Reading Adventure: "The Correspondent" by Virginia Evans 📬

Sybil Van Antwerp is seventy-three, sharp as a tack, and armed with a pen that could charm anyone. Okay, most people. Every morning, she sits down to write letters. To her brother, to her best friend, to the college that won’t let her into the class she’s dying to take (rude), and to her favorite authors. Because why not tell them exactly what she thinks of their latest work?

And then there’s that letter, the one she writes over and over but never sends.

For decades, Sybil has used writing to make sense of the world from the safety of her desk. And while her letters may be insightful, her day-to-day life has been a masterclass in keeping everyone at a distance. That is, until a stack of letters from her past arrive, forcing her to confront a heartbreak she’s spent thirty years trying to outrun.

Now, Sybil has a choice. Keep hiding behind her perfectly crafted words, or finally send the one letter that could change everything. But to do that, she’ll have to dig up the courage to forgive. Not just others, but herself.

288 pgs

• Carnegie Medal, Longlisted (2025)
• The Center for Fiction - First Novel Prize, Longlisted (2025)
• She Reads Best Best - Book of the Year, Nominee (2025)