Goodbye from Nowhere

February 17, 2020
High schooler Kyle Baker has always been close to his large extended family—he looks forward to their reunions at his grandparents’ Northern California farm and dreams of continuing the tradition with his girlfriend, Nadia. His ideas about family and tradition are shattered, however, when he finds out that his mother is having an affair. Kyle turns inward, ghosting Nadia and his baseball team; the only person he can confide in is his cousin Emily, but she lives miles away and has her own set of problems. Then Kyle gets another blow when he learns that his grandparents are going to sell their farm. In a story about broken dreams and unwanted change, Zarr (Gem & Dixie) skillfully conveys Kyle’s emotional journey as his narrow view of reality shifts and expands. Using a third-person narrative, she explores Kyle’s point of view while acknowledging other characters’ concerns, including aromantic Emily’s uncertainty about her sexuality, half-Mexican cousin Martie’s acute awareness of prejudice within the white family, and Kyle’s estranged older sister’s anger at their parents. A moving slice of realism, this book shows how a family crisis impacts many aspects of one boy’s life. Ages 14–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

Narrator Michael Crouch gently delivers the story of Kyle Baker, a teenager who has just discovered that his mother is having an affair--and that his father knows about it. Asked to keep the secret from everyone else until after their last family reunion, Kyle begins to slowly unravel under the pressure. Crouch delivers a somber depiction of Kyle's anxious thoughts, connecting listeners with the complex emotions that strain his closest relationships. This audiobook features characters across multiple genders and ages, and Crouch varies his inflection and tone to provide them with unique voices. This sobering listen explores the imperfect bonds between family. A.K.R. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine