INTO THE BLUE

A decades-spanning tale of two actors finding, losing, and finding each other again.

Brodie’s compulsively readable novel opens in the summer of 2000, as AJ Graves works at her small-town Massachusetts video rental store before her senior year of high school. AJ spends her days dreaming of writing for Saturday Night Live, writing fan fiction, and obsessively watching Astronauticals, her favorite 1960s improvised SF show. Her life takes a dramatic turn when Noah Drew, the youngest member of the infamous Drew acting family, starts working at the store, too. The two initially bond over their love of comedy and acting, but they soon grow inseparable through shared family trauma. When Noah’s notorious great-aunt, Eudora Drew, offers to train them in the art of drama, their relationship—both on and offstage—is lit ablaze. “Your scene partner is your life,” reads the improvisation handbook written by Eudora’s husband and Noah’s late great-uncle, Ezell. And this is true for the pair—until Noah vanishes without a word. Seven years later, the two are unexpectedly reunited to work on an Astronauticals prequel called Into the Blue. When AJ is cast in a much larger role than expected, their simmering chemistry threatens to engulf them. As the production comes to a close, Noah reveals why he suddenly left all those years ago—and the past, present, and future come into devastating focus. Over the next decade, the two are unable to fully escape the “the connection between them, a thin gold cord” passionately tethering them together. Toward the end, the plot begins to feel repetitive and overly melodramatic. There are only so many times one couple can break up and make up before it begins to grate. Regardless, Brodie manages to build a universe that feels real, as well as a cast of complex characters full of humanity. The acting and improv worlds provide fertile ground that allows Brodie to explore ambition, talent, passion, and the life-changing power of art.

An ambitious, sweeping, and tragic love story.