A sweeping debut novel about the ever changing nature of identity and love.
A sprawling look at the yearslong relationship between two women.
Hashimoto’s debut novel follows two Asian American women as they fall in (and out) of love again and again. When Eleanor Suzuki, “a queer biracial Asian Jewish girl,” meets Leena Shah, a beautiful and “hyperfocused” Indian girl, in an elevator on their college campus, they start an ever evolving relationship spanning more than a decade. In the shadow of graduation, the women try to figure out what their lives will look like together and apart. While Eleanor struggles to decide on her next step, Leena has her whole life mapped out. When explaining her girlfriend’s focus, Eleanor says: “In Leena this severity felt reassuring, like a compass and a map, a way forward.” Imbued with desire, jealousy, and hope, their youthful courtship ends suddenly. Six years later, Leena—while visiting Dhaval, her almost husband-to-be—runs into Eleanor on the streets of San Francisco. As the two make plans to catch up, Leena feels the uncanniness of their encounter: “Nostalgia broke loose inside her, for who she used to be: a college kid open to endless possibilities.” The chance encounter upends both of their lives when they fall back into a friendship—or perhaps something more. Hashimoto’s writing deftly explores the ways relationships, personhood, and expectations shift and change over time. After a secret nearly blows up Leena and Dhaval’s relationship, she questions what her life could be if she let go of what her life should be: “To lose him would be a blow to who she was supposed to be. And. Yet. The wild, restless, tangled unknown beckoned.” Hashimoto beautifully renders the tension between fear and the innate pull of living one’s truth. The novel explores hard questions with honesty, vulnerability, and compassion, which makes the sometimes-painful answers easier to swallow.
A sweeping debut novel about the ever changing nature of identity and love.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-936932-95-5
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Feminist Press
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
A steamy, romantic summer read with a charming setting.
A florist attempts to avoid her best friend’s brother—and their powerful chemistry—on Prince Edward Island.
When Lucy Ashby visits her best friend Bridget’s family home on Prince Edward Island for the first time, Bridget gives her three rules: Eat your weight in oysters….Leave the city behind. And, most importantly, Don’t fall in love with my brother. Unfortunately for Lucy, she sleeps with Felix basically the second her plane lands, unaware that he’s Bridget’s brother until it’s too late. Lucy has never felt understood or accepted by her immediate family, and Bridget is one of the very few people she allows into her inner circle, so Lucy’s desperate to abide by these rules. And so she and Felix try to avoid each other on every one of Lucy’s visits to PEI over the years. And, of course, they fail spectacularly, always returning to each other when they’re in between relationships. But it’s never been anything serious…Lucy makes sure of that, backing off whenever her emotions feel too strong. In her “real life” back in Toronto, it’s easier for Lucy to avoid thinking of Felix as she runs a busy floral shop, working herself into the ground. But when Bridget asks Lucy to come to PEI for an emergency girls’ trip less than two weeks before Bridget is supposed to get married, Lucy drops everything to be there for her best friend. She doesn’t expect to find Felix there, along with feelings that are stronger and more difficult than ever to ignore. Even more than jeopardizing her relationship with Bridget, Lucy is afraid that giving in to her feelings could ruin the life she’s worked so hard to build. Fortune, the author of hits like Every Summer After (2022), gives readers another refreshingly summery story full of angst, romance, and sex scenes aplenty. The PEI setting is a beautiful backdrop for Lucy and Felix’s secret hookups and Lucy’s journey of self-discovery as she learns how to stand on her own two feet as a business owner, friend, and daughter. In addition to frequent (and welcome) Anne of Green Gables references, there are oysters galore and many sandy, windy scenes that transport readers straight to the island.
A steamy, romantic summer read with a charming setting.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780593638880
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
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