An often engaging family saga.
Terry’s historical novel chronicles the lives of an increasingly devout mother, her gay son, and an unexpected father figure.
Pansy Blackwell’s life has been shaped by hardship. She’s just a teenager in the Five Points area of Denver in the late 1950s when her father murders her mother, and she’s sent to live with an unknown uncle in Salt Lake City. Seeking stability, Pansy later mistakes desire for love and attempts to marry a man named Ace Sharkey, only for him to rob her and disappear. Alone and pregnant, she turns to a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who offer her solace and a place to live. But as she raises her son, William Blackwell, she becomes increasingly consumed by religious fervor and overcompensates for her chaotic life by strictly observing religious doctrines. Her son grows up under the influence of his neighbor Steve Bultemeyer, a rancher who teaches him the values of cowboy life and gives him the nickname “Butch.” Steve teaches him resilience and independence, but when William realizes he’s gay, he finds that he’s in a community that won’t accept him for who he is. He decides to keep his identity hidden, due to societal expectations; however, as he goes on to face various struggles in his life, he does his best to live authentically. Terry’s portrayal of William’s relationship with Steve is compelling and a refreshing take on masculinity and parenthood. Steve is a tender man who offers his support to William without forcing him to conform. Although William’s story is one of uplift and survival, Pansy’s is not; readers observe, at length, her transformation from a caring person to a bitter and oppressive one, trapped in a belief within a world that’s ending and driving her son away. The emphasis on her story seems excessive at times, but the novel is otherwise convincing in its portrayal of the ties between religion, family, and identity. Its portraits of rural gay life and fatherhood are particularly refreshing.
An often engaging family saga.Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781611535914
Page Count: 292
Publisher: Torchflame Books
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2025
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
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
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