This was the right book at the right time for me. It is philosophical and humorous, with lots of heart and timely social commentary.

Man Overboard! is a first-person narrative by Patrick “Kick” Kilpatrick. Kick is a personal trainer who swam in high school and college. He’s always feared the ocean. The novel opens with Kick floating in open water just before midnight, watching the cruise ship he’d been on power away.

His sister is a marine biologist married to a “tech bro.” Their charming son, Ulysses, is a big reader of seafaring history, so Kick knows a lot about the ocean, its creatures, and shipwreck survivors. As a man of a certain age (he’s 33, in his Jesus year), Kick also contemplates manosphere culture, from its less harmful pablum to its darker messaging that encourages bad faith, antisocial behavior, and misogyny.

Through Kick’s thoughts on his predicament and the memories that surface (haha, get it?), this is also a family drama that shows how Kick became who he is today. His father’s emotional range usually fluctuates between being very angry and an “absence of anger.” His stepmom is a bubbly lover of cruises and scuba diving. Kick’s mother, well, you’ll have to read the novel to learn about her. (I would like to hear her side of the story.) Between the social commentary and the unfolding of Kick’s own social-emotional development, it’s amazing how much Rooney packs into this slim novel.

Nebraska in the Gulf of Mexico

Although Kick is treading water in the Gulf of Mexico, he’s from Omaha, so there’s some wonderful Nebraska stuff mentioned that made me happy: Willa Cather in Red Cloud, Bess Streeter Aldrich in Elmwood, Papillion, grandparents from Chadron and Pender. Even Runzas make an appearance. Kick loved reading the “Drama in Real Life” feature in Reader’s Digest. This brought back memories of reading my aunt’s Reader’s Digests when we visited Plattsmouth every summer.

Surprisingly, this novel has made me think of clowns in a new light. Yes, clowns, of all things.

Bottom line: If you’re in the mood for a philosophical, humorous novel with lots of heart and timely social commentary, I highly recommend it.

Bookshop affiliate link: Man Overboard! by Kathleen Rooney
Published July 7, 2026 by Gallery Books

P.S. This was also fun to read right after Jaws, which I don’t recommend. 🦈