An earthy, invigorating read.
Crowley’s debut book of poetry is a heartfelt, timely celebration of essential workers.
If there’s a hero in this new collection, it may well be Rob, the main figure in “Papa Gino’s at closing.” Rob is a “graying, middle-aged male” who toils away at a pizza franchise. Late one night, a teenage girl comes in and asks, “ ‘Rob, could you bring the pizzas out / to my car? It’s soooo hot after it comes out of the oven.’ Silently, / Rob obliges.” It’s a moment so fleeting you’d miss it if you weren’t looking carefully, but fortunately for all of us, Crowley is. It’s also what short story master Raymond Carver once called “a small, good thing”—a little moment of human kindness that is so perfectly representative of decency that we’re tempted to think that our humanity is built on it. Not for nothing, Rob is also one of those titular people who “hold up the earth.” Crowley says in his introduction that he dedicates his poetry to those people who are “forgotten and taken for granted.” He elaborates on this in the first poem: “Are they rickshaw puller / or did they pave the road he rides upon? / Are they dishwasher, with the stink of / sodden food permeating wrinkled hands?” The Covid-19 pandemic has given us a new name for some similarly unacknowledged heroes: essential workers. As such, Crowley’s celebration couldn’t come at a better time, and his poetry is, among many other things, a request that society should better acknowledge those who do such difficult jobs. He yearns for a world different from our own, in which “one or two may be chosen / to ascend from the paycheck-to-paycheck / world to a place where one can / buy a newer car, which doesn’t shake.”
An earthy, invigorating read.Pub Date: June 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-950462-97-1
Page Count: 90
Publisher: Kelsay Books
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2020
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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