Welcome Home, Caroline Kline

Starred review from November 1, 2023
Caroline Kline gave up her job and apartment to move from New York City to Los Angeles with her boyfriend, Ben, but days before their departure he breaks up with her. While she's still reeling, her stepmom calls to ask her to return home to Glen Brook, New Jersey, and help care for her dad, Leo, who's taken a hard fall. Caroline reluctantly agrees, then finds herself dusting off her old softball skills to step in for Leo in his all-men's league. When she bumps into her first crush, everything becomes more complicated. First-time novelist Preiss creates a convincing glimpse into the world of a woman about to enter her thirties who is anxious about failing to meet social expectations or her own definition of success. Caroline's sporadic reliance on alcohol, casual attitude toward sex, blended family, struggle to embrace change in her relationships and life goals, and battle for acceptance on her father's softball team make for an in-depth story. Compulsively readable and full of richly discussable topics perfect for book groups, Preiss' tale should please readers who enjoyed Normal People (2019), by Sally Rooney, or Maame (2023), by Jessica George.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2024
A 29-year-old woman born on the Jersey Shore returns home when her plans fall apart, experiencing sobriety and finding a new path forward. Caroline Kline has--had--it made. A dream job at a marketing agency, a perfect boyfriend, a successful, long-dreamed-about life in Manhattan. And on the cusp of making the next big step by moving to Los Angeles with Ben, it all came crashing down. After training her replacement at work, she heads to a celebratory dinner with Ben only to have him dump her. She's already given up her apartment, so she's sleeping on a friend's couch and racing through her savings when she gets a call from her stepmother saying her father has taken a bad fall and wants her to come home and replace him on his softball team. Though the team is made up only of men, Caroline doesn't feel like she has a choice. She goes home and starts playing softball--and much drama ensues from her old-school teammates. After a night out with one of them, she finds herself with a DUI and a requirement to attend a six-week-long court-mandated education program, where she reconnects with Crispin Davis, her high school crush, who's also just joined the program. What follows is a blow-by-blow account of the softball team's quest to make it to the World Series, Caroline's experience with sobriety, and the increasing amount of time she spends with Crispin. The story doesn't dig into why Caroline might want to seek sobriety for herself rather than as a means to spend more time with Crispin. The focus is on the events that happen around, to, and because of Caroline, not the reasons behind her choices. A drawn-out rendition of a woman's experience playing on her father's softball team.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.