Manmade Constellations

Lazzara’s notable debut focuses on a road trip undertaken by two 20-somethings from a small Minnesota town at the behest of a dying woman. Blanche Peterson places an ad seeking help with tracking down her estranged son, Jason, and bringing him back to Elysian, Minn., to say goodbye. Lo Gunderson answers, and Blanche offers Lo her car. John Blank, whom Lo meets when she needs a mechanic, accompanies her on the trip and hopes to visit the sister he hasn’t seen in years, while Lo considers visiting the mom she never knew. They become intimate, though Lo has plans to leave Elysian. Meanwhile, Jason leaves the farm he works for in Twin Falls, Idaho, after an argument with his now pregnant partner, and drives around the country, contemplating the alcoholic Blanche and the accident that killed his dad. The reader learns about Jason’s small-town connection to Lo and how his tumultuous family story serves as a foil to Lo’s loving childhood with her father, the town judge. Lazzara is skillful at making readers care for a sanctimonious character like Lo, a self-identified “freegan” who loathes consumption and lives off free items but whose preachiness only leads to interpersonal conflicts. Readers will enjoy this new voice. (Aug.)