Radiates an immersive, dark, and nostalgic vibe.
This gritty coming-of-age tale novel revolves around three teenage friends and a dangerous adventure that changes them all.
Set in the spring of 1969, Northcutt’s story primarily focuses on 15-year-old Teddy Nutscalder, who lives in Dix Knob, “an East Texas cesspool that God forgot.” Living with an abusive, alcoholic father and the memory of a wayward mother who simply up and left seven years earlier when his twin sister died, Nutscalder doesn't exactly lead an idyllic existence—especially considering that town bully Galton Grails has it out for him. His best friends, Mickey O’Dell, a “pint-sized Hercules,” and Tommy Crum, whose penis is the size of a “Czechoslovakian summer sausage,” share Nutscalder’s disdain for the town and dream of getting out someday. But when they talk a pretty “high society” girl out of jumping to her death off of a bridge, they become entangled in her sad story, which includes a sexually abusive stepfather, a mentally unstable mother, and a dangerous conspiracy where more than a few people may have already been murdered. While the cast is brilliantly portrayed and the storyline has some truly impressive plot twists, it’s Northcutt’s clear, confident voice and his ability to immerse the reader in 1969 culture that makes this novel so readable. The prose and imagery, while not always politically correct, fit the story perfectly: “She had a figure like Marilyn Monroe with an hourglass waist and tits like a couple of 1957 Cadillac bumper bullets.” But ultimately, it’s the thematic exploration into the power of friendship and the significance of (trying to) do the right thing that makes this so unputdownable. Readers who enjoyed Stephen King’s novella The Body will love this novel.
Radiates an immersive, dark, and nostalgic vibe.Pub Date: Dec. 13, 2023
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 372
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
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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