An often blunt satirical tale that’s genuinely edgy.
A debut dystopian satire focuses on a near-future republic in deep trouble.
It is the year 2033 in the Republic of Equality, formerly known as the United States. Far-left factions have taken control and created a one-party socialist landscape of fear. College and health care may be free yet societal costs are going through the roof. Arrests by political police are common. The government sends undesirables, such as unrepentant capitalists, to a prison-camp system in Alaska. Meanwhile, well-connected party members enjoy luxuries regular folks can only dream about. A 22-year-old man named Tom Hardy has grown up in this system. Tom holds affection for old-time things like movies from the 1930s, though his ambitions are rooted in the present day. He has excelled in Equality Studies and will certainly land a good job when he graduates. Tom garners the attention of Isabella “Izzy” Fanella. Izzy eventually reveals that she is a member of an underground movement seeking to break up the horrid status quo. Of course, members of the underground who are caught receive brutal punishments. Will Tom and Izzy be able to make the changes they want to see in the world even if doing so requires a complete upheaval? The narrative takes some time in explaining exactly how this bleak 2033 came about. The reasons involve political purges, the elimination of moderate liberals, the refusal of people to heed the reports available on Newsmax (or from freethinker Tucker Carlson, for that matter), and the overdemonization of a former “brash conservative” U.S. president. This information dump proves both dense and not particularly creative. Still, it sets the stage for the elaborate tale to come. Hejna’s novel is adept at tackling touchy subjects like race relations head-on. If, for instance, new government employees of European descent do not partake in bizarre “Diversity and Inclusion training,” they may as well look for another job. Meanwhile, Tom and Izzy must try to maintain their fledgling connection through revolutionary times. While their relationship is not as complex as, say, the main players’ bond in Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story (2010), the couple’s fate remains an open and intriguing question.
An often blunt satirical tale that’s genuinely edgy.Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2021
ISBN: 979-8-71-446169-9
Page Count: 295
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
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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