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All the World Can Hold
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Let the Great World Spin
meets The White Lotus when three passengers from wildly different backgrounds board a cruise ship bound for Bermuda shortly after 9/11 and learn en route that they can’t outrun their regrets about the risks not taken.
It’s Sunday, September 16, 2001. Franny and her husband have traded in their elegant Park Avenue co-op for a suite on board the Sonata, a once-glittering cruise ship with a complicated history now long past its prime. Though they’re not “cruise people,” Franny is determined to host the trip as planned because it’s her mother’s seventieth birthday, or chilsun, a major rite of passage celebrated by Korean families. But as her husband keeps pointing out, Franny and her mother aren’t close, and it is surreal—even wrong—to be on a cruise as the death toll from the attacks on 9/11 continues to rise.
Also on board is Doug, an aging actor and former star of Starlight Voyages, the hit Love Boat–style television series famously filmed on the Sonata. With few professional prospects, a now sober Doug has reluctantly joined his former castmates on a reunion cruise for fans of the show, but he dreads the dark specter of his past misdeeds. Meanwhile, Lucy, the only Black female graduate student in her department at MIT, has uncharacteristically accepted an invitation to join her roommate on the cruise during the height of recruitment season. Lucy’s impulsive decision reflects her growing ambivalence about the tech companies that are trying to hire her, including a new one with a strange-sounding name, Google.
All the World Can Hold beautifully explores how we balance our needs and our wants, as well as the regrets we live with and the chances to set them right. And though it’s not a 9/11 novel, it does remind us that while the great world spins, the interpersonal dramas don’t cease, even as more dire ones play out in the larger world.
It’s Sunday, September 16, 2001. Franny and her husband have traded in their elegant Park Avenue co-op for a suite on board the Sonata, a once-glittering cruise ship with a complicated history now long past its prime. Though they’re not “cruise people,” Franny is determined to host the trip as planned because it’s her mother’s seventieth birthday, or chilsun, a major rite of passage celebrated by Korean families. But as her husband keeps pointing out, Franny and her mother aren’t close, and it is surreal—even wrong—to be on a cruise as the death toll from the attacks on 9/11 continues to rise.
Also on board is Doug, an aging actor and former star of Starlight Voyages, the hit Love Boat–style television series famously filmed on the Sonata. With few professional prospects, a now sober Doug has reluctantly joined his former castmates on a reunion cruise for fans of the show, but he dreads the dark specter of his past misdeeds. Meanwhile, Lucy, the only Black female graduate student in her department at MIT, has uncharacteristically accepted an invitation to join her roommate on the cruise during the height of recruitment season. Lucy’s impulsive decision reflects her growing ambivalence about the tech companies that are trying to hire her, including a new one with a strange-sounding name, Google.
All the World Can Hold beautifully explores how we balance our needs and our wants, as well as the regrets we live with and the chances to set them right. And though it’s not a 9/11 novel, it does remind us that while the great world spins, the interpersonal dramas don’t cease, even as more dire ones play out in the larger world.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication March 10, 2026
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About the author
Jung Yun
3 books541 followersJung Yun was born in South Korea, raised in North Dakota, and has lived in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and most recently, Baltimore, Maryland, where she currently resides. Her short fiction has appeared in Tin House, The Best of Tin House: Stories, The Indiana Review, and The Massachusetts Review.
Her latest novel is All the World Can Hold, which will be published by 37 Ink/Simon & Schuster in March 2026. Her other novels are O Beautiful, a The New York Times and Amazon Editor’s Choice, and Shelter, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, an Amazon Best Book of the Month selection in two categories (Literature/Fiction and Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense), an Indie Next selection, an Apple iBooks' Best Books of the Month selection, and a Goodreads Best Books of the Month selection. It was also long-listed for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize, a semi-finalist for Good Reads' Best Fiction Book of 2016, and a finalist for the 2016 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program.
Her latest novel is All the World Can Hold, which will be published by 37 Ink/Simon & Schuster in March 2026. Her other novels are O Beautiful, a The New York Times and Amazon Editor’s Choice, and Shelter, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, an Amazon Best Book of the Month selection in two categories (Literature/Fiction and Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense), an Indie Next selection, an Apple iBooks' Best Books of the Month selection, and a Goodreads Best Books of the Month selection. It was also long-listed for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize, a semi-finalist for Good Reads' Best Fiction Book of 2016, and a finalist for the 2016 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
July 18, 2025
ARC for review. To be published March 10, 2026.
4 stars
It is September 16, 2001, and a cruise to Bermuda (hey, I’m on a cruise as I type this, but not to Bermuda) that was supposed to leave from NYC is headed out from Boston instead. Onboard are: Franny, a daughter who is determined to properly host her mother’s chitsan, her seventieth birthday, a milestone in Korean families. She and her husband are fronting the celebration for her down at the heels brother and his girlfriend. Franny isn’t close to her mother and everything seems to go wrong.
Doug is an older, has-been actor, whose last major role was on a nighttime soap set on the very boating which they are sailing (think “Love Boat”/Pacific Princess, and how amazing/sad is it that the name of that ship is still etched in my mind after all of these years? Charo would be proud!) The eternal bachelor Doug has brought his nephew, Ethan as his plus one as he performs (constantly. He really needs to have his agent review his contracts more carefully) on a reunion/nostalgia tour for the series alongside two of his former costars.
Lucy is the only black, female graduate in her major at MIT, and she’s as solid as they come, so it’s a shock to all when she takes off on a cruise with her roommate whom she does not know well. It’s interview season and she’s nervous about all these tech companies that are hiring, especially one her mentor is excited about that has a funny name.
The book is interesting. Its blurb says it isn’t a 9/11 book but I beg to differ, and I think it was well done. The three primary characters and the main supporting ones are presented very well and the drama is all solid and quite believable. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Recommended.
4 stars
It is September 16, 2001, and a cruise to Bermuda (hey, I’m on a cruise as I type this, but not to Bermuda) that was supposed to leave from NYC is headed out from Boston instead. Onboard are: Franny, a daughter who is determined to properly host her mother’s chitsan, her seventieth birthday, a milestone in Korean families. She and her husband are fronting the celebration for her down at the heels brother and his girlfriend. Franny isn’t close to her mother and everything seems to go wrong.
Doug is an older, has-been actor, whose last major role was on a nighttime soap set on the very boating which they are sailing (think “Love Boat”/Pacific Princess, and how amazing/sad is it that the name of that ship is still etched in my mind after all of these years? Charo would be proud!) The eternal bachelor Doug has brought his nephew, Ethan as his plus one as he performs (constantly. He really needs to have his agent review his contracts more carefully) on a reunion/nostalgia tour for the series alongside two of his former costars.
Lucy is the only black, female graduate in her major at MIT, and she’s as solid as they come, so it’s a shock to all when she takes off on a cruise with her roommate whom she does not know well. It’s interview season and she’s nervous about all these tech companies that are hiring, especially one her mentor is excited about that has a funny name.
The book is interesting. Its blurb says it isn’t a 9/11 book but I beg to differ, and I think it was well done. The three primary characters and the main supporting ones are presented very well and the drama is all solid and quite believable. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Recommended.
November 1, 2025
This was an interesting ensemble style novel that surrounds our three main characters, Franny, Doug, and Lucy, each boarding a cruise ship immediately after the fallout of 9/11 for reasons that are as personal as they are complicated. Although they all come from vastly different walks of life, what binds them is the ache of regret, and the search for meaning in a life that has only become more unstable than it was before.
What struck me most is how Jung Yun resists the temptation to weave their stories into a neat intersection. Instead, the characters remain parallel lines –close enough for us to notice echoes and resonances, but never touching. This choice makes the novel feel like the literary embodiment of sonder: the realization that every person around us carries a life as vivid and intricate as our own, even if we never truly cross paths.
I really liked the cast of characters-
- Franny⌚️A Korean American woman who has organized the cruise to honor her mother’s milestone birthday, though the gesture is complicated by their strained relationship. She embodies the push and pull between duty and ambivalence, while simultaneously juggling a strained relationship with her husband, Tom.
- Doug 🎭 Once a well known actor in the 1970s, Doug now finds himself washed-up, invited back to the cruise ship where his fame took off. The adrenaline-fueled lifestyle that once defined him has given way to solitude and a desire to retreat from public view. His story carries regret and resilience, exposing the cost of reinvention and loneliness of living behind a mask.
- Lucy🩱A young Black woman whose intellect sets her apart, ends up on the cruise almost by accident, thanks to her obnoxious roommate’s spare ticket. She navigates questions of identity, belonging, and the uneasy privilege of being both underestimated and exceptional.
All the World Can Hold reminded me a lot of David Auburn’s Fifth Planet and Other Plays. (And not because I am part of the production right now) Like Auburn’s characters, Yun’s figures live in the liminal space between intimacy and distance, orbiting without ever colliding. Where Auburn sketches fleeting encounters and small scenes, Yun expands them into layered portraits, giving us the chance to dwell in their contradictions and longings. The result is a novel that feels theatrical in its attention to character and rooted in the historical moment after 9/11. This would play out wonderfully as a film.
I enjoyed this story, thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this! It will be out on March 10th, 2026!
What struck me most is how Jung Yun resists the temptation to weave their stories into a neat intersection. Instead, the characters remain parallel lines –close enough for us to notice echoes and resonances, but never touching. This choice makes the novel feel like the literary embodiment of sonder: the realization that every person around us carries a life as vivid and intricate as our own, even if we never truly cross paths.
I really liked the cast of characters-
- Franny⌚️A Korean American woman who has organized the cruise to honor her mother’s milestone birthday, though the gesture is complicated by their strained relationship. She embodies the push and pull between duty and ambivalence, while simultaneously juggling a strained relationship with her husband, Tom.
- Doug 🎭 Once a well known actor in the 1970s, Doug now finds himself washed-up, invited back to the cruise ship where his fame took off. The adrenaline-fueled lifestyle that once defined him has given way to solitude and a desire to retreat from public view. His story carries regret and resilience, exposing the cost of reinvention and loneliness of living behind a mask.
- Lucy🩱A young Black woman whose intellect sets her apart, ends up on the cruise almost by accident, thanks to her obnoxious roommate’s spare ticket. She navigates questions of identity, belonging, and the uneasy privilege of being both underestimated and exceptional.
All the World Can Hold reminded me a lot of David Auburn’s Fifth Planet and Other Plays. (And not because I am part of the production right now) Like Auburn’s characters, Yun’s figures live in the liminal space between intimacy and distance, orbiting without ever colliding. Where Auburn sketches fleeting encounters and small scenes, Yun expands them into layered portraits, giving us the chance to dwell in their contradictions and longings. The result is a novel that feels theatrical in its attention to character and rooted in the historical moment after 9/11. This would play out wonderfully as a film.
I enjoyed this story, thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this! It will be out on March 10th, 2026!
August 11, 2025
3.75 stars for All the World Can Hold
The story opens five days after 9/11. The world is still reeling, bodies are missing in the rubble, the news is dominated by Osama Bin Laden, there is talk of war, and industries are collapsing, especially travel.
Three unrelated characters are about to set sail from Boston to Bermuda on the Sonata, a cruise ship originally scheduled to depart from New York but rerouted for obvious reasons. Marketed as White Lotus meets Let the Great World Spin, I was expecting a high stakes, character driven drama.
We meet:
Franny – A married Korean woman traveling with her husband, brother, his girlfriend, and her mother to celebrate her mother’s chilsun which is a milestone 70th birthday in Korean culture. Family secrets and regrets surface along the way.
Lucy – A young Black woman, brilliant and ambitious, interviewing with a pre IPO Google. She is accompanied by her obnoxious roommate who offers her to travel on the cruise for free.
Doug – A former 1970s TV star who once lived on the ship during his Love Boat type show. He is reluctantly on board for a reunion event with fellow cast members, signing autographs and making appearances he would rather avoid.
While the setup promised White Lotus style tension, I struggled to connect with the characters. Doug was the most engaging for me, probably because I remember the Love Boat era. The plotlines often felt flat and Lucy’s 15 page struggle with the ship’s fifteen dollar a minute phone was excessive. The three storylines never truly intertwined.
The writing itself is not bad and I stayed with it because it is very much a character driven novel. However, there was no real connection between the narratives and the ending felt lackluster. It left me wanting more punch.
Nothing terrible, but nothing that stands out either.
Thank you Simon Books for my ARC!
The story opens five days after 9/11. The world is still reeling, bodies are missing in the rubble, the news is dominated by Osama Bin Laden, there is talk of war, and industries are collapsing, especially travel.
Three unrelated characters are about to set sail from Boston to Bermuda on the Sonata, a cruise ship originally scheduled to depart from New York but rerouted for obvious reasons. Marketed as White Lotus meets Let the Great World Spin, I was expecting a high stakes, character driven drama.
We meet:
Franny – A married Korean woman traveling with her husband, brother, his girlfriend, and her mother to celebrate her mother’s chilsun which is a milestone 70th birthday in Korean culture. Family secrets and regrets surface along the way.
Lucy – A young Black woman, brilliant and ambitious, interviewing with a pre IPO Google. She is accompanied by her obnoxious roommate who offers her to travel on the cruise for free.
Doug – A former 1970s TV star who once lived on the ship during his Love Boat type show. He is reluctantly on board for a reunion event with fellow cast members, signing autographs and making appearances he would rather avoid.
While the setup promised White Lotus style tension, I struggled to connect with the characters. Doug was the most engaging for me, probably because I remember the Love Boat era. The plotlines often felt flat and Lucy’s 15 page struggle with the ship’s fifteen dollar a minute phone was excessive. The three storylines never truly intertwined.
The writing itself is not bad and I stayed with it because it is very much a character driven novel. However, there was no real connection between the narratives and the ending felt lackluster. It left me wanting more punch.
Nothing terrible, but nothing that stands out either.
Thank you Simon Books for my ARC!
November 26, 2025
In a prologue Jung Yun calls this her most personal book of all particularly since she and her family took a cruise on the Pacific Princess, best known to television viewers in the 70's as The Love Boat, during the week following the 9/11 attacks. This novel, fictionalized account of such a voyage, has three central characters each, as Yun has explained, representing a different part of her. Immersive and haunting, the one flaw is that after an emotional investment in all three characters, there are questions as to what happens to them although there is a brief bringing up to date of how the world changed after that horrific event, underlying the fact that the passengers on the cruise disembarked in a cloud of innocence unaware of what was to come.
2026
September 30, 2025ANHPI TBR
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and 37 Ink
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and 37 Ink
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The Sunday after 9/11, three different passengers with three different agendas board a cruise ship bound for Bermuda. Franny is committed to honor her mother's 70th birthday, a milestone in Korean culture. Doug, a cast member from a 'Love Boat' style television show, is there as a reluctant participant in a reunion cruise for fans of the show. And Lucy, the only black graduate student in her program at MIT, is there on an impulse, invited by her roommate, and grappling with her ambivalence about her future. In the background, the world has changed, and each character confronts secrets and challenges, Jung Yun weaves a compelling story. Loved it.
July 25, 2025
I was only 18 and just starting my first semester in college when 9/11 hit, plummeting our country and the world into a new reality and a new normal. I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I saw the towers fall.
This book takes place on a cruise ship, less than a week post 9/11, with the story jumping between three different characters. All three are still living in a sort of fugue state, not only because of the after effects of this terrible tragedy but because of the unresolved state of their lives.
There are a lot of themes to grapple with in the book- guilt, forgiveness, betrayal- but the one I came away feeling the strongest was hope. That combined with the insightful and articulate storytelling by Mrs. Yun made this a very thought provoking and enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and 37Ink for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book takes place on a cruise ship, less than a week post 9/11, with the story jumping between three different characters. All three are still living in a sort of fugue state, not only because of the after effects of this terrible tragedy but because of the unresolved state of their lives.
There are a lot of themes to grapple with in the book- guilt, forgiveness, betrayal- but the one I came away feeling the strongest was hope. That combined with the insightful and articulate storytelling by Mrs. Yun made this a very thought provoking and enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and 37Ink for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
August 10, 2025
Five days after the catastrophic 9/11 attacks in New York City, the Sonata cruise ship is re-routed to deport from Boston and the passengers make their way onboard for the five day cruise to Bermuda. On board are three passengers, whose perspectives are rotated through over the course of the novel: Franny, a Korean-American lawyer in NYC who's planned a family cruise for her mother's chilsun (70th birthday) for the last several months; Doug, a washed-up actor who's been roped into the reunion cruise for the dated Starlight Voyages show he previously starred in; and Lucy, a black graduate student at MIT who joined the cruise last minute thanks to the (free) invitation her roommate offered to her.
In the days that follow, we come to learn more about each of these characters and their individual struggles. For Franny, she's borne the weight of the family's eldest child, juggling a stressful career in law, being a wife, and trying to please her mother, who seems to favor her unemployed, financially irresponsible younger brother Jae in spite of her efforts. Doug has joined the cruise with his nephew, and despite what he anticipated to be a relaxing trip, has been roped into nonstop events and reunions with former colleagues, which bring up past memories and truths he's long overlooked. And for Lucy, she's on the cusp of a number of tech interviews that will decide her future, but struggling to come to terms with her true passions and the countless microaggressions she continues to experience as a black woman in academia.
"All the World Can Hold" is very much a character-driven novel, but I thoroughly enjoyed the steady reveal for each of these characters, and how much I came to empathize with each of them - especially Franny, as someone who grew up with a similar upbringing and expectations. Yun also layers in the the looming events of 9/11, and the devastation and chaos that the ensuing days had across the world, including this group of passengers on a seemingly disconnected world. TIn the span of five days, we see how these characters come together and how the time they spend changes their lives and relationships going forward.
Very much a recommended read when this novel is published in March 2026!
In the days that follow, we come to learn more about each of these characters and their individual struggles. For Franny, she's borne the weight of the family's eldest child, juggling a stressful career in law, being a wife, and trying to please her mother, who seems to favor her unemployed, financially irresponsible younger brother Jae in spite of her efforts. Doug has joined the cruise with his nephew, and despite what he anticipated to be a relaxing trip, has been roped into nonstop events and reunions with former colleagues, which bring up past memories and truths he's long overlooked. And for Lucy, she's on the cusp of a number of tech interviews that will decide her future, but struggling to come to terms with her true passions and the countless microaggressions she continues to experience as a black woman in academia.
"All the World Can Hold" is very much a character-driven novel, but I thoroughly enjoyed the steady reveal for each of these characters, and how much I came to empathize with each of them - especially Franny, as someone who grew up with a similar upbringing and expectations. Yun also layers in the the looming events of 9/11, and the devastation and chaos that the ensuing days had across the world, including this group of passengers on a seemingly disconnected world. TIn the span of five days, we see how these characters come together and how the time they spend changes their lives and relationships going forward.
Very much a recommended read when this novel is published in March 2026!
August 13, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
All the World Can Hold stood out for its elegant, understated prose and the way Jung Yun crafted such nuanced, fully realized characters. I appreciated how the 9/11 backdrop was handled with sensitivity, keeping the focus on the personal rather than the sensational. The cruise ship setting worked beautifully as both a literal and symbolic space for exploring regret, resilience, and second chances. On top of that, I really connected with the themes in this story—how it explored regret, resilience, and the possibility of second chances against the backdrop of personal and collective change. That said, the pacing felt slow at times, and the low-stakes plot didn’t always hold my attention. The shifting perspectives occasionally disrupted the flow, and I found myself wishing for a stronger emotional payoff by the end.
Thank you Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for my review.
All the World Can Hold stood out for its elegant, understated prose and the way Jung Yun crafted such nuanced, fully realized characters. I appreciated how the 9/11 backdrop was handled with sensitivity, keeping the focus on the personal rather than the sensational. The cruise ship setting worked beautifully as both a literal and symbolic space for exploring regret, resilience, and second chances. On top of that, I really connected with the themes in this story—how it explored regret, resilience, and the possibility of second chances against the backdrop of personal and collective change. That said, the pacing felt slow at times, and the low-stakes plot didn’t always hold my attention. The shifting perspectives occasionally disrupted the flow, and I found myself wishing for a stronger emotional payoff by the end.
Thank you Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for my review.
November 16, 2025
In the week after 9/11, three vastly different people set sail on a cruise to Bermuda that was already planned and have mixed emotions about the trip and their lives. This extremely compelling story sucked me right into the narrative and didn't let me go until we docked back in Boston! I immediately felt immersed into the lives of these characters, eager to know what was going to happen next. Highly recommend!
August 18, 2025
Nuanced, smart, and insightful: this is almost like historical fiction meets a post apocalyptic world with its location on a cruise liner days after 9/11. Each of the three characters experience life so differently and their stories and plot in this book hardly intersect so it is almost like three novella POVs in the same setting. Well written and moving.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.
August 17, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC.
It took me a little while to get into this book, but once I did, I liked it a lot. Not much happened, but it was a very realistic portrayal of three people trying to make the best of a horrible time in history, and trying to be good to other humans while carving out room for their own happiness.
A bit slow at times, but so life-like. 4/5 stars. Would definitely read more by this author.
It took me a little while to get into this book, but once I did, I liked it a lot. Not much happened, but it was a very realistic portrayal of three people trying to make the best of a horrible time in history, and trying to be good to other humans while carving out room for their own happiness.
A bit slow at times, but so life-like. 4/5 stars. Would definitely read more by this author.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
It is 9/16/2001 and The Twin Towers have collapsed. Cruise ships that were originally scheduled to leave from NYC on 9/16 are no longer able to do so. The city is in chaos and there are still people missing from the attack. Boston is the new departure location for the cruise and registered passengers have to quickly find a way to get there before their ship,The Sonata, leaves for their Caribbean travels. The trip is a themed cruise to celebrate the reunion of the cast of a 1970's television show, 'Starlight Voyages'.
On the ship are three separate groups, each onboard for a different reason. There is Doug, an actor from the original Starlight Voyages show who is nine years in recovery from decades of alcohol and drug addiction. Memories of his misbehaviors while 'under the influence' are vague or nonexistent. Accompanying him is his nephew who he hopes to get to know better. Lucy, a very successful black MIT graduate student, was invited to accompany her roommate for a free trip. They don't know each other well and this will be a voyage of discovery. Additionally, these several days away from her usually conscientious life, are troubling to her. Will her vacation away from academia have a negative impact on her future. Franny is a Korean-American attorney who has invited her family on this cruise in order to celebrate her mother's Chilsun, or 70th birthday, an important landmark in Korean culture. With her are her husband Tom, her mother, and her brother Jae and his girlfriend Esther. As she looks at her life, perfect from the outside looking in, she sees cracks ands problems she may not be ready to address.
As the cruise takes off for its five day sun-filled voyage, family secrets, uncomfortable dynamics, old resentments and new discoveries get uncovered. This is supposed to be a celebratory time but, juxtaposed with the recent collapse of the twin towers, it is a source of pain and sadness. It becomes more burdensome than happy as each of the travelers gradually realizes that their lives are not as they thought they were. Franny realizes that her relationship with her mother and husband are laden with difficulties. Doug realizes he is no longer in his prime and has little to look forward to. Lucy questions whether being a tech expert is what she really wants to do with her life.
All of the characters are deeply realized and the author weaves a narrative that is uneasy and troubling as it unfolds. I laughed out loud at the tongue and cheek observations of cruising and the ways in which each character adapted to their misconceptions about this vacation. The writing is stellar and the characterizations spot on. This novel is page-tuning literary fiction and historical fiction at its best. There were no missteps and the book has my highest recommendation.
I thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for granting me access to this advanced review copy.
On the ship are three separate groups, each onboard for a different reason. There is Doug, an actor from the original Starlight Voyages show who is nine years in recovery from decades of alcohol and drug addiction. Memories of his misbehaviors while 'under the influence' are vague or nonexistent. Accompanying him is his nephew who he hopes to get to know better. Lucy, a very successful black MIT graduate student, was invited to accompany her roommate for a free trip. They don't know each other well and this will be a voyage of discovery. Additionally, these several days away from her usually conscientious life, are troubling to her. Will her vacation away from academia have a negative impact on her future. Franny is a Korean-American attorney who has invited her family on this cruise in order to celebrate her mother's Chilsun, or 70th birthday, an important landmark in Korean culture. With her are her husband Tom, her mother, and her brother Jae and his girlfriend Esther. As she looks at her life, perfect from the outside looking in, she sees cracks ands problems she may not be ready to address.
As the cruise takes off for its five day sun-filled voyage, family secrets, uncomfortable dynamics, old resentments and new discoveries get uncovered. This is supposed to be a celebratory time but, juxtaposed with the recent collapse of the twin towers, it is a source of pain and sadness. It becomes more burdensome than happy as each of the travelers gradually realizes that their lives are not as they thought they were. Franny realizes that her relationship with her mother and husband are laden with difficulties. Doug realizes he is no longer in his prime and has little to look forward to. Lucy questions whether being a tech expert is what she really wants to do with her life.
All of the characters are deeply realized and the author weaves a narrative that is uneasy and troubling as it unfolds. I laughed out loud at the tongue and cheek observations of cruising and the ways in which each character adapted to their misconceptions about this vacation. The writing is stellar and the characterizations spot on. This novel is page-tuning literary fiction and historical fiction at its best. There were no missteps and the book has my highest recommendation.
I thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for granting me access to this advanced review copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Three parallel stories of people on a Bermuda cruise that sails just days after the 9/11 attacks. How can we carry on with "life as usual" as our entire country has been thrown forcibly into their "unusual and unreal" reality post 9/11? Each of these characters stumble through their days on the cruise ship as they deal with the secrets they hold back from their loves ones, as well as themselves.
Franny, a Korean American daughter, wife, and NYC attorney, has organized a family cruise to celebrate her mother's birthday. It seems as though she is the only one in her family who wants to honor her mother by holding a traditional Korean chilsun (seventieth birthday) celebration Her American husband is angry that they are on the cruise and acts quite miserably.
Doug, a down on his luck actor whose one claim to fame was co-starring on a much-loved cult classic TV series set on this very cruise ship, the Aria. He was the friendly, good listening, and great advice giving bartender who really hasn't found his place in his post-fame life. He's only on the cruise because his aging agent and good friend convinced him that he needed to participate in this reunion cruise along with his castmates whom he has been estranged from for years. His nephew, Gideon, accompanies him.
Lucy, a young Black post-graduate student studying computers and AI was invited by her roommate Mariah since she had a spare ticket at the last minute. What Lucy should be doing is preparing for and going to job interviews. Instead she is fearing the fallout from missing classes, possible interviews ,facing the wrath of her parents, and learning the Mariah can be obnoxious and self-centered.
I loved that the author did not find it necessary to weave the stories of the three characters together, but to keep them separate and parallel. Each character is struggling over their own life issues as well as adjusting to the terror of the attacks. Yun's characters each explore what they find important in different times of their lives and each of those stories are filled with sadness, grief, confusion, facing unsure realities, and the changes within themselves.
All The World is Can Hold is a very sad book, filled with deep soul-searching, emotional pain and realities, but it is so worthy of being read and loved because of the pain and sadness. It makes the readers look at life a little differently as we see that so many of those around us are just getting through their days, struggling with silent issues that the choose not to share, and that we often separate ourselves from the very ones we need to hold close to our hearts.
Add this to your TBR - NOW!
Thank you, NetGalley, Simon & Shuster, and Jung Yun for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Franny, a Korean American daughter, wife, and NYC attorney, has organized a family cruise to celebrate her mother's birthday. It seems as though she is the only one in her family who wants to honor her mother by holding a traditional Korean chilsun (seventieth birthday) celebration Her American husband is angry that they are on the cruise and acts quite miserably.
Doug, a down on his luck actor whose one claim to fame was co-starring on a much-loved cult classic TV series set on this very cruise ship, the Aria. He was the friendly, good listening, and great advice giving bartender who really hasn't found his place in his post-fame life. He's only on the cruise because his aging agent and good friend convinced him that he needed to participate in this reunion cruise along with his castmates whom he has been estranged from for years. His nephew, Gideon, accompanies him.
Lucy, a young Black post-graduate student studying computers and AI was invited by her roommate Mariah since she had a spare ticket at the last minute. What Lucy should be doing is preparing for and going to job interviews. Instead she is fearing the fallout from missing classes, possible interviews ,facing the wrath of her parents, and learning the Mariah can be obnoxious and self-centered.
I loved that the author did not find it necessary to weave the stories of the three characters together, but to keep them separate and parallel. Each character is struggling over their own life issues as well as adjusting to the terror of the attacks. Yun's characters each explore what they find important in different times of their lives and each of those stories are filled with sadness, grief, confusion, facing unsure realities, and the changes within themselves.
All The World is Can Hold is a very sad book, filled with deep soul-searching, emotional pain and realities, but it is so worthy of being read and loved because of the pain and sadness. It makes the readers look at life a little differently as we see that so many of those around us are just getting through their days, struggling with silent issues that the choose not to share, and that we often separate ourselves from the very ones we need to hold close to our hearts.
Add this to your TBR - NOW!
Thank you, NetGalley, Simon & Shuster, and Jung Yun for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
July 30, 2025
The layering of the immediate aftermath of 911 with the lives of three struggling characters locked in a staged capsule of controlled happiness and activity was fascinating. Who could imagine what it would be like to board a cruise ship several days after the destruction of 911, when the extent of how the damage would change our world was unknown, with passengers both burdened and unburdened with what happened are locked together within the constant party of a cruise ship? Within that environment, the novel explores the lives of three passengers very different from one another, who have losses of their own they must absorb and decisions about how they want to live their lives.. Each of these characters is fully drawn.
It's several days after 911. Passengers are boarding the Sonata, the former setting of a Love Boat type TV show, Starlight Voyages, for a 5 day trip to Bermuda. Several members of the former TV show are part of the draw to this cruise.
Franny, a highly successful estate attorney, has arranged for her husband and family to take this cruise in celebration of her mother’s seventieth birthday Her intent is to mark her birthday with the Korean celebration, Chelsun, an important ritual in the culture. Franny’s husband is white and has never been accepted into the family. He tells her repeatedly, how wrong it is to be on a cruise as the 9/11 death toll rises, especially since Franny and her mother have a strained relationship. For all Franny’s success, she has been shut out in favor of her dependent brother. The dynamics are fraught with tension.
Lucy is a young black academic superstar, degrees in hand, ready to enter the work world. She is on the cruise at the invitation of her spoiled, bossy roommate and feels totally out of place. She has lived under extreme pressure by her parents to live as a symbol of American success. That has taken an extreme toll on her. As the days wear on, she grapples with what she wants her life to be.
The third character is Doug, an aging, basically unemployed actor, and former star of the Starlight show. He came with his nephew, Gideon, never having read his contract requiring him to work many events with and around other former cast members. His past is riddled with secrets and bad behavior. His former coworkers remember much of what he has tried to forget.
The three stories overlay what you would expect from cruise ship life—abundance, perpetual activity, the fake happiness swirling through the air. How Yun wove all the stories together is testament to her skill. The summary at the end perfectly describes the trajectory of the world after that unimaginable tragedy.
Highly recommend.
Many thanks to Netgalley and 37 Ink (Simon &Schuster for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
It's several days after 911. Passengers are boarding the Sonata, the former setting of a Love Boat type TV show, Starlight Voyages, for a 5 day trip to Bermuda. Several members of the former TV show are part of the draw to this cruise.
Franny, a highly successful estate attorney, has arranged for her husband and family to take this cruise in celebration of her mother’s seventieth birthday Her intent is to mark her birthday with the Korean celebration, Chelsun, an important ritual in the culture. Franny’s husband is white and has never been accepted into the family. He tells her repeatedly, how wrong it is to be on a cruise as the 9/11 death toll rises, especially since Franny and her mother have a strained relationship. For all Franny’s success, she has been shut out in favor of her dependent brother. The dynamics are fraught with tension.
Lucy is a young black academic superstar, degrees in hand, ready to enter the work world. She is on the cruise at the invitation of her spoiled, bossy roommate and feels totally out of place. She has lived under extreme pressure by her parents to live as a symbol of American success. That has taken an extreme toll on her. As the days wear on, she grapples with what she wants her life to be.
The third character is Doug, an aging, basically unemployed actor, and former star of the Starlight show. He came with his nephew, Gideon, never having read his contract requiring him to work many events with and around other former cast members. His past is riddled with secrets and bad behavior. His former coworkers remember much of what he has tried to forget.
The three stories overlay what you would expect from cruise ship life—abundance, perpetual activity, the fake happiness swirling through the air. How Yun wove all the stories together is testament to her skill. The summary at the end perfectly describes the trajectory of the world after that unimaginable tragedy.
Highly recommend.
Many thanks to Netgalley and 37 Ink (Simon &Schuster for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
It's the yearly fan reunion of the Sonata, the ship used in the popular eighties’ television series Starlight Voyages. Many of the show's actors are on board for this cruise to Bermuda, and Doug, "the bartender," is joining them this time, as his other money-making ventures didn't materialize. Doug and the rest of the cast partied hard in the show's heyday, causing him to lose friends and family, but he has gotten sober and hopes to make amends while he still can. He brought his teen nephew as his plus one and looks forward to a relaxing time with his nephew and without too many responsibilities to the passengers/fans. He has misread the situation.
Franny, the Korean wife of a prestigious white lawyer, brought her family along on the cruise to celebrate her mother’s seventieth birthday. In Korean tradition, a parent’s seventieth is an extremely important event, celebrated with precisely made foods, flowers, and, above all, reverence. Franny is doing the best she can for her oblivious parent, who has spent her years catering to others at the restaurant she owned-she wants to do right by her mother, and perhaps have her mother finally acknowledge her. But she has some other unresolved issues of her own.
Instead of prepping for the job interviews that Lucy has lined up, she uncharacteristically decides to join her roommate’s offer of a free cruise. Lucy is graduating from MIT with an engineering degree and her work on data mining is attracting a lot of interest from lucrative companies-and even that upstart, Google. What most people don’t know about her is that she earned a double major-one in engineering and one in art. As her father keeps telling her, she has the capability to become very well off as long as she drops her dream of creating beauty, and as a rule, museums don’t feature female black artists. She has a lot to think through.
All these problems are exacerbated by the fact that the ship’s cruise is dated September 16, 2001-a week after the tragedy of September 11th. It is the duty of Sonata’s crew and the ship’s entertainers to show their passengers a wonderful time and make them forget what’s going on back home. Could that be the reason that phones and laptops have no WIFI?
Everyone has seen The Love Boat, the program on which this novel is based. The author does a great job of channeling the show, especially using its format of three stories as the frame for the book’s structure. However, while the TV plots are always resolved before the passengers leave the ship, dilemmas in the book are left open-ended, giving the reader room to keep wrestling with the characters’ problems long after the concluding sentence.
Franny, the Korean wife of a prestigious white lawyer, brought her family along on the cruise to celebrate her mother’s seventieth birthday. In Korean tradition, a parent’s seventieth is an extremely important event, celebrated with precisely made foods, flowers, and, above all, reverence. Franny is doing the best she can for her oblivious parent, who has spent her years catering to others at the restaurant she owned-she wants to do right by her mother, and perhaps have her mother finally acknowledge her. But she has some other unresolved issues of her own.
Instead of prepping for the job interviews that Lucy has lined up, she uncharacteristically decides to join her roommate’s offer of a free cruise. Lucy is graduating from MIT with an engineering degree and her work on data mining is attracting a lot of interest from lucrative companies-and even that upstart, Google. What most people don’t know about her is that she earned a double major-one in engineering and one in art. As her father keeps telling her, she has the capability to become very well off as long as she drops her dream of creating beauty, and as a rule, museums don’t feature female black artists. She has a lot to think through.
All these problems are exacerbated by the fact that the ship’s cruise is dated September 16, 2001-a week after the tragedy of September 11th. It is the duty of Sonata’s crew and the ship’s entertainers to show their passengers a wonderful time and make them forget what’s going on back home. Could that be the reason that phones and laptops have no WIFI?
Everyone has seen The Love Boat, the program on which this novel is based. The author does a great job of channeling the show, especially using its format of three stories as the frame for the book’s structure. However, while the TV plots are always resolved before the passengers leave the ship, dilemmas in the book are left open-ended, giving the reader room to keep wrestling with the characters’ problems long after the concluding sentence.
September 29, 2025
🌅 I saved this novel to read in September. I thought it was fitting to recall the prevailing attitude of the country and the world during that time, over two decades ago. However, reflective as it was, I expected 9/11 to play a more significant role. This novel wasn’t above fireworks despite the story taking place during the aftermath of 9/11. All the World Can Hold lent itself more to quiet introspection. Jung Yun sets her characters adrift, literally, on a five-day cruise to Bermuda, just one week after the 9/11 attacks. The backdrop is striking: a ship suspended between destinations, mirroring passengers who are suspended between the lives they have and the lives they long for.
The book follows three central perspectives:
• Franny, a Korean American woman navigating tension with her family during her mother’s 70th birthday cruise.
• Doug, a washed-up TV actor reluctantly attending a reunion for the 1970s Love Boat–style show that defined his career.
• Lucy, a young Black woman torn between the security of a prestigious career in tech and her passion for painting.
Each is burdened with grief, regret, or yearning, and Yun’s restrained prose gives their inner lives weight. I found the 9/11 thread present but subtle and never sensationalized, more of a quiet current influencing the way each character processes their own personal crises. The cruise ship became a fascinating stage: both festive and claustrophobic, ordinary and surreal.
That said, the novel isn’t without flaws. While the prose is elegant and the themes powerful, the narratives often feel disconnected. Aside from one fleeting dinner scene, the three characters don’t meaningfully intersect, leaving the book reading more like three novellas loosely bound together. Lucy’s arc felt underdeveloped, with her motivations and emotional trajectory less fully realized than those of Franny or Doug. Pacing can also drag, especially when each voice shift disrupts the momentum. And the ending, I found that rather than resolving character arcs, Yun leaned heavily into a reflective commentary on 9/11, which undercuts the intimacy they built earlier.
Still, there are moments of brilliance. Doug’s reckoning with the ghosts of fame is quietly poignant. Franny’s family dynamics cut deep, textured with cultural specificity and long-buried resentments. And Yun’s writing shines when she captures the liminality of both ship life and emotional life—the feeling of existing between identities, eras, or choices. As one line puts it, “Sometimes breakthroughs don’t come in the form of grand gestures, but in the words left unsaid for too long that finally slip free.”
Ultimately, I found All the World Can Hold to be more contemplative than plot-driven. It was a bit slow-paced and frustrating, as I usually prefer stories to have a clear resolution at the end rather than just lingering. But if you enjoy layered character studies and elegant prose, it offers plenty to appreciate. I truly appreciate NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with the ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion. I think I just expected more from reading the book description.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars)
Follow along & like! All reviews posted on Goodreads and Blogspot: https://1stlightdawnreads.blogspot.com/
Bookstagram and Booktok:
https://www.instagram.com/1stlight.dawnreads/
https://www.tiktok.com/@1stlight.dawnreads
The book follows three central perspectives:
• Franny, a Korean American woman navigating tension with her family during her mother’s 70th birthday cruise.
• Doug, a washed-up TV actor reluctantly attending a reunion for the 1970s Love Boat–style show that defined his career.
• Lucy, a young Black woman torn between the security of a prestigious career in tech and her passion for painting.
Each is burdened with grief, regret, or yearning, and Yun’s restrained prose gives their inner lives weight. I found the 9/11 thread present but subtle and never sensationalized, more of a quiet current influencing the way each character processes their own personal crises. The cruise ship became a fascinating stage: both festive and claustrophobic, ordinary and surreal.
That said, the novel isn’t without flaws. While the prose is elegant and the themes powerful, the narratives often feel disconnected. Aside from one fleeting dinner scene, the three characters don’t meaningfully intersect, leaving the book reading more like three novellas loosely bound together. Lucy’s arc felt underdeveloped, with her motivations and emotional trajectory less fully realized than those of Franny or Doug. Pacing can also drag, especially when each voice shift disrupts the momentum. And the ending, I found that rather than resolving character arcs, Yun leaned heavily into a reflective commentary on 9/11, which undercuts the intimacy they built earlier.
Still, there are moments of brilliance. Doug’s reckoning with the ghosts of fame is quietly poignant. Franny’s family dynamics cut deep, textured with cultural specificity and long-buried resentments. And Yun’s writing shines when she captures the liminality of both ship life and emotional life—the feeling of existing between identities, eras, or choices. As one line puts it, “Sometimes breakthroughs don’t come in the form of grand gestures, but in the words left unsaid for too long that finally slip free.”
Ultimately, I found All the World Can Hold to be more contemplative than plot-driven. It was a bit slow-paced and frustrating, as I usually prefer stories to have a clear resolution at the end rather than just lingering. But if you enjoy layered character studies and elegant prose, it offers plenty to appreciate. I truly appreciate NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with the ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion. I think I just expected more from reading the book description.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars)
Follow along & like! All reviews posted on Goodreads and Blogspot: https://1stlightdawnreads.blogspot.com/
Bookstagram and Booktok:
https://www.instagram.com/1stlight.dawnreads/
https://www.tiktok.com/@1stlight.dawnreads
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced readers copy
3.5 stars
Three very different people board the Sonata cruise ship on September 16, 2001: Doug is returning to the ship after decades, since he played one of the starring roles in a "Love Boat" like sitcom. As a cast member returning for a reunion cruise, Doug suffers through the realities of a failed career and having to take this gig for the money; Lucy is a young Black PhD student at MIT, whose roommate offered her a free trip on the cruise when the roommate's grandmother couldn't go. While Lucy appreciates the gesture, and even finds moments when she finds some happiness, her anxiety around finishing her degree and interviewing for potential jobs keeps her from being able to be in the moment; and Franny is a Korean lawyer who bought passage for her mother, brother, and her brother's girlfriend, in order to celebrate her mother's 70th birthday (an important one in Korean culture). She also hopes that the trip will make her and her family closer, though her lie about where she actually was during 9/11 threatens to pull everything apart, even her nascent marriage.
While none of the characters in this book are likeable, Yun creates such a sense of pathos for them by setting the cruise in the wake of 9/11. I found myself being angry and then softening at the characters' behavior when considering the grief and shock they feel from the tragedy. Franny was the most interesting character, for me, as someone trying to connect with those around her (her family, her husband) but in doing what she thinks others want from her, she's keeping them all from really knowing her. Doug felt like the least compelling character. The reveal about him halfway through the novel gave his story some depth but I found myself skimming over his pages. The book lost half a star for me because of the last chapter; instead of leaving us with final images of each character, the last chapter is a summary and light polemic about what happened after 9/11, leading up to more recent events/decisions by the U.S. government. After such lyrical writing and being unsettled with these characters, the last chapter felt like it belonged to a different, almost more academic, book.
All the World Can Hold is out March 10, 2026
3.5 stars
Three very different people board the Sonata cruise ship on September 16, 2001: Doug is returning to the ship after decades, since he played one of the starring roles in a "Love Boat" like sitcom. As a cast member returning for a reunion cruise, Doug suffers through the realities of a failed career and having to take this gig for the money; Lucy is a young Black PhD student at MIT, whose roommate offered her a free trip on the cruise when the roommate's grandmother couldn't go. While Lucy appreciates the gesture, and even finds moments when she finds some happiness, her anxiety around finishing her degree and interviewing for potential jobs keeps her from being able to be in the moment; and Franny is a Korean lawyer who bought passage for her mother, brother, and her brother's girlfriend, in order to celebrate her mother's 70th birthday (an important one in Korean culture). She also hopes that the trip will make her and her family closer, though her lie about where she actually was during 9/11 threatens to pull everything apart, even her nascent marriage.
While none of the characters in this book are likeable, Yun creates such a sense of pathos for them by setting the cruise in the wake of 9/11. I found myself being angry and then softening at the characters' behavior when considering the grief and shock they feel from the tragedy. Franny was the most interesting character, for me, as someone trying to connect with those around her (her family, her husband) but in doing what she thinks others want from her, she's keeping them all from really knowing her. Doug felt like the least compelling character. The reveal about him halfway through the novel gave his story some depth but I found myself skimming over his pages. The book lost half a star for me because of the last chapter; instead of leaving us with final images of each character, the last chapter is a summary and light polemic about what happened after 9/11, leading up to more recent events/decisions by the U.S. government. After such lyrical writing and being unsettled with these characters, the last chapter felt like it belonged to a different, almost more academic, book.
All the World Can Hold is out March 10, 2026
September 2, 2025
3.75 stars – Thoughtful, but emotionally distant
All the World Can Hold stood out to me for its elegant, understated prose and Jung Yun’s ability to create emotionally layered, nuanced characters. I also appreciated how the book handled the 9/11 backdrop with care, never sensationalizing it, but instead using it as a quiet undercurrent to explore personal transformation. The cruise ship setting was a clever choice, serving as both a literal and metaphorical space of limbo - between places, between lives, between who these characters are and who they might become.
The novel follows three separate characters:
Franny, a Korean American woman on a family cruise to celebrate her mother’s 70th birthday, navigating decades of buried resentment and cultural tension.
Doug, a washed-up TV star returning to the ship that once served as a set for his show, reluctantly facing the ghosts of fame and relevance.
Lucy, a young, ambitious Black woman interviewing with a pre-IPO Google, brought on board by a chaotic friend and grappling with questions of identity, opportunity, and ambition.
Each character’s story has interesting elements on its own. Franny’s family dynamics are textured and culturally specific, and Doug’s quiet crisis of identity is genuinely poignant. Lucy’s storyline, however, felt the least essential to me. Her emotional arc remained murky, and by the end, I wasn’t quite sure what she had learned or how the experience had changed her.
What ultimately held the novel back for me was how disconnected these stories felt. Despite the shared setting and backdrop of post-9/11 uncertainty, the characters never truly intersected, aside from one short dinner scene between Franny’s family and Doug. I was expecting something more intertwined, White Lotus-style, where the lives and decisions of one character might ripple into the others. Instead, it felt like three loosely related novellas sharing a cruise ship.
The themes, grief, reinvention, regret, are there, and they resonate in moments. But the pacing dragged at times, and the emotional payoff I was hoping for didn’t fully land. I finished the book admiring its ambition and craft, but wishing for more cohesion and impact.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.
All the World Can Hold stood out to me for its elegant, understated prose and Jung Yun’s ability to create emotionally layered, nuanced characters. I also appreciated how the book handled the 9/11 backdrop with care, never sensationalizing it, but instead using it as a quiet undercurrent to explore personal transformation. The cruise ship setting was a clever choice, serving as both a literal and metaphorical space of limbo - between places, between lives, between who these characters are and who they might become.
The novel follows three separate characters:
Franny, a Korean American woman on a family cruise to celebrate her mother’s 70th birthday, navigating decades of buried resentment and cultural tension.
Doug, a washed-up TV star returning to the ship that once served as a set for his show, reluctantly facing the ghosts of fame and relevance.
Lucy, a young, ambitious Black woman interviewing with a pre-IPO Google, brought on board by a chaotic friend and grappling with questions of identity, opportunity, and ambition.
Each character’s story has interesting elements on its own. Franny’s family dynamics are textured and culturally specific, and Doug’s quiet crisis of identity is genuinely poignant. Lucy’s storyline, however, felt the least essential to me. Her emotional arc remained murky, and by the end, I wasn’t quite sure what she had learned or how the experience had changed her.
What ultimately held the novel back for me was how disconnected these stories felt. Despite the shared setting and backdrop of post-9/11 uncertainty, the characters never truly intersected, aside from one short dinner scene between Franny’s family and Doug. I was expecting something more intertwined, White Lotus-style, where the lives and decisions of one character might ripple into the others. Instead, it felt like three loosely related novellas sharing a cruise ship.
The themes, grief, reinvention, regret, are there, and they resonate in moments. But the pacing dragged at times, and the emotional payoff I was hoping for didn’t fully land. I finished the book admiring its ambition and craft, but wishing for more cohesion and impact.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.
August 24, 2025
3.5 stars. I was drawn to this book because it promised to be a character-driven depiction of different passengers' experiences on a cruise ship in the aftermath of a tragedy--the destruction of the twin towers in NYC in 2001. Having taught on Semester at Sea and lectured on cruise ships, I was intrigued. The author's book blurb describes the book as partially in the White Lotus genre, which also intrigued me. I jumped for a free advance copy courtesy of the publishers. The story alternates between several different sets of passengers on the cruise. The key passengers include an aging actor/recovering alcoholic who had performed decades ago in a popular fluffy TV show set on a cruise ship (Think Love Boat), a young black woman in an alienating predominantly-white graduate program who is ambivalent about her chosen career path, and a complex Korean-American family celebrating the matriarch's 70th birthday. While most of the characters were well-drawn (though some seemed to be painted with thinner brushstrokes than others), I did not find most of them that interesting. Some seemed too stereotypical--a "dutiful Asian daughter" who accepts yet resents the expected roles she feels are imposed on her, both within her family of origin and in her marriage, the aging former alcoholic/party-boy actor, etc. For those expecting more Upstairs-Downstairs coverage (of both the lives of ship crew members and passengers), this is not your book. The ship crew members who appear in the book are few and only seem to appear as props for the main passengers. The primary focus is on the passengers and their inner thoughts and struggles. Though the writing was good, I found myself bored in sections and was tempted to skim ahead. But I did not do so because I had received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. So I dutifully trudged through this book. The book may well appeal to others, but it did not grab me in the way I had hoped it would. 3.5 stars.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
All the World Can Hold is a beautiful novel that is about 9/11 and not. Three strangers are aboard a cruise ship immediately following the attacks on September 11, 2001. Are they vapid and insensitive for blocking out the world on a trip to Bermuda? Maybe, they worry. But each has their own reason for being aboard the Sonata and we learn their story throughout the course of their days at sea.
Franny is a Korean-American daughter, sister and wife. She is on the Sonata to celebrate her mother’s chilsun, or 70th birthday. Franny is successful by outward measures, but deeply sad. Franny is joined on ship by her husband, mother, brother and his girlfriend.
Lucy is a young Black woman finishing her post-graduate degree and searching for a tech job. Lucy is serious, maybe to a fault, and driven, similar to Franny, by what others call success. Lucy is on board with her roommate. They’re trying to form a friendship; but it feels doomed.
Doug is a washed-up television star, and the star of the ship! His TV series, popular decades ago, was filmed on the Sonata and this is a reunion cruise. Doug is a sober alcoholic with a lot of regret. Those regrets are front and center as he comes face to face with his past and former coworkers. Doug is joined on board by his sweet, adolescent nephew, Gideon.
It’s easy to care for all three of these characters. Their stories unfold in layers, making me feel more deeply for them as the book went on. They are flawed in a way that feels so relatable.
The writing is beautiful. The story is unique and engaging. I really enjoyed this sad, warm, and imperfect story of humanity in the wake of catastrophic tragedy. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Favorite quote:
“She said that guilt compounds grief.” He pauses for effect. “It makes us suffer twice.”
Franny is a Korean-American daughter, sister and wife. She is on the Sonata to celebrate her mother’s chilsun, or 70th birthday. Franny is successful by outward measures, but deeply sad. Franny is joined on ship by her husband, mother, brother and his girlfriend.
Lucy is a young Black woman finishing her post-graduate degree and searching for a tech job. Lucy is serious, maybe to a fault, and driven, similar to Franny, by what others call success. Lucy is on board with her roommate. They’re trying to form a friendship; but it feels doomed.
Doug is a washed-up television star, and the star of the ship! His TV series, popular decades ago, was filmed on the Sonata and this is a reunion cruise. Doug is a sober alcoholic with a lot of regret. Those regrets are front and center as he comes face to face with his past and former coworkers. Doug is joined on board by his sweet, adolescent nephew, Gideon.
It’s easy to care for all three of these characters. Their stories unfold in layers, making me feel more deeply for them as the book went on. They are flawed in a way that feels so relatable.
The writing is beautiful. The story is unique and engaging. I really enjoyed this sad, warm, and imperfect story of humanity in the wake of catastrophic tragedy. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Favorite quote:
“She said that guilt compounds grief.” He pauses for effect. “It makes us suffer twice.”
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
{thank you to NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book!}
All the World Can Hold is my first read of 2026 and I'm so happy it's a good one!
The book takes place on a cruise ship just days after September 11, 2001. It follows three passengers: Franny, a Korean woman who planned the trip to celebrate her mom’s 70th birthday along with her husband, brother, and his girlfriend; Doug, invited on the cruise as a celebrity appearance since the cruise ship is the same one from the show he acted on decades ago; and Lucy, a young Black MIT graduate student worried about getting a post-grad job whose roommate invited her at the last minute.
I loved following these three very different characters and perspectives as they navigate very different problems, but all during the aftermath of 9/11. Anyone old enough to remember what those days were like can appreciate how much sadness and uncertainty there was. Now, imagine getting on a cruise ship with very little internet service or way to connect with home. Lots of people canceled their trips, so it was interesting to see why these three characters decided to go and what it meant for them.
I recommend picking All the World Can Hold if you enjoy:
⭐️ Character-driven novels that follow different perspectives of unrelated people in the same setting.
⭐️ Stories about grief and resilience, especially in terms of how different people make sense of life after a collective tragedy. This one will make you think “what would I do?”
⭐️ Books about difficult family dynamics and relationship dynamics.
⭐️Emotionally rich literary fiction that still has some lightness to it. I fear I’m making this book sound too serious, but it’s also a novel about people on a cruise! There are shows, and drinking, and activities, and fun. It’s emotional in many ways, but also easy to read with some funny moments.
All the World Can Hold is my first read of 2026 and I'm so happy it's a good one!
The book takes place on a cruise ship just days after September 11, 2001. It follows three passengers: Franny, a Korean woman who planned the trip to celebrate her mom’s 70th birthday along with her husband, brother, and his girlfriend; Doug, invited on the cruise as a celebrity appearance since the cruise ship is the same one from the show he acted on decades ago; and Lucy, a young Black MIT graduate student worried about getting a post-grad job whose roommate invited her at the last minute.
I loved following these three very different characters and perspectives as they navigate very different problems, but all during the aftermath of 9/11. Anyone old enough to remember what those days were like can appreciate how much sadness and uncertainty there was. Now, imagine getting on a cruise ship with very little internet service or way to connect with home. Lots of people canceled their trips, so it was interesting to see why these three characters decided to go and what it meant for them.
I recommend picking All the World Can Hold if you enjoy:
⭐️ Character-driven novels that follow different perspectives of unrelated people in the same setting.
⭐️ Stories about grief and resilience, especially in terms of how different people make sense of life after a collective tragedy. This one will make you think “what would I do?”
⭐️ Books about difficult family dynamics and relationship dynamics.
⭐️Emotionally rich literary fiction that still has some lightness to it. I fear I’m making this book sound too serious, but it’s also a novel about people on a cruise! There are shows, and drinking, and activities, and fun. It’s emotional in many ways, but also easy to read with some funny moments.
July 27, 2025
4.5 stars rounded down. A bit of a slow burn character study with some White Lotus vibes, without the murdery twist at the end.
It’s post 9/11, as in just a few days after, and we follow around three main characters who have just embarked on a cruise to the Bahamas, bad timing be damned, and none of them are enjoying themselves in the slightest, but not necessarily because of the tragedy they just left behind. Their personal circumstances are enough to kill the cruise vibe all on their own. Which makes me question why the dark cloud of 9/11 needed to hang over this story at all. It played a small role, but I wouldn’t say a completely necessary one, other than the fact that the author drew on her own personal experience of being on a cruise at that time.
What I did love was the depth of each character, and the empathy with which they were written, as we got to know the struggles of a Korean-American family with a complicated dynamic. A young, black college graduate with a wide range of choices and opportunities in front of her, but the pressure and weight of carrying herself in the world a certain, expected way, despite a longing for something more fulfilling. An aging, barely relevant actor struggling with the balance of what his fans have come to expect from him and who he truly is. I loved them all and was truly hopeful for them and cheering from the sidelines for them to find resolution and peace.
Oddly, the book ended when the cruise did, and that resolution didn’t really come. I guess we are left to imagine that the seeds of change have been planted, and sprout will grow in the future, off page. That could be deeply unsatisfying for some, but I am ok with it.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my review.
It’s post 9/11, as in just a few days after, and we follow around three main characters who have just embarked on a cruise to the Bahamas, bad timing be damned, and none of them are enjoying themselves in the slightest, but not necessarily because of the tragedy they just left behind. Their personal circumstances are enough to kill the cruise vibe all on their own. Which makes me question why the dark cloud of 9/11 needed to hang over this story at all. It played a small role, but I wouldn’t say a completely necessary one, other than the fact that the author drew on her own personal experience of being on a cruise at that time.
What I did love was the depth of each character, and the empathy with which they were written, as we got to know the struggles of a Korean-American family with a complicated dynamic. A young, black college graduate with a wide range of choices and opportunities in front of her, but the pressure and weight of carrying herself in the world a certain, expected way, despite a longing for something more fulfilling. An aging, barely relevant actor struggling with the balance of what his fans have come to expect from him and who he truly is. I loved them all and was truly hopeful for them and cheering from the sidelines for them to find resolution and peace.
Oddly, the book ended when the cruise did, and that resolution didn’t really come. I guess we are left to imagine that the seeds of change have been planted, and sprout will grow in the future, off page. That could be deeply unsatisfying for some, but I am ok with it.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my review.
August 11, 2025
I received this novel as an ARC through NetGalley — many thanks to the publishers for approving me to read this advanced copy.
The premise of this novel grabbed me right away and made me pick it up before the other ARCs on my shelf. The story follows three separate characters who decide to go on their cruise to Bermuda just days after the September 11th terrorist attacks — a juxtaposition that immediately intrigued me.
As a native New Yorker with a dad who worked in Manhattan, 9/11 has always felt especially close to home — there’s a certain weight to it that New Yorkers understand in a unique way. That said, I was very young when it happened, so I never fully experienced the immediate aftermath: the fear, the uncertainty, the “what happens next” questions that filled the air. My understanding came later, shaped by the stories and lingering grief that persisted for decades. This is what drew me to the book — I was curious to see how such a monumental event might shape three strangers in different ways, all while set in the unusual, self-contained world of a cruise ship.
Unfortunately, the story fell flat for me. My favorite part of reading is connecting with well-developed characters — learning their flaws, seeing them grow, and watching them unfold over time. Here, I struggled to connect with any of them. While I kept hoping their arcs would deepen, they remained largely static, and I didn’t find them particularly likable or compelling. The emotional and personal growth I expected never materialized, leaving the narrative without the resonance I was hoping for.
In the end, while the premise was powerful and full of potential, the execution lacked the depth and character development needed to make the story truly impactful.
The premise of this novel grabbed me right away and made me pick it up before the other ARCs on my shelf. The story follows three separate characters who decide to go on their cruise to Bermuda just days after the September 11th terrorist attacks — a juxtaposition that immediately intrigued me.
As a native New Yorker with a dad who worked in Manhattan, 9/11 has always felt especially close to home — there’s a certain weight to it that New Yorkers understand in a unique way. That said, I was very young when it happened, so I never fully experienced the immediate aftermath: the fear, the uncertainty, the “what happens next” questions that filled the air. My understanding came later, shaped by the stories and lingering grief that persisted for decades. This is what drew me to the book — I was curious to see how such a monumental event might shape three strangers in different ways, all while set in the unusual, self-contained world of a cruise ship.
Unfortunately, the story fell flat for me. My favorite part of reading is connecting with well-developed characters — learning their flaws, seeing them grow, and watching them unfold over time. Here, I struggled to connect with any of them. While I kept hoping their arcs would deepen, they remained largely static, and I didn’t find them particularly likable or compelling. The emotional and personal growth I expected never materialized, leaving the narrative without the resonance I was hoping for.
In the end, while the premise was powerful and full of potential, the execution lacked the depth and character development needed to make the story truly impactful.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What struck me first about All the World Can Hold was the realization that I don’t actually recall reading many novels centered on 9/11. I’m sure I have, but none surfaced immediately. That absence stood out, especially when contrasted with the pandemic, which seemed to draw a clear line between readers who were ready to see it reflected in fiction and those who weren’t. Nearly 25 years later, reading about 9/11 feels different and this novel approaches it from a quietly original angle.
The story follows three characters, each adjacent to the tragedy in their own way. In truth, nearly everyone in America was “adjacent” to 9/11, and the novel captures that shared sense of distance and intimacy with care. The choice to set much of the narrative aboard a cruise ship was unexpected, and while I am decidedly not a cruiser, I was surprised by how much I learned about the rhythms and mechanics of life at sea. It serves as an unusual and effective backdrop, reinforcing the feeling of suspension and uncertainty that runs through the book.
There were moments where the pacing and shifts in perspective briefly pulled me out of the story. At times, 9/11 itself felt like a kind of narrator, before the novel returned to the interior lives of its protagonists. Sometimes the main characters, mainly Lucy for me felt a little one-dimensional. I think Danny was much more fleshed out and Franny a little more as well. Still, these moments did not outweigh the book’s strengths. Ultimately, All the World Can Hold succeeds as a thoughtful, nuanced exploration of grief, dislocation, and human connection in the long shadow of a world-altering event.
The story follows three characters, each adjacent to the tragedy in their own way. In truth, nearly everyone in America was “adjacent” to 9/11, and the novel captures that shared sense of distance and intimacy with care. The choice to set much of the narrative aboard a cruise ship was unexpected, and while I am decidedly not a cruiser, I was surprised by how much I learned about the rhythms and mechanics of life at sea. It serves as an unusual and effective backdrop, reinforcing the feeling of suspension and uncertainty that runs through the book.
There were moments where the pacing and shifts in perspective briefly pulled me out of the story. At times, 9/11 itself felt like a kind of narrator, before the novel returned to the interior lives of its protagonists. Sometimes the main characters, mainly Lucy for me felt a little one-dimensional. I think Danny was much more fleshed out and Franny a little more as well. Still, these moments did not outweigh the book’s strengths. Ultimately, All the World Can Hold succeeds as a thoughtful, nuanced exploration of grief, dislocation, and human connection in the long shadow of a world-altering event.
July 30, 2025
This book sneaks up on you. You open it expecting one thing — maybe a kitschy cruise ship dramedy or a big ensemble-driven blowout — and instead, you get something more subtle, more introspective, and surprisingly moving.
Set aboard the Sonata, a cruise ship long past its prime, All the World Can Hold captures a sense of drift — not just in geography, but in life. The ship, like many of its passengers, is coasting on former glories. Former television star Doug. Franny’s emotionally distant mother. Every character is caught in a liminal space — between past and future, between success and disappointment, between who they are and who they hoped to be.
I kept questioning why the post-9/11 setting was included, but as I'm writing this review and reflecting, it did provide an interesting and relevant backdrop. It subtly amplifies the theme: that eerie, suspended moment in time when the world hadn’t yet recalibrated. A sense of the “before” being gone, and the “after” not yet defined.
Yun resists big drama, and yet it never feels slow. There’s no grand twist, no cruise disaster or sudden revelations. What she offers instead is something more nuanced: characters thinking, growing, evolving, all while inching closer to their destination — both literal and metaphorical.
This is a novel about internal transformation, and the brilliance of the setting lies in how it mirrors that journey. Don’t come looking for fireworks. But if you appreciate quiet character studies, stories that trust the reader to sit with stillness and subtlety, this one delivers beautifully.
Set aboard the Sonata, a cruise ship long past its prime, All the World Can Hold captures a sense of drift — not just in geography, but in life. The ship, like many of its passengers, is coasting on former glories. Former television star Doug. Franny’s emotionally distant mother. Every character is caught in a liminal space — between past and future, between success and disappointment, between who they are and who they hoped to be.
I kept questioning why the post-9/11 setting was included, but as I'm writing this review and reflecting, it did provide an interesting and relevant backdrop. It subtly amplifies the theme: that eerie, suspended moment in time when the world hadn’t yet recalibrated. A sense of the “before” being gone, and the “after” not yet defined.
Yun resists big drama, and yet it never feels slow. There’s no grand twist, no cruise disaster or sudden revelations. What she offers instead is something more nuanced: characters thinking, growing, evolving, all while inching closer to their destination — both literal and metaphorical.
This is a novel about internal transformation, and the brilliance of the setting lies in how it mirrors that journey. Don’t come looking for fireworks. But if you appreciate quiet character studies, stories that trust the reader to sit with stillness and subtlety, this one delivers beautifully.
August 23, 2025
All the World Can Hold is a beautifully written, character-driven story set in the shadow of 9/11. What first drew me to this novel was the timing and backdrop. September 2001 is a period I remain deeply reflective about. I was only 18 when the attacks happened, just beginning my adult life, and I still make it a point to talk with my sons about the weight of that day and the years that followed. Because of that, I connected most closely with Lucy’s storyline and her sense of being at a turning point, standing between possibility and uncertainty.
That said, I went into this book hoping for more. A stronger tie between the main characters, maybe a dramatic crossover in their stories, or a moment that would pull everything together in a powerful way. Instead, the narrative unfolded as a slow burn. It’s more about inner lives, regrets, and subtle character development than plot-driven twists. And while character studies aren’t always my favorite style of storytelling, I still admired the craft here. The author’s life experiences clearly shaped the book, and that authenticity gives it depth.
The story was layered, contemplative, sometimes meandering, but never quite delivering the big spark I was hoping for. Still, it’s a thoughtful exploration of how we carry our private dramas even as history unfolds around us.
In the end, while it wasn’t a perfect fit for my personal reading tastes, I can appreciate the quality of the writing and the author’s perspective. Solid 3.5 stars.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
That said, I went into this book hoping for more. A stronger tie between the main characters, maybe a dramatic crossover in their stories, or a moment that would pull everything together in a powerful way. Instead, the narrative unfolded as a slow burn. It’s more about inner lives, regrets, and subtle character development than plot-driven twists. And while character studies aren’t always my favorite style of storytelling, I still admired the craft here. The author’s life experiences clearly shaped the book, and that authenticity gives it depth.
The story was layered, contemplative, sometimes meandering, but never quite delivering the big spark I was hoping for. Still, it’s a thoughtful exploration of how we carry our private dramas even as history unfolds around us.
In the end, while it wasn’t a perfect fit for my personal reading tastes, I can appreciate the quality of the writing and the author’s perspective. Solid 3.5 stars.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Set against backdrop of 9/11, All the World Can Hold tells the story of a small group of people--some traveling together, some not--who find themselves aboard on an ill-timed cruise to Bermuda. This is a complex tale of people who are lost in their own lives at a time when nothing in the world makes sense and it's difficult to figure out where you end and the world begins. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, it was impossible for anyone to ignore what was going on in the world around them...and it was simultaneously impossible to understand how to make sense of it all. So the events of 9/11 bleed into the story, as they did—and do—into the lives of anyone who lived through it. They punctuate the individual lives of these desperate people who are floating around in the Atlantic…and flailing around in their own lives.
Those of us who lived through the 60s and 70s, saw firsthand feminism, black power, the beginnings of environmentalism, Vietnam, Watergate, the AIDS crisis and gay rights, grape boycotts and the Chicano movement, Wounded Knee and the American Indian Movement--we learned then that the personal is political. We learned how to take our anger and our grief and channel it into activism, social awareness, and yes, optimism. The characters in All the World Can Hold are still struggling with that, struggling with making their own personal issues make sense, and with knowing how to live in the world. The stories are both almost microscopically small and universally enormous.
Jung Yun masterfully weaves a tapestry from the thoughts, feelings, dreams, obsessions, and painful misconceptions that each of these characters are dragging around in their psychic backpacks. They are all beautiful, and beautifully flawed, characters. At its finest, the book is a poignant meditation on the costs of dishonesty and the utter importance of being present in your own life.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing this advance review copy.
Those of us who lived through the 60s and 70s, saw firsthand feminism, black power, the beginnings of environmentalism, Vietnam, Watergate, the AIDS crisis and gay rights, grape boycotts and the Chicano movement, Wounded Knee and the American Indian Movement--we learned then that the personal is political. We learned how to take our anger and our grief and channel it into activism, social awareness, and yes, optimism. The characters in All the World Can Hold are still struggling with that, struggling with making their own personal issues make sense, and with knowing how to live in the world. The stories are both almost microscopically small and universally enormous.
Jung Yun masterfully weaves a tapestry from the thoughts, feelings, dreams, obsessions, and painful misconceptions that each of these characters are dragging around in their psychic backpacks. They are all beautiful, and beautifully flawed, characters. At its finest, the book is a poignant meditation on the costs of dishonesty and the utter importance of being present in your own life.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing this advance review copy.
December 4, 2025
After 9/11, three different characters board a cruise ship to Bermuda - Franny, a Korean married woman who travel with her family to celebrate her mother's 70th birthday; Doug, a former 1970s TV star and Lucy, a young Black woman.
Through characters whose lives don't actually intertwine, Yun covers themes of job, aging, race, guilt, regret and the meaning of life with a dash of Korean culture and drama. I delighted in the unique setting and it was compelling to follow the cruise's dynamics.
Haunting and relatable, the collective mood of mourning lingers in the air and all this feels more interesting as the characters seem to be the embodiment of Yun's different parts. Compared to O BEAUTIFUL, it feels like the author had more liberty and delivers a bolder and more mundane approach on commentary, yet the lack of interconnection detracts from the emotional punch I was looking for.
This book revolves around interactions of characters who have their own issues to deal with. While the ending feels a bit lackluster, the last chapter is an enlightening glimpse of the main message, which makes me treasure this book and wanting to read it all over again.
ALL THE WORLD CAN HOLD is the type of book that one has to revisit in order to absorb all its meaning and although not my Yun's favorite, I am eager to see what the author writes next.
[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Simon Books . All opinions are my own ]
Through characters whose lives don't actually intertwine, Yun covers themes of job, aging, race, guilt, regret and the meaning of life with a dash of Korean culture and drama. I delighted in the unique setting and it was compelling to follow the cruise's dynamics.
Haunting and relatable, the collective mood of mourning lingers in the air and all this feels more interesting as the characters seem to be the embodiment of Yun's different parts. Compared to O BEAUTIFUL, it feels like the author had more liberty and delivers a bolder and more mundane approach on commentary, yet the lack of interconnection detracts from the emotional punch I was looking for.
This book revolves around interactions of characters who have their own issues to deal with. While the ending feels a bit lackluster, the last chapter is an enlightening glimpse of the main message, which makes me treasure this book and wanting to read it all over again.
ALL THE WORLD CAN HOLD is the type of book that one has to revisit in order to absorb all its meaning and although not my Yun's favorite, I am eager to see what the author writes next.
[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Simon Books . All opinions are my own ]
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November 9, 2025Less than a week after 9/11/01, the Bahamas cruise ship, Sonata, has moved it's docking location from NYC to Boston but is continuing its original itinerary. Back in the 70s, the Sonata was the setting for a "Love Boat" type of television show and this trip is billed as a reunion for the actors and viewers of the show. Yun has chosen to tell three people's stories in this novel of survivor's guilt. Doug, a washed up actor, was a star on the original show. He and his nephew are on the trip - Doug to work and be a source of adulation and his nephew to chaperone. Franny has brought her husband, her widowed mother and her brother and his girlfriend on the cruise in a misconstrued effort to celebrate her Korean mother's 70th birthday. Lucy's roommate invited her on the trip just prior to Lucy's graduation with a prestigious tech PhD from MIT. As the only black female graduate student in her department, the expectations for her achievements (from herself, her parents, her mentors) weigh heavily even when her true passion is painting. The characters have all survived events and situations which others did not. How they move forward is yet to be determined as they embark on this seemingly untimely journey.
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