An often well-crafted novel of grief and redemption that sometimes leans on problematic tropes.
A European woman becomes enmeshed in the lives of a Wyoming Arapaho family in Birkmyer’s debut novel.
In 1988, German immigrant Heidi Vogel drives away from New York City, her husband, and the restaurant they own. She’s felt rootless since the death of her infant son, Peter, two years earlier, and now she’s headed west, looking for—in the words of her cousin—“something divine.” She ends up in Riverton, Wyoming, where she takes a job at a soup kitchen and settles into a simple life. A few years later, she meets Nara Crow, a spirited but enigmatic Arapaho woman who applies for a position at the kitchen. She’s pregnant with twins, and she ends up moving in with Heidi and her dog, Gering; she continues to live there after the babies, Amadeus and Marcel, are born. Then, without warning, she suddenly takes the boys and disappears. Four years later, Heidi gets a call from Wyoming Highway Patrol; there’s been a car accident, and a woman is unconscious at the hospital. Two 5-year-olds were in the car, and one had Heidi’s name and number written on their arm. The woman is Nara, the children are hers, and Marcel now identifies as Marcela. The youngsters now need someone to look after them. Can Heidi be the “aunt” that they require? Birkmyer’s prose is wonderfully voiced and imaginatively detailed, and it also displays a great deal of control, as in this passage considering Heidi’s single status: “there were slim pickins in Riverton. The guy who owned the deli sniffed around; the head of the Chamber of Commerce had made a move. Heidi had finally made up a boyfriend, a paleontologist in Thermopolis, who was often away for months digging up fossils.” However, the book treads rather clumsily into a White savior narrative that may remind some readers of the odd phenomenon of Deutsche Indianertümelei, or “German Indian Enthusiasm,” which romanticizes the Native American experience. Despite this, the characters are all well drawn, and readers will still find themselves pulled into the emotion of the story.
An often well-crafted novel of grief and redemption that sometimes leans on problematic tropes.Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63649-540-8
Page Count: 382
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 19, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
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
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
© 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.
