Sycamore

by Bryn Chancellor

Overview

"In this masterful performance, Bryn Chancellor explores the loss around which an entire community has calcified with humanity and wisdom. Chancellor digs deep in these pages, unearthing broken hearts, secrets, betrayals, passion and—most impressively—grace. What a joy to find a book that is both propulsive and perfectly composed."—Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of The Nest

An award-winning writer makes her debut with this mesmerizing page-turner in the spirit of Everything I Never Told You and Olive Kitteridge.

Out for a hike one scorching afternoon in Sycamore, Arizona, a newcomer to town stumbles across what appear to be human remains embedded in the wall of a dry desert ravine. As news of the discovery makes its way around town, Sycamore’s longtime residents fear the bones may belong to Jess Winters, the teenage girl who disappeared suddenly some eighteen years earlier, an unsolved mystery that has soaked into the porous rock of the town and haunted it ever since. In the days it takes the authorities to make an identification, the residents rekindle stories, rumors, and recollections both painful and poignant as they revisit Jess’s troubled history. In resurrecting the past, the people of Sycamore will find clarity, unexpected possibility, and a way forward for their lives.

Skillfully interweaving multiple points of view, Bryn Chancellor knowingly maps the bloodlines of a community and the indelible characters at its heart—most notably Jess Winters, a thoughtful, promising adolescent poised on the threshold of adulthood. Evocative and atmospheric, Sycamore is a coming-of-age story, a mystery, and a moving exploration of the elemental forces that drive human nature—desire, loneliness, grief, love, forgiveness, and hope—as witnessed through the inhabitants of one small Arizona town. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062661098
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/09/2017
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Bryn Chancellor’s story collection When Are You Coming Home? (University of Nebraska Press) won a Prairie Schooner Book Prize, and her short fiction has appeared in Gulf Coast, Blackbird, Colorado Review, Crazyhorse, Phoebe, and elsewhere. Other honors include the Poets & Writers Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award in fiction, and literary fellowships from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and the North Carolina Arts Council. She teaches at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/20/2017
In this riveting first novel, 17-year-old Jess Winters, a recent transplant to Sycamore, Ariz., disappears one night in 1991, leaving behind a jagged hole in the community. Eighteen years later, Laura Drennan, a new professor at Sycamore College, goes hiking and accidentally discovers human bones in a dry streambed near the campus. Word quickly spreads, and the entire town wonders if Jess's remains have been discovered. As speculation runs high, we meet the former friends, classmates, neighbors, and teachers who continue to be haunted by Jess's absence. They include her still-grieving mother, Maud Winters; Angie Juarez, a high school friend who had an unrequited crush on Jess; Paul Overton, a classmate who can't forget his behavior at her last Thanksgiving dinner; Dani Newell, the best friend who felt betrayed by her; and Stevie Prentiss, an outcast with a secret. There are also flashbacks, which ultimately reveal what happened to Jess on that fatal night. This is a movingly written, multivoiced novel examining how one tragic circumstance can sow doubt about fundamental things; as one character succinctly asks, "Do we really know anyone?" The author ends her novel with a transporting vision of community, connection, and forgiveness. Agent: Henry Dunow, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (May)

Publishers Weekly

This masterfully written suspense will draw you in immediately.

“The 15 Best Fiction Books of May” Bus Bustle

This hypnotic debut probes the disappearance of 17-year-old Jess . . . . Chancellor shifts nimbly between past and present and from character to character, cutting away the net of riddles that ensnares Sycamore’s residents.

Oprah magazine

Bryn Chancellor explores the complexities of a small-town girlhood with insight and compassion. A page-turner and a heart-breaker, Sycamore marks the arrival of a shining new voice.

Tayari Jones

Haunting and elegiac, Bryn Chancellor’s Sycamore masterfully traces the fault lines of trauma and loss that resurface in the wake of a tragedy’s second coming. Chancellor’s multivocal narrative brims with intelligence and insight, and her subtle writing poignantly illuminates the ways in which we are sometimes bound, for better and for worse, by a collective sorrow.

Claire Vaye Watkins

In Sycamore, Bryn Chancellor writes young women so closely, so intimately—every rich corner of their lives-we see too clearly the dream that has captured them all: they think they have plenty of time. It’s troubling and tender. Underneath and above this town, the mystery of the girl who disappeared swirls everywhere and amplifies these lives, the hope and the love and the harm. This is a wonderful debut novel.

Ron Carlson

★ 04/15/2017
Chancellor's absorbing first novel begins quietly, quickly gains momentum, and ends explosively. Sixteen-year-old Jess Winters and her mother, Maud, arrive in the small desert town of Sycamore, AZ, in early 1991. Jess is lonely, with few school friends. She writes all her thoughts in a journal during her frequent walks into the desert night. Jess and Maud are close, but Jess is also fiercely independent. When she secretly agrees to a rendezvous with her friend Dani's father, Adam, the fallout during a Thanksgiving dinner among a gathering of friends ripples through the entire town. Jess swears that nothing happened, but she needs to get out into the desert and think. One dark rainy night, a few days before Christmas, she vanishes. The scandalous rumor and Jess's sudden disappearance ruin lives, and everyone resorts to finger pointing. Emotions simmer for the next 18 years, until a jogger discovers human remains in a wash near a trail. Shifting deftly between 1991 and 2009, Chancellor spins multiple threads of Jess's story as it affects everyone, especially Maud. VERDICT This gripping debut is a must for readers of literary fiction with an over-the-top final twist. [See Prepub Alert, 11/14/16.]—Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Grand Junction, CO

Library Journal

11/01/2017
When a newcomer discovers human bones in a dry wash in Sycamore, AZ, members of the small college town suspect that they belong to Jess, a 17-year-old who vanished 18 years earlier. Debut novelist Chancellor expertly moves between this present-day discovery and the story of Jess's brief life in Sycamore. As a new arrival at 15, Jess had a hard time making friends. Through flashbacks, readers learn about her, her mother, her close friends, and her lover. Since it's clear up front that Jess vanished, her interactions are all the more meaningful. This moving story of teen problems and adult longing crackles with tension. Believable characters and a twist ending add appeal. VERDICT For fans of mystery and suspense.—Karlan Sick, formerly at New York Public Library

School Library Journal

2017-02-21
The disappearance of a teenage girl casts a pall over a small Arizona town in this debut novel.Jess Winters, tall and lovely and with a penchant for poetry, turns 17 shortly after moving from Phoenix to Sycamore with her mother, Maud. Her parents' marriage dissolved when her father took up with a younger woman—faithless men are a recurring motif here—and Jess is having a hard time adjusting to her changed circumstances. To let off steam, she goes on late-night solo walks around town. Eventually, a bright local girl named Dani Newell befriends her, but when Dani's father, Adam, takes a keen interest in Jess, disaster ensues. The story flips back and forth in time from 1991, when Jess goes missing, to 2009, when a newcomer to town—also fleeing a wayward husband—makes a discovery that may or may not explain what happened to Jess. As the narrative unfolds, we learn the back stories of different townspeople, which also shed light on Jess' fate. Though the author builds a fair amount of whodunit suspense, she clearly means for this to be a serious novel about loss, grieving, and forgiveness. Unfortunately, her writing—effortful and straining too hard for effect—often gets in the way: "Moments fractured into shards of color and smell and sound she strung together like a sad, crooked garland." It also leaves little to the imagination: "Jess Winters was their metaphor: loss, secrets, guilt, failure, embedded in one shining, curly-haired girl." And while Jess is a mostly sympathetic, well-drawn character, Sycamore's other denizens are not as vividly portrayed. Though the author comes up with a deft, plausible resolution to her complicated narrative, it's not enough to save this overwritten effort.

Kirkus Reviews

This hypnotic debut probes the disappearance of 17-year-old Jess . . . . Chancellor shifts nimbly between past and present and from character to character, cutting away the net of riddles that ensnares Sycamore’s residents.” — Oprah magazine, “O’s Top 20 Books to Read This Summer”

“A mystery, a coming-of-age story, and an ensemble drama are woven together in this tale of love, loss, grief…and human remains found deep in the desert.” — Glamour, “New Books by Women You’re Guaranteed to Love This Summer”

“This masterfully written suspense will draw you in immediately.” — Bustle, “The 15 Best Fiction Books of May” Bustle, “The 15 Best Fiction Books of May”

“With a few opening words in each chapter, we’re immersed in their worlds and the hefty burdens of their years-long emotional struggle. . . . Chancellor creates suspense and tension in quiet, insular moments—family members brooding at the dinner table, lustful gazes, the rolled eyes of hormonal teenagers.”  — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Sycamore, Ariz., is a small town with loss and mystery at its heart. A visitor stumbles upon clues that dredge up the old memories and hurts.”   — Philadelphia Inquirer, “Need a Beach Read? 16 Great Choices”  

“The novel glimmers with its author’s keen understanding of lives at all ages and stages. . . . At once haunting and hopeful, Sycamore displays Chancellor’s talent across all of fiction’s realms and showcases her generosity of spirit. . . . Powerful and moving.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch

“[An] emotional and addicting debut. . . . [an] unforgettable page‐turner. Four and a half stars.” — RT Book Reviews

“Riveting. . . . This is a movingly written, multi-voiced novel examining how one tragic circumstance can sow doubt about fundamental things. . . . a transporting vision of community, connection, and forgiveness.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review, Pick of the Week) — Publishers Weekly

“Chancellor’s absorbing first novel begins quietly, quickly gains momentum, and ends explosively. . . . This gripping debut is a must for readers of literary fiction.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“A meaty, suspenseful debut.” — Booklist

“What’s more wonderful than a novel that keeps you up at night and haunts you through the day? That describes Bryn Chancellor’s Sycamore, about the discovery of a body that might belong to a vanished teenaged girl, a community pulling together and apart, and secrets.” — Caroline Leavitt

“Sycamore is an amazing showcase for Bryn Chancellor’s great talent. . . . This is a powerful debut novel, one without flaw, and it will slay you.” — Kevin Wilson, author of Tunneling to the Center of the Earth and The Family Fang

“Haunting and elegiac. . . . Chancellor’s multivocal narrative brims with intelligence and insight, and her subtle writing poignantly illuminates the ways in which we are sometimes bound, for better and for worse, by a collective sorrow.” — Claire Vaye Watkins, author of Gold Fame Citrus

“Bryn Chancellor explores the complexities of a small-town girlhood with insight and compassion. A page-turner and a heart-breaker, Sycamore marks the arrival of a shining new voice.” — Tayari Jones, author of Silver Sparrow

“Bryn Chancellor’s Sycamore instantly reminded me of Tana French’s thrillers: a small, intertwined community, a long-ago crime, the tension and intrigue that won’t stop rippling....Chancellor writes gorgeously, and her story is riveting and real. I love it.” — Joy Castro, author of Hell or High Water and Island of Bones Joy Castro, author of Hell or High Water and Island of Bones

“Bryn Chancellor’s compelling debut novel, Sycamore, weaves a suspenseful web around a small town in the years following a disappearance. With astute emotional and psychological observations, Chancellor successfully shows the power of the unknown as various individuals explore the many what ifs and imaginings of what really happened.” — Jill McCorkle, author of Life After Life

From the Publisher

[An] emotional and addicting debut. . . . [an] unforgettable page‐turner. Four and a half stars.

RT Book Reviews

A meaty, suspenseful debut.

Booklist

Sycamore, Ariz., is a small town with loss and mystery at its heart. A visitor stumbles upon clues that dredge up the old memories and hurts.”  

Philadelphia Inquirer

With a few opening words in each chapter, we’re immersed in their worlds and the hefty burdens of their years-long emotional struggle. . . . Chancellor creates suspense and tension in quiet, insular moments—family members brooding at the dinner table, lustful gazes, the rolled eyes of hormonal teenagers.” 

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A mystery, a coming-of-age story, and an ensemble drama are woven together in this tale of love, loss, grief…and human remains found deep in the desert.

“New Books by Women You’re Guaranteed Glamour

The novel glimmers with its author’s keen understanding of lives at all ages and stages. . . . At once haunting and hopeful, Sycamore displays Chancellor’s talent across all of fiction’s realms and showcases her generosity of spirit. . . . Powerful and moving.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

What’s more wonderful than a novel that keeps you up at night and haunts you through the day? That describes Bryn Chancellor’s Sycamore, about the discovery of a body that might belong to a vanished teenaged girl, a community pulling together and apart, and secrets.

Caroline Leavitt

Bryn Chancellor’s compelling debut novel, Sycamore, weaves a suspenseful web around a small town in the years following a disappearance. With astute emotional and psychological observations, Chancellor successfully shows the power of the unknown as various individuals explore the many what ifs and imaginings of what really happened.

Jill McCorkle

Bryn Chancellor’s Sycamore instantly reminded me of Tana French’s thrillers: a small, intertwined community, a long-ago crime, the tension and intrigue that won’t stop rippling....Chancellor writes gorgeously, and her story is riveting and real. I love it.

Joy Castro

Sycamore is an amazing showcase for Bryn Chancellor’s great talent. . . . This is a powerful debut novel, one without flaw, and it will slay you.

Kevin Wilson

With a few opening words in each chapter, we’re immersed in their worlds and the hefty burdens of their years-long emotional struggle. . . . Chancellor creates suspense and tension in quiet, insular moments—family members brooding at the dinner table, lustful gazes, the rolled eyes of hormonal teenagers.” 

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A meaty, suspenseful debut.

Booklist

Intimate. . . . Half the book tells [Jess’s] story of how she ended up in that town, the other half tells the story of the town as bones are recently discovered. Do they belong to the girl who went missing? Who finds them? It moves very well to piece the mystery together at the end.

Nevada Public Radio

  “I love taking that first journey with a new author, filled with hope that the book I’ve just picked up will be a stand-out. Bryn Chancellor’s Sycamore rises to that level, and then some. It is beautifully structured, compellingly plotted and its multi-character cast captures the yin and yang of human behavior. . . . Chancellor’s story has well-developed characters, a complex plot and all the tension you expect from a mystery.

New Jersey Star-Ledger

Compelling. . . . Chancellor expertly takes us through Jess’ days as she makes her way in the vicious social circles of high school, makes and loses a first friend and then makes a longer-lived connection with a girl named Dani. . . . Chancellor takes readers beyond a standard whodunit and provides a more compelling take on what the experience does to the town.

St. Louis Post- Dispatch

In this masterful performance, Bryn Chancellor explores the loss around which an entire community has calcified with humanity and wisdom. Chancellor digs deep in these pages, unearthing broken hearts, secrets, betrayals, passion and—most impressively—grace. What a joy to find a book that is both propulsive and perfectly composed.

Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

Laura Brennan, newly arrived in the town of Sycamore, Arizona, is out for a run when she discovers what appear to be human bones embedded in an arroyo. Could they be the remains of 17-year-old Jess Winters, herself a new resident when she disappeared 18 years earlier? A talented cast of narrators pulls the listener into this small community as its residents uncover the connections between the past and the present. Slowly, inexorably, they peel back the layers to reveal the characters’ secrets—and how Jess’s disappearance has impacted all their lives. The steadily building tension keeps the listener riveted. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

MAY 2017 - AudioFile