More twists and turns than a pirouette; readers will stay rapt till the final curtain.
The lives of three Southern California women and their teenage ballerina daughters are thrown into turmoil during rehearsals for The Nutcracker.
Ever Henderson, Josie Jacobs, and Lindsay Chase (mothers of Beatrice, Savannah, and Olive, respectively) have spent most of their daughters’ lives ushering them to and from the Costa de la Luna Conservatory of Ballet, where the girls have undertaken intensive training under master teacher Vivienne. All three girls, now seniors in high school, are preparing to fight for their last big roles in The Nutcracker. But when the CLCB announces that controversial 27-year-old wunderkind Etienne Bernay will be directing this year’s production and will select one dancer to receive a scholarship to the Ballet de Paris Académie, the always-fierce competition among the girls turns cutthroat. And Bernay’s arrival does even more to shake up their family lives. Ever, who’s still grappling with the death of her husband, hasn’t been able to write since her last novel failed, and this scholarship may be the only way she can afford to keep Bea in ballet. But while Bea needs the scholarship most, Josie and Savannah may be the only two prepared to do whatever it takes to get it. Meanwhile, Lindsay senses that her marriage is falling apart just as Olive seems to be losing interest in dance and, perhaps most concerning, spending more time with Savvy as her best-friendship with Bea deteriorates. As dark secrets lead to explosive revelations, all six of their lives will be forever changed. The author sometimes stretches things out, but the plot is deliciously propulsive, pairing the brutally beautiful world of ballet with universal human foibles that will keep the reader guessing at characters’ motivations to the end.
More twists and turns than a pirouette; readers will stay rapt till the final curtain.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9781496739339
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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