Newman captures the quirkiness of the human spirit so well. I loved Sandwich and I think Wreck may have been even better. I think she makes her books so relatable to her readers.

An empty-nester finds herself plagued by odd symptoms that multiple doctors cannot diagnose. Meanwhile, her family rallies around her.

I really enjoyed Sandwich, the previous book about Rocky and her family and joining them again in Wreck was just as enjoyable to read.
The humor is just right and I love how the writing is so of the moment, references to current culture really grounds them in the ‘now’ which will make them fun to read in the future!
My only quibble is the ending which was abrupt to say the least, almost as if the writer had met the pages needed and just stopped. I am looking forward to more installments please!

I didn't like this as much as Sandwich, but I like the characters. Thank you for sharing your book with me.

Rocky my girl you need to calm down!! I still really enjoyed this sequel and found the inner machinations of rocky's mind fascinating.

This still had some laugh-out-loud moments like the first book, but I struggled with the overall premise. It's not clear for the first half of the book what the point of it is, and once something like a point is revealed, the story feels kinda dicey. I think the book is asking important questions about parenting and morality, I don't necessarily feel like the answers it gives are satisfying to a reader. And although I loved Rocky's relationship with her children in Sandwich, it feels a lot more enabling and codependent in this book.

Rocky and her family are back at home a year later, in this follow up to Newman's summer blockbuster Sandwich. Newman continues to bring humor, wit (and just the right amount of snark) to some difficult topics - scary medical diagnosis, suicide. Watching her navigate her kids growing independence, her dad's growing dependence, all while dealing with her own personal struggles is something many women of a certain age will be able to relate to. I absolutely loved We All Want Impossible Things, which struck just the right chord of heavy and humor. The plot of Wreck seems a little underdeveloped, but if you liked Sandwich, you'll be happy to see where life has taken this family next.

Rocky and her family are back in this heartwarming sequel to Sandwich. It’s funny and touching and I read it straight through. So happy to get a chance to spend more time with them as they maneuver their way through life.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC -my opinions are my own.

I loved Sandwich so much and I was really excited to follow Rocky and her quirky, loveable, thoughtful family back to Amherst, Mass. I got the feeling this one was slightly less autobiographical centering around a car/train crash that might implicate Jamie, Rocky's eldest adult son who is working for the normies. Rocky's relationship with her own body continues to be, well, rocky, as she develops an oozing, crusty skin rash that may be cancer or lupus. And her gorgeous, helpful husband continues to desire her passionately. Could we 3-D print out this guy and clone him, please? Willa's oversensitivity and insistence on childish cuddling with her mom kind of got a little tiresome at times. Still, I'll read anything Catherine Newman writes. She's just that good.

I am in awe of Catherine Newman's books about Rocky and her family. I told everyone I know to read Sandwich when it came out and will absolutely be doing that for Wreck. We rejoin Rocky two years after Sandwich, where her life is a bit of a wreck. Health scares, her father is living with her, her daughter is having anxiety issues, and Rocky is obsessed by a local news story of a young man her son's age who was in a literal car wreck, killed by a train. All beautifully woven together, full of meaning, and importance, but also daily challenges. Newman instills just enough humor into this family to make you want to savor these short novels.

Inject this book into my veins. Like Nancy Meyer and Nora Ephron had a baby with a dash of Ann Patchett and Elizabeth Strout. Love love love every word.

If you liked Catherine Newman's novel Sandwich, then you will enjoy this one as well. If you missed it, it doesn't matter a bit, you can jump right in with Wreck. I enjoyed visiting with Rocky and her kooky family once again, this time throughout a fall season in Massachusetts. An accident in their community has Rocky slightly obsessed in that morbidly curious way that seeks to understand & thus hopefully prevent it from ever happening to her family. At the same time, she is worrier and a hypochondriac, neither of which is helpful as she has an unidentifiable rash and has to go through a myriad of tests looking for a diagnosis.

While these are serious topics, I laughed and chuckled my way through this book. I love the normalness of their day to day lives along with the fantastic banter between them all. This is a perfect book for fall!

Wow! So good, a great follow up to Sandwich but one that stands all on its own. Bringing together two storylines that examine health and consequences, this compelling story packs a lot of funny, heartbreaking, and meaningful moments into 209 pages.I had the honor of meeting the author and she is just as approachable and kind as you would expect. Releasing Oct 28, you won‘t want to miss this one!

Wreck is Catherine Newman’s follow up to the wildly popular, Sandwich. If you loved Rocky and her beautiful, complicated family— then you will feel at home again with Wreck.

Rocky, back home rather than at the family beach rental, is still dealing with all of the middle age atrocities like menopause and the death of her mother. One sleepless night, two strange events converge that challenge everything Rocky knows.

Newman is an absolute master at creating characters we love like family. Rocky is riddled with equal parts humor and anxiety. She is the most alive of any 50+ woman we have in literature without being a cliche. I want her to be my mom and my best friend. Read this (and Sandwich) if you loved Lorelei Gilmore or crave slice of life stories that get at how hard and how stunning it is to be a person.

I so wanted to love this book! I loved the prequel to this book and found it so entertaining, relatable and just such a fun and quick read, perfect for summer.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't the same experience for me. I loved it at first but quickly lost interest in what I felt was an underdeveloped plot. The humor in the writing was most definitely still as intact as the first book, but it just didn't have enough going on for me. It's very possible it's timing and or just me, as I'm sure many will enjoy this sequel!

I appreciate the opportunity to read and honestly review an advanced copy of this book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy.

I really enjoyed Sandwich, so I was looking forward to catching up with Rocky and her family again. I’d suggest starting with Sandwich to fully appreciate the unique family dynamics and Rocky’s wonderfully quirky personality. The interactions between the three generations feel especially relatable, and there are plenty of heartwarming moments that capture the comfort of shared family traditions.

There’s also a medical storyline running through the book that might hit close to home for readers with similar experiences—it’s emotionally intense at times. But for those of us who, like Rocky and me, have reached our mid-50s, it’s also a very honest and realistic part of life. I truly hope a third book is coming; I’ve grown genuinely attached to this family.

Glorious. A whole life. Could anxiety be my best friend who chatters at me and holds me close in the storm.? Maybe so.

Catherine Newman returns with another slice-of-life family comedy that will either charm you completely or leave you grinding your teeth at its relentless quirkiness. Rocky is back with her signature anxious wit, now navigating post-college parenting with daughter Willa home and widowed father Mort moved in. The setup feels authentically messy—the kind of multi-generational chaos many readers will recognize.
Newman's strength lies in capturing the minutiae of family life with genuine humor. Her observations about marriage, parenting adult children, and caring for aging parents ring true, and she has a gift for finding comedy in domestic mundanity. The prose flows easily, making this an undeniably breezy read that many will devour in a sitting.
However, the novel's twee sensibility may test some readers' patience. Rocky's neuroses, while realistically portrayed, can feel performatively quirky in that Miranda July-esque way that either delights or irritates. Her obsession with a local accident feels forced rather than organic, serving more as a plot device than genuine character development. The medical condition subplot adds artificial tension to what works better as pure domestic comedy.
The "ridiculously normal" family dynamics are the novel's sweet spot, but Newman sometimes pushes too hard for profundity in moments that would be funnier left alone. The supporting characters feel somewhat thin, existing mainly to bounce off Rocky's neurotic energy.
This is comfort reading for fans of anxious millennial motherhood humor, but those seeking more substance beneath the surface-level observations may find it lacking. A pleasant enough diversion that doesn't quite justify its emotional ambitions.

I absolutely LOVE Catherine Newman, her writing style and her characters. Rocky and her family are characters I have grown attached to and this follow-up was the book I needed. The honesty of dealing with the emotions related to family, friends and self is everything. I appreciate the balance of anxiety and humor because isn’t that what life is (insert laughing emoji).

Newman's follow up to the popular Sandwich, catches up with Rocky and her family, this time at home in the fall. A young man has died after his car is hit by a train, and freelance journalist Rocky becomes obsessed with the case. This only escalates when Rocky finds a personal connection to the case. Meanwhile, she's developed a rash that is all-consuming and won't go away. is it just hives, or something more frightening?

As with Sandwich before it, Wreck is totally relatable, especially for middle- aged women, and compulsively readable. Readers will love revisiting Rocky, her husband, Nicki, and their family as they sort through the challenges of everyday life and the prospect of prolonged illness. The theme is emotional fortitude, how people become and deal with, wrecks. This novel will be catnip to readers when it is released.