An engaging, well-written novel about a woman with her eyes on the stars and problems down on Earth.
A law professor contributes to a Mars colonization project in Alexander’s novel.
Carrie Davenport, a law professor at Briar University, knows that teaching has its challenges—but talking to a roomful of media professionals is a whole different ball game, and Carrie now faces this task as the legal lead for Project Mars, a space colony that will house 100 earthlings on the red planet. The media folks aren’t interested in hearing about how these new Mars residents will grow food—they are concerned about the law. Will the First Amendment apply? Will the new colony be a democracy? All of this falls to Carrie, as she will lead the effort to design the colony’s legal system. (“Her task wouldn’t be to share her thoughts about a constitution written nearly two hundred fifty years ago but to write the very law itself.”) Annoyances arise: One of the other professors is a standard male chauvinist, and Project Mars is being funded by “B-Ball,” or Beauregard Ball, an obnoxious billionaire. Carrie remains calm, focused, and professional, but while at a bar she is drawn to a seemingly down-to-earth but dangerously bad woman named Shauna, and they begin a relationship. Carrie naively assumes that an incident involving Shauna and the police can be covered up, but things aren’t that simple: The first supply ships are leaving for Mars, and Carrie needs to keep her reputation in good standing before it all falls apart. Alexander’s unique premise is an exciting one—it’s refreshing to see a mild-mannered Black female law professor centered in a narrative about space colonization. The two competing scenarios here, the personal and the professional, could not be more different from one another, and the author does an admirable job maintaining a consistent tone. The novel defies expectations in a few ways, and the main character’s struggle to navigate respectability and her own desires makes her all the more well rounded and appealing.
An engaging, well-written novel about a woman with her eyes on the stars and problems down on Earth.Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9798992726206
Page Count: 324
Publisher: Strawberry Tree Books
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 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.
