The SnowBirds
- Judith D Collins
- Feb 6
- 7 min read
By: Christina Clancy
Narrators: Graham Halstead, Karissa Vacker
Macmillan Audio
ISBN: 9781250284952
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 02/04/2025
Format: audio, e-book, hardcover
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
The Last Thing He Told Me meets Fleishman Is in Trouble in this page-turning story of a couple who flee winter in the Midwest for Palm Springs, where they find their relationship at a crossroads.
Kim and Grant are at a turning point. A couple for thirty years, their "separate but together" partnership is running up against the realities of late middle age: Grant’s mother has died, the college where he taught philosophy was shuttered, and their twin girls are grown and gone. Escaping the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter for the hot desert sun of Palm Springs seems as good a solution as any to the more intractable problems they face.
When they arrive at Le Desert, a quirky condo community where everyone knows everyone’s business, Kim immediately embraces the opportunity to make new friends and explore a more adventurous side of her personality. Meanwhile, Grant struggles to find his footing in this unfamiliar landscape, leaving Kim to wonder if their relationship can survive the snowbird season. But when Grant goes missing on a hike in the Palm Springs mountains, Kim is forced to consider two terrifying outcomes: either Grant is truly lost, or this time he’s really left her.
Is it ever too late to become the person we wanted to be—and is there still time to change into someone better? The exhilarating, but often confusing transitions of midlife are pitched against the promise and glamour of Palm Springs in this tender, honest story of what it takes to commit to someone for a lifetime. With compassion and humor, Clancy explores the redemptive power of finding ourselves, and of being found.
My Review
"Simply marvelous! Wise, witty, and glamorous with sparkling dialogue."
Christina Clancy's THE SNOWBIRDS—a term used to describe people who migrate from the north to warmer climates in the winter— is a beautifully written tale of a mid-life couple who flee winter in the Midwest for Palm Springs, where they find their relationship at a crossroads. Do they want different things in life?
From the stunning front cover, from beginning to end—a moving, page-turning story of love, humor, mystery, understanding, and self-discovery.
About...
Meet Kim and Grant, a couple who have shared their lives for 30 years with twin girls. Now, in their late middle age, they find themselves at a turning point, often leading separate lives.
Grant's mom has died, and the college where he was teaching philosophy has ended, and empty nesters with twin girls off to college. Kim feels like she always supports Grant and follows him, but what about what she wants?
Kim gets the idea of the two of them escaping the Midwest winter to Palm Springs. Both have exeRerekiewreveiws that are still in their lives. Grant is not as warm to the idea as Kim, but he goes along to please her finally, but not exactly happy about it.
Upon arrival at the quirky, fun condo at Le Desert, a vibrant community where everyone knows everyone's business, Kim is excited to make new friends and embark on new adventures.
On the other hand, Grant is a little out of his element. Can their relationship survive?
Then Grant goes missing after taking a hike. Did he knowingly leave her, or is he really missing and hurt?
My thoughts...
THE SNOWBIRDS is dazzling with an essential takeaway message. It's a story that delves into the raw emotions, mysteries, and complexities of real-life relationships, told with a rare blend of compassion, humor, and honesty. The journey of these two adults to find themselves is a testament to the power of a change in perspective.
It is an intensely satisfying novel with vibrantly, terrifically human, relatable characters and a happy ending.
THE SNOWBIRDS is a charming, witty, thoughtful, and glamorous tale set against the backdrop of Palm Springs and a cast of fun and engaging supporting characters. I have a soft spot for stories about older couples navigating life's challenges, and this book does not disappoint. The author's exploration of long-term love and family is insightful and humorous, offering a fresh take on modern love and unexpected choices.
Live your life fully because life is short, and we never know what tomorrow brings.
Audiobook...
I had the privilege of reading the book and listening to the audiobook, which was exceptional! My favorite narrators, Karissa Vacker and Graham Halstead, gave a remarkable performance, making the characters come alive with perfect pacing, emotion, and wit! I highly recommend the audiobook.
My first book by the author, and I cannot wait to read more. I love her style!
Recs...
THE SNOWBIRDS is for fans of the author and those who enjoy Elizabeth Strout, Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Berg, Rufi Thorpe, and smartly written women's domestic and family dramas and literary fiction.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for a gifted advance review copy and advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. #MacAudio2025
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Feb 04, 2025
My Rating: 5 Stars
Praise
"Clancy skillfully blends flashbacks with the events of the present to reveal new perspectives on shared history. Readers who enjoy Elizabeth Strout and Anne Tyler will appreciate Clancy's emphasis on the impact of unexpected choices and the realization that it’s never too late to find a new path."
―Booklist
"Studded with witty banter and the sparkling glamour of Palm Springs, The Snowbirds is great fun, but what Clancy really gives us is a portrait of a marriage with psychological depth and pathos and characters we can’t help but fall in love with. Stunning."
―Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo's Got Money Troubles
"The Snowbirds is a beautifully written and propulsive novel, at once a page-turning mystery of a missing man and a moving portrait of a long-term relationship going through a midlife crisis. With humor, honesty, and keen insight, Clancy explores the struggles and joys of reexamining a 30-year relationship and remaking your life in a new community. I couldn't put it down."
―Angie Kim, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls
"The Snowbirds is an insightful, propulsive exploration of modern marriage in middle age, equal parts sharp-eyed and heartwarming. Is it possible to commit to a relationship without losing your identity? What epiphanies might we have while getting lost? Christina Clancy's novel ponders these questions and more with humor and warmth. Set against the vivid, zany backdrop of Palm Springs and its Hollywood history, populated by a delightful cast of locals and transplants, The Snowbirds asks whether it's ever too late to find your partner―and yourself."
―Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists
"The Snowbirds is a harrowing look at all the ways we find ourselves lost in relationships and what it takes to be found. Clancy has harnessed the unyielding sunshine of Palm Springs to shine new light on long-term love. Her observations are astounding."
―Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guncle
"In The Snowbirds, Clancy plumbs the depths of love and commitment while spinning a compelling and tantalizing tale about a man who runs away one too many times in the course of a thirty-year relationship. As Kim's new winter community in Palm Springs rallies about her in the search for Grant, who has failed to return from a New Year's Day hike, the reader is shown glimpses of the couple's fraught but passionate past framed by each of his previous flights from home. A totally relatable and completely unforgettable work of literary fiction that, like the best of marriages, manages to be both rich with meaning and insight, sexy and oh-so-fun."
―Natalie Jenner, bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society
"This book is a trip! An honest and authentic portrait of love, family and finding yourself told with beautiful writing and rich characters."
―Byron Lane, author of Big Gay Wedding
"The Snowbirds shines a compassionate light on the complexities of life-long love, and the ways our deepest connections make us deeply vulnerable. It's emotionally wise and beautifully written―I'm going to be thinking about this one for a long time."
―Annabel Monaghan, author of Summer Romance
"I loved spending time in Clancy’s Palm Springs, where the local color features a passel of voluble eccentrics as magnificent as the mountain views, and a twisty, harrowing hike of a plot. This life-affirming novel of being lost and found will shake you up."
―Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of The Waters
"The Snowbirds is a sharp, often tender portrait of middle age: a period of life when we’re told we should know who we are but are often still trying to find ourselves. Against the intoxicating backdrop of Palm Springs, Clancy brings an incredible cast of characters to life with wit, precision, and empathy."
―Rowan Beaird, author of The Divorcées
"Clancy’s latest features a long-time couple at the precipice of a romantic reckoning who head to Palm Springs, where the dry heat and their quirky neighbors only add to the tightrope tension. The perfect read for a cold winter night, and one that raises the fundamental questions of how well do we know our partner, or even ourselves? An absolute treat."
―Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen
"The Snowbirds is Clancy’s best novel yet, and absolutely impossible to put down―a gripping, immersive story about the importance of community and the unexpressed depths of love within a family."
―J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest
About the Author
Christina Clancy is the author of The Second Home, and Shoulder Season, her forthcoming novel. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Sun Magazine, and in literary journals including Glimmer Train Stories, Hobart, Pleiades, the Minnesota Review and elsewhere. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She lives in Madison, WI. WEBSITE
