This engaging drama offers a stirring exploration of a family embroiled in the Vietnam War.
This novel illustrates one family’s struggles on two fronts during an increasingly unpopular war.
In this fifth volume of the Jon and Teresa Zachery series, the Vietnam War is ramping up again in 1972. Teresa is handling the homefront at a naval base in California with three young children to distract her from her fears for her Navy pilot husband, Jon, code-named Stretch. Meanwhile, Jon is aboard the aircraft carrier USS Solomons, headed across the Pacific for his second deployment to Vietnam. He wrestles with his doubts as he recalls his first tour as converting jungle trees into toothpicks in South Vietnam. But the new policy is to mine Haiphong Harbor and take the fight to “The North,” which feels more worthwhile to Jon, as if the United States is trying to win the war. Much of the book is told through letters between Jon and Teresa, with her supporting him and him downplaying the dangers he faces. Readers are introduced to the much-respected Jon’s fellow pilots through their interactions between missions. Jon’s particular cross to bear is his roommate, Blackey, whose ego is barely exceeded by his piloting skills. The narrative hinges on Blackey’s disobeying orders on a mission with Jon, putting the protagonist in peril. But that crisis does set up Jon’s next chapter. Zerr, a longtime naval aviator, flew 330 combat missions over Vietnam. Thus, this sobering series has a strong authenticity regarding daily activities both aboard the carrier and at home. On the flip side, the author goes heavy on the military jargon, making the glossary in the back of the novel indispensable. In addition, there are a lot of players to keep track of, so the character list comes in handy. Zerr also places the Zacherys’ Christian faith front and center, as that helps them to temper their dread. This is a refreshing tack to follow amid the terrors of war. In this engrossing and moving work, the author emphasizes the point that war can be hell both for those overseas and their loved ones at home.
This engaging drama offers a stirring exploration of a family embroiled in the Vietnam War.Pub Date: July 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-957676-25-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Primix Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
A delightfully nostalgic novel about how the things we loved in the past have the power to shape our future.
A boy band cruise is the site of one woman’s post-divorce healing.
Annie never meant to end up alone on a Boy Talk cruise, but that’s exactly what happens when her sister breaks a leg and has to bow out of their vacation. Now Annie is sharing a cabin with a stranger, stuck on the cruise ship American Fantasy with the 1990s band—and thousands of their biggest fans, known as Talkers. Annie doesn’t consider herself a Talker, even if she was a fan back in the day. But reeling from a recent divorce and dealing with complex feelings about turning 50, Annie throws herself into the distraction of the trip. What she doesn’t expect is to truly connect with the music, the band, the other fans, and herself. As Annie observes, “This was why people turned to religion or watched the Super Bowl at a sports bar instead of alone in their living room. It felt good to be a part of something where your passion was celebrated instead of mocked.” All the Talkers dream of having a special bond with “the guys,” but when Annie actually does meet Keith, a Boy Talk member who’s clearly going through a hard time, she wonders if their connection is real or if she’s just as delusional as the other (mostly) women on the ship. Straub depicts a wonderfully immersive world aboard the American Fantasy, one where each woman assigns herself a favorite guy and everyone is bedecked in Boy Talk merch. For five days, the Talkers live in a fantasy world where the only thing that matters is their connection with a band that meant everything to them so many years ago. As Annie puts it, “Inside her head, which is where she heard the music, it had touched some lever so deep that it couldn’t be reversed…the music was a direct vein to her own childhood, the least complicated part of her life.”
A delightfully nostalgic novel about how the things we loved in the past have the power to shape our future.Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9798217046850
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
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