A promising debut that clearly depicts both the rewards and the deep losses of American immigration.
An Indian American family is rocked by a medical crisis in this sensitive debut.
The Bharwani family has been drifting apart for years, with daughter Fareen pursuing a career at Goldman Sachs in New York and son Adnan engaged in shadowy business dealings in Nigeria. But when their mother, Sakeena, collapses at home in Miami, the pushes and pulls between family life and the outside world become harder and harder to balance. While Fareen is consumed by the possibility of a promotion and Adnan hides the reality of his situation from his family, their sister Kawal must take on the burden of her mother’s care while also managing her own pregnancy. Adding to these complications is the fact that Sakeena, a religious Muslim, believes in naseeb, or destiny, and thus refuses essential treatment for her life-threatening condition against her doctor’s instructions. Her children, as well as her devoted husband, Ramzan, are torn between trying to force her to comply with her doctors, giving her a chance to receive the liver transplant that could save her life, and letting her maintain control over her own body. Lakhani skillfully inhabits each family member and delves into the past to explore how their relationships formed. He is especially good at showing how many family members have been gripped by the immigrant’s drive to succeed, even if that drive leads to unhappiness. Sakeena, meanwhile, represents a different way of thinking, one ruled less by logic and expediency. Though the book has flaws—bizarrely, given the severe nature of Sakeena’s medical crisis, Lakhani mentions health insurance and medical costs only in passing—this is a thoughtful and carefully constructed novel.
A promising debut that clearly depicts both the rewards and the deep losses of American immigration.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9781640097568
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Counterpoint
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
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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