Come As You Are

January 24, 2022
Haupt’s middling latest (after In the Shadow of a Thousand Hills) follows a tumultuous romance between an aspiring grunge rocker and a music fan who grow up together in Seattle. Skye and Zane first meet at 12 and 14, respectively, in the late 1980s and bond over their interest in the local music scene. They’re just friends, but when Skye is 17, they hook up and she gets pregnant. After her sister Lauren’s accidental death, she flees Seattle to a small Texas town where Zane, who had occasionally slept with Lauren and dated Lauren’s mean-spirited cheerleader friend during high school, finds her, and they resettle in Los Angeles. After a tumultuous life with him in L.A., during which his rock-star plans are derailed by drug addiction (but not his “strategically ripped fishnets”), he leaves her and their daughter, Montana. Later, Skye settles in Albuquerque with good guy Aaron, to whom she’s cautiously engaged. After Skye’s father dies, Zane tells her he wants another chance and that he’s changed. Despite the red flags, Skye lets Montana have a relationship with her dad, and he makes decisions for their daughter without Skye’s input. This, coupled with her hesitation to commit to Aaron, jeopardizes their engagement. Haupt’s narrative is as aimless as Zane’s life, and the drama often feels forced. This is an easy one to pass.

February 1, 2022
Teenage Zane O'Rourke is new to Seattle when he meets Skylar Albright, his younger next-door neighbor. Despite the age difference, they forge a close friendship through their shared interest in music, until a tragic accident involving Skye's older sister changes everything. Although they try to make things work, Zane struggles with addiction, and he abandons Skye and their daughter. A decade later, Skye has built a happy life in Albuquerque with her kindhearted fianc� Aaron and nine-year-old Montana when she gets the news that her estranged father has died. She returns to Seattle, where Zane has kicked his addiction and wants to be a father to Montana. Haupt (In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills, 2018) explores Skye's inner life, showing how her youthful connection to Zane shaped the woman she became. The 1990s-set flashbacks capture the carefree spirit of the era and are full of references to iconic bands and venues, contrasting effectively with adult Skye's complex entanglements with both Aaron and Zane, and her desire to give Montana a better life. Readers of character-driven relationship fiction will be drawn into Skye's story.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.