ward’s bestselling The Jetsetters (2020).

The three Perkins siblings aren’t doing great. Regan, fresh off a divorce, has moved her teenage daughters to Greece in pursuit of an internet boyfriend named François, who is almost certainly a scammer. Her brother, Cord, is struggling with alcoholism, and Cord’s partner wants him to attend a romantic digital detox retreat. And their sister Lee, a reality TV star, just had a very public breakdown and is now living with their mother, Charlotte, in Savannah, Georgia. When Regan disappears, Lee flies to Greece to comfort her nieces and hunt down her sister. Charlotte soon follows, intent not only on finding her missing daughter but also on trying to reconnect with a long-lost Greek lover. But finding Regan proves difficult because the Perkins family isn’t good at honesty—with each other or themselves. They’d much rather numb out or distract themselves with alcohol, work, or, in Regan’s case, a sexy and validating French boyfriend who may or may not even be real. Lee, meanwhile, is struggling to manage her bipolar disorder and dealing with a depression stronger than she admits to her family. She carries the heavy weight of caring for her family whenever something goes wrong—so what happens when she needs someone to help her, too? Despite the heavy subject matter, Ward has a breezy writing style that zips along, ping-ponging among points of view. Although Regan’s and Lee’s plot lines are the strongest, each character’s voice adds intrigue. Ultimately, this is a story about a family supporting each other despite hurt, miscommunication, and distance.

A propulsive novel about the complex bonds of family.