A coming-of-age story that is at once shocking and necessary.
A trafficked woman wrestles with her identity amid her traumatic upbringing.
Maya Augustina is a dental hygienist and married mother of two boys in Atlanta when she gets a communication from her past—a letter from her sister, Roshini, explaining that their mother has died from breast cancer, Roshini has it, too, and that Maya should get checked for the gene. This sends Maya into a tailspin—and not just for the obvious reasons. Roshini’s letter is addressed to Sunny, a name Maya hasn’t heard in decades, and includes the line “I never believe the lies about you.” On that intriguing note, the reader is transported back to Maya’s childhood in 1985 Guyana. Sunita “Sunny” Kissoon is her sister’s protector, enjoys playing in the cane fields, and adores her snooty friend’s Barbie dolls. Then Sunny’s family sends her to the United States posing as Neena Das, a dead girl whose parents had already arranged to emigrate, and whom she eerily resembles. She could pay off her passage by working for the Dases, and then she could start sending money home, her father says. Sunny is filled with equal parts excitement and dread. For Sunny to safely live in the U.S., she must leave all parts of herself behind, including her name, and fully become Neena. In Miami, she’s forced to work all day as a maid and farm laborer while living with her quasi–foster parents, the real Neena’s callous and unloving mother, Lila, and father, Prem, whose cruelty—immediately suspected by the reader—is slowly revealed to Neena. Neena, under various pseudonyms that she takes on at different life stages, must deal with the run-of-the-mill trials of adolescence, contend with untold trauma, and wrestle with who she is and where she belongs. And while Reddy puts much more care into developing her character’s early years than her adult ones, the story is too important and gripping to put down.
A coming-of-age story that is at once shocking and necessary.Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9798989532520
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Zibby Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
