All the Lonely People

Riley (Mandatory Release) creates a standout character in the sad, funny, irreverent Jaime Collins, who posts an online ad for a replacement family with which to share Christmas. Jaime’s Thanksgiving at her brother’s house was a disaster. Her mother had recently died of ovarian cancer; her father has been absent for decades; and her brother Clint’s “kinder moments have become about as rare and real as Yeti sightings.” Their sister Gwen wasn’t even present—she has always been an ice queen—and the holiday finally fails when Clint orders Jaime from his home. Jaime doesn’t feel quite like she and her husband, Erik, comprise a proper family because they have no children, and so she places an online ad seeking lonely people who wish to share Christmas dinner. The responses are mixed, but she chooses a diverse group of four to share the holiday meal at a local restaurant: the widow Evelyn; the transgender Chris; Paul, “nuttier than your Uncle Pete and entertaining as hell”; and grad student Alyssa. Though they range in age and lifestyle, they get along. The pain of Jaime’s losses is profound, but this comic tragedy is saturated with humor, which ranges from slapstick to acerbically witty. Riley’s page-turner is equally touching and laugh-out-loud funny. [em](BookLife) [/em]