CATHERINE OVER WATER

A grieving woman learns how to heal after befriending a talking crow in Schoellkopf’s novel.

The story follows Catherine Moss, a mythology professor in California who suffers from face blindness, a rare condition that prevents her from remembering people’s faces. Five years ago, her 12-year-old daughter, Sierra, went missing, and Catherine fears she won’t recognize her if she returns. Having cut herself off from people after Sierra’s disappearance, Catherine isn’t interested in making new friends. The situation changes when she meets a young, talking crow named Veronica who’s just starting to explore all the wonders of life. (“This crow didn’t actually appear to be speaking, but her voice was in my head, and it was coming from her.”) Their new friendship seems ideal for Catherine: Crows are excellent at facial recognition, and Veronica is more than happy to assist her in her day-to-day activities. But Veronica has a request as well, and it involves helping her human friend Mari, an eccentric, unhoused artist suffering from her own grief. Struggling to move forward while not knowing the fate of her daughter, Catherine leans on her new friends as they teach her acceptance and healing. While the three main characters make for an engaging trio with distinct personalities and motives, the novel introduces compelling concepts that it never fully explores. Catherine’s complicated relationship with her ex-husband, Jack, simmers in the background without quite coming to the surface, and an intriguing plotline about a prophecy the crows believe in begs for more details. Still, the characters are strong—every one of them feels unique, from the nosy neighbor to Veronica’s mother. The narrative lacks satisfying closure, but the story makes it clear that that’s the point.

A captivating but somewhat undercooked exploration of grief and new beginnings.