A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar (debut)
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Release Date: July 9, 2019
Length: 352 pages
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

Beautifully told story of one young woman’s life of loneliness, loss, and longing for something more set against the jarringly desolate backdrop of the Nevada desert.

From the Publisher

“Cale Lambert, a bookish loner of mysterious parentage, lives in a dusty town near the California-Nevada border, a place where coyotes scavenge for backyard dogs and long-haul truckers scavenge for pills and girls. Cale was raised by her grandfather in a loving, if codependent, household, but as soon as she’s left high school his health begins an agonizing decline. Set adrift for the first time, Cale starts waitressing at the local diner, where she reconnects with Penélope Reyes, a charismatic former classmate running mysterious side-hustles to fund her dreams. Penny exposes Cale to the reality that exists beyond their small town, and the girls become inseparable—-“

The Draw

• Desolate California-Nevada setting.
• Debut of unlikely female friendship.
• One girl vanishes, another must find her.

{My Thoughts}

I have so much to say about A Prayer for Travelers that I’m finding it difficult to know where to start. I loved Rochika Tomar’s very original, beautifully written debut. Let’s start with the most unusual way she told her story: mixing up the chapters. That’s right, Tomar told her story out of order. It began with chapter 31, went next to chapter 2 and ended with 76. I felt a little nervous about this. It seemed like it could be a bit of a gimmick, but instead it’s what made the mystery parts work. It kept me on my toes. Truly brilliant!

Next, the desolate Nevada desert setting particularly spoke to me. My mom and two younger siblings moved to the Reno area when I was in college. We had family there and my mom was looking for a new start, so I’ve visited Nevada a lot. I can’t say I like it there and am thankful I was on my own before the move happened, but I can say that Tomar got her setting exactly right. Not just the quiet beauty of the desert, but the feeling there, the isolation, the languid hopelessness of scorching summer days, the desire to flee. Every bit felt completely real.

That can only lead to Tomar’s gorgeous writing, and when I say gorgeous I mean it. A Prayer for Travelers is a tough, gritty, compelling story in its own right, but the writing made me want to simply savor every moment of the book. Under any circumstances I’d have been impressed, but coming from a debut author even more so. I’m already looking forward to Tomar’s next novel.

“I rest my forehead against the steamed tiles of the shower stall, desperate to reach deep enough inside to touch the center of all things, to tear out the new, thorny part of me that has taken me away from Pomoc, but kept me barreling toward some unknown culmination of grief, a shimmering, formless mirage.”

Finally, I suppose I should mention the best part of A Prayer for Travelers: the story itself, centered around Cale, a girl abandoned as a baby and raised by her grandfather, Lamb. The two had a very close relationship, unmooring Cale when Lamb was diagnosed with cancer just as she’s finishing high school.

“Amid his growing inattention, all new freedoms were mine to steal. I could escape this modest home like either of those two mothers, dead and disappeared, but all I wanted to do was stay with Lamb, Lamb, Lamb.”

Though loving, Cale’s childhood was far from normal. She grew up a loner, and it wasn’t until she started waitressing at a diner that she made her first close friend, Penny. Penny, wild, scheming, already living on her own, taught Cale a lot. She taught her about friendship, independence, life and most especially longing. From the first chapter we know that Penny has vanished and Cale is determined to find out what happened. Forward and back, Tomar seamlessly fills in the rest of their stories. Without a doubt A Prayer for Travelers is the best coming-of-age story I’ve read this year and quite possible the best debut. I highly recommend it! Grade: A 

If you liked this book you might also enjoy:

• Marlena by Julie Buntin – Resonating with truth, Marlenais a powerful story of the lasting imprint one teenage girl can have on another. (my review)
• Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler – Small town girl arrives in NYC and spends the next year in the world of food, wine, and drugs learning about friendship, love, betrayal and most of all herself. (my review)

Disclosure: There are Amazon Associate links included within this post.