BookBrowse Reviews Porcupines by Fran Fabriczki

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A charming dual-timeline story set in Hungary and America, about a young mother and her curious daughter.

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Fran Fabriczki's debut novel, Porcupines, is a dual-timeline story set between 2001 and the 1980s. In the later timeline, in Los Angeles, Sonia is a single mother to her ten-year-old daughter, Mila. Sonia and Mila have a close relationship, as their circle consists primarily of the two of them, but Mila has been harboring curiosity about who her father is, which conflicts with her mother's rule of revealing as little information as possible to everyone, including her daughter. "There are not many rules between Sonia and Mila in their household of two. However, Mila knows there are a few questions it is best not to ask her mother." One of the most important questions for Mila to avoid is that of her paternity. So Mila uses an upcoming school trip to San Francisco to corner her mother into chaperoning and creates a plan to meet the man she believes is her father. This sets in motion a chain of events that forces Sonia to question if the way she has been living is truly best for her and her daughter. Porcupines takes us across the globe, from California to Budapest, spanning two decades as we uncover Sonia's upbringing as the daughter of a Hungarian diplomat, the reality of immigration, tense family relationships, the desire and search for identity, and the pursuit of a better life in America.

"For all their shared DNA and all of their time spent soaking up each other's habits, there is a fundamental difference between mother and daughter: Sonia is alive to the joys of life, perhaps naturally inclined to indulge in them too much, and is forever repressing her exuberance to suit her circumstances; Mila views what little of the world she's seen with scepticism and her own place in it with uncertainty."

One of the novel's central frameworks consists of the ways mother and daughter differ, which can be attributed to their identities: Sonia as an immigrant and Mila as a born American. Sonia is used to hardship and doesn't take her life and opportunities for granted. Much of her current existence is structured around being a caretaker. She must navigate her daughter's school system (avoiding the PTA moms), the unfamiliar rituals of a birthday party, and ongoing silence with her older sister and father. "I take my kicks where I can get them. My whole life is serious; I don't need to pretend like I have problems." Meanwhile, Mila is a serious young girl who struggles to find her place and lacks knowledge about her identity. She resorts to an advice book written by a fellow fifth grader for other girls on how to stand out and make friends in school: "How to Be Cool in the Sixth Grade: Thirty Cool Rules to Rule the School."

Mila's mother has never introduced her to her aunt, who also lives in Los Angeles; has never revealed who her father is; has never disclosed that she has a green-card marriage; and avoids talking about her Hungarian heritage. Cycles repeat as Sonia's handling of information with Mila mirrors her understanding of how others in her family communicate. The decision by Sonia and her parents not to talk about their past and bad memories may be a way to avoid passing on intergenerational trauma and a coping mechanism for surviving their current lives. But the things you avoid end up finding their way back to the center spotlight.

"They also did not talk about the first six years of Mr. Imre's life…They didn't talk about his first memory—of being locked inside a synagogue in the ghetto…They did not talk about Mrs. Imre's mother…Or Mrs. Imre's father, who found his prewar family and fled to the West to rejoin them shortly after. They certainly didn't talk about how it felt to grow up in the lonely aftermath of it all or just how primed they were to be part of something bigger but just how ill-equipped they were for family building."

In the timeline set in 2001, where Mila convinces Sonia to chaperone her fifth-grade orchestra, she is inspired by the movies Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally. The other timeline takes us back into Sonia's experiences as the daughter of a Hungarian diplomat (see Beyond the Book), showing how her life in America began as she traveled from Hungary at eighteen to visit her older sister, Rina, in Los Angeles. And as the story evolves, we see how Mila's plan forces Sonia to confront the two aspects of her life she has been avoiding: speaking about her family, heritage, and origins in America and facing the reality of how her secrecy has affected Mila.

The plot is set up for a bigger reckoning than what actually happens, which leaves the ending a bit unsatisfying. The driving action in the 2001 storyline is Mila's attempt to learn who her father is. We get some answers, and the ending signals a decision, but it doesn't feel as cathartic or have as much payoff as the reader might expect for a story grounded in family. There is a decent amount of reference to the historical significance of Sonia's upbringing, especially given her father's career as a diplomat, but much remains unclear, as the deeper context of Hungary in relation to the Berlin Wall is not explored. More introspection from Sonia would have made the book more impactful. Also, the flips between the dual timelines and jumps in location make the storyline difficult to follow.

Still, the story's premise is charming, and Sonia's humor and voice are enjoyable. Porcupines is ideal for those who enjoy immigrant family stories with strong female characters who are witty and whose flaws are integral to the narrative. It's an adventure that takes readers across the globe during a transformative period while touching on the experiences of Hungarian Jews, the impacts of immigration on families, how to reckon with the decisions of the past, and making amends with one's family.

This review first ran in the May 20, 2026 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.