A bleak, engrossing tale of the seemingly endless damage that brutality causes.
In this debut novella, a group of Americans can’t escape the inevitability of violence.
Gracie is the daughter of a hardened criminal. Her father is a known murderer who always carries a gun and gets drunk every night. Gracie can’t help but witness some of his ferocity, as when a carjacker tries stealing her dad’s beloved car. Elsewhere, young Robbie regularly fishes with his adult friend Paw Paw. The two, as people of color, habitually deal with bigots. But Paw Paw is an “old school” gangster who uses his giant hands to fight to the death. This book contains an assortment of narrators, each with a tie to someone else. There’s a man who retires after winning the lottery. Now he has everything he wants, but when he sets his sights on a young girl, he’s practically welcoming trouble. One boy grows up in a household with devout Christian parents. This entails summers at a camp that teaches outdoor survival. There, he trains with guns and learns combat skills, which he uses during savage confrontations with other “followers.” Gherardi’s brisk but grim story cycles through a plethora of irredeemable characters. The innocent titular youngsters are surrounded by killers, racists, and child abusers. The author deftly shifts among clearly defined characters with discernible narrative voices. Likewise, the nonlinear tale’s varying time periods, though unspecified, are never confusing. For example, some characters note another’s death only for the deceased to narrate a later chapter. In this absorbing story, Gherardi’s relaxed prose reads like people relaying their tales to others. Robbie, describing his mother’s unfortunate state, says: “Mom was on the bad path. No fairy tale ending to her story. Close to the end, I hate to admit. Looking skinnier and weaker every time I saw her. Looked like she was losing hair, too.”
A bleak, engrossing tale of the seemingly endless damage that brutality causes.Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-09-832119-2
Page Count: 138
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A wistfully nostalgic look at endings, beginnings, and loving the people who will always have your back.
Exes pretend they’re still together for the sake of their friends on their annual summer vacation.
Wyn Connor and Harriet Kilpatrick were the perfect couple—until Wyn dumped Harriet for reasons she still doesn’t fully understand. They’ve been part of the same boisterous friend group since college, and they know that their breakup will devastate the others and make things more than a little awkward. So they keep it a secret from their friends and families—in fact, Harriet barely even admits it to herself, focusing instead on her grueling hours as a surgical resident. She’s ready for a vacation at her happy place—the Maine cottage she and her friends visit every summer. But (surprise!) Wyn is there too, and he and Harriet have to share a (very romantic) room and a bed. Telling the truth about their breakup is out of the question, because the cottage is up for sale, and this is the group’s last hurrah. Determined to make sure everyone has the perfect last trip, Harriet and Wyn resolve to fake their relationship for the week. The problem with this plan, of course, is that Harriet still has major feelings for Wyn—feelings that only get stronger as they pretend to be blissfully in love. As always, Henry’s dialogue is sparkling and the banter between characters is snappy and hilarious. Wyn and Harriet’s relationship, shown both in the past and the present, feels achingly real. Their breakup, as well as their complicated relationships with their own families, adds a twinge of melancholy, as do the relatable growing pains of a group of friends whose lives are taking them in different directions.
A wistfully nostalgic look at endings, beginnings, and loving the people who will always have your back.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780593441275
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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