Review by Booklist Review
As she did in Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance (2017), Lang has crafted a lovely novel that follows everyday people with incredible abilities, this time portraying Zadie and Finn Wilder, two sisters who go on a road trip along the West Coast to find their mother, who walked out on them when they were teenagers. Like Jane Austen's Eleanor and Marianne Dashwood, or, more aptly, Alice Hoffman's Sally and Gillian Owens, the Wilder sisters are as different as can be. Sullen, psychic Zadie has trained herself to stop receiving premonitions while her younger, more energetic sister, Finn, experiences other people's lost memories, which she uses to trace their mother's steps. Flashbacks leading up to their mother's disappearance intercut the main story and are filled with graceful motifs and metaphors about birds. As the sisters travel, Lang peers into a wide range of loving if complex dynamics at work in Finn's foster family, the generosity of strangers, the unrequited love of a single mother, and between sisters. This is a good choice for readers who enjoy quiet, contemporary fantasies full of real-world feelings.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Two supernatural sisters uncover their curious past while searching for their missing mother in this moody outing from Lang (Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance). When enigmatic Nora Wilder vanished in the middle of the night before the start of the book, she abandoned her two young daughters. Five years later, young adult Zadie navigates life on her own, while her little sister, Finn, lives with a foster family. Though they've drifted apart, the sisters are bonded by secrets only they know: Zadie is a psychic, and Finn can enter other people's memories. When Zadie receives a strange premonition on the same day that Finn stumbles into Nora's memory for the first time, the sisters embark on a quest to retrace their mother's footsteps in hopes of finding her. But the path to locating Nora is more winding than either anticipate, with clues leading them from Texas to Washington, and each increasingly haunting memory they uncover leads to more questions than answers about their mother's mysterious past. Lang's melancholy, atmospheric writing sets the perfect tone as the Wilder sisters unravel the mystery. The result is a cozy supernatural outing perfect for an autumn night. (Nov.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Lang (Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance) deftly weaves magical realism into a touching tale of sisterly bonds and family relationships. Zadie Wilder was looking forward to a beach vacation with her younger sister Finn to celebrate Finn's high school graduation. For Zadie, this trip was meant to rebuild their relationship, which had been torn apart the night their mother Nora disappeared. At 18, Zadie was on her own and 12-year-old Finn was sent to a foster family. Not only was their happy family split, but they also had to contend with hiding their extrasensory abilities from society. Zadie rejected her ability and vowed to never use it to see into the future. Finn learned to manage her ability to sense other people's memories. When Finn runs into a memory from their mother, she realizes Nora is out there and wants to be found. She and Zadie change their vacation plans and begin an adventurous road trip that will either destroy or heal their family. VERDICT Reminiscent of Catherine Ryan Hyde, Lang focuses the main characters' journey toward finding and cherishing family and friendship under challenging circumstances.--Joy Gunn
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Estranged siblings embark on a supernaturally guided search for their absent mom. Five years ago, when Zadie Wilder was 18 and her half sister, Finn, was 12, their mother, Nora, left their Texas home and vanished. Finn went to live with loving foster parents, while Zadie had to fend for herself. The girls grew apart, but now that Finn has graduated high school, they hope to reconnect during a celebratory vacation. Zadie arranges to borrow a friend's Galveston condo, as she is secretly pregnant with her ex's baby and wants nothing more than to sit on the beach and get lost in a good book. Then Finn experiences an "echo" of Nora while visiting the zoological gardens. Though Finn has been an antenna for left-behind memories since she was 8, they're usually just meaningless fragments: "the sound of a doorbell, the drag of water running through hair, the sour scent of newly laid mulch." This, however, is the most comprehensive echo she has felt and the first she has found left by her mom. Almost simultaneously, Zadie--a reluctant psychic whose premonitions come as intrusive thoughts--is struck by a cryptic phrase: "The sky is full of birds." Finn suggests they spend the week searching for Nora by following her memories like breadcrumbs. Zadie protests, having never forgiven Nora for leaving, but ultimately relents; even a crappy road trip beats being alone. Wryly funny and tinged with melancholy, Lang's beguiling tale unfolds via a prismatic third-person narrative that frequently flashes back to contextualize Nora's disappearance. Exquisitely drawn characters imbue Lang's unconventional plot with verisimilitude and heart, inspiring readers to ponder whether the world is stranger and more beautiful than it appears. Effervescent, ethereal, and suffused with wonder. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
