Hot Air

Starred review from January 1, 2025
A single mom and her 8-year-old daughter spend a weekend with the super-rich. When Joannie's neighbor Johnny asks her out, and she says she doesn't have a babysitter, he tells her to bring Lucy to watch movies with his son, Tyson, in the basement. "He promised a nice meal, and Joannie loved free dinners. Nothing, of course, could ever happen between them because of their names. Joannie and Johnny." Anyone who's already read Dermansky will recognize these deadpan sentences. And, of course, something is going to happen on the very next page, actually--a billionaire couple celebrating their anniversary with a hot air balloon ride crash-lands in Johnny's swimming pool, the wife screaming "I will kill you, if we don't die!" Meet Jonathan and Julia Foster, a famous tech CEO and his philanthropist wife. Soon, Joannie and Julia are drinking fancy wine out of the bottle by the side of the pool and Johnny is inviting everyone for a sleepover. And the surprises just keep coming, many of them created simply by switching points of view, which Dermansky does every few pages, including not just these four but also Joannie's daughter, Lucy, and the Fosters' personal assistant, Vivian, an erstwhile Vietnamese orphan and 24-year-old aspiring writer. Vivian is a genius character, but honestly, they all are, and their inner monologues prove once again that Dermansky knows just how awful people really are inside, and can make it very, very funny. You might find yourself trying to put this book down so it won't be over too soon. And when it is, you might start it all over again to see how the heck she did it. Has any writer made so much happen in just over 200 pages? A new Dermansky novel is like a holiday declared out of the blue.

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January 1, 2025

Joannie's first date with Johnny is interrupted when a hot-air balloon mishap dumps a billionaire couple into Johnny's pool. Joannie dives in to save the victims, Julia and Jonathan--the latter of whom turns out to be Joannie's summer-camp crush from years ago. No good deed goes unpunished: for 208 pages, Joannie is one of four people roasted in this scorching satire of wacky relationships, iced with a juicy layer of saucy seduction. As the foursome of Joannie, Johnny, Julia, and Jonathan get to know one another a bit, Julia falls into instant love with little Lucy, Joannie's daughter. The crush morphs into a weekend holiday at a Harry Potter theme park. Despite this frothy plotline, there are noir elements galore, such as Jonathan's wicked moves against Julia, Joannie, and even Vivian, his personal assistant. Completing the group is Johnny, who manages to scratch Julia's itch. VERDICT In her latest, Dermansky (Hurricane Girl) distills a potent brew from the sad consequences of power disparities among people. No arena of domestic human emotions is safe from her biting wit and analysis. Mother-daughter, employer-worker, husband-wife, rich-poor conflicts: all get their moment in the spotlight. It's a laugh-till-you cry experience that will send readers to Dermansky's backlist for more.--Barbara Conaty

Copyright 2025 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2025
Longing permeates Dermansky's latest novel (following Hurricane Girl, 2022). Single mother Joannie is on a first date in the backyard with Johnny, while her daughter, Lucy, and his son, Tyson, have a sleepover play date inside. Joannie and Johnny's decidedly mediocre first kiss is interrupted by a hot-air balloon, carrying fabulously wealthy Jonathan and Julia, which crashes into Johnny's swimming pool. Jonathan and Julia's marriage has been floundering. Julia wants a child but can't conceive, and Jonathan has been unfaithful and getting too close to his young assistant. Joannie and Jonathan have a history, making for an interesting dilemma when Julia suggests a partner swap and proceeds to have loud, passionate sex with Johnny. The four circle each other warily. Julia wants to mother Joannie's daughter, Joannie longs for the financial resources and luxury Jonathan and Julia possess, Jonathan hopes to bed Joannie, and Johnny might still want Joannie. Not everyone will get what they want, and those who do might find that reality falls short. Dermansky's slim volume packs a punch. It's full of gimlet-eyed observations about privilege, desire, and satisfaction (or lack thereof). Call this tale daring and wise.

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