What a devastatingly beautiful novel about how people and relationship shift. I find it hard to review without giving away too much. It broke my heart, left me aching, and a little lonely but there was a thread of hope under all of that. It is a very real novel, with real people. In particular I attached to Chris, he is so careful and precise - everything seems so much for him, but all of the characters seem so alive coming off the page.

As an aside, The novel never outright talks about what polyamory is, but it does frame what's happening in the relationship as being open (ymmv about what those two different terms mean) and does so in a careful and caring way.

(This review will be posted to the CCLaP website [cclapcenter.com] on March 7th, 2017. For any questions concerning it, please contact Jason Pettus at cclapcenter@gmail.com.)

I admit, I thought I was in for trouble when reading the first chapter of short-story veteran Zoey Leigh Peterson's debut novel, <i>Next Year, For Sure</i>, as we get introduced to a cutesy-wootsy-patoosie perfect little twentysomething hipster couple, and witness the cutesy-wootsy-patoosie perfect little twentysomething hipster things that constitute their relationship; but then in the very next chapter we get a complicated blow-by-blow look at the boyfriend's checkered dating history, why all his relationships have ended with the women in his life despising him, and why this genial, shy young man with intimacy issues can't understand why all his ex-girlfriends end up despising him, and I suddenly realized, "Oh, okay, there's actually something really special going on here in this book, I get it now."

That special something turns out to be an extra probing, extra complex character study of two noble yet deeply flawed human beings, as they accidentally stumble ass-backwards into the perpetual minefield known as polyamory and open relationships, an Olympic-pool-deep dive into what motivates these two engaging yet terrible yet engaging yet terrible people into getting in the kind of emotionally tangled mess they end up finding themselves in by the halfway point of this book. Set in an unnamed hippie-friendly town but one that clearly feels like a Pacific Northwest destination like Portland, the clear standout in this relationship is actually the woman Kathryn, a former childhood member of a religious cult who is now a fairly normal grown-up but prone to occasional bizarre, self-destructive behavior; she's been in a seemingly perfect if not boring-as-hell relationship for nine years now with the meek, genteel, sexually confused Chris, one based on such a bedrock of honesty that one of their favorite activities is admitting to each other when they get a crush on someone else. But when one of these crushes on the part of Chris turns into a more ongoing fascination he's finding hard to let go of, Kathryn for some reason encourages him to actually ask her out on a date and then go out on that date; and essentially the rest of the book is a powerful and poetic look at why she would do such a thing and what the fallout of that date is, a story that sometimes goes in expected directions but often in unexpected ones, and certainly with the main point being to get a deep inside-out look at the people involved and what makes them tick, and not necessarily for the slow-moving plot or to make a moral pronouncement either pro or con about the subject of polyamory itself (sorry, poly fans who were hoping this book would be a manifesto for your lifestyle).

As a guy who loves dense character studies but who rarely comes across books of that type that are truly impressive, this book was addictive like crack for me, which is why I'm giving it a nearly perfect score for readers like me who are into this kind of delicately stylish writing; but I'm also the first to admit that this isn't nearly going to be everyone's cup of tea (in fact, I suspect this book will garner as much intense hatred as it does intense love), which is why I'm giving it an only okay score for general audience members. (Also, by making the main villain of this book Kathryn's former best friend, a bland suburban middle-class housewife who loves Matthew McConaughey movies and who reacts to the entire situation with, "That's gross and you're gross and this whole thing is gross," Peterson is by definition alienating the biggest single demographic of people who will be picking up this book in the first place [publisher Scribner is unwisely marketing this as a book for fans of rom-coms]; and I'm willing to bet money that six months from now, this book's Goodreads page is going to be filled with horrified rants from suburban middle-class housewives about how terrible and immoral all these people are, and how best friend Sharon was completely right and Kathryn was a fool not to listen to her.) Don't let this, though, stop you from taking a chance on this beautifully written, sometimes transgressively thought-provoking book, a nearly perfect debut that makes me excited to see what Peterson has in store for us next.

Out of 10: <b>8.9</b>, or <b>9.9</b> for fans of deep character studies

Next Year, for Sure is the debut novel by Zoey Leigh Peterson. It follows longtime couple Kathryn and Chris as they embark on the journey of opening up their relationship. While the crux of the story is entered on Kathryn, Chris, and Chris' girlfriend Emily, the book also delves into Kathryn and Chris' childhoods, families, and inner emotional lives.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, an afternoon at most. The story is interesting enough to keep your interest and some of the characters really pop off the page. I really loved Kathryn and the bond she builds with Emily, as well as the drama that her new relationship status creates for her in her social life.

My major issue with the book is the character of Chris. I had a hard time figuring out why Emily would want to bother with him and why Kathryn was willing to put up with his crap. I was more or less unable to root for him at all and spent much of the book wishing the narrator would stick with Kathryn's perspective and not switch back to Chris.

I also found the portrayal of open relationships a little suspect. Peterson does a good job of showing the ignorance of the general society when it comes to such arrangements through Kathryn's friends and Chris' mother. I just didn't buy any of the drama between the trio themselves. Although some of this was remedied towards the end of the book. On the plus side, Peterson doesn't judge any of the characters and allows the reader to make their own judgments on the situation.

Recommended for open-minded readers looking for something a little fun, a little deep, and very easy to digest.

"Next Year, for Sure" is an intriguing book about Kathryn and Chris, who have been a couple for nine years, They are best friends, and as such, tell each other everything. When Chris develops a crush on the cute girl at the laundromat, Emily, he of course tells Kathryn. When he can't seem to get Emily out of his head, Kathryn tells him to ask Emily out on a date. Thus begins an awkward forage into polyamory- ish.

The book seems more to depict an awkward scenario of a polyamory type situation where times are scheduled and dates are booked between all three parties and Emily and Kathryn try to be friends in a love triangle that evolves over time. I had been excited by the summary description which mentioned that it was "often very funny." I did not laugh once while reading it, but I almost cried a couple times- the overall tone was pretty depressing. Kathryn and Chris have some deep personal issues that they need to work through, and it seems more that this situation has given them a space in which to work through those things. Neither seems to have much direction or knowledge about what they want out of their lives/who they are.

They also have personal/familial relationships that suffer through misunderstandings and misgivings about their new situation. For the vast majority of the book, I am also convinced that neither Chris nor Kathryn is happy with any of it. For most of us, it's a difficult situation to imagine/consider, and we get some of that image through select chapters and conversations. There seems to be a lack of conviction and self-knowledge which persists. I won't say too much more as I don't want to include spoilers.

Overall, I found it to be as depressing as it was intriguing. Despite the unexpected feel of the book, I still read every single page, all the way to the end. I am not sure I would read it again, but I had to know how it would all turn out. And I was satisfied with the ending/it wasn't a cliffhanger. The way it is written is like stream of consciousness, focusing on either Kathryn or Chris. It was a unique style and fit with the confused/troubled/depressed tone. It's tough not to finish this book, but I am not sure I would open it again.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.