A Prayer for Travelers

by Ruchika Tomar

Longlisted for the Pen/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction

“[A] scorching desert-noir. . . . Like her nervy protagonists, Tomar is a taker of risks.” —New York Times Book Review

“Breathtaking . . . For Penny and Cale, violence looms at all corners and in Tomar’s compassionate rendering, they are imbued with strength, fortitude and fierceness.” —San Francisco Chronicle

Cale Lambert, a bookish loner of mysterious parentage, lives in a dusty town near the California-Nevada border, a place where coyotes scavenge for backyard dogs and long-haul truckers scavenge for pills and girls. Cale was raised by her grandfather in a loving, if codependent, household, but as soon as she's left high school his health begins an agonizing decline. Set adrift for the first time, Cale starts waitressing at the local diner, where she reconnects with Penélope Reyes, a charismatic former classmate running mysterious side-hustles to fund her dreams. Penny exposes Cale to the reality that exists beyond their small town, and the girls become inseparable—until one terrifying act of violence shatters their world. When Penny vanishes without a trace, Cale must set off on a dangerous quest across the desert to find her friend, and discover herself.

An audacious debut, told in deftly interwoven chapters, A Prayer for Travelers explores the complicated legacy of the American West and the trauma of female experience.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary, Thriller, Audiobook, Literary Fiction

352 pages, ebook

First published July 9, 2019

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A Prayer For Travelers” is Ruchika Tomar’s debut novel. It’s a literary mystery involving a loner teenage girl and her missing fearless friend.

Cale is that awkward girl in school who has no friends. She’s raised by her grandfather, Lamb, after her mother abandoned her. They live in a small town in Nevada near all night casinos and diners. Soon after graduating from high school, Lamb get very ill which upheaves Cale’s life. Lamb never was a hands-on parent, and with his illness Cale falls into emotional chaos.

The novel is suspenseful yet quiet in a literary fashion. Tomar writes the atmosphere as bleak and gloomy. Cale herself is like the scenery. After Lamb is ill, she is rudderless. She began working as a waitress after high school and become friends with one of the fascinating girls in high school who were a year older than she. The girl, Penny, has plans to get out of her situation, and she’ll do rash things to get funding. Penny is Cale’s first and only friend, and Cale becomes involved in some of Penny’s dubious activities. When Penny goes missing after a traumatic event (which is part of the mystery), Cale goes on a quest to find her.

I’ll confess I was a bit confused at the start of the novel, as I didn’t grasp that the chapters were out of sequence. Thus, the story unfolds in a chaotic manner that adds suspense. The sadness of this little town in the middle of nowhere with girls who have no direction or hope is felt in every page. The truth of the incredible strong bonds young girls make in friendship is real and Tomar writes that bond with reality.

I loved this novel from start to finish. I am surprised that it has received minimal press. This is one that will stay with me.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0-3.5 Stars.

Your guess is as good as mine on whether another reader would like this or not. It's a love it or hate it kind of book.

I've seen some people compare this to Sadie and I'd say it's of the same vein. It's main characters are young girls, it's very dark and also unique. That's where the similarities end. In this book, Cale, is on a search to try and find her friend, Penny. Penny has just disappeared and no one seems to care. Meanwhile, Cale's guardian (who also happens to be her grandfather), is dying of cancer and their relationship is growing more and more strained. Super cheerful, right?!!? Well, no one goes into reading this book looking for rainbows and sunshine. There is plenty of sunshine, but it is the hot and oppressive kind. Here is my breakdown:

The Good : 1) The writing. It is atmospheric at its very best. You are there in that hot, disgusting, dry desert. The perfect PSA against ever making me want to live in Nevada (sorry). Way too hot for me. (Similar to how the show, The Killing, made me never want to live in Seattle.) However, that illustrates how perfect of a job the author did of making this place come alive.

2)The time jumping structure - as it illustrates the main characters difficulty with coping to all the horrible things that have just happened at almost the same time. The parts with the "event" were written so well (and at night when I was reading with a flashlight) mirrored perfectly with my setting in how much I was creeped out and shaken by it. There were certain parts that were so strong that it gave me that push I needed to continue and also know I would give a future work by this author a try. I put this in the good category because it was very creative, effective to what people go through when dealing with trauma and the book gods smiled in our favor because at least each chapter is numbered. Some authors choose to time jump without introducing the time period you're in so you're mind is left racing trying to find your place in the timeline. No worries for that here, but plan to flip back and forth a lot (at least I did).

The bad : 1) The time jumping structure - made it hard to remember the order of things and where you were in the story. Not so much while you were reading, but when you picked it back up again. A physical book works best here so you can flip the pages back and forth to remember where the heck you were in the timeline of the story. Electronic format would be too annoying to do this and I probably would have given up or understood even less than I did reading it the first time. Maybe the whole point was to have gaps in understanding because it was very clear there were gaps with the characters?

So as you can see, two things in the good category and only one thing in the bad. A very frustrating review to write and I'm sure, a very frustrating review to read. I eagerly await more people to read this so I can discuss it with someone!! This would make a really great book club book - best to read with friends so you can help each other figure out what happened. I look forward to the author's next effort. I can't wait to see what she does next as I think she is a very promising talent for her writing style alone.

Thanks again to the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library for supplying my copy to loan and enjoy. :)

Review Date: 08/04/19
Publication Date: 07/09/19

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, about the friendship of two very different young women in a desert town so small its known only to those who live there. A quiet girl who cares for her grandfather on the land, sensitive to the small nuances of texture and love, and a brash, explosive girl trying to create a space of color and vivid life in the constricted limits of her existence. It reminded me of the dying town of the Last Picture Show, the same sand and trucks and neglected screen doors slamming in the wind, and the work of Joy Williams, the modern west and two approaches to the problem of being born into a harsh land. The quiet girl's dogged loyalty and love for her vivid friend and her grandfather is the book's engine, but the girl's interior life and the texture of this place is the book's glory. Beautiful and haunting.

[Anne ✨ Finds Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I adored this gritty noir mystery/coming-of-age debut! It has gorgeous writing, a suspenseful edginess, and a Nevada desert town setting that drips with desolation and desperation.

The story is told in a non-linear format, slowly revealing out-of-order moments in the life of 17yr old Cale, who is searching for her friend Penny, who has disappeared. There's a strongly haunted feel, with a powerful build-up of tension and some startling twists and turns along the way. Themes of family, love, friendship, abandonment, trauma, and violence are explored in powerful and unusual ways.

The audio performance by Sophie Amoss was excellent, beautifully capturing the tension, the grit, and the desolation. As soon as I'd finished this one, I wanted to rewind and listen all over again!

[luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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3 ¾ stars

“How do you explain the unique physiology of girlhood friendships, the telepathy formed fast and fierce between hometown strangers?”

In A Prayer for Travelers Ruchika Tomar disrupts the traditional coming-of-age story by rearranging the chronological order of her narrative, so that the novel's opening chapter is actually chapter number 31. The non-chronological chapter order takes some getting used to, and there were times when I struggled to keep track of 'when' we were or the context of a certain scene. But, this structure, which swings readers back and forth in time, propels A Prayer for Travelers, adding a layer of tension to Cale's story.

A Prayer for Travelers transports readers to a small and isolated town in Nevada. After being abandoned by her mother Cale lives with her grandfather Lamb and grows up to become a solitary girl who spends most of her time reading. Rather than making friends, she watches from afar others, in particular, three other girls who are a year or so older than her. At times Cale seems to yearn to be part of their clique, but more often than not seems satisfied in observing them at a distance. It is magnetic and freewheeling Penélope Reyes who Cale is fascinated by the most.

After Lamb, Cale's only point of reference, is diagnosed with cancer Cale feels lost. It is Penny who Cale clings to. The two form a tentative friendship while waitressing at the same diner. Over the course of the summer, the two spend most of their time together, yet Penny remains a cypher of sorts. After one of their escapades ends in act of horrific violence, the bond between the two is tested. The morning after, Penny goes missing and no one but Cale seems interested in knowing what happened to her.

Each chapter takes readers to a different period in Cale's life so that it is only by the end of the novel that we gain a full picture of her childhood, her time with Penny, and the events leading to and after Penny's disappearance. This unorthodox structure lends an air of mystery both to Cale's life and to the people around her. Early on we are given hints of what is to come or what has gone before, but it is only around the halfway mark that readers will be able to really catch up with Cale's story.
In addition to this clever structure, Tomar succeeds in bringing to life Cale's stultifying environment. From the desert that surrounding her dead-end town to the heat that makes people take cover indoors. It is no place for young people, as there are few if any jobs going and one is always under scrutiny. Things are done a certain way and anyone who tries to 'upset' the system incurs the risk of angering the wrong kind of people. As Cale is quick to discover, the police are of little help.
Cale's interactions with others, from the detectives to Penny's old friends and a classmate of theirs, are underlined by a sense of unease. This adds to the story's already atmospheric setting, as we see just how isolating and brutal Cale's town is, especially for girls like her and Penny.
Although the relationship between Cale and Penny is the undoubted core of the novel, their feelings towards each other are not always easy to discern. In many ways, their bond remains elusive just like the girls themselves. Both Cale and Penny are difficult to pin down yet Tomar captivates many of their anxieties and desires.
Their experiences are not easy to read. Cale's secluded childhood with her grandfather leaves her in many ways unprepared for 'life'. Most of the time she doesn't know what she wants from the future and spends her time obsessing over Penny.
Both Cale and Penny go through traumatic experiences, each reacting in a different way. Tomar shows how the victim of a sexual assault will often blame themselves and how blind others can be to someone's despair and trauma.
The 'resolution' to the mystery felt almost anticlimactic. Then, perhaps I was so focused on keeping track of 'when' I was that I may not have been able to fully appreciate those chapters.
Other than the 'ending' and the inclusion of visuals chapters (which just had an image or one/two words) I found this novel be truly engrossing. A teensy part of me wished that Cale's feelings towards Penny had been explored in more depth (her fixation on Penny is quite something).

I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as this kind of structure will not be everyone's cup of tea. But, if you are looking for a coming-of-age/suspense story in a similar vein to Winter's Bone and A Crooked Tree, you might want to give A Prayer for Travelers a try. I will be definitely re-reading this as I loved Tomar's piercing writing and seesaw storyline as well as her story's focus on female friendships, trauma, and survival.

[Kelly]

The blurbs on this book are so Literary and don't tell you that this is a mystery, told out of order, about a brown girl named Cale who is raised by her grandfather who becomes entwined with a brown girl named Penny who goes missing. They're close friends -- though we only kind of believe this to be true, as the friendship seems one sided -- so Cale wants to know what happened to Penny and why it is she disappeared.

Set in the west, in the desert, this well-paced, cleverly crafted, and gorgeously written story offers up a slice of American narrative we don't see enough in that setting.

This reminded me a lot of Sadie, for the way the mystery plays out and how it's told non-sequentially.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The entire right side of my face was throbbing, but Penny still looked beautiful; her exquisite features unmarred. She bore no physical changes from the events of the evening, no by-product of terror beyond the characteristic flush of her cheeks. Yet it was her beauty that had been the catalyst for all disaster. It worked on men like a disease.”

I love books that push the envelope and challenge me, whether it’s through the content covered or the style in which the story is written. A Prayer for Travelers did both and even though I finished my buddy read with Lupita over a month ago, we were still DM’ing about this story as of yesterday. To me, THAT is the sign of a good book. So what exactly is it about this jarring debut that has made it so memorable?

For starters, the writing is STUNNING. Ruchika has a way with words that left me breathless at times - from the beauty of her descriptions as well as from the sheer brutality that occurs within her writing. It reads like a fevered dream, at some points, more of a nightmare - with frightening, panicked scenes interspersed throughout. The story is centered around Cale and Penny, two teenage girls who dare to want something more for their lives and who both desperately want to escape their current circumstances. The non-linear writing format allows the reader to be completely immersed in the chaos and confusion that Cale experiences when Penny goes missing and Cale begins her frantic search for her friend. You begin the story in Chapter 31 and then move to Chapter 3, which I will admit, took some getting used to for me in the beginning. I later learned from the author that her intent behind the chapter lay out was to mimic the way we process and cope with trauma. Often, events are recalled out of order and large periods of time are unaccounted for, so the writing style is incredibly effective in disorienting the reader and making you question absolutely everything that is happening.

Cale is very much alone in the world - she has lost her mother to drugs and is being raised by her grandfather, who loves her deeply but has recently become very distant as he struggles with his cancer diagnosis. She is a loner at school and in the town - an outsider looking in - who, more than anything, wants to be noticed by the local “it” girl, Penny. When Cale takes a job at the same restaurant where Penny works, a fast and obsessive friendship develops. Penny as a character is elusive - Tomar allows brief glimpses in to her life, but for the most part, the development of Penny’s story is much like a mirage in the desert. I had a bad feeling the more that I read and warning bells were going off all around me. Many times I found myself yelling at the book, CALE WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? GET OUT OF THERE!! But if Penny said “jump”, Cale said “how high?” Her blind trust in her new found “friend” was very difficult for me to read at times and it leads to a horrific incident in the desert one night where both of the girls lives are altered forever.

This book will not be for everyone….. yes, it is a story about the resilience of women and their fierce refusal to be broken by their circumstances but it is a very tough read. A Prayer for Travelers really examines trauma and how it shapes the female experience… it’s about how women process assault experiences, lean on one another and attempt to cope.… how women get up every day and put one foot in front of the other, even when the unspeakable has happened to them. And for Cale, it was also about the longing for female connection, for a sense of belonging, for wanting more than what she had and daring to think that she could go out and grab it. Did she ultimately achieve that or was she just another one of Penny’s hustles? You will have to read the book and find out.

Many thanks to Riverhead Books for providing an advanced copy for me in exchange for my honest review.

[Paltia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An imaginative tale of the symmetrical and complimentary relationship between two female friends. There are those places deep inside where past pain and trauma lodge themselves. They may, in part, result in loneliness and alienation and/or in wearing a disguise and appearing to be having the time of one’s life. Two young women, superficially so different and yet so alike find one another. They gradually discover that some troubles and distress can be alleviated in learning to share the pleasures of friendship. Together they head off to develop a connection that just might see them through the best and worst of times. When evil comes calling a challenge to their relationship is created that will not be easily overcome. Tomar examines female friendship up close. She invites the reader to consider the roles of loyalty, sacrifice, trust and the lengths one will go to defend and save a relationship.

[☮Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This book surprised me with Chapters numbered 31, then 2, then 5, then 3, etc., which usually really, really irritates me. But actually the numbering helped me to keep straight where in the story we were at all the different timelines. I also liked the grittiness of the desert setting (not as in sand in your mouth grittiness) and the friendship that developed between Cale (odd name) and Penny, two young women not long out of the school where they knew of each other but were never friendly. Cale leads sort of a depressing life and Penny is a wild child, so they mix like oil and water yet are bonded when they get into a spot of trouble together. Then Penny disappears. Getting the police involved might not net the results Cale hoped for.

In the end, I am glad to have listened to this but it probably needs a bit more excitement to spice it up in order to appeal to a larger audience. For me, it was a likeable read, and a fine narration, but nothing to write home about.

[Bonnie Brody · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I found the writing quite compelling and poetic at times, this novel just didn't come together for me. This had nothing to do with the unique way that the chapters were not non-linearly laid out. For instance, the novel opens up with Chapter 31 and the next chapter is 2, and so forth. I was able to follow the story line but I just didn't find it all that interesting. It dragged out for too long with nothing much at all happening that held my interest.

Cale, the novel's protagonist, was left by her mother when she was an infant to be raised by her grandfather, Lamb. Lamb is dying of cancer though it is an unspoken secret. Cale grows up a bookish loner wanting very much to be part of a certain group of girls, the ones she thinks are edgy and cool, those who have knowledge of a life she's never participated in. Living in a small California dessert town, Cale is naive to the workings that go on behind the scenes, at least until she becomes friends with Penny.

Cale works in a diner with Penny, and one day Penny doesn't show up for work. This is so unlike her that Cale goes to Penny's trailer to investigate. There she finds Penny's cell phone and a hint of something dangerous that Penny may be into. She knows that Penny is in trouble and is determined to find her. What is interesting, is that when the novel opens, Cale's face is mysteriously black and blue and she has nothing to say about this, even when she takes Penny's cell phone to the police and they are very curious about Cale's injuries.

The response I had to this book may just be me. I tried very hard to like it and was so excited when it arrived in the mail. Sometimes, a particular book just doesn't speak to you, and that was my case with A Prayer for Travelers.

[Megan P ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5

CW: sexual abuse/assault & violence (both in-text)

I really loved this but it wasn’t an easy read.

Pros: Absolutely excellent writing and atmosphere, with characters you deeply care about. I could visualize every face and place in this book with total clarity. It was a suspenseful story (The Sandman chapters actually had my heart racing) and made me want to keep coming back for more. It was also wholly unique. I saw someone compare it to a favorite, Sadie by Courtney Summers, and that piqued my interest. They definitely share some similarities- unconventional road trip stories with feminist themes- but, again, this book feels very special in its uniqueness.

Cons: There’s some hints here that “A Prayer for Travelers” is a debut novel. I really believe the author will continue to improve over time; she’s obviously got talent and I’d enthusiastically pick up whatever she does next. Perhaps the biggest problem for me was the organization of this book; it was messy. I love a good non-chronological story, but apparently I’m not clever enough to follow more than two distinct/significant alternating timelines. This was often hard to follow. I’d like to go back and reread the chapters in their numbered order eventually.

This will absolutely not be for everyone but I think it’s worth giving it a shot.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t know wtf I just read or why I finished it

[Taryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen this book compared to Sadie, and it IS a lot like Sadie, right up until it isn't--in a very good way. I had no idea what was going to happen from one chapter to the next, and that disorientation made for a bit of a slow start, but once I settled in, it had the opposite effect and I was turning pages faster and faster.

Also, I asked my library to buy this book for their collection, and they did! I'm drunk on the power! :D

[Jamie Canaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Of My Favorite Reads This Year! (TW sexual assault on page/ terminal illness/ past child abuse/ talk of suicide with some details)

I feel like recently I’ve labeled a few books as unique and this one gets tossed in that pile too! The chapters are basically out of order–not in a confusing way at all, but basically the 1-whatever number of chapters were written and then it’s like they were reordered. You may be raising an eyebrow at me saying, “that does sound confusing,” but I promise it isn’t–it’s very easy to know whether you’re pre-missing woman, post-missing woman, or in childhood–and while sometimes things like this being done feels pointless, it didn’t in this case. Now enough about format here’s what happens: In a small Nevada desert town, Cale is dealing with her dying grandfather–who raised her–and trying to find her missing friend Penny. A friend who only she seems concerned to find. No matter how much those who also knew Penny and the police keep assuring Cale that people sometimes just pick up and leave for a different life, she won’t let this go and sets off to find Penny, or at least to find out what happened to her… I really recommend this for fans of Courtney Summers’ Sadie, fans of the tough woman because of circumstances that is also vulnerable, missing person mysteries, and small-town settings. It’s one I’ll be thinking about for a while.

--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter: https://link.bookriot.com/view/56a820...

[Novel Visits · Rating 5 out of 5]

{My Thoughts}
I have so much to say about A Prayer for Travelers that I’m finding it difficult to know where to start. I loved Rochika Tomar’s very original, beautifully written debut. Let’s start with the most unusual way she told her story: mixing up the chapters. That’s right, Tomar told her story out of order. It began with chapter 31, went next to chapter 2 and ended with 76. I felt a little nervous about this. It seemed like it could be a bit of a gimmick, but instead it’s what made the mystery parts work. It kept me on my toes. Truly brilliant!

Next, the desolate Nevada desert setting particularly spoke to me. My mom and two younger siblings moved to the Reno area when I was in college. We had family there and my mom was looking for a new start, so I’ve visited Nevada a lot. I can’t say I like it there and am thankful I was on my own before the move happened, but I can say that Tomar got her setting exactly right. Not just the quiet beauty of the desert, but the feeling there, the isolation, the languid hopelessness of scorching summer days, the desire to flee. Every bit felt completely real.

That can only lead to Tomar’s gorgeous writing, and when I say gorgeous I mean it. A Prayer for Travelers is a tough, gritty, compelling story in its own right, but the writing made me want to simply savor every moment of the book. Under any circumstances I’d have been impressed, but coming from a debut author even more so. I’m already looking forward to Tomar’s next novel.

“I rest my forehead against the steamed tiles of the shower stall, desperate to reach deep enough inside to touch the center of all things, to tear out the new, thorny part of me that has taken me away from Pomoc, but kept me barreling toward some unknown culmination of grief, a shimmering, formless mirage.”

Finally, I suppose I should mention the best part of A Prayer for Travelers: the story itself, centered around Cale, a girl abandoned as a baby and raised by her grandfather, Lamb. The two had a very close relationship, unmooring Cale when Lamb was diagnosed with cancer just as she’s finishing high school.

“Amid his growing inattention, all new freedoms were mine to steal. I could escape this modest home like either of those two mothers, dead and disappeared, but all I wanted to do was stay with Lamb, Lamb, Lamb.”

Though loving, Cale’s childhood was far from normal. She grew up a loner, and it wasn’t until she started waitressing at a diner that she made her first close friend, Penny. Penny, wild, scheming, already living on her own, taught Cale a lot. She taught her about friendship, independence, life and most especially longing. From the first chapter we know that Penny has vanished and Cale is determined to find out what happened. Forward and back, Tomar seamlessly fills in the rest of their stories. Without a doubt A Prayer for Travelers is the best coming-of-age story I’ve read this year and quite possible the best debut. I highly recommend it! Grade: A

Fro more reviews and bookish news: https://novelvisits.com/

[Anya Yurchyshyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Prayer for Travelers is a deeply moving story about how hard it is--often literally--for young women to survive adolescence and the primal and indestructible bonds of friendship. I totally recognized Cale’s relationship with her best friend Penny and was as invested in it as they were. (Also, Cale's relationship with her grandfather Lamb was beautiful and broke my heart). The writing is rich yet controlled; the world was incredibly vivid, and I loved seeing it through Cale's eyes--the starkness and inertia of the desert, the seedy casinos... The book grabbed me so hard
that I actually cancelled plans (with people, not just Netflix) to finish it, and now that I have, I’m going to call all my friends and tell them how much I love them and then start reading the book again.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this one a while ago but am having trouble deciding how I feel about it. Writers today often write a narrative that jumps around in time, and Ruchika Tomar also employs this method. Some authors do this better than others. For the first third of the book I had trouble keeping up and if asked to rate the book at that time I would have given it three stars. The middle third of the book was gripping and at one point (can't remember when exactly) I felt this was a great book and that it deserved 4 stars. By the end of the book I was back to 3 stars. The plot and characters were well done and in general I'm glad I read the book. Somehow I felt that it could still be better.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has everything I love about reading: exquisite prose, a dark and threatening mystery, a landscape that’s as much a part of the story as its human characters, and a unique and creative structure.

While it’s common to find a novel that bounces around different timelines, the scrambling of the chapter order is what makes this unique. I would love to read this again with the chapters in chronological order to compare the experience. Either way, this was one of my favorite reads so far this year.

Disclaimer. There are a couple of disturbing scenes in this book; one involves sexual violence. Because of the descriptive nature of her writing, they felt a bit too real.

[Linda Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

An excellent example of why there aren't more women road stories. And why timelines that bounce need to be tethered somehow somewhere.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

More stars if the story was linear instead of the chapters bouncing around. It made the story more annoying than interesting.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

an exploration of female trauma set in the desert with women of color protagonists & beautiful language yes yes yes

[Leslie Lehr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem. Most literary fiction does not compel me to take the book along to read at the gym or at red lights, but the exquisite narrative in this novel made it a page-turner. Ignore the publisher's need to market this story in the genre of "coming of age" or with the buzzword of "female trauma." This tale sparkles with the multifaceted thoughts of a sheltered teenager lured outside to brave a brutal and unsheltered world by the tease of friendship.

The hardscrabble desert setting prompts the kind of language that makes the main character's internal dialogue edge into poetry - and that is what hooked me from page one. It took several chapters, however, to understand that she, Cale, is the only narrator. The flashback chapters are not told in a consistent chronology and while some do reinforce the present action, many seem to serve mostly to make the story events a mystery - to the reader. I wonder if the author (or one with influence) feared that the story was not strong enough to stand on its own. It is, and I wouldn't mind reading it again, in order, in order to affirm this. I'd also like to see how the title fits far earlier, so it would be easier to remember when I recommend the book to other readers.

Fortunately, the prose, the characterizations, and the events themselves are so strong and compelling that they overrule any structural inquiry. Once I decided to ignoring the chapter numbers, this became a fabulous read. In fact, I am also jealous - the story in my new novel requires several points of view, so I cannot sustain this kind of elegant inner life, or the intimate observation of a lone hero such as Cale.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading Tomar's next one.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When my brain starts to make connections between stories, it usually stays with in one medium. For example, I tend to compare books to books, movies to movies, songs to songs, etc. But every now and then, I’ll run across a story that jumps across media. That’s exactly what happened when I read Ruchika Tomar’s hypnotic novel, A Prayer for Travelers. This mystery, set in the north Nevada desert, reminded me strongly of Memento, The Long Goodbye, and, weirdly, The Big Lebowski (but only the mystery part of that movie, not the bowling stuff). The story of Cale seeking her friend Penny is told out of order so that we’re piecing things together as much as Cale was when she lived it. It’s also packed with twists that make our protagonist—and us—wonder who we can trust and who the real villain is...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.

[James B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book where the author has scrambled the chapters so that we see two women who work at a diner become friends, but also follow the story of how one of the women goes missing and the lengths that the other woman will go to to try and find her. Tomar is such a smart writer with a delicious turn of phrase and sharp dialogue.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very well written. The author’s use of similes and metaphors strikes just the right balance allowing the story and the prose to open and create space for the reader. The timing is impeccable- I never found the story dragging or speeding too fast. The author also was quite adept at moving the reader around in time and never getting lost or losing her audience. Each chapter number indicates sequence and more importantly, the opening of each chapter contains enough landmarks and bread crumbs that the reader can easily track the storyline. That in itself is a tremendous accomplishment.

The downside to this book for me was the continuous violence against women. While I know that people and places like this exist, there were some elements of those that didn’t seem to serve the plot in any meaningful way. It’s almost became a constant thrum in the story as if every time a male character shows up, you can pretty much bet he’ll be bad. Also, for anyone snake phobic, avoid chapters 49 and 50 (roughly pp. 194-198, 203-213). You won’t miss much of the story line but you will miss snake descriptions that you’ll be glad to have avoided. Not sure why this was needed in the book.

Finally, the ending didn’t really tie out for me. It wasn’t a lazy ending - the author didn’t just tidy up and go home. But there were details missing that left me wondering about the situation with Penny that don’t make sense. I’m not one that needs every detail pulled together but this ending left too many gaps for me.

[Joy D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in the American West in a desert town in northern Nevada, this is the story of two teenage friends, Cale and Penny. As the story opens, Penny has disappeared in suspicious circumstances. The rest of the chapters are intentionally out of sequence. In addition to the investigation into Penny’s disappearance, they inform the reader about Cale’s life with her grandfather, his health issues, and how Cale and Penny became friends. It is a mystery with an eerie tone. As seems to be “required” these days, there are a few twists and turns along the way. Themes include family bonds (Cale and her grandfather), friendship (Cale and Penny), abandonment (Cale – by her mother), and trauma.

Where this book fails is in the strange (almost random) sequencing of the chapters. I can understand taking one or two chapters and putting them in strategic places as flashbacks or flashforwards, but to require constant mental gymnastics to figure out if I was ahead or behind the chapter just finished is frustrating and unnecessary. I almost abandoned it but around the half-way point, I decided to read the chapters in the numbered sequence, which required me to skip ahead and back up, and it worked much better.

2.5

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most intriguing books I've ever read, and I know for sure I'll be picking it up again in a few months to try and untangle it in a different way, too. Absolutely brilliant and so, so exquisitely composed.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing itself is beautiful and the potential is there but the story just didn’t click for me. Very hard to follow.

[Catherine (The Gilmore Guide to Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cale doesn’t have a lot of people in her life. In fact, there’s only one since her mother left her in a hospital room when she was an infant. Her grandfather, a quiet old man who has no experience with children, who takes her to casinos while he gambles, but whose face, voice, and familiar smells are all she knows of love. It’s a small life in nowheresville Nevada until she meets Penny. Penny, the prettiest girl in her gang, a group of girls who pay no attention to Cale. It’s only when she starts working at the local diner with Penny that an entirely new world opens up to her. A world of friendship and camaraderie. One that shatters when Penny goes missing. A Prayer for Travelers begins with this mystery and ends with even more questions.

As Cale combs through Penny’s life, trying to find where she might have gone and why, we learn that her life is a tangled one. As complicated as Cale’s is not. She waitresses, lives alone in a trailer, has a little sister, deals drugs and sleeps with men when she needs cash. And yet, with all these connections, no one has any idea what might have happened to her. Just as startling is that none of them seem to care. Cale is Penny’s opposite—quiet, with no friends but her dog, with an inner life and love of books. This mismatched friendship reminded me a bit of Mesha Maron’s Sugar Run, another novel of friendship, repercussions, and coming-of-age.

There’s an aimless quality to A Prayer for Travelers, thanks to Tomar’s desert dry, baked heat writing. Cale wanders through her young life as does Penny, but both are seeking something else, something more. What this might be is not clear, except that for Cale it’s something like college, while for Penny it’s something darker.

It was something else powering her through those moments, some incubating fury she had never shown.

There are events and upheaval in the novel, some of the kind that changes lives, but Tomar maintains a pervasive sense of detachment throughout. In the wrong hands this could push a reader away, but instead, it’s almost magnetic. It’s the characters and the smallness, as well as the enervating Southwestern environment, that lures. A Prayer for Travelers is a novel of journey, not destination. By its end, certain facts are clear, but others are lost to sight like the road in a dust storm.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeously written, this story of the friendship between two young women and the mystery that envelops them is a page-turner. At turns violent and terrifying, then tender and understated, I was mesmerized from the opening to the closing of this fine read.