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A Novel
by Cali Adeline
A funny and big-hearted novel for readers of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Remarkably Bright Creatures, about a lonely young woman who prefers to observe the world rather than participate in it, and the seismic repercussions that follow when she steps out of her own bubble.
Sonny Magee has spent most of her life alone, finding comfort in quiet solitude and scribbling in the private pages of her notebook. She lost her loving but troubled mother in childhood and was raised by an indifferent, sometimes cruel grandmother who left her scarred and naïve about life.
When Sonny mysteriously comes into a large sum of money, she finds herself in Arizona, at the luxury Sanctuary Resort & Spa. Out of her element and her comfort zone, she struggles with the spa's doting staff and the unfamiliar wealth and constant small talk of her fellow guests.
Forced proximity introduces her to a cadre of eccentrics, and something akin to romance blossoms with a resort employee. Yet Sonny still feels most at peace when people watching from the margins, headphones on and scrawling in her notebook. But when a freak accident disturbs Sanctuary's carefully curated tranquility, a shocking twist crumbles Sonny's inner world, and she finds herself unexpectedly—and maybe even pleasantly—surprised by the people around her.
"Surprising and poignant...This complex character portrait leaves readers with plenty to chew on." —Publishers Weekly
"Readers will root for Sonny as she overcomes her isolation and begins to let people in. Compelling...A great read for fans of Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine." —Booklist
"The first thing I thought when I finished People Watching in the Desert is that Cali Adeline is living inside my head. Spending time with Sonny Magee, the delightfully prickly protagonist of this fantastic debut, is like hanging out with your best friend poolside as she cracks jokes about everyone around you. But beneath all the sharp humor⎯and believe me, this book is funny⎯is a wise, deftly-crafted portrait of the importance of connection, and the surprising ways we grow when we learn to open our hearts." —Grant Ginder, author of So Old, So Young
"A luminous, heartwarming debut, rich in sharp observation and emotional depth. Against the vivid backdrop of a luxury desert resort, Cali Adeline crafts a page-turning story and a magnetic cast of unique characters, revealing what can unfold when a lifelong observer finds the courage to let the world in." —Anna Johnston, author of The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
This information about People Watching in the Desert 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.
Cali Adeline lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her family where she loves to spend as much time outdoors as possible. People Watching in the Desert is her first novel.
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