Despite its heavy subject matter, the novel is a light and easy read, the sort of book you’d pick up while kicking back in an Adirondack chair and sipping a gin and tonic. Shantanu is a lovable mess whose dependence upon Froot Loops for sustenance and emotional support I found delightfully relatable ... Though charming, the first half of the book is imperfect, with a comically evil father figure and an unnecessary subplot about a character’s past life as a thief threatening to derail the story. The novel is stronger in the second act ... Keya and Pamela’s script...is convincing in its portrayal of adolescent fury and is poetic and wise in that accidental way that only art made by children can be, their insight guileless and unsullied by pretension.
Deb's empathic affinity ensures an exquisite first novel ... Deb writes with effortless openness, even as he confronts what are certainly many of life's deepest tragedies: the loss of a child, the breaking of bonds, the betrayal of trust. He transfers his journalism prowess into clear, crisp sentences. His reporter's skills transform small but distinctive details into presenting an impressive cast of indelible characters ... Insightful, resonating, surprisingly funny, Deb's own second act could earn him a standing ovation.
Full of regret, mistakes, love, redemption, and second chances, New York Times reporter Deb’s first novel is a painfully beautiful story that gives hope to all who have lost a loved one and wished for a second act of their own.
... charming if not always credible ... A melodramatic subplot involving Mitali’s mildly unhinged drummer boyfriend, complete with cocaine addiction and underworld chicanery, threatens to derail the novel, but Deb packs in plenty of well-observed domestic details. Though it’s mixed bag, Deb knows how to craft a family narrative.
