A review by courtneyer
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Loved loved this one. PJ is an affable, well intentioned but inept alcoholic, still grieving the loss of his daughter fifteen years earlier. When his great niece and nephew’s parents both die unexpectedly on the same day, PJ becomes their unlikely caregiver. His first  order of business with two grieving kids and a “borrowed” car? A road trip. What could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, pretty much everything. But somewhere along the way, much is also made right.

I don’t know that I’ve ever read something that manages to toe the line so perfectly between the macabre and the lighthearted. I wanted to live with these characters a long time. The ending was pitch perfect, a distillation of the deep sadness and brazen hopefulness of the book. The audio narration is excellent.

*While I deeply loved this book, it contains A LOT of death. I think there’s a death in almost every chapter, by all different means. I was a bit taken aback by the lighthearted tone of the book paired with some of the very heavy themes, but it ended up working beautifully for me. It is something worth knowing before picking this one up.
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