A cinematic, sympathetic view of the personal costs of political conflict, many of which will be frighteningly familiar.
What is worth disrupting your comfortable life for? A novel set in Hong Kong in 2019 explores this question.
Panda and Ah Lei, youthful acquaintances who later become college roommates, confront their circumstances during a time of upheaval and rebellion in different ways. Both actively support the student-led protests opposing an extradition bill that would permit the transfer of Hong Kong citizens to mainland China, which was seen as a potential infringement on the civil liberties enjoyed by residents of the self-governing area. Panda’s temperament leads her to continue her life much as usual, dressing in cute clothes and following a beauty routine. Ah Lei takes the civic unrest to heart and is preoccupied with the dangers to activists and the future of Hong Kong’s tenuous hold on democratic practices. Leung focuses on the girls’ activities during a violent and uneasy summer of protests but incorporates the activities, ideals, and thoughts of a circle of friends and family members, as well. As the demonstrations—and the government response to them—grow more intense and dangerous, the stakes escalate for everyone involved: Small business owners, for example, need to protect themselves from accusations of favoritism, leaving an aesthetician to remark, “Even beauty has to be political.” Relationships are challenged and family ties ignored as the girls and their friends and loved ones determine how to go forward. Scenes of day-to-day life, meals, and movie-watching amid the chaos alternate with episodes of brutality, violence, and injury. By the time one young couple hooks up while Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime” plays in the background, Leung’s points are clear: This is a war and sides need to be taken and what you don’t do may matter as much as what you do.
A cinematic, sympathetic view of the personal costs of political conflict, many of which will be frighteningly familiar.Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2026
ISBN: 9780593855379
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
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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