First published 2005
Eight-year-old Ann Ransom gets shipped off to Europe with her unconventional grandmother, Dr. Frost, while her mother prepares for a new baby. Ann returns home to discover her family has completely changed. These connected stories follow Ann as she grows up surrounded by peculiar characters and unexpected situations. In college, Dr. Frost reappears just as a famous poet visits campus. During a summer at the Grand Canyon, Ann pines for a philosophical classmate back home while her mother pursues romance with an Australian activist. Ann encounters oddball neighbors, pushy boyfriends, creepy vegetable vendors, and cranky landlords. Each story forces Ann and those around her to examine their tangled relationships. McKenzie crafts funny, original tales about finding joy amid disaster and learning to love despite family dysfunction.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Europe, Grand Canyon, United States
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
224 pages · Hardcover · Random House