The Correspondent

The Correspondent (2025) by Virginia Evans, 285 pgs.

Sybil is retired, but her days are far from empty. She spends some time each day exchanging correspondence with people who have impacted her life. She writes to authors whose books she has enjoyed. She composes emails to customer service representatives and college deans. She writes to her brother, to her best friend, to her children, to people she has mentored and people she has hurt. She does not write to her ex-husband, but she hears about how he is doing--how he is coping with his cancer diagnosis. Sybil learns about the lives of others and tells about her own life, but there is often something missing, something left unsent. Piecing together the life of Sybil Van Antwerp through her correspondence, seeing her growth from letter to letter and rooting for her from afar, one gets the sense of the fullness of her experience. Her connections to others not only define her existence but also enhance it. In the end, it is clear that Sybil has impacted many lives herself. 

My mom recommended this to me as her favorite read of 2025, and I have to echo her endorsement. This book deals with a lot of heavy topics--aging, death, loneliness, grief--but it is also full of hope and love. Sybil is such a fun character to follow because she is deeply flawed from the start, but there is something endearing about the way she reaches out for connection and (for the most part) thoughtfully communicates with others. I also found myself becoming invested in the storylines of folks that Sybil wrote to. Virginia Evans did a great job writing this book full of love and empathy, especially for folks coping with the grief of aging. Please read this book :)

My Friends

My Friends by Fredrik Backman (2025), 434 pgs. 

Louisa wasn't looking for trouble when she got thrown out of the auction. She just wanted to see the painting, up close and in person, once before starting her new life. In the moments before she was kicked out, though, Louisa saw more of the painting than she ever had in the small postcard version of it she'd kept with her in the foster home. She had always focused on the three friends in the picture, somewhat hidden from most viewers, but now she could see the tiny, intricate details of it all in full display. Somehow, getting thrown out ends up setting Louisa on a journey across the country where she learns about the summer portrayed in the famous painting, and the group of friends whose love made it possible.

This is a story about believing in people, even when you don't much believe in yourself. It is about friendship and love sustaining against all odds. It is about art, and it is about grief, and it is about connecting with others. It is a funny, sad, hopeful tale of the summer that created a painting and the friendship which formed twenty five years later because of that painting. Fredrik Backman does a great job of balancing deep, introspective, heavy moments with light-hearted, silly jokes. He writes a beautiful story which paints a beautiful picture.

Biography of X

 Biography of X by Catherine Lacey, 416 pages.

X was a polarizing artist in varied mediums, a divisive critic and, above all else, a mystery. After she drops dead in her office, her widow CM throws herself wholly into writing her biography, despite her late wife's wishes. She is driven not only by the need to disprove an unauthorized biography that misunderstood her late wife, but by the need to finally understand the woman she deified after she was gone. Her research takes her through an alternate America that is recently reunified following the reabsorption of the Southern Territory, a fascist theocracy whose history CM finds herself deeply immersed in. Soon she finds, buried deep in a web of betrayals and lies, that her wife was both more and less than she ever could have believed.

I was totally engaged in this book the whole time I was reading it. It is an interesting case where many of the facts of the novel feel implausible, but also where it feels like that fact has absolutely no bearing on how well the novel accomplished what it was trying to do. I found this novel to be profound, with just enough plot outside of the prose and meditations to keep things a little exciting. I am also always a fan of a fictional novel that is committed to presenting itself as an in-universe piece of nonfiction, which I think this book pulls of quite well. I found this book in an Atlantic article of contenders for the title of the great American novel, and I would say this book deserves it's place on that list. 

Shubeik Lubeik

Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed (2022) 528 pages

Regan and Kara previously reviewed this on the blog.

"Your wish is my command." We've all heard a genie say that. If your wish is to be told many stories, this graphic novel is for you. It was originally three volumes in Arabic. I loved the art work and adapted pretty quickly to reading right to left. With multiple flashbacks there are more than just three stories about how three first-class wishes sold at Shokry's kiosk are used. There are two parts to Aziza's story, when she is young and when she is middle aged. Mostly it is about the lack of justice for the poor in the Egyptian justice system. There is one really in depth story about college student Nour's mental health (with a brief tangent about the talking donkey) in part two. Part three is so good! We get a history lesson from the perspective of Abu Shokry, Shokry's father, covering 1954 to 1980, then with Shokry carrying on to 2020. Shokry, the kiosk owner, is a giving person and wants to help others. His father's generation taught him that devout Muslims do not use wishes, so he really agonizes over the last first-class wish that hasn't sold. Hagga Shawqia is a regular at Shokry's kiosk, and we learn much more about her from her friends and family as she nears the end of her life. There is tragedy and triumph. She is such a fascinating character, a "gutsy gal." We check in with Aziza and Nour. The book subverts the traditional end with a darkly hilarious bow on the talking donkey story too. This was such a fun read.
 

The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway

 The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway by Amy Schumacher, 320 pages. 

Madeline Hathaway hasn't been doing very well since her mom died. The renaissance festival circuit she grew up on hasn't been the same, she and her dad aren't really communicating, and she is compulsively tracking almost every aspect of her life as part of her grieving process. She's been nervous to arrive at her mom's favorite festival, and when she get there she hardly recognizes it. The festival is under new management, and the new owners' son is determined to pull her into the action. He also won't stop calling her Gwen. 

Arthur is determined to be her friend, which includes roping her into playing the princess and going on road trip adventures during the week. And despite the fact that Madeline is determined not to let herself care about anyone else she could one day lose, she finds herself caring about him anyway. 

This was a pretty cute young adult novel. Both Madeline and Arthur are determined that nobody could actually find them attractive, and I found that added an interesting dynamic to their relationship. It also fed into the biggest problem I had with the book, which is that a lot of characters made a lot of wildly unfounded assumptions, usually based on nothing, and acted as if they were inarguable fact. It was sweet however, and a pretty good portrayal of grief for younger audiences.

A Heart That Works

A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney, 180 pages

 A grieving love letter to Love, about losing his young son. Funny, angry, sad and dark... and really, funny--the kind of funny that makes you laugh through tears.

 

Sheets

 

Sheets / Brenna Thummler, 238 pgs.

Marjorie is just a kid, 13, but she is basically running the family business because her dad is suffering from depression after the death of his wife.  She is also going to school and suffering all the teen problems that come with trying to fit in.  Wendell is a ghost who makes the laundry his evening place.  He is trying to help but instead makes problems.  A local businessman wants to buy the building.  Can Marjorie keep it together or is everything doomed?