Makeshift: A Novel

by Peter Rock

“Lyrical and poignant, Makeshift proves a powerful antidote to the modern world. This must-read novel lures the reader in, not unlike the coastal wrecks that line the island.” —Adam Johnson, author of The Wayfinder

Abandoned on a remote island known as Makeshift, three sisters—Ari, Heiko, and CeCe—believe they’re the last humans on Earth.

These three, left alone after a band of foreigners slaughtered their entire community, must learn to fend for themselves. They fish and forage in the shallow waters of their protected cove, salvage useful treasures from the rusting hulks of ships that ran aground on its offshore reefs, and entertain themselves with half-remembered songs and tales from their time before.

But when they stray beyond the island into a wider, broken world, they find that life may not be as they believed. And upon their return to the island, they face further revelations that strain their bonds, hint that secrets may be everywhere, and affirm their need for one another in the face of a perilous future. Makeshift is a singular novel of hope and survival set on a small rock-bound island in the coastal Pacific Northwest, and a testament to devotion and allegiance rendered with the haunting grace of Rock’s precision prose.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Speculative Fiction, Survival, Literature

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2026

About the author

Peter Rock was born and raised in Salt Lake City. His most recent novel, Passersthrough, involves a murder house, a fax machine, communications between the living and the dead, and a mountain lake that moves from place to place. He is also the author of the novels The Night Swimmers, SPELLS, Klickitat, The Shelter Cycle, My Abandonment, The Bewildered, The Ambidextrist, Carnival Wolves and This Is the Place, as well as a story collection, The Unsettling. Rock attended Deep Springs College, received a BA in English from Yale University, and held a Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University. He has taught fiction at the University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Deep Springs College, and in the MFA program at San Francisco State University. His stories and freelance writing have both appeared and been anthologized widely, and his books published in various countries and languages. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and an Alex Award, as well as a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, he currently lives in Portland, Oregon, where he is a Professor in the English Department of Reed College. Leave No Trace, the film adaptation of My Abandonment, directed by Debra Granik, premiered at Sundance and Cannes and was released to critical acclaim in 2018. His eleventh work of fiction, Passersthrough, will be published in early 2022.

Reviews

[Paula W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Soft Skull, Peter Rock (author), and Edelweiss for the digital review copy of Makeshift. Their generosity did not influence my review.

I feel stupid. I am still scratching my head about this one. I have almost no idea what this book was actually about. I feel like I was dropped into a time and place that was not explained, in the middle of a story with a confusing plot, with characters behaving in really weird ways, with some super uncomfortable parts that involved children. I thought at the end that something was gonna happen to explain things, but no.

The book runs on pure vibes, and that will be great for a lot of people. I personally can’t fully enjoy a story if i don’t understand the world or the objective. 1.5 stars

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

When @softskullpress #gifted me 𝑴𝑨𝑲𝑬𝑺𝑯𝑰𝑭𝑻 𝒃𝒚 𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒐𝒄𝒌, I had a feeling it would be something special. Published in August, the dystopian vibes fit well in this change of season.

Three sisters are left alone on an island in the Pacific Northwest called Makeshift and have to rely on their memories to survive and stay safe against any foreigners. Told from the youngest, Ari's perspective, the clipped sentences felt like a colloquial new form of language being developed and somehow managed to be both atmospheric and succinct as the three navigate their roles.

When the eldest of these sisters brings the other two on one of her "forays," it changes everything. This event felt much more like a dawning revelation rather than a striking twist which I loved and felt the subtlety gave a seriousness that elevated the shift.

I read this book in almost one Saturday morning sitting, minus the first 15 pages I read Friday night (thus the night out pic). It was incredibly compelling with a quiet suspense threading through this tome of survival, chosen family, and of the beauty of simplicity.

I will be in awe of this one for a while.

[Jolie G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't stop thinking about this book in the best way. So many questions as three sisters travel through an unknown world. I like that not everything is explained and I'm still trying to riddle things out in my head. It's beautifully written and every word is there for a reason. It's a book that will stay with you long after it ends.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Rock builds a convincing world of childhood, nature, and post-apocalyptic mystery. Through the three sisters, Ari, Heiko, and CeCe, we encounter a clearer and clearer view of what is left on their island and also what exists beyond it. A great adventure that is realistically bleak but also unexpectedly hopeful with sparks of beauty.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read my first novel by Peter Rock last month and I really enjoyed MAKESHIFT! I really liked how the novel begins on the mysterious island of Makeshift and we don’t know the backstory of the island or the three sisters CeCe, Heiko and Ari. Ari is also a brother. I liked the focus on sibling bonds and their desire for survival and connection. I liked the ambiguity throughout the novel as we slowly learn more but barely. I liked the short chapters and the touches of poetic prose. This is definitely one for fans of speculative fiction and I liked how this novel left me with so many questions. I’m curious about Rock’s backlist now too as he’s written eleven other books.

Thank you to Soft Skull Press for my gifted review copy!

[Amy Verkruissen · Rating 5 out of 5]

With little information to go on, you find yourself on an island inhabited only by three sisters. You do know that "foreigners" killed all the parents, and why they were all there but as far as what has happened to the world beyond the island you know very little.

CeCe, the eldest is in charge of her two sisters, Ari and Heiko, and there is never a thought of questioning or arguing her decisions. CeCe frequently leaves them on their own to go on a "foray" on which she is sometimes gone for many days. Often coming back with supplies but never saying where she's been. Ari and Heiko know how to survive on their own, catching fish or crabs from the shipwrecks that surround the island.

When CeCe comes back from a long foray she has her sisters clean and dress in good clothes. CeCe is going to take them on a foray to a place very different from their home.

Overall I really enjoyed the story. It definitely leaves you wondering about what happened to the outside world. You get the idea that it is in the future from what Ari sees one day through his binoculars at a far off ship that is passing. But beyond that there is very little explanation. Though for this story, I didn't feel that I missed out by not knowing, but I definitely finished with a few questions.

Overall a unique and engaging story about family, isolation, and what that can mean when choosing how to live your life. I definitely recommend it.

Special thanks to Edelweiss and Soft Skull Press for the Advance Readers Copy.

[The Speculative Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hollowed-out world is brought to life with ethereal prose and evocative imagery. Experiencing the isolated island of Makeshift through Ari’s naive and limited understanding of the wider world heightens the sense of mystery surrounding the setting.

While I was taken with the atmosphere and worldbuilding, the story itself feels somewhat incomplete or unfinished. Major events occur, but there isn’t always a corresponding narrative payoff. Even so, Rock’s singular style kept me enthralled from chapter to chapter.

My thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

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[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. A bit thought provoking without trying to be necessarily. I really liked its sparse wording. It left holes in the plot that seemed like they could be naturally filled in but then would surprise me at a few points and then leave me satisfied with what wasn’t said at others. I don’t know. Just a unique writing style that I haven’t encountered before I don’t think. I also appreciate the author’s nod to Island of the Blue Dolphins in the acknowledgements because that seems fitting.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Rock has written a compelling story about three sisters who have lost everything but each other. In a dystopian world where humanity has destroyed both cities and natural habitats, the sisters cling to one another and a small stretch of seascape. As I read Makeshift, I found myself reflecting on what might remain when civilization falls away and children can no longer depend on adult care. I thought, too, about how nature might continue to feed and redeem us. This is a beautiful and haunting novel that echoes something of today.

[Billie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not even sure of what I read. It kind of gave me Blue Lagoon vibes in the beginning then I really lost the interest of the characters by chapter 6. I’m sure there are going to be readers who will love this story, it just isn’t my cup of tea.

[Dory · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Not what I expected, but as I read on I was pleasantly surprised. I connected with the ideas of creating a family and a supported life.

[Kyra Zerwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was like … fine. would have loved some more insight into the “before” and also the end was so weird? and inconclusive?

[KDub · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahhh, I so wanted to love this more than I did.

Makeshift pulled me in with the cover and description, but unfortunately didn’t deliver. Three young sisters are left behind on a remote island after their entire community is slaughtered, and believe they’re the only ones still left in the world. They wander to the mainland and discover that everything they thought they knew about the world isn’t true.

Something about the writing felt so distant and quiet here that I couldn't connect with the characters. I was expecting more action, more substance, more…anything. Instead, it’s very sparse in description, plot, backstory, and character development. Disappointing.

Thank you to Soft Skull Press for the physical copy.