An earnest novel about the insecurities of adolescence and the impossibility of escaping one's past.
Spanning two decades and a continent, this novel traces the consequences of rash decisions made in youth.
It's 1997 in Southern California. When 14-year-olds Meghan and Judy sneak away to find Cassie—supposedly a model—whom they’ve grown to adore in a chat room, their disappointing mothers barely notice their daughters’ absences. This parental neglect and the girls’ lack of cellphones add a note of terror to what happens next. Cassie isn’t home, but her senile great-aunt is, and she locks Meghan and Judy in Cassie’s bedroom. In alternating chapters, a third-person narrator relates the girls’ plight—to amuse themselves in captivity, they read Cassie's diary—and Cassie’s story. Cassie seems unaware that visitors were coming and has embarked on a bus journey from California to find her own disappointing mother in a Nevada commune. All of this happens in the first of the novel's three parts, which function almost as separate novellas. The second follows brothers Miles and Caleb, whose wealthy family moves from San Francisco, where 14-year-old Miles was secretly involved with a male friend, to Detroit, where much-older Caleb gets involved in the city's underground graffiti scene via a fellow skateboarder named Tez. Soon Caleb ropes Miles into the dangerous fun. This portion of the book, set in 1996, culminates in a series of events that shed unflattering light on Caleb’s character. The third portion of the book, set in 2016 New York, asks whether former sinners change. Caleb is dating Judy, who now goes by Jude. As the action opens, Jude’s mother, Bonnie, is flying east to visit her daughter and finally make amends for her alcoholism and toxic relationships, which stained Judy’s childhood. To say too much about what happens over the course of her four-day visit would spoil the book, which ties up many (though not all) dangling plot threads. There are a few too many characters for comfort: Meghan, Cassie, Miles, and Tez all get outsized attention given their secondary roles in the arc of the novel. Until Part 3, it is unclear who will matter, and it can be disappointing when beloved figures are forgotten. Still, the prose is good, the plot progresses at a satisfying clip, and the characters are endearingly flawed (except for Judy/Jude, whose only moral flaw is having a bad mother, lover, and friend). Gallagher writes meaningfully about the intergenerational impacts of addiction, abuse, and sexual violence.
An earnest novel about the insecurities of adolescence and the impossibility of escaping one's past.Pub Date: June 21, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-81784-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
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 warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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