Club Calvi: 3 Quick Reads for Weekend Getaways - Fiend, White Hot, The Weekend Crashers

"Fiend" by Alma Katsu

• 📖 Fiend is a ~250-page novel by Alma Katsu, featuring the dysfunctional, old-money Barisha family with Albanian roots.
• 😈 The story adds a demonic twist to the family's legal troubles, focusing on three siblings and their patriarch father.
• ⚠️ The family motto, "don't get daddy angry," highlights the dangerous consequences of upsetting the patriarch.

"The White Hot" by Quiara Alegría Hudes

• ✍️ This debut novel from Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes explores a mother-daughter relationship.
• 💔 It centers on an 18-year-old daughter receiving a letter from the mother who abandoned her 10 years prior.
• 💥 The narrative delves into the reasons for abandonment and the mother's internal rage, termed "white hot," stemming from trauma.
• 🤔 The book questions whether leaving can sometimes be a form of love, with a particularly impactful ending.

"The Weekend Crashers" by Jamie Brenner

• 💖 Jamie Brenner's novel, around 320 pages, focuses on a mother and daughter in New York City who are knitters.
• 🧶 Despite loving each other, the characters are out of sync, and the story follows them to a weekend retreat in Pennsylvania.
• 🏞️ Simultaneously, a bachelor party of survivalists is taking place, leading to a potential romance between the mother and a single dad.
• ✨ The book is described as a quick, enjoyable read that doesn't require an interest in knitting to appreciate.