i was all over the place while listening to this book. perhaps because the book itself was all over the place. i loved the locales of maryland, d.c. and west virginia. all familiar to me. and WV beloved. i live 20 minutes over the border into PA from WV and it truly is a magical state. there is historical fiction at play in this book. about the silver bridge accident in 1967 that took the lives of many people, including the main character's parents. the narrator, jane oppenheimer, has a fabulous voice and she kept me going, even when i wasn't loving the story. if you're into cryptids (Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster) you will love this because it is about the Mothman. i'm not. so that part of the story was difficult/boring for me. but there was plenty more to dig into. there is a ton of dysfunctional nuclear and extended family dynamics at play which really underscore the entire story, however subtly they appear. there are fabulous dogs, a mix of husky and labrador, which pleases me to no end as my own dog is one of those. we call her a "huskador" but the book calls them "luskys". there is some lovely romance, too, in the form of a white knight who studies cryptids. oops, the main character is cassie. she is forgetful and clumsy and legitimately confused about her place in this world. she's definitely going through a mid life crisis and her husband lives in the basement. oy. there are writers and scholars and weathermen and NPR shows and a big snowstorm and christmas and a hibachi steak house. it is a seemingly free for all that comes together beautifully in the end.

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