March 11, 2024
Karger’s sweet sophomore novel (after Best Men) follows a gay couple preparing for parenthood. After actor–turned–food writer Biz and commercial director Wyatt choose an egg donor and a surrogate, they embark on a cross-country “babymoon,” designed to be their last hurrah before parenthood. But the drive from New York to California, where their surrogate lives, takes several unexpected detours and begins to expose cracks in their 12-year relationship. At the beginning of the trip, Biz loses his long-running magazine column but doesn’t know how to tell Wyatt. After his brother is in an accident, Wyatt detours with Biz to his mother’s home—where he unearths an unopened stack of letters addressed to him from his absent father. Pressure builds rapidly on both sides of Wyatt and Biz’s relationship—until it might just blow them apart. Karger makes it easy to empathize with his heroes, bringing impressive emotional depth to their relationship. The twisty road trip plus cameos from Biz’s large, boisterous family add plenty of fun. Readers will root for Biz and Wyatt to make it work.
April 15, 2024
Two expectant parents embark on a road trip full of twists and turns in hopes of reconnecting before their baby arrives. In six weeks, Biz Petterelli and Wyatt Wallace will be fathers, though they've been feeling light-years apart. The two Brooklyn men are preparing for a cross-country babymoon that will hit all the best gay resort destinations: Provincetown, Palm Springs, the works. From there, they'll head to Baker, California, in time to join their surrogate, Flora, as she welcomes their little one to the world...just as long as they follow Wyatt's strictly detailed itinerary. Wyatt has always been a planner and is, in a way, overcompensating for his own absentee father by leaving no spreadsheet, mood board, or newborn checklist unturned. For Biz, this vacation is a last hurrah; lately, he's been feeling completely freaked about being a dad. Both Biz and Wyatt skirt around communicating their parenting worries, leaving them not only distant from each other, but constantly on edge. It doesn't help that once they set off on their trip, their resort plans are dashed in one fell swoop. Biz receives an email that he's been laid off, and Wyatt gets a call from his mom urging him to come home. In their 1992 Volkswagen convertible, Wyatt and Biz rearrange their destinations, stopping to meet family, old friends, and an interesting stranger or two, and to let their dog, Matilda, puke on the side of the road when she pleases. As Wyatt and Biz reflect on their pasts, learn family secrets, and reminisce about their relationship milestones, each road-trip roadblock reminds them of what their future holds--and what they'll be missing if they don't fight for it. Karger's second novel is a heartwarming, comedic journey of two partners finding each other again. The author creates meaningful connections not only between Wyatt and Biz, but between the couple and every character they meet, weaving a road trip of a lifetime with hints of nostalgia, hope, and acceptance. A touching adventure full of laughs, tender moments, and a ton of not-so-baby bumps in the road.
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