An allusion-heavy story that’s ultimately compelling and absorbing.
In Hagood’s novel, a young aspiring artist loses her father but not before he tells her a long-held secret that sets her on a quest for the truth.
Dylan Cyllene, a Brooklyn-based high school student and amateur artist, is hit with two bombshells: First, she finds out that her beloved father is terminally ill with cancer; second, before he dies, he tells her that he’s not her biological parent. Thus begins a whirlwind tale of Dylan’s search for her birth father and her reparation of a fractured relationship with her mother, an artist whose emotional state is erratic at best. Meanwhile, renowned photographer Simon Ambrogio, whose work also includes monster references, comes to give a lecture to her class. This leads Dylan to new revelations. At the same time, she builds a romantic relationship with fellow student Shay, a girl who shares her love for “filthy creations” of the artistic kind. A massive art installation made of discarded car parts eventually offers clarity to Dylan on all fronts. Hagood’s book is part coming-of-age novel, part mystery, part family drama, and part queer romance; it hits a lot of notes, and most are the right ones. Its title comes from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), a favorite of Dylan’s that informs her artwork, and the allusions to that classic work eventually become repetitive. However, Hagood has crafted an engrossing story with vivid characters; Dylan, Shay, and Simon are effectively revealed as artists who are dedicated to a fault, going to extremes for inspiration and creation. At one point, for instance, Shay even jumps into the East River near the Brooklyn Bridge, which gets Dylan’s creativity flowing as she jumps after her: “I felt I might just sink to the bottom. Shay and I could both live down there together, surviving on a diet of only ships.” Other over-the-top plot elements include the repeated use of monster masks and a scene involving a visit to a cockfight, but these are believable in the context of the lives of artists who feel their work so deeply.
An allusion-heavy story that’s ultimately compelling and absorbing.Pub Date: May 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781952335563
Page Count: 254
Publisher: MadHat Press
Review Posted Online: March 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
