A compelling character study that tackles intriguing moral questions.
Scott’s novel combines a mystery plot with an exploration of college culture in the 1990s.
After feeling invisible during her high school career, Rosalind “Ros” Fisher is desperate to be a part of the “cool” crowd at Regis University, near Toronto, in 1998. To that end, she ditches her authentic self, invents a new persona, and excludes her “uncool” roommate, Megan Main, who has horse-print bedsheets and out-of-date clothes, from her life. Shortly after Ros returns to campus from winter break, a dangerous ice storm hits, forcing the college to lock down. A reckless night out ends with Megan missing and Ros the target of her peers’ blame. As lies pile up, Ros finds it increasingly difficult to maintain her credibility. The aftermath of this incident uproots her life, disconnecting her from everyone she knows at Regis. Over the course of Scott’s novel, Ros makes morally questionable decisions, but what she lacks in likability is made up for by Scott’s realistic representation of an insecure young person, via Ros’ narration. Small specificities, such as dormitory names, clothing choices, and ’90s references (“Why would anyone want to be one of the many? Another ponytailed, poli-sci major with an unironic passion for Jewel”) do an excellent job of creating a vivid, believable setting. Indeed, this aspect of the novel, along with the conversational tone, will make readers feel closer to Ros as she reflects on her past. In the book’s second half, the story seamlessly transitions to 20 years in the future, as a news story forces Ros to reexamine someone else’s past behavior as well as confront her own previous actions. Overall, it’s a thought-provoking examination of truth, trauma, and memory, briskly and attentively presenting readers with a vivid portrait of one woman’s complicated experiences.
A compelling character study that tackles intriguing moral questions.Pub Date: July 25, 2023
ISBN: 978-1039004924
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
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
Though uneven, this is still a pleasurable, comforting read.
Infertility, family secrets, and alpacas all figure in Quindlen’s latest meditation on mothering and domesticity.
Polly’s life looks enviable. Happily married to the adoring Mark—a vet at the Bronx Zoo—she teaches English at a private Manhattan girls’ school and loves her work. She has a protective older brother and close girlfriends, who’ve formed a book club where no one is expected to read the book. But Polly desperately wants a child and, at 42, knows time is running out. She and Mark have gone through endless fertility treatments, to no avail. Meantime, Polly’s friends have given her a DNA kit as a jokey birthday gift, and something mysterious shows up in the test results. Then, out of nowhere, a young woman contacts her, suggesting they may be related. That’s not all: Polly feels estranged from her mother, a revered judge who’s insufficiently maternal in her daughter’s view. Her father has always cherished her, but he’s in a nursing home now with a rapidly failing mind. And something is amiss with her best pal, Sarah. Quindlen’s trademark empathy is evident throughout, and her wry humor leavens some of the serious goings-on. Early on, Mark and Polly visit a fertility clinic with photos of babies in the waiting room; for Polly, “it felt…like a Weight Watchers facility with hot fudge sundae pictures on the wall.” Then we meet these charming alpacas, humming and pronking, on a farm run by an earth mother, whose wisdom will help Polly get on with her life. The plot swerves around a bit, there may be one surplus narrative thread (e.g., Polly’s star student Josephine running aground after graduation), and at the end, the author ties things up too neatly, pushing the “circle of life” theme too hard.
Though uneven, this is still a pleasurable, comforting read.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9780593734605
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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