Book Review - Evie Walters Takes the Wheel by Kathleen Fox

My Review

Evie Walters finds herself, at 71, a recent widow, adrift, and not sure what to do next.  Her children conspire to get her to move from their family home to assisted living.  Evie receives an orchid that reminds her of her first love, back in 1972.  She impulsively purchases a camper van with the plan to travel back to Montana to visit her first boyfriend Novel.  On the way there are several twists and turns, a lovable stray dog who adopts her, and a charming, eccentric cast of characters from the road.

I wanted to read Evie Walters Takes the Wheel because I am fascinated by van life, to the extent of watching van life videos on Youtube.  

Evie is a very sympathetic character:  caring, intelligent, and looking for more than her straight laced life.  It was wonderful reading about an older female protagonist.  I enjoyed her van adventure, starting as a newbie and then getting more comfortable with life on the road.

Of course I loved her encounter with the little dog who adopted her, Mrs. Brown.  I also enjoyed the colorful characters she met on the road.

The book is told in two storylines - present day and Montana, 1972.  Although there are certainly romantic overtones in this book, both with Evie's first love Novel in the past, and the feeling that Evie is moving toward something in the future, this is more a book about Evie.  It is, in many ways, a coming of age novel about an older character!   Through Evie's travels, she discovers herself.

Evie's daughter Melony is thoroughly unlikable and bent on controlling her mother.  We are told that she is exactly like Evie's late husband Royce.  From the glimpses we have of Evie's life with Royce, I found him very unsympathetic too ... meaning that any life she chose to have in the future would be a great improvement.

I found Evie Walters Takes the Wheel to be a leisurely, interesting read, and I would recommend it to other readers -- especially to anyone who has an interest in van life or more mature female characters coming into their own. 

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book.