A sensitive and sincere tale told with Sachar’s inimitable wit.
This adult debut from Sachar, the singular children's book author, is a heartfelt fable about courage and love.
As Anatole—the titular magician—tells his story, he's speaking from the present day and describing events that happened 500 years ago. Tiger Castle is now a tourist destination, but in Anatole’s heyday, it was home to the king and queen of Esquaveta. As the court magician, Anatole was charged with ensuring that Princess Tullia went through with her marriage to Prince Dalrympl of Oxatania, a long-standing arrangement that was suddenly threatened when Tullia fell in love with Pito, the king’s young scribe. The queen told Anatole that if he could not convince Tullia to marry Dalrympl, she and the king would coerce their daughter into behaving. Anatole had known Tullia since she was born, and had a fatherly affection for her. He was desperate to protect the princess—as well as his own career. He decided to brew a potion that would make Pito and Tullia forget they ever knew each other, let alone loved each other, and readers will want to find out for themselves how that led to Anatole's unnaturally extended lifespan. Sachar’s wry, distinctive voice will remind grown-ups what made him such a success as a children's book author, and it translates perfectly into a book in which the middle-aged father figure is the focus, rather than the star-crossed young lovers. Sachar tells the comical story with the slight detachment of a fairy-tale narrator, focusing less on the fantasy elements than on the relationships among the characters, which are straightforward and touching. As Anatole tries to manage the youthful antics of Tullia and Pito, he grapples with more mature themes of loss, regret, and hope for the future.
A sensitive and sincere tale told with Sachar’s inimitable wit.Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9780593952306
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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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