A USA Today bestseller, New England Book Award winner, and one of People magazine's Top Books of 2025 — a darkly funny, life-affirming road-trip novel about second chances, found family, and a cat called Pancakes who can predict when someone is going to die.
At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday should be the happiest man in town — but everything in Pondville is another reminder of the child he lost, and the way his marriage fell apart.
So when PJ hears that his high-school sweetheart, Michelle, is unexpectedly back on the market, there's nothing stopping him driving straight to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in Arizona to win her back.
But before he can hit the road, a spanner in the works: a tragic incident has suddenly left PJ the only guardian of his estranged brother's grandchildren. Anyone else might be deterred — but it seems the newly orphaned kids might enjoy the trip out of town. PJ's adult daughter Sophie is roped in to help babysit. And there's one final surprise passenger: Pancakes, a former therapy cat with a knack for predicting death, who recently turned up outside PJ's home…
Buckle in for the road trip of a lifetime.
Praise
“A miraculous novel — an actual and spiritual road trip you won't forget.” — John Irving
“Absurdly over-the-top in plot, yet warms like a heated seat.” — The New York Times
“I loved every page of this wild, weird, big-hearted book.” — Shelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures
“Feel-good, feel-sad, warm, dark and funny… in the grand tradition of Little Miss Sunshine.” — Catherine Newman, author of Sandwich
About the author
Annie Hartnett is the author of Unlikely Animals, winner of the Julia Ward Howe Prize and longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and Rabbit Cake, a finalist for the New England Book Award. She has held fellowships from MacDowell and the Sewanee Writers' Conference.
Perfect for readers of
The Wedding People, Remarkably Bright Creatures, Fredrik Backman — and anyone who thinks Little Miss Sunshine is a perfect film.
