An unapologetically wild and engaging romp through middle America.
A literary novel focuses on two siblings on the run.
The year is 2009 in St. Louis. Elizabeth Bauer, 15, and Mikey Bauer, 9, are in a predicament. Their mother has received a hefty prison sentence for driving while intoxicated and killing a woman in a car accident. Elizabeth and Mikey’s father died previously from a drug overdose. The children are supposed to go to Connecticut with their wealthy aunt and uncle. It seems like the best option in a bad situation, but the kids do not trust their relatives for reasons that will later become clear. Elizabeth decides they should flee. The siblings stow away in the back of a stranger’s van unbeknownst to the driver. When the van crashes, killing the driver, they are near a truck stop in Wisconsin. The truck stop happens to be next to a protected natural area, providing the ideal place for the Bauer kids to figure out their next move. That is until they are discovered by a retired geology professor, Gregory “Finn” Finnegan. Finn is empathetic to their plight. He even supports Elizabeth’s theory that her mother was not actually driving when the fatal accident that put her behind bars took place. This frantic adventure features choices that will likely surprise readers. Want to escape from your new guardians? Why not hide in a van and figure it all out later? It is just one of the many crazy decisions that keep Hampel’s captivating story rolling as the fate of the Bauer siblings (and others) hang in the balance. Many descriptions along the way are well written, as when a character is killed and “sheets are presently brought in from somewhere to respectfully cover” this “venerable” figure. But the dialogue is often too long-winded. Elizabeth remarks after trying some “super-duper chocolate” ice cream that “you’re right Mr. Finn, this is the best ice cream I’ve ever had.” Nevertheless, this audacious search for justice never ceases to astound.
An unapologetically wild and engaging romp through middle America.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780962799235
Page Count: 570
Publisher: BZFF Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 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
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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