I love Abbi Waxman's writing. Her depth of character is amazing. I felt as if I knew the Liddles personally. I love the use of Christa's addressing the reader directly as if this was a "breaking the fourth wall" moment.

Christa Barnet, PhD zoologist is also Christabel Liddle, youngest of 3 daughters who’s deceased father, Jasper Liddle had been a TV naturalist who traveled the world filming documentaries and becoming a global superstar (a la David Attenborough) until the plane he was flying crashes in Alaska and he was never heard from again. In the wake of his death, Christa’s mother carried on her late husband’s work,…filming documentaries in the far reaches of the world to shine a light on the plight of wild animals and the ecology and bringing sweet little Christa with her. Young Christa and her Mother appeared on TV with live animals, in documentaries and creating the Liddle Foundation to build animal sanctuaries and ecological protection areas all over the world… as a symbol of Jasper’s enduring celebrity. Twenty-five years later, Christa is happily doing post-doc work with sea snails on a remote island in the Indian Ocean, has exchanged her famous last name for her Mother’s maiden name and doing pretty much everything she can to outrun anything to do with Liddle celebrity. That all comes to an abrupt end when she gets a call from her Mom…Jasper is alive, has wandered out of the Alaskan wilderness and about the appear on Oprah. Wait what?!?!?! Christa must drop everything, take many flights to get back to LA and deal with the wild crush of the crazy media hounding her family. Thus begins the ordeal of dealing with her 2 older sisters, TV trucks blocking the street in front of her childhood home, conspiracy theories surrounding Jasper’s disappearance, a powerful and deeply creepy agent and…the most fun…reconnecting with her preteen crush. Crazy and endearing family dynamics, fame and the easily manipulated public, and learning that it’s okay to veer from what you thought was your life’s direction to find something better.

You'll find Waxman's offbeat characters and humor that always makes me guffaw gracing her newest novel--charming, touching and so worth reading. MC Christa is an introverted marine life researcher, pulled home when her father shows up unexpectedly after a quarter-century. I dare you to put down the compelling tale 'til you reach the end. Highly recommended!

DNF at 25%. I just could not find myself caring about this story or this character so I'm going to set it aside for now. The set up of the story is intriguing but in the first quarter of the book, there just wasn't enough plot or character development that kept me engaged. Christa is a nature scientist working on a remote island when she finds out her father who has long been presumed dead, is actually alive. Her father/family has strong Steve Irwin/Crocodile Hunter vibes. There were some hints of a romance brewing with her long time family friend, but again nothing significant or intriguing enough in the first 25% to make me keep going.

I was gifted an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

At first I thought it was me: too many Britishisms in a book with American main characters. No problem, as that's more a thing I get mad at editors about, not authors. Then I was confused because Christa says she wakes early when she's spent the whole book getting up around noon. But maybe that's jet lag.

But then guys keep telling her how pretty she is. Everyone insists she'd be great for TV but there's literally nothing going on with her that says she is. In fact, she has been good press but bad TV for years.

They also tell her how she's badass but she spends the middle of the book being a doormat, which I guess is supposed to be some sort of reaction to her dad but it's really mostly her mother speaking for her and pushing her in a way that is so not okay.

Then I find out (for sure) that she was [spoiler, I guess?]...after multiple instances where her family makes fun of her startle reflex. A thing she refers to before and after the reveal as "embarrassing."
¯\_🤨_/¯

People accuse her of "running" but she...got a great education (Princeton!) and loves her research and living somewhere relaxed and cool. She even tells herself going to college was running? What?

The Gen Z characters in this book are appallingly clichéd, too.

This isn't even going into the Jasper thing, at all. Wait, one thing semi-Jasper related; how Christa alternates between saying he was famous and he wasn't really that famous. Or again, maybe this is pre-disappearance and post; I could not figure it out.

Finally, there's Nate, who starts speechifying like the worst rom com you've ever seen. I had to skip a lot of his dialog at the end because my eyes glazed over and I thought I'd have sugar issues. He should win an award for Man Most Written By a Woman.

All in all, just really disappointing, honestly frustrating, and difficult to finish.

PS HAIR DYE NEEDS MAINTENANCE

Abi Waxman is a fantastic writer. Her descriptions are the best. This book was a slight challenge for me to get immersed in. It was a great concept but sort of fell flat for me in some areas. Great writing. Great family dynamic story.

DNF.

The blurb and cover grabbed me immediately, but found the writing to be just okay and the actual premise to be all over the place.
Just didn't work for me.

3.75 stars

Abbi Waxman’s books are always great fun, with wonderful dialogue and lots of humor but real life seriousness flowing underneath.
Christa Comes Out of Her Shell is a wild ride that also touches on childhood pain and family dysfunction.

Christa is a scientist and as the story opens she is happily conducting research on a small island out in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Her idyll, really a self-imposed exile, is interrupted by phone calls from her family in California. Christa’s father was a popular TV nature show host who presumably died in a plane crash 25 years earlier when Christa was 2. Only – he didn’t die. He has just reappeared with a fairly outrageous story and her mom and two sisters are in an uproar.

Christa jets home and the pandemonium begins. Her father is doing interviews and TV appearances but hasn’t contacted the family yet. Her mother and sisters are great characters – smart, funny, strong women who are both furious and ecstatic at their father’s appearance.

The family dynamic has changed quite a lot. Christa had a rough time after her father’s “death” and behaved badly for a few years before being shipped off to boarding school where she found her nerdy science niche. Her sisters, the queens of snark, have been in therapy and are considerably less judgmental and more nurturing than they were before.

And to add to the intrigue – Christa reconnects with a childhood friend and they are both smitten. Since she is planning on returning to her isolation, that is a problem. Christa has always dealt with trouble by running away so what is she to do?

An excellent read with wonderful characters. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am a big fan of Abbi Waxman’s style of writing. It’s sharp, it’s funny. Some of her descriptions are just spot on. But I wasn’t a superfan of this book. It veered into silliness too often. And unlike the other two books of hers I’ve read, this one had a much bigger dose of romance than I wanted.
Christa Liddle is the youngest daughter of naturalist Jasper Liddle, who went missing after a plane crash in Alaska 25 years ago. Now, all of a sudden, her father turns up alive. Christa is a bit of a recluse - she’s been hiding out in the Indian Ocean during research on snails. But, now, she’s come home to LA to the whole craziness of reporters and fans. And also, to Nate, neighbor and her teen crush.
“They think they know who you are, so you never get a clean slate- you carry the baggage someone else packed for you.”
This book is pure chick lit/romcom, so not what I would have preferred. I’m not one for moony eyed glances and looking to “canoodle” every chance available. I was happier when Waxman focused on the family relationships, Christa’s love of science (and what she was willing to do to fund her work) and the media.
My thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for an advance copy of this book.

Loved this new novel by Abbi Waxman.

Christa, content with her isolated life researching marine life, must return home when her father reappears after 25 years.

She and her mother and two sisters get the reckoning they deserve after decades of secrets.

Full of quirky people and signature biting Waxman humour.

Just like Abbi Waxman previously wrote, we as readers are in for a journey. She usually loves writing about something relatable yet heartbreaking to read. Or sometimes she just likes to write something just for the vibes. It’s always fun to read either way.
Do you know that I just loved how messy yet chaotic Chatty Isra Comes Out of Her Shell was? It was a journey from the beginning. And I enjoyed every minute of it. It may be chaotic and electric for some, but if you are looking to read something for the vibes, then this book is it.
I don’t know how to say it, but you are going to love the little yet sassy dog in this book. He has attitudes for days and literally has the best personality throughout the book. The dog doesn’t hold out to whoever is interacting with him. It’s pretty funny to read.

Geez this was not good. I don't know what to say. I have either loved or felt okayish about most of Waxman's books and this is just very bizarre. I didn't like any of the characters, the book went on forever, and the whole plot (or whatever we want to call it) was a hot mess after a while. I think I was supposed to be like, love or something will lead the way. Instead I wondered why Christa didn't just peace out of the madness of her family or someone actually get mad about things and act like a human being with real emotions.

"Christa Comes Out of Her Shell" follows Christa Liddle. She's part of the famous Liddle family and has been dealing with the celebrity of her family and her missing father. Until one day her father, Jasper, is no longer missing. Christa returns home and finds her sisters have changed, and the guy she always had a crush on, seems to have a crush on her too.

Eh. Christa. She was interesting at first. But I got bored by her and the family drama. I was hoping for some Nina with Christa, and we got none of that. There's a reveal that didn't really work for me. I thought it wasn't well done. Just kind of thrown at readers to be like yes, this was the issue all along with Christa. I really wanted to see Christa get mad, something. Heck the whole book was her being passive by threatening to leave every five seconds. And also being under the sway of her father. It was just....I don't know. I think if Christa had been a teenager, this would have worked better. But at the age she was, her sisters were, and her mother. It just felt very off.

The flow was pretty bad. The book jumps back and forth between Christa and social media posts. And I think at one point we see emails going back and forth.

The setting of Los Angeles seems like a hot mess. I can't see the world we live in being super totes okay with the reveal we get in this book. I think Hollywood sucks, but even I think this was a bridge too far.

The ending. Eh. It didn't read as believable.

Adorkable is the word that pops to mind here. Christa is a great main character, flawed, not healed from her traumatic past, but smart, funny, and a huge science nerd. It was easy to root for her and watch as she, often antagonistically, grows and attempts to stop being her own enemy. Lots of family drama but with a ton of humor thrown in there, a cute romance, animals, and did I mention the science? A very fun, sweet book.

Science nerd Christa has been hiding out on a distant island cataloguing sea snails (although she would never call it "hiding") and has to reckon with rekindling relationships with her mother and sisters after her long-dead famous father.... comes back from the dead. Off the wall yet grounded, Christa's subtle growth and facing up to grief and heartache is satisfying, as is the roaring crush she has on long-time family friend Nate.

What a delightful character is Christa! And the story gave me ... well ...

Let's say an adventurer and TV personality Bear Grylls-type had a kid, or better yet, a whole happy family. And then disappears.

And imagine those kids want completely different things out of life.

Christa has all she wants. A very private corner of the world, and very quiet snails to research. Far far away from her mom and siblings. And her dad-s shadow.

But maybe her dad's shadow is what she's always been. And maybe she deserves a whole lot more. Like love.

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell is another fantastic book by Abbi Wasman! Christa grew up both in the spotlight and in the shadow of her famous family. Now all she wants to do is hide, alone, on an island surrounded by snails. When unexpected circumstances force her back into the real world she has to dig deep and come out of her shell!!

After a rocky childhood Christa Liddle has hidden away, both figuratively and literally. She studies sea snails on an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Christa’s life is thrown into chaos when her once thought dead dad, was in fact alive and had been hanging out in Alaska all this time. Now she and her family are in the spotlight. When her fathers story starts to develop cracks, Christa fears she will lose herself, her potential relationships, and most importantly, any chance of going back to her quiet life with her snails.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going into this book, but it ended up being a beautiful women’s fiction book. I absolutely loved Christa and the growth that she went through over the course of this book, it was amazing. I wish I could run away to an island and study literally anything for years so I could escape people, and that is exactly what Christa was able to do. When she’s called back and learns that her father, who was supposedly dead, is in fact quite alive and just ran away from his family instead of facing his problems. This whole revelation throws a wrench in Christa’s life as you can imagine, and she has to pivot into something she isn’t entirely comfortable with. I really enjoyed the writing style of this book. The author’s style was quick and witty; it held my interest and made me chuckle. I loved it. I also enjoyed that while romance was present in this book, it wasn’t the focus of this book, rather Christa’s growth was, so that was nice.

I enjoyed reading this and the twists were fun, the writing was enjoyable, and the characters were fun.

Thank you so much to the publisher Berkley Publishing, @BerkleyPub and Berkley Romance @BerkleyRomance , the author @AbbiWaxman and Netgalley @Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Abbi Waxman's newest novel is a charming story about an introverted scientist who is thrust back into the spotlight after a family revelation rocks her world. Christa has spent the past four years on an island studying violet snails while trying to maintain her distance from her past life and family. Her father, a famous nature tv presenter, disappeared in the Alaskan wilderness when Christa was two years old, but has returned from seemingly the dead. As Christa and her family deal with revelation after revelation, they also are trying to mend their relationships and bury the trauma from the past. For readers who love a whip-smart introverted protagonist, they will be cheering for Christa all the way through. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC.

Abbi Waxman has done it again! The first few pages were a bit to get through (though that was likely the sickness plaguing my body more than her writing) but once the groove was set I was hooked! She has family drama (much resolved), friends turned lovers, and a lot of information about various animals. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Abbi Waxman is great at writing quirky, likeable and relatable characters. Christa Comes Out of Her Shell is certainly full of them. What I appreciated most was reading about a family who is in the process of knowing themselves better and coming to terms with past hurts/wrongs. The Liddle family certainly has a lot of baggage to unpack, and when their famous father, presumed dead after missing for 25 years appears back in their life and the spot light, Christa and her family are faced with the decision on how to move forward.