A sharp novel about youth in conflict with dreams, nature, and reality.
Two young climbers seek the footholds that will allow them to escape their families.
Tallent’s thrilling, well-turned second novel—following My Absolute Darling (2017)—concerns Dan Redburn and Tamma Callahan, high-school seniors united by their love for rock climbing in the Mojave Desert. The children of low-income families, they lack the funds for fancy gear, but the excitement of “sending” (completing) a climb is too hard to resist. They both fantasize about heading to Utah and living together off the grid. (Platonically; Dan is straight, Tamma a lesbian.) But multiple forces weigh on that ambition. Dan is in line for a college scholarship, and Tamma also aspires to join the competitive climbing circuit. Family proves the steepest challenge, though: Dan’s mother, a one-time successful novelist, has a serious heart ailment, while Tamma is often recruited to support her sister’s children. Moreover, their mothers, once best friends, are estranged, placing their friendship under further scrutiny. Though in some ways a conventional bildungsroman, the novel is lifted by Tallent’s gift for surprising and lively language, from the peculiar names climbers give to sites (one challenging climb is called Fingerbang Princess), to Tamma’s robust and profane rants, to the lingo used to describe climbs themselves. (A “crux” is a difficult portion of a climb.) Even if you don’t climb, the language is rich and resonant: “The hand crack was juicy. It was outrageously casual for crack climbing. Not even a boulder problem.” Tallent delivers excellent set pieces, particularly Tamma’s introduction to the competitive climbing world, but he consistently has his eye on the existential questions that climbing metaphorizes, such as how to balance independence with responsibility and what constitutes a meaningful life goal. “How should I conduct my life? Do you trust yourself, or do you not?” Dan asks himself, and this adventure tale invites the reader to consider the same questions.
A sharp novel about youth in conflict with dreams, nature, and reality.Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9780593714188
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
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
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