McQuintock, Casey. One Last Stop. St. Martin’s / Griffin, 2021. ISBN 978-1250244499 418 pp. $16.99

*****

I was chuckling within the first few pages, and shed a few tears near the end. In this magical novel, jaded August has moved to NYC in part to escape her missing-persons obsessed mother. Everything about NYC is a little weird–her psychic roommate, her job at a pancake diner, and the cute girl on the Q train.

The writing is almost as lyrical and delicious as Francesca Lia Block’s classic Weetzie Bat, the characters unique and real, and the themes of coming to terms with your past, your sexuality, and the world at large resonates.

Hot sex, heart of gold friends, a campaign to save a restaurant and rescue a relic from the past made this unputdownable. It will find a different audience, maybe, than McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue but the carefully drawn, passionate characters and dialogue will appeal.

I received a digital review copy of #OneLastStop from #NetGalley.