What do you think?
Rate this book
Trip: A Novel
One of New York Times's Notable Books of the Year
One of The New Yorker's Essential Reads
A woman embarks on an odyssey through the afterlife to help her son, who is literally and figuratively lost at a hilarious and deeply moving voyage of the body and the mind.
Sandra dies suddenly at a death conference in Nepal attended by academics and mystics. Days later, back in America, her teenage son, Trip, runs away with a man who picks him up on the side of a road. Sandra tries to get a message back to Trip through the mystics, but the mystics are distracted, and her son and the strange man set out to sea.
Amie Barrodale’s first novel features restless souls, Buddhist deities, divorcees in recovery programs, arguing academics, uncomprehending school principals, and treatment centers for troubled teenagers. It journeys from body to body, through life and death and back again. It tells the story of a mother and son who find other people hard to understand and who are themselves misunderstood. Guiding this wild, unpredictable journey is deep the desire to save a child and to be a good mother despite it all.
Wide-eyed with wonder, blazingly funny and achingly moving, Trip brings us the deeper meaning of The Tibetan Book of the Dead: the past is a memory, the future is a projection, the present is gone before we can see it.
One of The New Yorker's Essential Reads
A woman embarks on an odyssey through the afterlife to help her son, who is literally and figuratively lost at a hilarious and deeply moving voyage of the body and the mind.
Sandra dies suddenly at a death conference in Nepal attended by academics and mystics. Days later, back in America, her teenage son, Trip, runs away with a man who picks him up on the side of a road. Sandra tries to get a message back to Trip through the mystics, but the mystics are distracted, and her son and the strange man set out to sea.
Amie Barrodale’s first novel features restless souls, Buddhist deities, divorcees in recovery programs, arguing academics, uncomprehending school principals, and treatment centers for troubled teenagers. It journeys from body to body, through life and death and back again. It tells the story of a mother and son who find other people hard to understand and who are themselves misunderstood. Guiding this wild, unpredictable journey is deep the desire to save a child and to be a good mother despite it all.
Wide-eyed with wonder, blazingly funny and achingly moving, Trip brings us the deeper meaning of The Tibetan Book of the Dead: the past is a memory, the future is a projection, the present is gone before we can see it.
305 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2025
126 people are currently reading
6310 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
August 26, 2025
⭐⭐⭐.5
Pre-Read Notes:
I love books from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. They might be my favorite publishing company. (I really love St. Martin's, also.) FS&G tend to publish experimental fiction, which I love, if I know what I'm getting into. From the start, this book felt experimental, and it only gains in this texture as it transpires. It really *works* for this!
Final Review
(thoughts & recs) This is a very weird book. I loved the surrealism and the many absurdities. The last 30 pages become decidedly erotic and, though humorous, I didn't enjoy the end of the book as a result. I also thought the resolution for the primary conflict was too sudden. But the afterlife stuff? Primo.
This is a story about families-- well parents-- and how far they will go for their kids. It's a story about agency, not having it and finding it. It's also about spirits and the afterlife from a unique, humorous lens.
I recommend this one for fans of surrealism and absurdism, religious speculation, and stories about family ties.
My Favorite Things:
✔️ ""...Because we will not have a body, we will be able to travel anywhere by thinking of that place. We will be able to read the thoughts of the living. We will understand foreign languages we’ve never studied. But it will all happen so—” “See, I always wondered about that,” Jody said. “Like when I’m dead, will I just be forced to experience other people’s sexual fantasies?”" This book is experimental in subject as well as form, since it's breaking narrative rules and exploring life after death, outside of the cultural force of religion. It's an interesting effect, interesting book.
✔️ The main character, Sandra, is incredibly unlikeable. She often cares more about being right and proving her case than being socially responsible. I can relate, there was a time in my life I was like this. And then I got therapy lol The thing is, this really works for the story, because most of what we learn about Sandra is tempered by our sympathy with her death, which happens in the first 30 pages. Again, very experimental and clever.
✔️ "The pretty set of dog entrails laughed derisively. The indescribable creature surrounded by flames turned to look at her. “No cross talk,” the owl woman said. “Sorry,” the entrails said. “No cross talk.” The dog guts flashed the okay sign and readjusted herself against the wall. “I just feel like I’ve heard this one before.”" p131 I love the absurd and surreal elements here. It reminds me of Leonora Carrington and Stacey Levine.
Notes:
1. content warnings: animal bite, mental illness, death by falling, grief, death of a parent, kidnapping of a minor, family conflict, the afterlife, open door sex scenes (tho not smut, not enough description), kink, gr*pe (mention),
Thank you to the author Amie Barrodale, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of TRIP. All views are mine.
Pre-Read Notes:
I love books from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. They might be my favorite publishing company. (I really love St. Martin's, also.) FS&G tend to publish experimental fiction, which I love, if I know what I'm getting into. From the start, this book felt experimental, and it only gains in this texture as it transpires. It really *works* for this!
Final Review
(thoughts & recs) This is a very weird book. I loved the surrealism and the many absurdities. The last 30 pages become decidedly erotic and, though humorous, I didn't enjoy the end of the book as a result. I also thought the resolution for the primary conflict was too sudden. But the afterlife stuff? Primo.
This is a story about families-- well parents-- and how far they will go for their kids. It's a story about agency, not having it and finding it. It's also about spirits and the afterlife from a unique, humorous lens.
I recommend this one for fans of surrealism and absurdism, religious speculation, and stories about family ties.
My Favorite Things:
✔️ ""...Because we will not have a body, we will be able to travel anywhere by thinking of that place. We will be able to read the thoughts of the living. We will understand foreign languages we’ve never studied. But it will all happen so—” “See, I always wondered about that,” Jody said. “Like when I’m dead, will I just be forced to experience other people’s sexual fantasies?”" This book is experimental in subject as well as form, since it's breaking narrative rules and exploring life after death, outside of the cultural force of religion. It's an interesting effect, interesting book.
✔️ The main character, Sandra, is incredibly unlikeable. She often cares more about being right and proving her case than being socially responsible. I can relate, there was a time in my life I was like this. And then I got therapy lol The thing is, this really works for the story, because most of what we learn about Sandra is tempered by our sympathy with her death, which happens in the first 30 pages. Again, very experimental and clever.
✔️ "The pretty set of dog entrails laughed derisively. The indescribable creature surrounded by flames turned to look at her. “No cross talk,” the owl woman said. “Sorry,” the entrails said. “No cross talk.” The dog guts flashed the okay sign and readjusted herself against the wall. “I just feel like I’ve heard this one before.”" p131 I love the absurd and surreal elements here. It reminds me of Leonora Carrington and Stacey Levine.
Notes:
1. content warnings: animal bite, mental illness, death by falling, grief, death of a parent, kidnapping of a minor, family conflict, the afterlife, open door sex scenes (tho not smut, not enough description), kink, gr*pe (mention),
Thank you to the author Amie Barrodale, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of TRIP. All views are mine.
August 19, 2025
the kind of novel Jane Bowles might write if she were a Buddhist
August 12, 2025
Unfortunately this is not at all what I anticipated when I requested an ARC from NetGalley. The synopsis: “A woman embarks on an odyssey through the afterlife to help her son, who is literally and figuratively lost at sea: a hilarious and deeply moving voyage of the body and the mind.” I’m not sure what I read but it was not that. I’m always sorry to leave negative reviews but I’ve never read such a convoluted mess. Maybe it’s me because I went in expecting something vastly different but… it was an absolute mess.
August 9, 2025
This book was a bit of a mixed experience for me. It definitely had some interesting elements, but it didn't fully hit. There were a few wacky and absurd elements that gave it a more unique edge that I usually love, but I still struggled to stay engaged. It felt like a bit of a slog to get through at times.
I really liked the way autism was represented in the story. It felt well thought out and integrated into the book, not treated like a gimmick or a lazy plot device, but naturally woven in as a part of everyone's lives. The author seems to have done her research which really added some depth and created some tender moments and good discussion.
Some of the storylines felt a little unclear. I found the mother’s story kinda confusing at points, and the father’s part felt underdeveloped. We didn’t spend much time with him so I struggled to connect, which added to the reason why I didn't love the ending.
I wasnt entirely satisfy by the ending as I didnt really emotionally connect with the characters, but I did like that it felt hopeful and brought some things to a gentle close. It wasn’t a bad read by any means, it just wasn't entirely for me :(
I really liked the way autism was represented in the story. It felt well thought out and integrated into the book, not treated like a gimmick or a lazy plot device, but naturally woven in as a part of everyone's lives. The author seems to have done her research which really added some depth and created some tender moments and good discussion.
Some of the storylines felt a little unclear. I found the mother’s story kinda confusing at points, and the father’s part felt underdeveloped. We didn’t spend much time with him so I struggled to connect, which added to the reason why I didn't love the ending.
I wasnt entirely satisfy by the ending as I didnt really emotionally connect with the characters, but I did like that it felt hopeful and brought some things to a gentle close. It wasn’t a bad read by any means, it just wasn't entirely for me :(
September 27, 2025
3.75 stars.
Amie Barrodale’s Trip is less a stroll and more a cosmic road trip—complete with lizards, hurricanes, and an afterlife layover. Sandra, freshly dead at a Nepalese spiritual retreat, tries to guide her runaway son Trip from limbo. At the same time, Trip stumbles through deserts, strange companions, and the general chaos of being a kid allergic to school. His new sidekick, Anthony, is either a guardian angel in cargo shorts or the sketchy guy your mom warned you about—it’s hard to tell. The novel bounces between grief and absurdity, blending hurricane chases with soul-searching. While the zigzags sometimes feel like being lost without GPS, the ride is funny, gut-punching, and surprisingly tender.
Amie Barrodale’s Trip is less a stroll and more a cosmic road trip—complete with lizards, hurricanes, and an afterlife layover. Sandra, freshly dead at a Nepalese spiritual retreat, tries to guide her runaway son Trip from limbo. At the same time, Trip stumbles through deserts, strange companions, and the general chaos of being a kid allergic to school. His new sidekick, Anthony, is either a guardian angel in cargo shorts or the sketchy guy your mom warned you about—it’s hard to tell. The novel bounces between grief and absurdity, blending hurricane chases with soul-searching. While the zigzags sometimes feel like being lost without GPS, the ride is funny, gut-punching, and surprisingly tender.
August 16, 2025
Barrondale’s debut novel will send you trippin’ fr. I’m here for it though bc the work of those who’ve studied at the Workshop constantly keep me curious.
In the after, Sandra dies on a work trip during a company outing to a holy place in Nepal.
In the before, Sandra and Vic navigate parenting their son, Trip, who is neurodivergent. At 5 years old, the parents meet with teachers, aids, and the principal to assess Trip’s learning at his Catholic school. It seems as though the educators are ill-prepared to help Trip learn in a traditional classroom, given his autistic needs. All of the adults in Trip’s life “lose their minds” because “someone who actually was a little different” requires some flexibility.
In the after, Trip escapes the inpatient facility and follows a stranger (Anthony) onto a boat, and the two set sail. Sandra manoeuvres through “the world of the bardo of death” as a soul without a body. She and a travel agent are both the substantial form of Donald’s (a coworker) body so that she can operate and exist in the world Trip inhabits.
The mom’s journey back to her son doubles as her journey of learning about herself and the world. Sandra recognizes that sending him to therapists is synonymous with opting for the easier option; instead, she should have “met him in his world.” Barrodale’s novel points out society’s “rigid,” “conventional,” and “prescribed expectations” of so-called normal behavior through her eccentric story.
By eccentric, for example, I think of how the soul-body dualism raises questions about human ontology—all welcomed content. Moreover, Barrodale creates a suffocating afterlife, yet the environment’s sensory deprivation also has an over-stimulated effect, reminding me of Yeoh in Scheinert and Kwan’s Everything Everywhere All at Once. I hoped I would grow a stronger attachment towards Sandra as I did for Trip; this may have strengthened the book, given the metaphysics. Still, the unconventional storyline and setting, I imagine, offers readers a glimpse of what it might be like for a person, particularly a child or adolescent, traversing a world that doesn’t readily include people who “disrupt” and “[shake] us out of the characters we . . . play.”
My thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an ARC.
In the after, Sandra dies on a work trip during a company outing to a holy place in Nepal.
In the before, Sandra and Vic navigate parenting their son, Trip, who is neurodivergent. At 5 years old, the parents meet with teachers, aids, and the principal to assess Trip’s learning at his Catholic school. It seems as though the educators are ill-prepared to help Trip learn in a traditional classroom, given his autistic needs. All of the adults in Trip’s life “lose their minds” because “someone who actually was a little different” requires some flexibility.
In the after, Trip escapes the inpatient facility and follows a stranger (Anthony) onto a boat, and the two set sail. Sandra manoeuvres through “the world of the bardo of death” as a soul without a body. She and a travel agent are both the substantial form of Donald’s (a coworker) body so that she can operate and exist in the world Trip inhabits.
The mom’s journey back to her son doubles as her journey of learning about herself and the world. Sandra recognizes that sending him to therapists is synonymous with opting for the easier option; instead, she should have “met him in his world.” Barrodale’s novel points out society’s “rigid,” “conventional,” and “prescribed expectations” of so-called normal behavior through her eccentric story.
By eccentric, for example, I think of how the soul-body dualism raises questions about human ontology—all welcomed content. Moreover, Barrodale creates a suffocating afterlife, yet the environment’s sensory deprivation also has an over-stimulated effect, reminding me of Yeoh in Scheinert and Kwan’s Everything Everywhere All at Once. I hoped I would grow a stronger attachment towards Sandra as I did for Trip; this may have strengthened the book, given the metaphysics. Still, the unconventional storyline and setting, I imagine, offers readers a glimpse of what it might be like for a person, particularly a child or adolescent, traversing a world that doesn’t readily include people who “disrupt” and “[shake] us out of the characters we . . . play.”
My thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an ARC.
August 22, 2025
Trip is appropriately named. A weird and wacky but sweet and entertaining through the afterlife and through a hurricane.
Trip follows Sandra to Nepal to a retreat about death and the afterlife where she suffers an accident and passes away herself. At the same time, her son Trip leaves his mental and behavioral health treatment system (he is autistic and might have OCD, though Sandra disagrees), hitchhikes with a man named Anthony down to the Florida Keys, straight into a hurricane.
Interesting premise right? Well, this book pulls it off. It has a really fast pace, it’s sometimes nonsensical, sometimes sweet, and consistently funny.
Mediations on the afterlife, inner worlds, guilt, shame, and the experience of being a little different permeate this late summer gem. It’s become a mid year favorite.
Thanks FSG for the ARC!
Trip follows Sandra to Nepal to a retreat about death and the afterlife where she suffers an accident and passes away herself. At the same time, her son Trip leaves his mental and behavioral health treatment system (he is autistic and might have OCD, though Sandra disagrees), hitchhikes with a man named Anthony down to the Florida Keys, straight into a hurricane.
Interesting premise right? Well, this book pulls it off. It has a really fast pace, it’s sometimes nonsensical, sometimes sweet, and consistently funny.
Mediations on the afterlife, inner worlds, guilt, shame, and the experience of being a little different permeate this late summer gem. It’s become a mid year favorite.
Thanks FSG for the ARC!
September 5, 2025
Again, the writing is good but the story is jangled and all over the place. Tone, pacing, everything feels off. And yet another unlikeable lead. I get it, let women be flawed in literature, it's a great thing and I love when it's well done, but put a LITTLE balance in there. She was frustrating, annoying, bull-headed. She didn't want to compromise on anything, she just wanted everyone to admit she was right.
September 23, 2025
Nicely blends humanity and hilarity. A unique novel that goes in unexpected directions.
Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the early review copy.
Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the early review copy.
August 13, 2025
I thought this book had a strong start. I was intrigued by the story, it felt like I was almost in a drug trip of sorts as the narrator while navigating the complexities of caring for someone w special needs… I think this book was well written, funny, and witty. I found there to be a lot of wandering, though, which could have worked but once I fell off it was hard to keep engaged.
Thank you Macmillan audio & Net Galley for an advanced ALC.
Thank you Macmillan audio & Net Galley for an advanced ALC.
September 29, 2025
The A/B plots are about a teen with autism who walks away from an intensive treatment center and his mom who dies at a death conference in Nepal. The mom’s journey as a ghost becomes a lens for her to reflect on her child’s ways of perceiving the world. These are well written stories and often amusing. I felt transported myself when one of the characters becomes stuck in a cave and laughed quite a few times. The AA and Buddhist philosophy often felt earnest and was dense, which I found a bit of a drag. Ultimately this all is connected, but it’s a convoluted journey.
November 2, 2025
Love the concept - just wild enough that it works. An interesting novel on loved ones and dying and what happens next.
December 16, 2025
I thought this was about.the Tibetan book of the dead but it's actually about being an #autismmom
September 10, 2025
Check out my review in Chicago Review of Books https://chireviewofbooks.com/2025/09/...
November 13, 2025
Trip is a book that is interesting in its concept, but the finished product did not resonate with me. I was very invested in Trip’s storyline, following him as he ran away from his school program and hitchhiked with an alcoholic to Florida. Perhaps the highlight of the book was how much care and thought Trip’s autism was portrayed with. His aversions, actions, and thoughts rang so true. Barrodale’s chapters where she writes about school meetings and administrative beating-around-the-bush monologues made me laugh and cringe with how accurate they were.
They lost me on Sandra’s point of view. I preferred her alive, the section in the cave was beautifully written. The afterworld stuff was kooky at first, if not extremely confusing. Then the last 30 pages were so violently uncomfortable and felt completely unrelated to the themes of protection and motherhood. Was the travel agent section necessary? Absolutely not. I wanted to stop reading but was so close to finishing that I powered through.
Trip is not a bad book by any means, but it’s not the book for me. 2.6/5
They lost me on Sandra’s point of view. I preferred her alive, the section in the cave was beautifully written. The afterworld stuff was kooky at first, if not extremely confusing. Then the last 30 pages were so violently uncomfortable and felt completely unrelated to the themes of protection and motherhood. Was the travel agent section necessary? Absolutely not. I wanted to stop reading but was so close to finishing that I powered through.
Trip is not a bad book by any means, but it’s not the book for me. 2.6/5
October 21, 2025
Deserves its acclaim. Barrodale by skillful means injects Tibetan bardo lore, satire about academics, misdiagnosed autism of protagonist Sandra's son Trip, and a phantasmagorical journey through the afterlife holding pattern of liminal strangeness into depicting a disorienting experience of liminality.
Plus the fact PBS still hires documentary producers! It's a subtle yet lively dramatization with a parallel storyline of Trip and his companion lost at sea. This allows Barrodale to juxtapose the backstory of her failed marriage to Vic and their joint struggles raising their troubled boy in our distracted and disembodied era of short attention spans even for supposedly normal folks now.
You even get snippets of Nepali and German (endnotes translate, adding to the Buddhist Himalayan teachings quoted), which enhance the jet-lagged, demented, and chemically altered conditions akin to both a dentist wielding nitrous oxide and officious flight crews and airport police enforcing their own alternative realities wittily echoing the dharma as it surrounds others near Sandra's unpredictable arc.
It's thought-provoking and shows, for any of us who've survived a sudden loss of a loved one, the blur of postmortem sensations for those who must deal with the absence. Even as that "hungry ghost" (not a term used here) hovers and haunts as her life's rewound and her decisions recaptured for her reflection and possible enlightenment as she seeks human incarnation. It makes me want to seek out her collection of shorter takes on accidental fatalities, given her imaginative powers evoked.
Plus the fact PBS still hires documentary producers! It's a subtle yet lively dramatization with a parallel storyline of Trip and his companion lost at sea. This allows Barrodale to juxtapose the backstory of her failed marriage to Vic and their joint struggles raising their troubled boy in our distracted and disembodied era of short attention spans even for supposedly normal folks now.
You even get snippets of Nepali and German (endnotes translate, adding to the Buddhist Himalayan teachings quoted), which enhance the jet-lagged, demented, and chemically altered conditions akin to both a dentist wielding nitrous oxide and officious flight crews and airport police enforcing their own alternative realities wittily echoing the dharma as it surrounds others near Sandra's unpredictable arc.
It's thought-provoking and shows, for any of us who've survived a sudden loss of a loved one, the blur of postmortem sensations for those who must deal with the absence. Even as that "hungry ghost" (not a term used here) hovers and haunts as her life's rewound and her decisions recaptured for her reflection and possible enlightenment as she seeks human incarnation. It makes me want to seek out her collection of shorter takes on accidental fatalities, given her imaginative powers evoked.
December 16, 2025
Heralded by both the New York Times and The New Yorker as a must-read, this book bounces back and forth between the events of a mother and her son. Sandra, the mother of a teenage boy, Trip, dies unexpectedly while away from home in Nepal to attend a conference about death. In the afterlife, she finds out that her son, who has autism, has run away from the treatment center that promised to take good care of him. Through a bit of misfortune, Trip ends up in the car with a stranger who is on his way to Florida, and they eventually end up lost at sea. Sandra’s undying love for her son causes her to venture the realm of reincarnation in order to find a way to rescue him.
This was a unique story that had my anxiety pumping throughout so much of it. That is not to say it was “action packed”, but the tension was real. As a mother, I would hope that my connection with my children would be strong enough for me to push the boundaries of the afterlife, like Sandra, in order to keep them safe. She already wasn’t feeling confident in her choice to place him in a “center” when her ex-husband reveals that he feels unable to care for Trip by himself while she is away. Her apprehension to listen to her motherly instincts will have me forever anxious to ignore my own.
There was a bit towards the middle of the second half of the book (I went with the audiobook addition) that had me wanting to fast-forward to the end. It was chaotic and strange; a bit hard to follow, but probably because it got weird and my brain couldn’t fathom how any of those details were going to move the story along. It ends up coming together, but I still feel as if the direction the story went for a minute wasn’t necessary, and was maybe added for mere shock value…?
Overall, a great short listen, 7 hours and 6 minutes at 1x speed, with a phenomenal narrator, Eunice Wong. I particularly enjoyed the wrap up to the story, where Barrodale crafts a short reflection from Sandra about where she feels she fell short in her duties as a mother to a son with autism. It left me thinking how we as humans get so easily put off by anything that isn’t within our realm of normalcy. We have a vision for how our lives should look; we fear the judgements of others when our life differs from cultural norms. Maybe we should ignore the pressures of society more in order to serve those that we would navigate the process of reincarnation in order to protect.
This was a unique story that had my anxiety pumping throughout so much of it. That is not to say it was “action packed”, but the tension was real. As a mother, I would hope that my connection with my children would be strong enough for me to push the boundaries of the afterlife, like Sandra, in order to keep them safe. She already wasn’t feeling confident in her choice to place him in a “center” when her ex-husband reveals that he feels unable to care for Trip by himself while she is away. Her apprehension to listen to her motherly instincts will have me forever anxious to ignore my own.
There was a bit towards the middle of the second half of the book (I went with the audiobook addition) that had me wanting to fast-forward to the end. It was chaotic and strange; a bit hard to follow, but probably because it got weird and my brain couldn’t fathom how any of those details were going to move the story along. It ends up coming together, but I still feel as if the direction the story went for a minute wasn’t necessary, and was maybe added for mere shock value…?
Overall, a great short listen, 7 hours and 6 minutes at 1x speed, with a phenomenal narrator, Eunice Wong. I particularly enjoyed the wrap up to the story, where Barrodale crafts a short reflection from Sandra about where she feels she fell short in her duties as a mother to a son with autism. It left me thinking how we as humans get so easily put off by anything that isn’t within our realm of normalcy. We have a vision for how our lives should look; we fear the judgements of others when our life differs from cultural norms. Maybe we should ignore the pressures of society more in order to serve those that we would navigate the process of reincarnation in order to protect.
December 8, 2025
It's back to the bardo. If I were giving out awards, Trip would win Weirdest Fiction Read of 2025. Our protagonist, Sandra, a documentary filmmaker, attends a conference on death and dying in Nepal where she dies in a freak accident. This happens at the book's beginning, so I'm not spoiling anything. The book's title refers to her son, Trip, a high-functioning autistic boy of 15 but it also alludes to the experience Sandra has as she is trying to rescue her son (although she's in that tricky in-between place).
Why does Trip need rescuing? He's escaped an inpatient clinic where his parents left him after being pressured by school officials to deposit him there. Trip hitches a ride with Anthony, a character of, well, dubious character. They go on a road trip and end up in a sailboat during a Florida tempest without proper navigation. Anthony is a total mess of a guy, a real shit show.
We get treated to Sandra inhabiting another body so that she might navigate to Trip's location and save him. The body hitchhiking bit is complicated. And also gross and funny. Amie Barrodale cites The Tibetan Book of the Dead and works by Buddhist scholar Robert Thuman in the end notes. Heady stuff and over my noggin. A very inventive book (and one beloved by NYTBR staffer Joumana Katib) that's doing something different. I suspect it was due to my lack of familiarity with these influential texts and thinkers that my understanding of this strange novel suffered.
Why does Trip need rescuing? He's escaped an inpatient clinic where his parents left him after being pressured by school officials to deposit him there. Trip hitches a ride with Anthony, a character of, well, dubious character. They go on a road trip and end up in a sailboat during a Florida tempest without proper navigation. Anthony is a total mess of a guy, a real shit show.
We get treated to Sandra inhabiting another body so that she might navigate to Trip's location and save him. The body hitchhiking bit is complicated. And also gross and funny. Amie Barrodale cites The Tibetan Book of the Dead and works by Buddhist scholar Robert Thuman in the end notes. Heady stuff and over my noggin. A very inventive book (and one beloved by NYTBR staffer Joumana Katib) that's doing something different. I suspect it was due to my lack of familiarity with these influential texts and thinkers that my understanding of this strange novel suffered.
October 24, 2025
I received an ARC of the audiobook.
Trip is 90% dialogue following characters of two different storylines. Trip’s storyline was actually pretty interesting and has potential to be a full novel on its own (like a coming of age sort of thing). I also appreciate the way Trip, an autistic teen boy, was portrayed. I thought it was tasteful and accurate - but that’s where my praise ends. The dad, Vic, had so much potential but felt left out or forgotten. And contrary to some other reviews, I thought Anthony was quirky and odd, but it worked in the context of Trip’s “escape” and his journey that follows. It requires a bit of suspension of disbelief, but trust me, just go with it.
I genuinely could not follow the mom’s story line at all. It felt like a Benadryl overdose dream and the hat man was lurking around the corner. And why was there all of a sudden lewd conduct being described into my ears??? I thought this was speculative fiction???
Overall I would not recommend this book. It gets 1 star for Trip’s storyline only (and that’s half baked at best)
Trip is 90% dialogue following characters of two different storylines. Trip’s storyline was actually pretty interesting and has potential to be a full novel on its own (like a coming of age sort of thing). I also appreciate the way Trip, an autistic teen boy, was portrayed. I thought it was tasteful and accurate - but that’s where my praise ends. The dad, Vic, had so much potential but felt left out or forgotten. And contrary to some other reviews, I thought Anthony was quirky and odd, but it worked in the context of Trip’s “escape” and his journey that follows. It requires a bit of suspension of disbelief, but trust me, just go with it.
I genuinely could not follow the mom’s story line at all. It felt like a Benadryl overdose dream and the hat man was lurking around the corner. And why was there all of a sudden lewd conduct being described into my ears??? I thought this was speculative fiction???
Overall I would not recommend this book. It gets 1 star for Trip’s storyline only (and that’s half baked at best)
August 4, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This book follows a chaotic family, going through a separation and managing their autistic son during the process. As they try to figure out co-parenting it is evident they are uncomfortable in their situation, Trip is sent to a sleep away camp while his mother attends a business trip. His father just can’t handle him on his own. However the business trip doesn’t end well…. Neither does the sleep away camp. Can afterlife Sandra help Trip get out of his sticky situation?
Unfortunately this book just wasn’t what I was expecting and wasn’t for me. It felt like reading two completely different books, I would have enjoyed more interaction between Sandra and Trip. There were a lot of side quests that I don’t think contributed to the overall story, and made it confusing for me to keep up with.
This book follows a chaotic family, going through a separation and managing their autistic son during the process. As they try to figure out co-parenting it is evident they are uncomfortable in their situation, Trip is sent to a sleep away camp while his mother attends a business trip. His father just can’t handle him on his own. However the business trip doesn’t end well…. Neither does the sleep away camp. Can afterlife Sandra help Trip get out of his sticky situation?
Unfortunately this book just wasn’t what I was expecting and wasn’t for me. It felt like reading two completely different books, I would have enjoyed more interaction between Sandra and Trip. There were a lot of side quests that I don’t think contributed to the overall story, and made it confusing for me to keep up with.
September 4, 2025
Trip is funnily absurd and fast-paced with great narration that allowed following the MFC on her hectic journey effortlessly. As a 3x speed listener, production did a great job with no quality compromised a the higher speeds.
I really liked the inclusion of Buddhist beliefs for the spiritual realm interacting with physical realm. I also felt like it was such a fascinating showcase of this mother's devotion to her child, even from the beyond.
Thank you also to the author for representing neurodivergence in a way that builds out a character instead of relying on it solely as a plot point.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc of this book! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I really liked the inclusion of Buddhist beliefs for the spiritual realm interacting with physical realm. I also felt like it was such a fascinating showcase of this mother's devotion to her child, even from the beyond.
Thank you also to the author for representing neurodivergence in a way that builds out a character instead of relying on it solely as a plot point.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc of this book! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
November 11, 2025
This book was amazing. It was philosophical and funny, sad and scary. I am going to reread it right now because it’s one of those, for sure. The footnotes in a book usually annoy me but not here. It’s like a bibliographical map of the bardo!!
December 13, 2025
Excellent, exhilarating, hilarious, harrowinhg, heartbreaking, fantastic, hopeful, and brilliant. Read this aloud to my wife and we laughed out loud so much, which surprised us beyond belief considering the subjects of autism, institutionalization, and death. Highly recommend.
September 4, 2025
You have such a unique voice, and I really admire the way you were able to make every page so engaging. Honestly, it’s one of those books that stays with you long after reading.
October 6, 2025
gorgeous. opens up so many questions about consciousness
October 23, 2025
This book was weird and it's supposed to be. It's surreal in it's dealings with death. I think it may have ended a bit abruptly and there was a tiny bit more room to expand.
October 26, 2025
That was weird. I was expecting weird, so I kinda enjoyed it. I’m pretty sure it was well done. And weird.
November 2, 2025
a brilliant meditation on life’s next chapter.
December 22, 2025
Somehow both the most far-out and grounded novel I’ve read all year.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews