A bighearted novel of yearning and human decency.
A gay medical student juggles the needs of his partner, family members, friends, and former lovers while trying to find his own path in Yeh’s sequel to A Boy at the Edge of the World (2018).
Daniel Garneau, the narrator, is in medical school, although readers rarely see that part of his life. His partner, David Gallucci, is a bicycle mechanic and a creative, thoughtful soul who comes from a family steeped in culture; his Italian Catholic mother, Isabella de Luca, is a well-known art critic and writer. The action kicks off when David’s estranged sibling, a trans man named Luke, shows up at the couple’s front door. David and Luke’s mother has no idea that one of her sons is gay and the other trans, although a family reunion is on the horizon. Meanwhile, Daniel is trying to integrate his seemingly stable relationship with David into a social life bursting with friends and several significant exes. Before David heads to Italy for two months on a family trip, the couple decides that their relationship will be “open” during that time—an idea that feels “weird” to Daniel. Yeh’s cosmopolitan and sexy novel is mainly plot-driven, but it gives the 20-something central couple enough nuance to make their relationships worth exploring. The narrative is brisk with occasionally abrupt scene shifts, but the characters are consistently appealing in their searches for love and purpose. Parties, rendezvous, and cabaret visits unfold in Toronto, although the Italian vacation might change everything for Daniel and David. The large, multiethnic, and sexually fluid cast of characters is emotionally generous with one another, and they grow and change in authentic ways. Daniel’s sensibility as he learns how relationships can morph and still hold is particularly well rendered. Some may find it tempting to compare the novel to Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series, but Yeh’s theme of “love and ridiculous gratitude” for this “entire ephemeral life” stands as its own beautiful creation.
A bighearted novel of yearning and human decency.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 9781771835411
Page Count: 374
Publisher: Guernica Editions
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
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