Review by Booklist Review
In Hoen's tender second novel (after The Arc, 2022), a young woman must confront her past while facing her father's declining health. Christine "Cricket" Campbell, 26, returns to her family's rustic Adirondack lake house after nine years away. With her older sister preparing to move abroad, the two must find full-time care for their father, who is living with Alzheimer's disease. Stuck in a dead-end Manhattan job, unmoored Cricket decides to move home permanently, diving headfirst into the demanding role of caregiver. As she shoulders the emotional and financial strains of her father's care, buried memories resurface, chief among these the tragedy of her teenage first love. Cricket must also reconcile the distance that has grown in the once-close relationship with her father, struggling to make peace with lingering regrets while his memories have long faded. When Cricket begins to suspect that her father's condition has awakened mystic abilities, she finds herself drawn into an unexpected opportunity that carries its own complications. Hoen crafts a moving tale of family, heartache, and the connections that endure.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
An aimless 20-something woman finds purpose as a caretaker in this sharp novel from Hoen (The Arc). Cricket Campbell surprises everyone, including herself, when she volunteers to care for her father, Arthur, who has Alzheimer's, in the Adirondacks. Having avoided her hometown for a decade, she's finally "ready to be something other than young." She struggles to find work, though, and is surprised when Arthur claims her late boyfriend, Seth, has been paying him visits at their house on the edge of Catwood Pond, where Seth died in an accident on the ice a decade earlier. After Arthur's claim that the loons will return to the pond proves true, his friend Carl agrees with a local dance teacher named Paula that his dementia has given him prophetic powers. Cricket isn't sure, but she sees an opportunity when her former boss Gemma, a wellness influencer, spreads the word about Arthur's supposed abilities, and soon people are begging for visits with the so-called Oracle of Catwood Pond. As Arthur's health declines and money becomes a more pressing problem, Cricket considers cashing in on his newfound fame. Hoen's satire of social media and opportunism adds bite to the tender portrayal of a young woman watching a parent fade. This family drama is worth a look. Agent: Erin Malone, WME. (Dec.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
A terrible tragedy has haunted Cricket Campbell for the past decade. Now, as Cricket returns to Catwood Pond--a place she spent many happy summers but also where the accident occurred--she is forced to confront memories she has long tried to bury. Adding to her turmoil, her father, Arthur, has Alzheimer's and no longer recognizes Cricket. In a moment of clarity and love, Cricket decides to become her father's caregiver. Even as Arthur forgets the past, he begins to speak with uncanny accuracy about things that have not yet happened. It seems that while losing his memory, he has gained the ability to glimpse the future. When Cricket realizes that her father's skills might help others, she brings him into the public eye. Arthur becomes an overnight sensation, while Cricket continues to be tormented by memories and "what-ifs." However, with her father's help, Cricket comes to understand that the only way to go forward is to revisit the past. VERDICT Hoen (The Arc) delivers an uplifting tale filled with wisdom, warmth, and the kind of raw emotion that will have readers laughing through their tears.--Margie Ticknor
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A 20-something takes over caring for her aging father and suspects he may be able to see the future. Cricket Campbell is 26 but considers herself "essentially a larva." She lives in New York City and works as an assistant at a company similar to Goop. Her father, Arthur, has Alzheimer's disease and lives in a lake house in the Adirondacks, where her older sister, Nina, handles his care. When Nina is offered a postdoctoral position in Stockholm, she says it's time to sell the house and move their father into a memory care facility. But Cricket, ready for a big change, decides this is the moment to step up. She quits her job and moves into the house to take over her dad's care, even though she's avoided the lake since she was a teenager because of a tragedy that fractured her relationship with her father. Arthur may not remember who Cricket is, but he's oddly prescient, predicting the future on more than one occasion. As Cricket adjusts to being a caretaker and tries to find a source of income, Arthur (somewhat accidentally) becomes famous for his clairvoyance, at first locally and then on a much larger scale. Hoen deals with the harsh realities of Alzheimer's while still creating an atmosphere that's cozy and welcoming. As Cricket puts it, Alzheimer's "has the capacity to be both devastating and hilarious, and those who witness it learn to live in limbo, because there's nowhere else to live." Cricket's quarter-life crisis forces her to grow up, finally come out of her shell, and realize that there's value in community and forgiveness. The lakeside town is reminiscent ofGilmore Girls, with a cast of quirky but well-meaning characters who pitch in to help Cricket and her father. Hoen delicately handles the slow-moving grief of Alzheimer's as Arthur's health declines. It's especially moving to see Cricket realize that the love her father has for her can transcend his own limitations--and their past. At once a charming exploration of small-town life and a realistically heartbreaking depiction of Alzheimer's disease. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
