Review by Booklist Review
Moriarty makes her adult-fiction debut with an utterly unique story of one woman's journey of self-discovery. Abi Sorenson experienced two major events when she was 15: the appearance of the first chapter of The Guidebook, an anonymous manual that purports to teach her how to live her best life, and the disappearance of her brother, Robert. Certain these two events are linked, and having continued to receive random chapters for the next 20 years, she is now thrilled to be invited to a retreat where the truth behind The Guidebook will be revealed. But the revelation turns out to be only the beginning of Abi's path to answers, and deepening connections with others from the retreat make her realize she may just be able to fly for herself. Moriarty's characters are delightfully fun and quirky, with Wilbur's attempt to carry out his parents' dream a heartening subplot. Though this book may beg comparison to the suspenseful work of her sisters Liane and Nicole, this Moriarty's graceful discourse on joy is more likely to please readers of Marian Keyes and Maria Semple.--Tracy Babiasz Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This tender and frank adult debut by YA novelist Moriarty (The Year of Secret Assignments) follows one woman's search for happiness in a world as brimming with promises of healing as it is overflowing with letdowns. On her 16th birthday, Abi Sorenson's beloved brother went missing. On the very same day, she received the first chapter of a mysterious self-help book titled The Guidebook in the mail, and received chapters intermittently through the years-the chapters cover everything from the death of metaphysics (in a single paragraph) to winking criticism of Keats to more traditional self-help metaphors. Now 36 with a young son, and 20 years into the lessons of The Guidebook-and still reeling from the unresolved circumstances of her brother's disappearance, as well as grieving her ruined marriage-Abi is invited to a remote island to learn the truth about why these messages came to her. The course ultimately leads her back to her hometown and an opportunity to further explore the mysteries surrounding The Guidebook with others whose life it has haunted-which, she hopes, might somehow help her find her brother. With an eye as keen for human idiosyncrasies as Miranda July's, and a sense of humor as bright and surprising as Maria Semple's, this is a novel of pure velocity; it sucks the reader into Abi's problems and her joys in equal, brilliant measure. A complex dissection of the self-help industry, as well as a complete and moving portrait of a difficult, delightful woman, Moriarty proves her adult novels can live up to her YA work's reputation. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
At 15, Abigail Sorensen lost her brother, Robert, and someone started mailing her chapters of a curious book called The Guidebook. But what is it guiding her toward?Twenty years later, now a single mother in Sydney, she is about to find out. Abigail, along with 25 other recipients of The Guidebook, has been invited on an all-expenses-paid vacation to Taylor Island, off the southeast coast of Australia. Their host, Wilbur, son of The Guidebook's authors, promises to tell them (well, most of them) the truth. But the truth behind The Guidebook is more complex than any of them expected, and although Abigail leaves the resort disappointed, she soon finds that the path has only just begun. At times, Moriarty (The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars, 2018, etc.) tells Abigail's story through short, impressionistic snippets, entwining first- and second-person perspectives that pull the reader into her life, as if we, too, were reading a new version of The Guidebook. Abigail's view of the world is filtered through her wry sense of humor, giving Moriarty's prose (well-honed through years as an award-winning YA writer) a style reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film, so even the most tragic events still carry a tinge of the absurd. Indeed, in Moriarty's hands, the self-help genre gets a few jabswhen Abigail reads The Celestine Prophesy, for example, she looks for messages the next day only to have her 4-year-old son bring her lots of Cheerios and a co-worker remark that her dress doesn't complement her skin tone. And The Guidebook itself is riddled with ridiculous observations and calls for silly experiments. Yet Abigail does receive messages, or at least experiences many more serendipitous events than your average person. But will the planets align to bring her love or danger? And how might The Guidebook help her solve the mystery of her brother's disappearance?Quirky and beguiling, this witty quest for the truth will delight anyone mending their own broken life. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
