An engrossing coming-of-age story about a clever but troubled boy.
A tween and an older woman with a complicated past become entangled in Berger’s 1950s-set novel.
Eleven-year-old Leonard Lewis delivers the Long Island Press in small-town Witney, New York. He quickly develops a rapport with Betsy Simpson, a former teacher who invites him into her place for hot cocoa. She lives alone with several cats in a perpetually cluttered home. As time passes, Leonard comes to know others on his paper route, such as a man in a wheelchair whose initial churlishness may hide his genuine self. The boy spends hours with Miss Simpson (the developing feelings between the two are mutual, it seems) and soon learns of her reputation among the locals; they call the allegedly promiscuous woman appalling names, which Leonard responds to with fights and a sour attitude, which ultimately affects his job and his schoolwork. Berger spins a taut narrative that spans several years. Leonard is just as multilayered as Miss Simpson; he was 7 when his father died, and his mother rarely shows affection like she used to. The smart, hard-working paperboy is convincingly flawed—he’s prone to careless mistakes, lashing out (“I must have punched him a thousand times before guys pulled me off. His nose dripped blood and he had a split lip”), and habitually ogling Miss Simpson. Others among the sturdy supporting cast include schoolmates with abusive fathers and Miss Simpson’s lively cats (including one who hates nearly every human and a deaf feline who immediately takes to Leonard). All the while, America’s tumultuous mid-50s glide by, though Leonard is largely unaffected. The author, however, showcases history in an entertainingly concise manner, prefacing chapters with real-life New York Times headlines that reference segregation, the Space Race, and the Red Scare. The final act provides resolution as well as illuminating insight into Miss Simpson’s character.
An engrossing coming-of-age story about a clever but troubled boy.Pub Date: April 7, 2024
ISBN: 9798321328828
Page Count: 276
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
An existential crisis that steps on its own final moments.
With only a month left until the world ends due to a swiftly approaching black hole, Don and Rodney, a retired gay couple, road-trip from Maine to Washington to spend their final days with their son.
After reports that a planet-swallowing black hole is making its way toward Earth, Rodney and Don—who have been together for 40 years and survived everything from homophobia to the HIV crisis—decide to pack their belongings into an RV, say goodbye to their neighbors, and travel from Camden, Maine, to Washington to uphold a promise to spend their final days with their son. They can’t wait any longer, since there’s already chaos around the country: “Military vehicles in the streets of most cities and towns. Looting, rioting, the burning of cars and buildings and people, all of it had already happened.” As they make their way west across the country, they encounter fellow travelers ranging from close-knit families to free-spirited hippies, some of whom have come to terms with the impending end of the world and others who haven’t. While the story seems to be asking readers what they would do if they had 30 days left to live, and reflects on what different kinds of acceptance might look like in the face of unavoidable tragedy, it loses some of its poignancy in a series of thinly padded monologues about the meaning of life. Clearly intended to pack an emotional punch, it’s failed by an abrupt ending, and the way the journey’s mystery—which will be obvious to many readers—is revealed by an info dump in the last chapter.
An existential crisis that steps on its own final moments.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781250881236
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
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