An engrossing story about a young woman taking chances to find her way after college.
A young woman follows her dreams against the backdrops of Sicily and San Francisco in Constantino’s novel.
Mariella Russo has just finished her undergraduate degree at the University of Catania in 2000. She’s lived her whole life in the Sicilian town, feeling trapped by tradition and expectations. Her volatile mother expects Mariella to marry her boyfriend Matteo, the scion of the wealthy Gamberini family, coveting the elevated social standing the match will bestow upon the Russos. Although she loves Matteo, Mariella does not want to get married, feeling that they are both “caught in the same snare of family and tradition.” Her beloved grandmother, Nonna Giuseppina, understands her restlessness, saying, “If you remain here, they’ll never leave you alone.” After a disastrous graduation party (during which she publicly defies everyone’s plans for her), Mariella secretly escapes to America. Helped by Nonna and Luisa, the owner of the travel agency where Mariella works, she is admitted to graduate school at San Francisco State University. She arrives in San Francisco to find that her roommate, Leslie, is a gay man; he becomes a good friend. Through his connections, she lands a job as a part-time hostess at a high-end Italian restaurant in North Beach. The restaurant staff provides companionship and a romantic relationship with Giovanni, the restaurant owner, who is substantially older than her. A dramatic appearance by Mamma in a bid to bring her home causes Mariella to re-examine her actions and relationships. In her debut novel, Constantino has created a forthright and bold character who owns up to her faults and grows as she matures. Mariella’s choices are skillfully put in perspective in the contexts of the Sicilian and San Francisco communities she lives in and in the backstories of Nonna, who defied tradition in the 1940s by following her heart, and Giovanni, whose unhappy marriage shows that following expectations does not always result in happiness. Readers will easily relate to this enjoyable and honest depiction of the conflicting desires and expectations faced by many people in their 20s.
An engrossing story about a young woman taking chances to find her way after college.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781647427689
Page Count: 256
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
