Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

During an annual beach vacation, a mother confronts her past and learns to move forward. Her family’s annual trip to Cape Cod is always the highlight of Rocky’s year—even more so now that her children are grown and she cherishes what little time she gets with them. Rocky is deep in the throes of menopause, picking fights with her loving husband and occasionally throwing off her clothes during a hot flash, much to the chagrin of her family. She’s also dealing with her parents, who are crammed into the same small summer house (with one toilet that only occasionally spews sewage everywhere) and who are aging at an alarmingly rapid rate. Rocky’s life is full of change, from her body to her identity—she frequently flashes back to the vacations of years past, when her children were tiny. Although she’s grateful for the family she has, she mourns what she’s lost. Newman (author of the equally wonderful We All Want Impossible Things, 2022) imbues Rocky’s internal struggles with importance and gravity, all while showcasing her very funny observations about life and parenting. She examines motherhood with a raw honesty that few others manage—she remembers the hard parts, the depths of despair, panic, and anxiety that can happen with young children, and she also recounts the joy in a way that never feels saccharine. She has a gift for exploring the real, messy contradictions in human emotions. As Rocky puts it, “This may be the only reason we were put on this earth. To say to each other, I know how you feel.” A moving, hilarious reminder that parenthood, just like life, means constant change. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Newman (We All Want Impossible Things, 2022) returns with a story about a woman coming to terms with life over 50. As her family gathers for the annual vacation on Cape Cod, Rocky is worn out by menopause and nostalgia. The family has been coming to the same house for 20 years, and Rocky’s memories immediately fall back to when her grown children were little. Although she remembers how “touched out” she was and how stressful life with babies was, she misses Jamie and Willa’s innocent sweetness. At the same time, Rocky cherishes the time with them, especially since their banter is laugh-out-loud funny. She laments about how dried out and saggy her body is now, not to mention the hot flashes. When Rocky’s parents arrive, all of them squeezed into their tiny rental, she realizes that to her parents, she’s still a child herself—and she is within the sandwich generation, torn between past and present. Readers in this age group will relate to Rocky’s woes, and as the novel’s tone becomes more serious, they may identify with Rocky’s history as well. This is a quick yet moving read that will stay with readers long after the last page.

Publishers Weekly
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Newman (We All Want Impossible Things) returns with a slight story about the pleasures of beach time and the trials of middle age. Rocky, an anxious and volatile writer in her 50s, spends a week at her family’s aging Cape Cod vacation cottage with her preternaturally patient and easygoing husband, Nick; their two grown children, Jamie and Willa; and her sweet parents. Much of the novel, which Rocky narrates, has a light, comic tone. She details the ingredients of elaborate picnic lunches, describes swims in a nearby pond and days at the beach, and kvetches about the impact of menopause, which afflicts her with sudden rages and the realization that “activities that may injure you include ping-pong, napping, and opening a tub of Greek yogurt.” This amiable tone contrasts sharply with Rocky’s horrifying memories about the loss of two pregnancies when Willa was a baby. As the week wears on, she feels increasingly compelled to reveal secrets from that period to her family. Although a sudden medical emergency and squabbles between Rocky and Nick add some suspense, the novel gets bogged down in cloying banter and anticlimactic revelations. Rocky may content herself with the discovery that “it’s just everything, all the time. EVERYTHING.” Readers, however, are likely to be less than satisfied. Agent: Jennifer Gates, Aevitas Creative Management. (June)