Astutely written, with the perfect balance among humor, heartbreak, and understanding.
A novel that takes back shame while packing a funny and poignant punch.
Political wife Kathleen Held returns early from a trip to discover her garage is on fire, and her husband and his mistress are the source of the heat. Both her reaction and, incidentally, the deep red stain from some leaked menstrual blood are captured on video and instantly shared around the globe. Kathleen, a production editor in book publishing by trade, is used to being invisible, but her face has become that of the #YesWeBleed movement, photo edited onto Rosie the Riveter posters and memes and submemes and gifs and hashtags in a brilliant satire of an internet culture that falls somewhere between the honesty of #MeToo and the outrage of "Grab 'em by the pussy." Kathleen is horrified and tries to hide until two things happen: She intercepts an invitation meant for her husband to the Society of Shame, a salon for the scandalous run by disgraced bestselling author Danica Bellevue; and her 12-year-old daughter, Aggie, is pelted with maxi pads. Aggie fights back by embracing the period movement even though her involvement could wreak havoc on her father's Senate campaign and her own social life. Seeing her daughter's bravery, Kathleen realizes she's chosen to disappear rather than face possible disappointment, that she's pushed aside her own wants and needs since having been rejected for her literary novel decades before. Urged by her cohort in the society, Kathleen decides to lean into the embarrassing-but-essential period-based spotlight, generating media and keynotes, hashtags, hate mail, and a high-six-figure book deal. But she starts to realize the attention and social media storm are making her lose sight of what's important to her and must decide if the risk is worth the cost of her values. The humor gets its teeth from author Roper's eye for just the right details, like the moment when Kathleen is on a solo road trip and plays her favorite college songs from Alanis Morissette and the Indigo Girls. Resist skipping ahead, but the last page cements the work’s heart.
Astutely written, with the perfect balance among humor, heartbreak, and understanding.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9780593468760
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Anchor
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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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