A rich and enriching novel, for readers who persist through its challenges.
The kids are not all right—but neither, to be clear, are the adults.
In a place known only as “Steel City,” first-year student Jacob Morrow shoots himself through the right eye on his university’s campus. His friend Ash del Greco, an unusual and nihilistic junior whose face bears a spiral scar, films the act. Both are enrolled in Studies in the Graphic Novel, a class taught by Simon Magnus, author of “those insane comic books with the sodomy and the exploding fetuses and whatnot” and “the first member of the English faculty to declare publicly…that Simon Magnus was party to no gender and would henceforward use ‘they/them’ pronouns” before denouncing personal pronouns altogether. Over the course of one summer, about 20 years prior, Simon Magnus wrote the comic Overman 3000 in the company of Marco Cohen, the comic’s artist; Ellen Chandler, Simon Magnus’ editor at VC Comics and romantic partner; and Diane del Greco, Marco Cohen’s wife (who will later be Ash’s mother), an occasion that brings profound career and personal consequences. Pistelli eschews linear storytelling to describe these characters and others—including Jacob Morrow’s grieving mother, Jessica, and a close friend with whom Ash del Greco embarks on a tumultuous exploration of gender in high school—at different points in their lives, charting interconnections that will eventually lead back to the circumstances of Jacob Morrow’s noteworthy suicide. In addition to writing with a stylistically heavy hand (all characters are almost exclusively referred to by both their first and last names, for example), the author doles out extensive digressions and critiques, often satirical in their exaggeration, about a wide range of hot-button topics: In addition to gender, there’s political correctness, tarot, suicidal ideation, and advancing technology, to name a few. This unrelenting approach will undoubtedly alienate some readers, but others will be enthralled. Pistelli pulls off a few notable narrative surprises along the way, too.
A rich and enriching novel, for readers who persist through its challenges.Pub Date: April 22, 2025
ISBN: 9781953368928
Page Count: 344
Publisher: Belt Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
A moving, realistic look at one woman’s post-divorce family life that manages to be both poignant and funny.
A recently divorced writer juggles a chaotic full house, a struggling career, and a confusing romantic life.
Lila Kennedy thought she had the perfect family—a loving mother, a doting stepfather, two wonderful daughters, and a great husband. She even wrote a self-help book about repairing a marriage, which was published a mere two weeks before her husband left her. After her own mother’s sudden death, Lila finds herself an unexpected single mom with her health-nut stepfather, Bill, for a roommate. When her long-absent actor father, Gene, moves in, things go from crowded to chaotic. When Gene isn’t talking about his memories of starring on a Star Trek–like television show, he’s starting fights with Bill. Perhaps the worst part is that Lila’s supposed to produce a new book about the unexpected direction her life has taken. She quickly finds that writing about her real-life romantic exploits (including the kind gardener Bill hired and the sexy single dad she lusts after at school pick-up) and the actual heartbreak that upended her family is easier said than done. Moyes creates a world that is believable and funny. It’s hilarious to read about the distinct characters in Lila’s life—such as her lentil-loving stepfather and egocentric biological father—interacting with each other. There’s plenty of drama here, but none of it feels forced. It all comes from flawed people doing their best to coexist and making plenty of mistakes along the way. Moyes combines the warmth of an Annabel Monaghan rom-com with the humanity of a Catherine Newman novel, creating a story that will provoke tears and laughter.
A moving, realistic look at one woman’s post-divorce family life that manages to be both poignant and funny.Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781984879325
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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
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