MAY 2022 - AudioFile
Narrators Stephanie Willing and Pete Cross transform themselves into a father-daughter duo who are searching for healing in a time of loss. Dave, who has Asperger’s, and his 15-year-old daughter, Chloe, are meandering through their lives without their late wife/mother, Jana. As Dave reminisces about his life, Chloe explores a new relationship with classmate Edie. Both Cross and Willing are convincing as they portray Dave and Chloe’s uncertainty about how to become the best father or daughter to each other. The bond between them sounds real and charming. Listeners will hunger for more healing and direction as Dave and Chloe aimlessly, yet hopefully, try to fulfill their new roles. A beautiful performance on grief and love. G.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 03/28/2022
Hooper (All the Acorns on the Forest Floor) offers an insightful and finely crafted look at how a family copes with grief. There’s Dave Garrison, a doomsday-obsessed and neurodivergent widower, and his 15-year-old daughter, Cleo. Each tries in their own ways to deal with the loss of Dave’s wife and Cleo’s mom, Jana, in what the reader eventually learns was a violent incident. Their story unfolds in alternating narration from their home in the isolated San Juan Capistrano hills of Orange County, Calif. Dave’s chapters open with various doomsday scenarios (a volcano, an earthquake, bio-warfare) that fuel his preoccupation with building a bunker to keep his family safe. A few years into their marriage, Dave and Jana see a therapist and he gets what he calls “The Label,” his diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. This brings relief to Jana, and helps her understand his trouble with emotions. As the truth slowly emerges about Jana’s death, the author wrenchingly portrays its devastating circumstances and outcome. Hooper also realistically conveys how Dave navigates life with ASD and effectively captures Cleo’s teen angst as she becomes enamored of the new girl in her class. This memorable and stirring story of survival brings the goods. (May)
From the Publisher
Hooper offers an insightful and finely crafted look at how a family copes with grief . . . This memorable and stirring story of survival brings the goods.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Joyful . . . Teenage Cleo and her relationship with Edie will strike a chord with young readers.” —Booklist
“In Kim Hooper’s capable hands, humor prevails in this touching tale of loss, isolation, and forgiveness.” —Melissa Scholes Young, author of The Hive and Flood
“Kim Hooper's writing has me hooked from the first page. The father-daughter relationship between Dave, who lives with Asperger's Syndrome, and Cleo, his lonely and sarcastic teen, is funny and tender. Hooper's warm-hearted depiction of these characters paints a touching, painful, and funny portrait of loss, love, and connection. The novel left me thinking about all the ways the world can end, both large and small.” —Amy Tector, author of The Honeybee Emeralds
“With tenderness, humor, candor, and insight, Kim Hooper brings her characters from darkness to light in a story that’s ultimately about the power of love.” —Jennifer Anne Moses, author of The Art of Dumpster Diving
MAY 2022 - AudioFile
Narrators Stephanie Willing and Pete Cross transform themselves into a father-daughter duo who are searching for healing in a time of loss. Dave, who has Asperger’s, and his 15-year-old daughter, Chloe, are meandering through their lives without their late wife/mother, Jana. As Dave reminisces about his life, Chloe explores a new relationship with classmate Edie. Both Cross and Willing are convincing as they portray Dave and Chloe’s uncertainty about how to become the best father or daughter to each other. The bond between them sounds real and charming. Listeners will hunger for more healing and direction as Dave and Chloe aimlessly, yet hopefully, try to fulfill their new roles. A beautiful performance on grief and love. G.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
