A leaden plot laced with sugary prose.
A young boy struggles to weather his own family tragedies while attempting to save his best friend from an abusive father in Elliott’s novel.
In 1968, Francis Paulson is a 14-year-old boy in St. Paul, Minnesota, on a mission. Izzy, his best friend since the fifth grade—a rambunctiously ungovernable boy—has been terrorized by an abusive father since the tragic death of his brother, Jack, an event that transformed Izzy’s father into a “big fat gambling drunken jackass.” Francis schemes to raise enough funds to finance an adventurous river trip for them in a fit of adolescent wanderlust of the kind imagined by Mark Twain. However, Francis is beleaguered by troubles of his own, hardships so monumental they challenge his very faith: Francis’ beloved grandmother Rose dies of cancer, and his sister Shannon is so badly burned in a fire that she is given up for adoption to a family more capable of caring for her. As a result of the emotional stress, his other sister, Mandy (Shannon’s twin), becomes dangerously obsessed with fire, a condition that cries out for psychological help. When Francis’ newest sister Cynthia arrives stillborn, and Father Joseph explains she is permanently lost in the “limbo” of purgatory, the boy’s Christian faith is profoundly unsettled. Elliott has a finely tuned ear for the melodramas of adolescent life—Francis’ innocent romance with Susan Flannagan, a pretty girl loathed by Izzy, produces a maelstrom of relatable intramural squabbles. Unfortunately, the Job-like travails of the protagonist are buried in treacly sentiment and the author’s indefatigable efforts to tug at the reader’s heartstrings. (Francis’ family owns a failing candy factory, and the novel concludes with recipes for treats like Frank’s hot-lava butter almond toffee.) Sermons like these add a didactic banality to the mix: “They are not lost who find healing and peace by searching for truth, sometimes questioning their faith, and also occasionally indulging in the food of the gods: fine confections.” One wishes the author had lent his impressive talents to a story of rebellious teen adventure rather than this melodramatic morality tale.
A leaden plot laced with sugary prose.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9781643436159
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Beavers Pond Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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