Nora Dahlia hits the ground running with her debut rom-com, Pick-Up. If you’ve ever languished in the car pool lane, been dismissed by teachers and administrators, or wondered if the other parents on field trips are judging you (because as we all know, they are), this is the book for you.
A modern romance with relatable characters and a catchy narrative style, Pick-Up is told from the perspective of three first-person narrators: single mother Sasha Rubinstein, single father Ethan Jones, and Kaitlin, a fellow parent at the school all three characters’ children attend who was a childhood friend of Sasha’s.
Sasha is your typical harried, always-on-the-go single mother. Ethan is your typical handsome, clueless single father, seemingly too busy to be personable. Or so it seems. Once the story gets going, Dahlia opens the window into the reality of two people wrapped up in their identities as parents, juggling responsibilities while still searching for a soulmate, who spar over sweatshirts for their kids and spots in after-school programs. Ethan is especially relatable with his mental to-do lists, which are constantly changing based on how his day’s going and how he feels about whatever’s left to check off.
Kaitlin fills in the blanks for the reader like a classic Greek chorus, helping us see beyond Sasha’s and Ethan’s perspectives as the story—and their relationship—unfolds. It’s Kaitlin, for example, who first informs us that Sasha’s now ex-husband, Cliff, disappeared to Hollywood after hitting it big as a screenwriter, the fallout of which the tight-knit school community witnessed through closely observing Sasha. As the book goes on, the two women rediscover their friendship and Kaitlin proves to be a good companion for Sasha, providing a calm stability she didn’t realize she needed. However, Kaitlin’s perspective is at times a distraction, and it can feel as if Dahlia either doesn’t trust or is unable to let Sasha and Ethan tell their love story on their own.
Dahlia is a lifestyle writer living in New York City, and her crisp, punchy voice shines throughout Pick-Up, giving the city as much character as the characters themselves. It’s an enjoyable romance where it’s easy to root for a happy ending.
