A quiet, amiable read that extols the determination and fortitude of 19th-century Western settlers.
In Perkins’ historical novel, a young boy raised in an Illinois orphanage vows to one day see the Pacific Ocean.
George Seevers was born in Streator, Illinois, in 1859, and he was just 2 years old when he was sent to an orphanage. He was his parents’ unexpected third son, after his two older brothers lost their lives in the Civil War, and his father died from dysentery; his mother fell into a severe depression and could no longer care for him. For the next 13 years, George endures an arduous childhood marked by various kinds of labor, finding relief only through his love of reading. Stories about the Pacific Ocean inspire him, and he hopes to one day reach its shores. As he approaches his 15th birthday, he runs away, hops a freight car, and begins his journey west, landing in Rapid City in the Dakota Territory; he spends 10 months as a ranch cook there and then heads to Cheyenne in the Wyoming Territory, which turns out to be a turning point in his life when Fred Lewis hires him as his assistant in his hotel restaurant. Fred and his wife, Mary, have three daughters: 17-year-old Marie, 15-year-old Susan, and 10-year-old Jane. George enjoys cooking and baking, and he falls in love with Marie, who’s equally smitten with him. Their marriage provides George with a close extended family that will eventually travel with him to Portland, Oregon, and finally to Rawlings, in what will become Washington state. In unadorned, straightforward prose, Perkins presents a pleasant, engaging narrative of the American West. Despite a few crises here and a couple of tragic losses, the narrative features few surprises and little tension. Still, George is a fully developed character who will capture readers’ hearts, and they’ll enjoy the book’s intricate inside view of the development of the small town of Rawlings, which grows from an end-of-the-line railroad community into a burgeoning city. Overall, this is an uplifting family saga with plenty of optimism and warmth.
A quiet, amiable read that extols the determination and fortitude of 19th-century Western settlers.Pub Date: Nov. 21, 2023
ISBN: 9798890913401
Page Count: 346
Publisher: ReadersMagnet LLC
Review Posted Online: July 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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 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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