-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
Summary | Discuss | Reviews | More Information | Read-Alikes
The acclaimed bestselling author of Sandwich is back with a wonderful novel, full of laughter and heart, about marriage, family, and what happens when life doesn't go as planned.
If you loved Rocky and her family on vacation on Cape Cod, wait until you join them at home two years later. (And if this is your first meeting with this crew, get ready to laugh and cry—and relate.)
Rocky, still anxious, nostalgic, and funny, is living in Western Massachusetts with her husband Nick and their daughter Willa, who's back home after college. Their son, Jamie, has taken a new job in New York, and Mort, Rocky's widowed father, has moved in.
It all couldn't be more ridiculously normal ... until Rocky finds herself obsessed with a local accident that only tangentially affects them—and with a medical condition that, she hopes, won't affect them at all.
With her signature wit and wisdom, Catherine Newman explores the hidden rules of family, the heavy weight of uncertainty, and the gnarly fact that people—no matter how much you love them—are not always exactly who you want them to be.
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (12/18/2025)
...sections that critiqued and contrasted culture in India and the United States. There was a lot to reflect on in the theme of loneliness. I've started Wreck by Catherine Newman. The self-deprecating humor she imparts to her main character lightens the work overall. My current audio read is Maame by Jessica George. I'm not fa...
-Robin_G
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (11/13/2025)
...r by Souvankhan Thammavongsa. It is a short witty story of a nail salon's owner and her relationship with her staff and clients. Yesterday I finished Wreck by Catherine Newman.The novel uses the same family as her previous book Sandwich. The theme is about loss, family complexities and health challenges.
-Lynne_G
"Newman excels at showing how sorrow and joy coexist in everyday life. She masterfully balances a modern exploration of grief with truly laugh-out-loud lines...A heartbreaking, laugh-provoking, and absolutely Ephron-esque look at the beauty and fragility of everyday life." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The plot is pretty threadbare and Newman doesn't go very far with the overarching mortality theme, but she nimbly leavens the heavy material with Rocky's quirky humor...The author's fans won't be disappointed." —Publishers Weekly
"Newman brings her signature wit and fast-paced banter to this heartfelt sequel." —Booklist
"Newman is unafraid to roll up her sleeves and wade into the blessed messiness of family life, presenting Rocky and her clan with both honesty and tenderness in all their complex ordinariness." —BookPage
"Endorsing a new Catherine Newman novel feels a bit like endorsing puppies or chocolate cake. It's a new Catherine Newman novel. Of course you want to read it. Wreck is a delight. What an absolute joy to be reunited with Rocky and her family, the characters we all fell in love with in Sandwich. Newman's prose is laugh-out-loud funny. It's also profound. I underlined so many passages in this treasure of a novel. It brought about that conundrum that the best books always do: I couldn't stop reading, even though I didn't want it to end." —J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of The Cliffs
"Wreck is the kind of book that pulls up a chair, pours the wine, and dives deep—equal parts hilarious, sharp, and achingly sincere. It's like spending hours with the friend who sees your mess and loves you more for it. I didn't just read it—I felt known by it. A luminous, laugh-out-loud triumph by Newman." —Alison Espach, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding People
This information about Wreck was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Ben Newman
Catherine Newman is the author of the memoirs Catastrophic Happiness and Waiting for Birdy, and the bestselling children's book How to be a Person. She is a regular contributor to the New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine, Parents magazine, and many other publications. Her debut novel for adults, We All Want Impossible Things, was chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with her family.
If you liked Wreck, try these:
by Ann Packer
Published 2026
The bestselling, beloved author returns with her first novel in over a decade, an intimate and profoundly moving look at a long marriage and the ways in which a startling request can change a couple's understanding of who they are, together and apart.
by Weike Wang
Published 2025
From the award-winning author of Chemistry, a sharp-witted, insightful novel about a marriage as seen through the lens of two family vacations.
by Erin Somers
Published 2025
A hilariously acerbic sliding doors novel about a chance meeting between two young parents, both happily married (just not to each other) that sparks a will-they-won't-they romance—perfect for fans of Big Swiss and Acts of Service.
The fact of knowing how to read is nothing, the whole point is knowing what to read.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
