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Peck & Peck
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25 copies available
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The number one bestselling author of global sensation Lessons in Chemistry returns with an irresistible, delightful, and tender story about a young man whose life turns upside down when he is hired by the most prestigious, secretive, and dysfunctional poetry journal in the world: the renowned Peck & Peck of New York City.
Batter Gray is worried about his future. Even when he was eleven, his classmates seemed to have settled on a goal: doctor, lawyer, broker, engineer. Good jobs that automatically command respect, security, 401Ks. Now Batter is in his early twenties, living in New York City, and he wants something different; something that alienates some readers and bores most. Poetry. And yet—to him and exactly thirty-nine editors at a company called Peck & Peck—poetry not only represents the power of humanity but holds the key to its survival.
Batter is named after his mother’s heroic dog. An identical twin who lost his brother at birth, he finds himself confronted by the everyday dualities that make up life: right vs. wrong, truth vs. lies, rejection vs. acceptance. It’s almost as if his dead brother is a reminder: there are always two sides to every story.
No, wait. Make that three.
Batter Gray is worried about his future. Even when he was eleven, his classmates seemed to have settled on a goal: doctor, lawyer, broker, engineer. Good jobs that automatically command respect, security, 401Ks. Now Batter is in his early twenties, living in New York City, and he wants something different; something that alienates some readers and bores most. Poetry. And yet—to him and exactly thirty-nine editors at a company called Peck & Peck—poetry not only represents the power of humanity but holds the key to its survival.
Batter is named after his mother’s heroic dog. An identical twin who lost his brother at birth, he finds himself confronted by the everyday dualities that make up life: right vs. wrong, truth vs. lies, rejection vs. acceptance. It’s almost as if his dead brother is a reminder: there are always two sides to every story.
No, wait. Make that three.
432 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication October 13, 2026
About the author
Bonnie Garmus
6 books15.2k followersBonnie Garmus is a copywriter and creative director who’s worked widely in the fields of technology, medicine, and education. She’s an open-water swimmer, a rower, and mother to two pretty amazing daughters. Born in California and most recently from Seattle, she currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
Want to Read
April 5, 2026A new book by Lessons in Chemistry author, Bonnie Garmus? I'm there!
Want to Read
March 22, 2026literally beyond excited for the next book from bonnie garmus' genius mind — this time about a young man working at the most prestigious publishing house in nyc: peck & peck 🤭📝
Want to Read
March 23, 2026My most anticipated release of the year!! I will read literally anything Bonnie Garmus writes.
I listened to a podcast interview she did about this book, and I'm super intrigued...
I listened to a podcast interview she did about this book, and I'm super intrigued...
June 16, 2026
I loved it! I don’t know if I like it better than Lessons, but it’s just as good for different reasons. I found it humorous yet profound, and everyone should read it.
June 30, 2026
I really was enjoying this until it went completely off the rails and leaving me unsure of what Garmus sought out to do here.
June 6, 2026
I very much looked forward to reading this second novel by Bonnie Garmus. Lessons in Chemistry was an amazing reading surprise. This second novel disappointed me. The first half of the novel is very slow, a bit tedious, but I persisted. Much more activity in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome my initial reaction.
Want to Read
April 2, 2026I have eagerly been awaiting more Garmus novels since Lessons in Chemistry! October, you cannot come soon enough :)
July 12, 2026
Started quite strong but reeeaaalllly dragged for the second half ?? quite disappointing
July 2, 2026
This book is DELICIOUS! Oh my. A little corny but I love corn. 🌽 The WHOLE TIME I was reading it, I wore a huge grin. There are so many great parts, put together into a PERFECT read. Such fun characters you want to befriend them , love them, hate them, BE THEM. Laughter, shock, tears, joy. All of it. DARE I SAY BETTER THAN LESSONS.. ???? You bet I do!!!!
Chapter 81. First line. Perfect quote.
Chapter 81. First line. Perfect quote.
June 5, 2026
This book is a masterpiece. I love Batter.
Read
April 9, 2026i really liked this! wasn’t expecting it to be as funny as LIC but it was a breath of fresh air.
Review of advance copy
There is a particular kind of novel that wants to be read aloud, ideally at a kitchen table with strong coffee and someone willing to laugh in the right places. Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus is precisely that book. Four years after Lessons in Chemistry turned a chemist named Elizabeth Zott into a household saint, Garmus returns with a story about a young man who wants to spend his life on the least practical art form ever invented. She writes about poetry the way she once wrote about cooking: as a stand-in for everything that matters and almost nothing the modern world will pay for.
The Setup: A Boy, a Dog, and a Quarterly That Hates You
Batter Gray is a Yuba City kid raised by Rainey, a type designer who treats Helvetica as a moral statement, and John, a community college historian who carries every televised tragedy like a private bruise. Batter is an identical twin minus the twin. He is also named after a dog his mother insists was a heart-stopping hero. By his early twenties he has fled to New York, lied to his parents about a print shop job, and somehow talked his way into Peck & Peck, a famously secretive poetry quarterly run out of a triangle of Manhattan real estate that looks like a greenhouse and behaves like a cult.
What he actually does there, at first, is run three copiers in a converted bomb shelter. Above him, thirty-nine editors and one Editor in Chief argue about commas, eggs, and which young hopeful deserves a spot in the slim leather-bound quarterly that arrives, every issue, wrapped in the image of a single glowing quail egg.
Voice and Style: Garmus Doesn't Sound Like Anyone Else
This is where the novel earns its keep. The voice in Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus is a first-person, slightly older Batter looking back on the year that changed everything, and the result reads less like a novel than a long, funny, anxious confession told over a bar. Garmus writes sentences that ricochet between joke and grief inside a single paragraph. A line about why parents never want a poet for a son sits beside a line about a stillborn brother, and somehow neither feels engineered.
Dialogue as Architecture
Her dialogue is the real flex. Conversations between Batter and his mother are running ten-rounders of digression. Rainey can begin with the failure of school punctuality, detour through Christopher Columbus, the etymology of "discover," the ergonomics of Macy's at Herald Square, and arrive at a chastisement about your posture without losing her thread. It is exhausting in the best way. Garmus has clearly grown more confident in the comic monologue since Lessons in Chemistry. She lets her characters talk longer and trusts the reader to keep up.
What Works Beautifully
Five things this novel does better than almost any literary comedy on the shelves right now:
Rainey Gray is one of the year's great mothers. She is opinionated, secretly wounded, frequently absurd, and never sentimentalized. Her relationship with grief, which the book unpacks slowly, is the emotional engine of the whole thing.
The Peck & Peck offices themselves are practically a character. The Aviary, the marble staircase, the alphabetic topiaries, the pneumatic chute system that hurls cylinders past the basement at the speed of a small bull. Garmus has built a literary New York fever dream and then sketched it with such tactile detail you can almost smell the toner.
The 1980s setting is handled with restraint. No nostalgia karaoke, no laundry list of references. Just the right amount of IBM Selectrics, payphone messages, and AZT-era worry to make the period feel lived in.
The workplace satire is sharp without being mean. Salton Peck, the tyrannical Editor in Chief, is funny in a way that does not let him off the hook morally.
There is a love story that genuinely earns its swoons, and you will not see its full shape until late in the book.
Where the Novel Hits a Few Speed Bumps
In the interest of honesty, Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus is not flawless, and pretending otherwise would do Garmus a disservice. The book occasionally suffers from the same condition as its protagonist: it has trouble committing to one thing at a time. Several issues stand out for a reader who already loves Garmus and wants this to be even better than it is.
The middle section sags. Once Batter is settled into the copy room and the office politics get rolling, the plot enters a long holding pattern in which similar comic beats repeat. A leaner edit by perhaps fifty pages would have sharpened the ending.
Some of the side editors blur together. Peck & Peck employs forty editors by design, but in narrative practice that is too many. A few feel sketched rather than fully drawn.
Rainey's monologues, much as I loved them, occasionally tip from charming digression into authorial soapbox. Garmus has things to say about typography, history, women's medicine, and American hypocrisy, and Rainey is the willing megaphone.
The mystery elements teased in the opening lines, including the question of why Batter ends up Prisoner 83A0956, are dangled early and resolved very late. The payoff is strong, but the wait stretches a beat too long.
None of this sinks the book. It just keeps it from the genuine knockout that Lessons in Chemistry turned out to be.
The Beating Heart: Identity, Duality, and Earning a Name
What lifts Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus above its workplace comedy bones is the quiet conviction that names matter, that they are a kind of inheritance you either live up to or unlive your way out of. Batter spends the book trying to understand what his name actually means. The truth he uncovers, when it lands, reframes everything we have read. It is a novel about a young man searching for permission to take poetry seriously, but underneath that it is a novel about the parents who shape us through omission as much as instruction, and about the strange comfort of being one half of a pair that history erased before you arrived.
A Study in Doubles
The motif of doubles runs through every layer of the novel. Twin protagonists. Twin Peck brothers. Twin desks pushed back to back. Twin lions outside the New York Public Library. Right versus wrong. Truth versus lie. Garmus uses the architecture of duality without ever calling attention to it, and that restraint is its own quiet triumph.
Who Should Read This Book
This one will land especially hard for readers who:
Loved Lessons in Chemistry but want something slightly stranger and more melancholy.
Have ever worked at a place that took itself far too seriously.
Care about poetry, typography, or the dignity of small, unprofitable obsessions.
Believe a well-written mother can carry an entire novel.
Final Thoughts
Garmus has written a second novel that does not chase the success of her first. It is smaller in plot, looser in shape, and richer in voice. There are moments in Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus where the prose is so loose and so happy with itself you can almost hear the author laughing in the next room, and there are other moments, especially anywhere Rainey opens her mouth or anywhere a quail egg is mentioned, where the book quietly breaks your heart. It does not entirely cohere. It does not have to. Like the quarterly at its center, this novel is interested in originality, beauty, and substance, and it lands two of those three without breaking a sweat.
The Setup: A Boy, a Dog, and a Quarterly That Hates You
Batter Gray is a Yuba City kid raised by Rainey, a type designer who treats Helvetica as a moral statement, and John, a community college historian who carries every televised tragedy like a private bruise. Batter is an identical twin minus the twin. He is also named after a dog his mother insists was a heart-stopping hero. By his early twenties he has fled to New York, lied to his parents about a print shop job, and somehow talked his way into Peck & Peck, a famously secretive poetry quarterly run out of a triangle of Manhattan real estate that looks like a greenhouse and behaves like a cult.
What he actually does there, at first, is run three copiers in a converted bomb shelter. Above him, thirty-nine editors and one Editor in Chief argue about commas, eggs, and which young hopeful deserves a spot in the slim leather-bound quarterly that arrives, every issue, wrapped in the image of a single glowing quail egg.
Voice and Style: Garmus Doesn't Sound Like Anyone Else
This is where the novel earns its keep. The voice in Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus is a first-person, slightly older Batter looking back on the year that changed everything, and the result reads less like a novel than a long, funny, anxious confession told over a bar. Garmus writes sentences that ricochet between joke and grief inside a single paragraph. A line about why parents never want a poet for a son sits beside a line about a stillborn brother, and somehow neither feels engineered.
Dialogue as Architecture
Her dialogue is the real flex. Conversations between Batter and his mother are running ten-rounders of digression. Rainey can begin with the failure of school punctuality, detour through Christopher Columbus, the etymology of "discover," the ergonomics of Macy's at Herald Square, and arrive at a chastisement about your posture without losing her thread. It is exhausting in the best way. Garmus has clearly grown more confident in the comic monologue since Lessons in Chemistry. She lets her characters talk longer and trusts the reader to keep up.
What Works Beautifully
Five things this novel does better than almost any literary comedy on the shelves right now:
Rainey Gray is one of the year's great mothers. She is opinionated, secretly wounded, frequently absurd, and never sentimentalized. Her relationship with grief, which the book unpacks slowly, is the emotional engine of the whole thing.
The Peck & Peck offices themselves are practically a character. The Aviary, the marble staircase, the alphabetic topiaries, the pneumatic chute system that hurls cylinders past the basement at the speed of a small bull. Garmus has built a literary New York fever dream and then sketched it with such tactile detail you can almost smell the toner.
The 1980s setting is handled with restraint. No nostalgia karaoke, no laundry list of references. Just the right amount of IBM Selectrics, payphone messages, and AZT-era worry to make the period feel lived in.
The workplace satire is sharp without being mean. Salton Peck, the tyrannical Editor in Chief, is funny in a way that does not let him off the hook morally.
There is a love story that genuinely earns its swoons, and you will not see its full shape until late in the book.
Where the Novel Hits a Few Speed Bumps
In the interest of honesty, Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus is not flawless, and pretending otherwise would do Garmus a disservice. The book occasionally suffers from the same condition as its protagonist: it has trouble committing to one thing at a time. Several issues stand out for a reader who already loves Garmus and wants this to be even better than it is.
The middle section sags. Once Batter is settled into the copy room and the office politics get rolling, the plot enters a long holding pattern in which similar comic beats repeat. A leaner edit by perhaps fifty pages would have sharpened the ending.
Some of the side editors blur together. Peck & Peck employs forty editors by design, but in narrative practice that is too many. A few feel sketched rather than fully drawn.
Rainey's monologues, much as I loved them, occasionally tip from charming digression into authorial soapbox. Garmus has things to say about typography, history, women's medicine, and American hypocrisy, and Rainey is the willing megaphone.
The mystery elements teased in the opening lines, including the question of why Batter ends up Prisoner 83A0956, are dangled early and resolved very late. The payoff is strong, but the wait stretches a beat too long.
None of this sinks the book. It just keeps it from the genuine knockout that Lessons in Chemistry turned out to be.
The Beating Heart: Identity, Duality, and Earning a Name
What lifts Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus above its workplace comedy bones is the quiet conviction that names matter, that they are a kind of inheritance you either live up to or unlive your way out of. Batter spends the book trying to understand what his name actually means. The truth he uncovers, when it lands, reframes everything we have read. It is a novel about a young man searching for permission to take poetry seriously, but underneath that it is a novel about the parents who shape us through omission as much as instruction, and about the strange comfort of being one half of a pair that history erased before you arrived.
A Study in Doubles
The motif of doubles runs through every layer of the novel. Twin protagonists. Twin Peck brothers. Twin desks pushed back to back. Twin lions outside the New York Public Library. Right versus wrong. Truth versus lie. Garmus uses the architecture of duality without ever calling attention to it, and that restraint is its own quiet triumph.
Who Should Read This Book
This one will land especially hard for readers who:
Loved Lessons in Chemistry but want something slightly stranger and more melancholy.
Have ever worked at a place that took itself far too seriously.
Care about poetry, typography, or the dignity of small, unprofitable obsessions.
Believe a well-written mother can carry an entire novel.
Final Thoughts
Garmus has written a second novel that does not chase the success of her first. It is smaller in plot, looser in shape, and richer in voice. There are moments in Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus where the prose is so loose and so happy with itself you can almost hear the author laughing in the next room, and there are other moments, especially anywhere Rainey opens her mouth or anywhere a quail egg is mentioned, where the book quietly breaks your heart. It does not entirely cohere. It does not have to. Like the quarterly at its center, this novel is interested in originality, beauty, and substance, and it lands two of those three without breaking a sweat.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Have you ever read a novel that exhausted you? That overstimulated you? That your heart begged to keep reading while your brain desperately asked to stop? One you read eagerly to find out what happens next, wondering how it will all end, while at the same time never wanting it to end?
For me, that novel is Peck & Peck, the sophomore novel of Bonnie Garmus. I was captivated from the first page. The story was so full of life and energy and incredibly witty and self deprecating dialogue, so full of larger than life characters, that at times I felt overwhelmed, like I had too much of a good thing, and had to step back for a few days. Typically when I enjoy a book this much, I want to read it straight through, but Peck & Peck left my nerves exhausted in the best way.
Batter Gray has lived a reasonably blissful life, despite losing his twin brother before they were born. His parents are loving and doting and incredibly intelligent. His mother in particular shares many heroic and amazingly entertaining stories about a scruffy dog named Batter (the namesake of human Batter) which follow Batter through childhood and into adulthood.
Still, Batter is in college with little to no idea of what he'd like to do with his life. He knows he wants to make his parents proud and he knows that his one true love and obsession in life is poetry. Not knowing how he could possibly turn poetry into a sufficient living, he picks up and drops many majors during his college years.
After college Batter continues to work a tapestry of retail and restaurant jobs while his friends confidently move forward in their chosen careers. Fortunately, Batter's luck changes when he stumbles into a position at Peck & Peck, the preeminent poetry publication in the country. What follows is some rule breaking (okay, and maybe some law breaking as well), missteps, crises of character, and one of the most toxic work environments I've ever read about.
At times Peck & Peck felt overly long and redundant, however, while it didn't live up to the author's debut, it was a smart, well written, intricately plotted, and absurdly entertaining novel.
For me, that novel is Peck & Peck, the sophomore novel of Bonnie Garmus. I was captivated from the first page. The story was so full of life and energy and incredibly witty and self deprecating dialogue, so full of larger than life characters, that at times I felt overwhelmed, like I had too much of a good thing, and had to step back for a few days. Typically when I enjoy a book this much, I want to read it straight through, but Peck & Peck left my nerves exhausted in the best way.
Batter Gray has lived a reasonably blissful life, despite losing his twin brother before they were born. His parents are loving and doting and incredibly intelligent. His mother in particular shares many heroic and amazingly entertaining stories about a scruffy dog named Batter (the namesake of human Batter) which follow Batter through childhood and into adulthood.
Still, Batter is in college with little to no idea of what he'd like to do with his life. He knows he wants to make his parents proud and he knows that his one true love and obsession in life is poetry. Not knowing how he could possibly turn poetry into a sufficient living, he picks up and drops many majors during his college years.
After college Batter continues to work a tapestry of retail and restaurant jobs while his friends confidently move forward in their chosen careers. Fortunately, Batter's luck changes when he stumbles into a position at Peck & Peck, the preeminent poetry publication in the country. What follows is some rule breaking (okay, and maybe some law breaking as well), missteps, crises of character, and one of the most toxic work environments I've ever read about.
At times Peck & Peck felt overly long and redundant, however, while it didn't live up to the author's debut, it was a smart, well written, intricately plotted, and absurdly entertaining novel.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Received ARC from NetGalley and publisher Scribner in exchange for an honest review.
This was a mixed read for me. There were definitely things I enjoyed, but it never came close to capturing the magic I felt reading Lessons in Chemistry.
The biggest strength of the book was its characters. Batter was easily my favorite part of the story. He felt genuine, thoughtful, and easy to root for, and I found myself most invested whenever he was on the page. The quirky cast surrounding him also helped give the book a lot of personality.
I also enjoyed the setting and atmosphere. Peck & Peck itself felt unique and memorable, and Bonnie Garmus clearly put a lot of care into creating this strange, colorful world. The problem for me was that the atmosphere often felt more important than the actual story. There were long stretches where it seemed like the book was content to exist in its own quirky environments rather than move the plot forward.
Unfortunately, the pacing was a major issue. The first 60% felt like a slog. I kept waiting for something to happen, and much of that early section was simply slow and, at times, boring. Once things finally started coming together, my interest picked up considerably.
I did appreciate that the story wrapped up its loose ends, but the resolution felt a little too fantastical for me. After spending so much time in a story that felt grounded in its characters, the ending pushed beyond what I was willing to buy into.
Overall, I can see why some readers will love this one, especially if they enjoy eccentric characters and immersive atmospheres. For me, Batter carried the book, but the slow pacing and overly fanciful ending kept it from being a favorite.
This was a mixed read for me. There were definitely things I enjoyed, but it never came close to capturing the magic I felt reading Lessons in Chemistry.
The biggest strength of the book was its characters. Batter was easily my favorite part of the story. He felt genuine, thoughtful, and easy to root for, and I found myself most invested whenever he was on the page. The quirky cast surrounding him also helped give the book a lot of personality.
I also enjoyed the setting and atmosphere. Peck & Peck itself felt unique and memorable, and Bonnie Garmus clearly put a lot of care into creating this strange, colorful world. The problem for me was that the atmosphere often felt more important than the actual story. There were long stretches where it seemed like the book was content to exist in its own quirky environments rather than move the plot forward.
Unfortunately, the pacing was a major issue. The first 60% felt like a slog. I kept waiting for something to happen, and much of that early section was simply slow and, at times, boring. Once things finally started coming together, my interest picked up considerably.
I did appreciate that the story wrapped up its loose ends, but the resolution felt a little too fantastical for me. After spending so much time in a story that felt grounded in its characters, the ending pushed beyond what I was willing to buy into.
Overall, I can see why some readers will love this one, especially if they enjoy eccentric characters and immersive atmospheres. For me, Batter carried the book, but the slow pacing and overly fanciful ending kept it from being a favorite.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Oh, wow wow wow! This was utterly incredible!
I was very lucky to receive a copy of Bonnie Garmus’ new book ‘Peck & Peck’ and to be invited to her event at Bonnier Books and I can’t even begin to say how much I enjoyed this!
‘Peck & Peck’ follows the story of poetry fanatic Batter Gray and his life as he tries to find himself, getting a job at Peck & Peck - Batter’s dream poetry publishers - and the stories of his namesake, Batter the dog.
Because I haven’t read ‘Lessons In Chemistry’, I didn’t really know what I was heading into and boy, was I blown away. Garmus is incredible, she knows her way around words and wittiness like it’s walking. The tone of the book is fantastic with quick satirical dialogue and some deep tender moments.
Batter is such a relatable character (a wonderful man written by a woman!!), a nobody trying to become something and you truly grow with him over the course of the story.
It was so lovely to hear Bonnie talk about her novel; the in depth research she did into poetry, her existing knowledge of typesetting - it truly brought the whole piece in perspective, especially when it came to Batter the dog.
‘Peck & Peck’ is a quiet statement piece, disguising itself with the mysteries of a dramatic family run company but at its heart, it’s the story of art and how art can never die. It tells us of the necessity of art, poetry especially and how it comes to us when we need it most.
This was truly exceptional and I am so lucky to have read this and to have had the opportunity to discuss it with Bonnie herself!
Thank you so much to everyone at Bonnier Books and Manilla Press for my copy of this beautiful book, as well as your hospitality for the event itself! ‘Peck & Peck’ is out in the UK in October!
I was very lucky to receive a copy of Bonnie Garmus’ new book ‘Peck & Peck’ and to be invited to her event at Bonnier Books and I can’t even begin to say how much I enjoyed this!
‘Peck & Peck’ follows the story of poetry fanatic Batter Gray and his life as he tries to find himself, getting a job at Peck & Peck - Batter’s dream poetry publishers - and the stories of his namesake, Batter the dog.
Because I haven’t read ‘Lessons In Chemistry’, I didn’t really know what I was heading into and boy, was I blown away. Garmus is incredible, she knows her way around words and wittiness like it’s walking. The tone of the book is fantastic with quick satirical dialogue and some deep tender moments.
Batter is such a relatable character (a wonderful man written by a woman!!), a nobody trying to become something and you truly grow with him over the course of the story.
It was so lovely to hear Bonnie talk about her novel; the in depth research she did into poetry, her existing knowledge of typesetting - it truly brought the whole piece in perspective, especially when it came to Batter the dog.
‘Peck & Peck’ is a quiet statement piece, disguising itself with the mysteries of a dramatic family run company but at its heart, it’s the story of art and how art can never die. It tells us of the necessity of art, poetry especially and how it comes to us when we need it most.
This was truly exceptional and I am so lucky to have read this and to have had the opportunity to discuss it with Bonnie herself!
Thank you so much to everyone at Bonnier Books and Manilla Press for my copy of this beautiful book, as well as your hospitality for the event itself! ‘Peck & Peck’ is out in the UK in October!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was an interesting and thoughtful story. The characters are wonderful and so lushly written. The setting lends itself to fantasy as it is beyond imagination. Garmus even found a way to make a copy room sound cozy. The story itself is unlike anything I've read and I found it interesting. For me, it took about 2/3 before I thought the story picked up. I was concerned that I wasn't going to keep on reading, as I found the beginning slow, but the characters really kept me going. I'm sure that I won't be the only reader who says that poetry isn't really their jam. A lot of name-dropping of poets and talk about different poet structure was wasted on me and, honestly, I became rather bored rather quickly with the on and on and on of the publishing of Peck & Peck.
There's a pointed section within that gives commentary on the idea of AI (of course, it's not specified that's what it is but us modern day readers got the nod) and a courtroom scene that was highly reminiscent of one of the best scenes in My Cousin Vinny. That particular scene was probably my favorite in the book. I actually found all the details on type set fascinating and enjoyed them more than the details about poetry. I never thought I'd find myself reading a book and Googling the history of different fonts, but here we are.
Nonetheless, it was a lovely story. Bonnie Garmus had once again delivered a heart-warming story with characters you want to hold on to and a dog that sets the bar impossibly high for any canine who may cross your path.
Pass along to all readers.
There's a pointed section within that gives commentary on the idea of AI (of course, it's not specified that's what it is but us modern day readers got the nod) and a courtroom scene that was highly reminiscent of one of the best scenes in My Cousin Vinny. That particular scene was probably my favorite in the book. I actually found all the details on type set fascinating and enjoyed them more than the details about poetry. I never thought I'd find myself reading a book and Googling the history of different fonts, but here we are.
Nonetheless, it was a lovely story. Bonnie Garmus had once again delivered a heart-warming story with characters you want to hold on to and a dog that sets the bar impossibly high for any canine who may cross your path.
Pass along to all readers.
July 7, 2026
It must be incredibly difficult to write a second novel that lives up to readers’ enormous expectations, especially when you’re Bonnie Garmus and your debut was Lessons in Chemistry.
But Peck & Peck pulls it off! It’s a triumph of story telling, with excellent and unforgettable characters, and a celebration of the arts.
A love letter to poetry, this novel is narrated by the excellently named Batter Gray. It’s the 1980s in New York City and Batter is a recent graduate with a skill no one values - an ‘ear’ for poetry. Anxious about his future, Batter unexpectedly lands a dream job at prestigious poetry quarterly Peck & Peck only to become embroiled in a secret war between the famous Peck twin brothers.
For me it didn’t quite have the dazzle and poignancy of Lessons in Chemistry, but this is still a charming and bubbly novel that will lift your mood in seconds. Garmus has again dusted off a subject that, let’s be frank, some might dismiss as niche and unsexy turning it into something stylish, witty and captivating. While the story becomes quite theatrical and the pace rushed, I loved the eccentric cast of characters and their many peculiarities. I also admired the allegorical threads connecting Batter, Peck & Peck, and the egg symbolism.
I predict Batter Gray is going to become as iconic as Elizabeth Zott.
But Peck & Peck pulls it off! It’s a triumph of story telling, with excellent and unforgettable characters, and a celebration of the arts.
A love letter to poetry, this novel is narrated by the excellently named Batter Gray. It’s the 1980s in New York City and Batter is a recent graduate with a skill no one values - an ‘ear’ for poetry. Anxious about his future, Batter unexpectedly lands a dream job at prestigious poetry quarterly Peck & Peck only to become embroiled in a secret war between the famous Peck twin brothers.
For me it didn’t quite have the dazzle and poignancy of Lessons in Chemistry, but this is still a charming and bubbly novel that will lift your mood in seconds. Garmus has again dusted off a subject that, let’s be frank, some might dismiss as niche and unsexy turning it into something stylish, witty and captivating. While the story becomes quite theatrical and the pace rushed, I loved the eccentric cast of characters and their many peculiarities. I also admired the allegorical threads connecting Batter, Peck & Peck, and the egg symbolism.
I predict Batter Gray is going to become as iconic as Elizabeth Zott.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.75 stars rounded up.
Batter Gray was named after his mother's childhood, heroic dog. Batter grows up hearing some unbelievable stories about things Batter the dog did. Batter heads off to college, changes his major multiple times, graduates and heads to New York City to fulfill his dream of being a poet. What happens is that he works three menial jobs and is barely getting by. After stumbling across the building where the poetry quarterly Peck & Peck is housed, Batter applies for a job and is hired. Batter assumes that his dream of writing poetry and working in a creative field is coming to fruition. However, Batter is assigned to the copy room and has a horrible, abusive boss, Salton Peck. Working at Peck & Peck isn't the dream that Batter imagined.
I was very excited to read this ARC as I loved Lessons in Chemistry. Peck & Peck is much different than Lesson in Chemistry. The pacing is very slow and I had a difficult time getting into it. Things started moving about 60% into the book and the second half was much more enjoyable. Batter is kind of a sad sack at times, but I found myself rooting for him. The book had a good ending and it was worth the wait.
Thank you, NetGalley and Scribner, for this ARC.
Batter Gray was named after his mother's childhood, heroic dog. Batter grows up hearing some unbelievable stories about things Batter the dog did. Batter heads off to college, changes his major multiple times, graduates and heads to New York City to fulfill his dream of being a poet. What happens is that he works three menial jobs and is barely getting by. After stumbling across the building where the poetry quarterly Peck & Peck is housed, Batter applies for a job and is hired. Batter assumes that his dream of writing poetry and working in a creative field is coming to fruition. However, Batter is assigned to the copy room and has a horrible, abusive boss, Salton Peck. Working at Peck & Peck isn't the dream that Batter imagined.
I was very excited to read this ARC as I loved Lessons in Chemistry. Peck & Peck is much different than Lesson in Chemistry. The pacing is very slow and I had a difficult time getting into it. Things started moving about 60% into the book and the second half was much more enjoyable. Batter is kind of a sad sack at times, but I found myself rooting for him. The book had a good ending and it was worth the wait.
Thank you, NetGalley and Scribner, for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Peck & Peck is a gem of a story with so many vivid characters.
Both quirky, delightful and propulsive at times, but also full of so much knowledge about poetry, typeface, and writers in general.
Batter Gray is down and out juggling multiple hourly wage jobs when he discovers the esteemed Peck & Peck, a well-known yet flailing quarterly poetry publication. Poetry has been central throughout Batter’s life and with a little determination & luck he stumbles into a job there as the copy boy.
Generations of Pecks have run the company and the current one, Salton, while being harsh and at many times irate with his editors, he sees something in Batter.
Hijinks unfold, past sibling rivalries come to head, secret family connections arise, new found loves bloom and Batter rises to the occasion through it all.
I LOVED this book and I loved spending time in the minds of these characters wondering who was truly good and right. I especially loved immersing myself in the offices of Peck & Peck with the aviary, hanging typeface letters, secret doors and bomb shelter copy room.
Releasing in the fall, this should be at the top of your TBR.
Both quirky, delightful and propulsive at times, but also full of so much knowledge about poetry, typeface, and writers in general.
Batter Gray is down and out juggling multiple hourly wage jobs when he discovers the esteemed Peck & Peck, a well-known yet flailing quarterly poetry publication. Poetry has been central throughout Batter’s life and with a little determination & luck he stumbles into a job there as the copy boy.
Generations of Pecks have run the company and the current one, Salton, while being harsh and at many times irate with his editors, he sees something in Batter.
Hijinks unfold, past sibling rivalries come to head, secret family connections arise, new found loves bloom and Batter rises to the occasion through it all.
I LOVED this book and I loved spending time in the minds of these characters wondering who was truly good and right. I especially loved immersing myself in the offices of Peck & Peck with the aviary, hanging typeface letters, secret doors and bomb shelter copy room.
Releasing in the fall, this should be at the top of your TBR.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I loved Lessons in Chemistry so much that I wanted to love Peck & Peck as well, but this slow-moving novel about poetry simply didn't work for me on any level. The plot was preposterous, but not in an entertaining way. The characters were unbelievable and, for the most part, irritating. The frequent discussions of fonts were clearly intended to be charming and enlightening but just came across as annoying. The tacked-on love story served zero purpose and wasn't believable in any way. And don't even get me started on the fact that the "bad" character shouted his confession in a big courtroom scene at the climax of the novel. And then there was the later confession by the other "bad" character that just made me roll my eyes.
What made this novel especially disappointing was the fact that it had the kernel of an interesting idea, which got buried under a pile (or, more accurately, an avalanche) of twee nonsense. The editors should have encouraged Bonnie Garmus to write several more drafts of Peck & Peck before publishing it. Let's hope her editors do a better job guiding her next time.
Skip this turkey of a novel, and reread Lessons in Chemistry instead.
What made this novel especially disappointing was the fact that it had the kernel of an interesting idea, which got buried under a pile (or, more accurately, an avalanche) of twee nonsense. The editors should have encouraged Bonnie Garmus to write several more drafts of Peck & Peck before publishing it. Let's hope her editors do a better job guiding her next time.
Skip this turkey of a novel, and reread Lessons in Chemistry instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Bonnie Garmus is back with her sophomore novel & I couldn’t wait to dive into it. The bar was set high with Lessons in Chemistry so this one is going to be a let down for many; however, I really enjoyed it! I’m not even sure how to describe it… it’s wacky and nuanced and like nothing you’ve read before.
Batter Gray knew from a young age that he loved poetry and wanted to write it, listen to it, read it… just be surrounded by it. The Peck & Peck is a quarterly publication that prints only the best of the best poets. When Batter lands what he thinks will be his dream job, he gets a peak behind the curtain. To call this place dysfunctional doesn’t even begin to do it justice. Batter is unprepared for the office politics, family drama, nepotism, and pure manipulation that goes on here on the daily! Throw this in with insight into poetry and a deep dive into fonts and you have the novel Peck & Peck. Go into this book knowing what you’re about to read (& not expecting Lessons in Chemistry) and hopefully you’ll enjoy the genius within it.
Release date: October 13th
Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC!
Batter Gray knew from a young age that he loved poetry and wanted to write it, listen to it, read it… just be surrounded by it. The Peck & Peck is a quarterly publication that prints only the best of the best poets. When Batter lands what he thinks will be his dream job, he gets a peak behind the curtain. To call this place dysfunctional doesn’t even begin to do it justice. Batter is unprepared for the office politics, family drama, nepotism, and pure manipulation that goes on here on the daily! Throw this in with insight into poetry and a deep dive into fonts and you have the novel Peck & Peck. Go into this book knowing what you’re about to read (& not expecting Lessons in Chemistry) and hopefully you’ll enjoy the genius within it.
Release date: October 13th
Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the eARC for review.
Peck and Peck is about Batter Gray's life in poetry. From an early age Batter learns to love poetry. His dream is to become a poet. But his family constantly dissuades him from wanting to make his passion into a career because he'll never be able to make money as a poet. Batter tries a rolodex of different majors, and finally lands on pre-law. He moves to New York City after graduation but doesn't go into law. Instead, he finds a job at the esteemed poetry publication Peck and Peck, which is run by generations of Peck family twins. This is a dream job for Batter, even though he has to start at the bottom as the copy boy. He hopes to be able to become an Editor one day. But everything is not as it seems. Through a cringeworthy comedy of errors, Batter soon finds himself in a heap of trouble that keeps growing and growing.
Peck and Peck is a different sort of book than Garmus's debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry. It was just ok for me. It was written well with a bunch of crazy, quirky characters, but it didn't have the heart that I loved with Lessons in Chemistry. It reminded me of The Goldfinch's (Donna Tart) plot, where the main character keeps landing himself in hot water while doing stupid stuff. I wanted to yell at Batter and knock some common sense into him. After a while all the trouble he kept getting himself into seemed a bit redundant.
Garmus spends a lot of time setting up Batter's backstory and history and that bogged the book down for me a bit.
3 stars
Peck and Peck is about Batter Gray's life in poetry. From an early age Batter learns to love poetry. His dream is to become a poet. But his family constantly dissuades him from wanting to make his passion into a career because he'll never be able to make money as a poet. Batter tries a rolodex of different majors, and finally lands on pre-law. He moves to New York City after graduation but doesn't go into law. Instead, he finds a job at the esteemed poetry publication Peck and Peck, which is run by generations of Peck family twins. This is a dream job for Batter, even though he has to start at the bottom as the copy boy. He hopes to be able to become an Editor one day. But everything is not as it seems. Through a cringeworthy comedy of errors, Batter soon finds himself in a heap of trouble that keeps growing and growing.
Peck and Peck is a different sort of book than Garmus's debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry. It was just ok for me. It was written well with a bunch of crazy, quirky characters, but it didn't have the heart that I loved with Lessons in Chemistry. It reminded me of The Goldfinch's (Donna Tart) plot, where the main character keeps landing himself in hot water while doing stupid stuff. I wanted to yell at Batter and knock some common sense into him. After a while all the trouble he kept getting himself into seemed a bit redundant.
Garmus spends a lot of time setting up Batter's backstory and history and that bogged the book down for me a bit.
3 stars
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I was lucky enough to win an ARC of Peck and Peck by Bonnie Garmus through a Goodreads giveaway, and it turned out to be such an interesting read. Who knew the world of poetry could be more dramatic than the poetry itself? The story dives into complicated family dynamics and personal histories with a mix of tension and warmth.
I really enjoyed the quick backstory of Batter Gray, but I found the middle section slowed down a bit for me. Some of the characters truly shine, especially Rainey Gray, Batter’s mother, who is easily one of my favorite literary personalities I’ve encountered this year. She’s vivid, memorable, and adds so much heart to the story.
Overall, the book offers plenty of family drama, a few genuinely warm moments, and a couple of fun twists that keep things engaging. While it didn’t completely grab me all the way through, it’s still a worthwhile and memorable read—especially for those who enjoy character-driven stories with emotional depth.
I really enjoyed the quick backstory of Batter Gray, but I found the middle section slowed down a bit for me. Some of the characters truly shine, especially Rainey Gray, Batter’s mother, who is easily one of my favorite literary personalities I’ve encountered this year. She’s vivid, memorable, and adds so much heart to the story.
Overall, the book offers plenty of family drama, a few genuinely warm moments, and a couple of fun twists that keep things engaging. While it didn’t completely grab me all the way through, it’s still a worthwhile and memorable read—especially for those who enjoy character-driven stories with emotional depth.
July 8, 2026
I think this book is best for readers who like a little bit of fantasy with their fiction. Very descriptive flourishy type of writing, with well developed characters. The characters were all a bit quirky, in an almost Harry Potter-esque way (but without the magic), although there is a dog that has some pretty fantastical adventures -- the lead character is named after him. While the main setting is a poetry journal publication house, the book itself doesn't overly focus on poetry or reference too much poetry, which was a relief, as I'm not really a poetry person (but maybe poetry lovers would expect more poetry from it?)
To be honest, if this wasn't an ARC, I'm not sure I would have finished it. I did really like the ending, but I found myself having to make myself get back into it every time, and it felt like it took a bit too much time to get to the actual ending. It's too bad, as I really loved Lessons in Chemistry.
To be honest, if this wasn't an ARC, I'm not sure I would have finished it. I did really like the ending, but I found myself having to make myself get back into it every time, and it felt like it took a bit too much time to get to the actual ending. It's too bad, as I really loved Lessons in Chemistry.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
If you are expecting anything like her first novel, please don’t. This is completely different from her debut and I must say a very refreshing take on poetry arts.
We met Batter Gray whose name honours his mother’s heroic dog. However he didn’t like it because everyone assumed it was just a nickname.
When he was young, Batter always dreamed of being a poet, even though his teachers and parents kept pushing him to consider other options, ones that would allow him to make a living.
Working as a copier at Peck & Peck, he uncovered a wealth of drama and secrets among his colleagues.
The homage to poetry and the beauty of typeface were truly lovely. I laughed throughout this witty and original novel.
This was a refreshing departure from Lessons in Chemistry showcasing the author’s versatility in tackling diverse subjects and styles. I thoroughly enjoyed the nerdy focus on typeface and publishing angle of this book. This was such a fun novel and a must read for every Bonnie Garmus Fans!
We met Batter Gray whose name honours his mother’s heroic dog. However he didn’t like it because everyone assumed it was just a nickname.
When he was young, Batter always dreamed of being a poet, even though his teachers and parents kept pushing him to consider other options, ones that would allow him to make a living.
Working as a copier at Peck & Peck, he uncovered a wealth of drama and secrets among his colleagues.
The homage to poetry and the beauty of typeface were truly lovely. I laughed throughout this witty and original novel.
This was a refreshing departure from Lessons in Chemistry showcasing the author’s versatility in tackling diverse subjects and styles. I thoroughly enjoyed the nerdy focus on typeface and publishing angle of this book. This was such a fun novel and a must read for every Bonnie Garmus Fans!
July 4, 2026
I was very excited to read this book and now that I'm finished, am finding it very hard to review and rate. Garmus has done a masterful job of creating a unique little world within the magazine publisher Peck & Peck, however, you have to be willing to suspend all sense of reality because much of the plot, characters, and narrative are truly fanciful. While I initially enjoyed the quirky voice and characters, over time, that became not enough, and I found myself ready for the book to end. Am I glad I read it? Yes. Would I re-read it again in the future? No. 3.5 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
July 10, 2026
Let me preface this by saying I didn’t read Ms. Garmus’ first book, so I really had no expectations going in to this one. This book was equal parts absurd, funny, heartwarming, emotional, and well written, with some emphasis on the absurd, I mean, what’s with that dog anyway? Lol. A great cast of very idiosyncratic characters and absurd (there’s that word again) situations. Despite what my review might have you think, I did really enjoy this book and raced through the last quarter to see where it all finally ended up. Definitely enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and loved all the little trivia factoids sprinkled within.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
2.5 stars- I had been so excited to read this in light of the popularity of "Lessons in Chemistry" and the overall premise of this new sophomore novel. However, I found it to be difficult to follow (so many twins!), bland storyline (what was the point?) , and incredibly slow moving. The occasional humor sprinkled throughout the novel were definite bright spots and the way Garmus concluded the novel was finally interesting and creative.
Thank you to Scribner for the opportunity to read this in advance. I received this from Edelweiss + for an honest review.
Thank you to Scribner for the opportunity to read this in advance. I received this from Edelweiss + for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I loved Lessons in Chemistry and was so excited to read the next book by Bonnie Garmus. I cannot say enough good things about this book. Do not let the poetry aspect deter you from reading it. It doesn’t matter whether you like or even understand poetry. This book makes poetry interesting and approachable. The characters are fascinating, and the story is engaging. The ending was so enjoyable that I fell asleep pondering it and reread it the next day.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This novel is both praising and scathing when it comes to poetry which I absolutely loved. It follows Batter Gray, a dreamer and as a result a somewhat well-intentioned compulsive liar. I found it hard to root for him at the beginning of the book but his charming blunders quickly won me over. The character development is excellent and I loved having my mind changed by Garmus’ writing. The novel had a more meditative pace at the beginning but had me laughing out loud and hooked on the ending. Garmus has solidified herself as an auto-buy author. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
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