Good Things Come and Go

by Josie Shapiro

The stunning second novel from the bestselling author of Everything Is Beautiful and Everything Hurts

''Poignant, redemptive, electrifying.' - Catherine Chidgey

A novel about friendship and betrayal, ambition and grief, Good Things Come and Go is also a study of homecoming and heartbreak and an ode to taking risks no matter the consequences.

After the death of their young daughter, Penny Whittaker and Adam Riggs are struggling. Penny's lifelong dream of becoming a successful artist has stalled, and Riggs, battling an addiction to prescription painkillers, is coming to grips with the end of his glittering professional skateboarding career. When Penny is unexpectedly offered a chance to exhibit her work at an Auckland gallery, she accepts, despite her reservations.

At the same time, Jamie Flannery suddenly finds himself out of work and out of options. To recuperate, he moves to his uncle's abandoned bach on the Coromandel, and when his childhood friend Riggs calls out of the blue the three friends reunite.

At first, being together feels just like old times. But secrets from their shared past threaten their newfound peace, forcing them to reckon with their history and themselves.

'A tender, tough story of loss and renewal, love and rage, the promise of youth and the aching regrets of middle age ... a powerful reminder that inside every one of us is a dream worth chasing, no matter how much time or talent has been laid to waste.'' - Noelle McCarthy

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary

325 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 4, 2025

Reviews

[Sarah Pollok]

4.5 ⭐️ Breathlessly, easefully devoured this over two days. Reminded of how much I bloody love Shapiro’s writing style and how fun it is to read a book based in Aotearoa.

Great novel, but don’t let the colourful cover or skateboard theme fool you; it’s a heavy read.

[Olivia]

3.5 ⭐️
Hmm very mixed feelings on this book. Thoroughly enjoyed the authors style of writing and found it an easy ‘flowy’ read. However the plot always felt like it was on the cusp of something exciting, that never really happened.
An abrupt ending, that left me feeling slightly annoyed.
Loved that it was based in Aotearoa and actually enjoyed the skate boarding aspect.

[Liz]

A book from home, of homecoming. It's melancholy but hopeful and pairs well for reading with The Beths as soundtrack

[Carm]

Top 5 most abrupt endings

[Jenna]

This was fine, but I don't think changing perspectives added much depth or much tension. I don't know if I particularly cared for any of the characters or their passion (art and skateboarding) or that their voices were thaaat well defined. Plus the dichotomy between the male leads left very little tension. One was pretty awful, one was pretty perfect.

[Hugo Lester]

Good book. I enjoyed it.

[Meg Grimmond]

I hated this. 2 stars for it being set in NZ and because a character was named Meg

[Emma]

I'm adding Josie Shapiro to my list of "will read everything they write" authors. This book is about three New Zealand millennials struggling to find a way to live; two of them dealing with the aftermath of the death of their young daughter, the other dealing with loss of eyesight and the ongoing effects of a traumatic accident.

Her first novel is a tough act to follow, but she writes as brilliantly and evocatively about skateboarding as she did about long-distance running. And I could spend a lot of time in the company of her characters; the pain they suffer feels real and the sense of hope and redemption at the end feels (mostly) earned.

[booksontherunway • Melody]

4.5

I tore through this. The author deserves her flowers because… wow.

Flawed characters in that “please go to therapy” way, everyone disappointed with their lives, the family mess is messing, the love triangle had me way too invested (one of the guys gave me the biggest ick, the other was gorgeous), skate park drama, reckless drinking games, and enough angst to fuel a midlife crisis.

The writing is artful and addictive.

And the big question is basically: when life doesn’t go how you planned, what now?

Anyway, I loved it.

[Deina Susilo-Knox]

I am a huge fan of Josie Shapiro! This book introduced three very different friends from Waiheke Island in their 40's, reflecting on the events and choices they made when they were 18, and how these have shaped their lives. The story centres around skateboarding and art, grief, love, friendship, betrayal, loss and renewal. It's no coincidence that this book came out just in time for summer - you could defintely devour this thing in one sitting. I found myself sneaking chapters in wherever possible - another beautifully written, palpable, ENJOYABLE novel by a very talented Aotearoa author.

[Ebba Andersen]

I liked how it was set in Aotearoa. That was fun.
But this was mostly sad and all the characters felt flat, so I didn’t really care for any of them despite their misfortunes. Readable nevertheless, and nice writing style that’s easy to read.

[Maddy Green]

3.5 ⭐️ a little depressing tbh

[Jessie Noone]

Didn’t rate this book which is a shame as I really liked her first novel.
Found the story just generally a bit odd, and rushed, and then it was all over with a real context of what will happen next

[Maxine Hooker]

Well written and good story, just didn’t have quite enough grunt. The characters were well executed. The ending was a total let down - felt rushed. Not sure I loved it, but would read her other works. I didn’t love it.

[Emily]

Reevaluating my review lol. Wanted to like this bc kiwi author but why was one of the characters making unnecessary political comments about Covid and jacinda?! Added nothing to the book

[Lynda]

I loved Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts perhaps a lot because of my familiarity with the setting and athletics. Whilst I enjoyed her style and characters as much as ever, I’m not that interested in skateboarding! Waiheke Island and the Coromandel were beautifully evoked and the characters kept me interested. Descriptions of art and the art world also intrigued. I just couldn’t like Riggs and found his occasional incredible acts of sensitivity and kindness didn’t really match the other aspects of his character. A good read without being sensational (as her first novel was). Will always read her books though.

[Caroline O'Sullivan]

Gosh this book was not a light read, it had so much going on and boy did I feel sorry for (some of) them throughout the storyline.

This book was about a childhood friend trio that were best friends through school that then separated as two of them moved to another country. We get to see bits of their lives while apart, then we get to see the three of the reconnect and boy was that explosive.

First off, I absolutely hated Riggs, he was a total piece of work and a very unlikable person. He treated Penny absolutely terribly and needed a serious reality check. I liked Penny but I thought she really needed to realise her self worth because staying with Riggs was not doing her any good. Jamie I felt sorry for, Riggs really did the dirty on him and the storyline was such a true testament as to how one split second can change your entire life.

The three of these characters did not have great childhoods and their experiences and self doubt really played a huge part in their future adult life.

I did enjoy this while reading it, I thought the author did a great job with these very different characters however I really wish there was less doom and gloom.

So yes, I did enjoy it but I did not love it.

[Amarni]

I am so excited to read everything Josie Shapiro writes. The pace and style are easy to get into. The mood in this book was dark and the atmosphere was heavy. The book had heavy foreshadowing, which usually puts me off. In this case, I felt drawn to read it to make sure I had understood what was around the next corner. I found the main characters quite hard to connect with and one of them unlikable.

[Jude]

I’m not a skateboarder but I just felt like some of that (and there’s a lot of it because it’s a major part of the narrative) wasn’t as authentic as it could be. A very sudden ending. I liked bits of the novel but as a whole I just feel it could have been more.

Despite being in Auckland, I sometimes struggle with books set here. Just a personal taste thing…perhaps I like to imagine further away!

[Becky Cooke]

I was really looking forward to Jose Shapiro’s second novel, and it didn’t disappoint!
Her narrative, setting and characters were all compelling and made this another absorbing read.
The story covered a love triangle, loss, childhood flashbacks, lost dreams and what ifs. It delivered plenty of sad moments, but there was also hope, and you were left rooting for all the characters, even Riggs surprisingly.
A highly enjoyable read.

[Claire Cunningham]

This book is about friendships, grief, risks and growing old but not necessarily giving up your dreams. It's beautifully written and easy to read and I guess, just like the painting, everyone can make up their own endings.

[Hanna]

I listened to the audiobook and while it wasn’t exactly bad (I liked the writing style!), it also wasn’t anything to write home about.

The “lessons” of the novel seemed a bit predictable and have been done many times before. The story itself was quite uneventful too.

It was okay 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Emma]

One of my top books of the year🙌🏻

[Prue Catton]

One book down already. Heavy way to start the year, slightly depressing, slightly hopeful. Good book to start the year

[Sarah]

Josie Shapiro is a star. I just spent Christmas on Waiheke so the setting was oh so familiar. Beautiful storytelling.

[Ro Hart]

I had an unusual experience with this book. After a few chapters I stopped reading….i hated Riggs, one of the 3 main characters. And skate boarding isn’t a great topic.
Then after a few days I started reading again then read thru the night to finish it!!!
I loved Penny and Jamie and hated Riggs even more.
And the last three chapters blew me away.
I sat and cried…. I have never cried over a book before!!!!
Josie Shapiro you are amazing!!!
I am off to get your first book!!! Keep on writing!!!!

[Fran Gilchrist]

Love this NZ author

[Ally Johnson]

4.5⭐️

[Simone B]

They timed the release date of this one perfectly! Nostalgic summer bach vibes, messed up families, darker than expected, but very readable. If you want something character driven with beautiful writing that seems like it couldn't possibly have a happy ending, this one's for you.

[Jane Jeon]

I looove her work. This book was very easy, heartbreaking but in a quiet, introverted way.