Strikingly imagistic and contemplative poetry that will live on in memory.
This volume of poetry explores themes of parenthood, the natural world, and the pleasures and pains of existence.
Wendell’s spellbinding collection opens with a poem entitled “Portrait Chinois,” in which the author observes a picture of the artist Frida Kahlo: “I study the woman staring back, / wondering why she kept / dark caterpillars inching / over darker eyes.” The piece ponders representations of the female body—with the poet revealing that she cut her hair after injuring herself falling from a horse—and proceeds to celebrate survival. Horse riding is a common theme in this book. The following poem, “Ride,” considers the freedom and naïveté of riding in childhood, with “no inkling of danger.” Similarly, the title poem is about the necessity to relax when falling off a horse and how this applies to life’s other distressing events. Poems such as “Blizzard of Nothing” and “Storm Chaser” bear witness to the awesome power of nature, whereas “Southpaw” and “Kites” are tender examinations of parenthood. The thoughtful collection ends with “Viva la Vida,” a tribute to endurance and a further nod to Kahlo’s art. Readers new to Wendell’s poetry will be struck by her use of distinctive imagery. In “Blizzard of Nothing,” settling snow is “a crazed Einstein, / erasing what came before / to start the lesson over— / a blizzard of wisdoms / traveling at the speed of relative / incomprehensibility.” The author has a refreshingly imaginative gaze. Simple acts, such as kite flying, become effortlessly analogous to the art of parenting: “My daughter, for instance. / The closer, / the easier to manipulate. / The farther out, / more risk and thrill.” Wendell’s poetry resonates with mature, often tough wisdom: “Come off a horse enough times, / and you learn how to fall.” But among life’s agonizing lessons her pieces also locate simple ecstasies, such as stargazing: “I want to sleep to drink / from that dark rift / between stars, / I want to empty / the ladle of light.” Wendell is a dazzlingly inventive and perceptive poet, and it proves a joy to see the world through her eyes.
Strikingly imagistic and contemplative poetry that will live on in memory.Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-952593-23-9
Page Count: 86
Publisher: FutureCycle Press
Review Posted Online: March 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A heartbreaking, laugh-provoking, and absolutely Ephron-esque look at the beauty and fragility of everyday life.
A woman faces a health crisis and obsesses over a local accident in this wonderful follow-up to Sandwich (2024).
Newman begins her latest with a quote from Nora Ephron: “Death is a sniper. It strikes people you love, people you like, people you know—it’s everywhere. You could be next. But then you turn out not to be. But then again, you could be.” It sets an appropriate tone for a story that is just as full of death and dread as it is laughter. Two years after the events of Sandwich, Rocky is back home in Western Massachusetts and happily surrounded by family—her daughter, Willa, lives with her and her husband, Nick, while applying to Ph.D. programs; her widowed father, Mort, has moved into the in-law apartment behind their house. When a young man who graduated from high school with Rocky’s son, Jamie, is hit by a train, Rocky finds herself spiraling as she thinks about how close the tragedy came to her own family. She’s also freaking out about a mysterious rash her dermatologist can’t explain. Both instances are tailor-made for internet research and stalking. As Rocky obsessively googles her symptoms and finds only bad news (“Here’s what’s true about the Internet: very infrequently do people log on with their good news. Gosh, they don’t write, I had this weird rash on my forearm? And it turned out to be completely nothing!”), she also compulsively checks the Facebook page of the accident victim’s mother. Newman excels at showing how sorrow and joy coexist in everyday life. She masterfully balances a modern exploration of grief with truly laugh-out-loud lines (one passage about the absurdity of collecting a stool sample and delivering it to the doctor stands out). As Rocky deals with the byzantine frustrations of the medical system, she also has to learn, once more, how to see her children, husband, father, and herself as fully flawed and lovable humans.
A heartbreaking, laugh-provoking, and absolutely Ephron-esque look at the beauty and fragility of everyday life.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780063453913
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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