March 2023 MBR The LGBT Fiction Shelf

The LGBT Fiction Shelf

Catboat Road
Kate Rounds
https://www.katerounds.com
Bywater Books
https://www.bywaterbooks.com
9781612942452, $18.95, PB, 220pp

https://www.amazon.com/Catboat-Road-Kate-Rounds/dp/1612942458

Synopsis: "Catboat Road" by Kate Rounds is the story of Candace "Ace" Ragsdale. No one in her family is moored to social convention. Each of them has learned to surf the wave of the unfamiliar and make the most of chaos. From Ace's womanizing-yet-worshipful brother to her elusive-yet-loving parents, we watch this well-meaning family weave its way into a rich tapestry of townspeople, often to comic effect.

The backdrop to "Catboat Road" is the Massachusetts seaside town of Horton, cut off from the world. On the surface, boats sway on their moorings, while below bubbles a primal brew of salt and sea life -- much like the Ragsdales, a decidedly modern family whose humor and goodwill skim breezily above an ocean of smoldering emotions.

Into this infinite chaos careens a rebel grandmother who shows up to help the family save the town windmill, whose mysterious energy whips up the coastal disturbances of a changing world. As this spectacle of public conflict and private anguish unfolds, Ace must pilot the turbulent waters of love, sex, and traditionally non-traditional small-town values.

Critique: A deftly crafted novel of LGBTQ romance, "Catboat Road" is an extraordinary and original story that fully showcases author Kate Rounds storytelling skills. A fascinating read from first page to last, "Catboat Road" is one of those novels that will linger in the mind and memory long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf. While unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of anyone with an interest in LGBTQ fiction that "Catboat Road" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.49).

Editorial Note: Kate Rounds (https://www.katerounds.com) is a veteran journalist who grew up on the Massachusetts coast and lives without a cat.

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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review