Book Review: Christa Comes Out of Her Shell | Abbi Waxman

Abbi Waxman’s books are always like a mug of tea and a cozy reading chair, but in book form. Her stories blend family and romantic drama seamlessly surrounding a delightfully quirky heroine. In the case of Christa Comes Out of Her Shell, that magical mix also has a bit of animals and snails!

About the Book | Christa Comes Out of Her Shell

Just when she thought she’d gotten far enough away . . . a life-changing phone call throws an antisocial scientist back into her least favorite place—the spotlight. A hilarious and insightful new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

After a tumultuous childhood, Christa Barnet has hidden away, both figuratively and literally. Happily studying sea snails in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Christa finds her tranquil existence thrown into chaos when her once-famous father—long thought dead after a plane crash—turns out to be alive, well, and ready to make amends. The world goes wild, fascinated by this real-life saga, pinning Christa and her family under the spotlight. As if that weren’t enough, her reunion with an old childhood friend reveals an intense physical attraction neither was expecting and both want to act on . . . if they can just keep a lid on it. When her father’s story starts to develop cracks, Christa fears she will lose herself, her potential relationship, and—most importantly—any chance of making it back to her snails before they forget her completely.

Review | Christa Comes Out of Her Shell

Abbi Waxman’s latest book veers further into “chick lit” and “rom-com” territory than I’m used to from her. There’s a lighter, sillier feel to this book, so if you’re looking for a book to brighten up your reading list, Christa Comes Out of Her Shell is a good one! Despite more than usual comedy, this book still has Waxman’s signature heartwarming feel to it.

Dr. Christa Liddle has her doctorate in marine biology and has traveled to an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean where she can conduct her research on sea snails in peace. Her childhood was a bit turbulent—she lost her father to a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness. As if that tragedy weren’t enough, her father Jasper Liddle was a famous conservationist and explorer with a hit television show and his own line of stuffed animals. Christa had to live in the shadow of public interest in her father and his death most of her life. Her mother and sisters found a way to move on, but Christa always felt stuck in that hazy spotlight that shined on her family.

Now, somewhat alone on her island, she can leave the paparazzi, drama, and emotions tied up in that part of her life behind. Christa relishes the solitude of her research, and prefers the company of snails to humans more often than not. But everything in her world (the one she has made as small and peaceful as possible) is upended once again when it turns out her father is alive after all. If the world was interested in the mysterious death of the famed explorer, they are even more obsessed with the Liddle family now that he has been discovered to be alive!

Back at her family home, Christa is surrounded by the very same family drama that she tried to escape from. The press won’t leave them alone, digging into every secret and buried truth they can find about the Liddle family. Christa feels like she’s trapped back in the same unhealthy relationships with her family that caused her to flee. To add to the emotions flooding back into Christa’s life, an old family friend Nate resurfaces, and their chemistry and attraction is undeniable. Can Christa ever return to her peaceful life away from the spotlight?

This book is definitely more of a love story than I imagined it to be. The description of the book has some raw themes—complicated family dynamics heightened by a media bananza, and then getting to know the father Christa lost as a child. These feel like weighty topics, but the book doesn’t read as weighty to me at all. In fact, it had more silliness to it than I expected. The story itself is rare for Waxman in that I personally found it hard to relate to and feel fully invested in. I’m not sure if that will be a challenge for other readers, but it was for me.

Nate and Christa have an adorable relationship blossoming in the book. A person like Christa needs someone to challenge her walls that she has built up as boundaries. This truly is a story of a woman coming out of her shell, much like the very snails she spends most of her time with! Halfway through, I was charmed by Christa. She is funny, endearing, weird, and a tad antisocial, preferring the company of snails who don’t talk too much or pay too much attention to her. Her story is sweet and lighter than expected.

Audiobook Review

The audiobook is narrated by Jesse Vilinsky and Jonathan Todd Ross, and I enjoyed it immensely. Villinsky captured the upbeat and humorously antisocial tone of Christa. It brought the story to life! Ross’s sections were also expertly done to add the news and media updates peppered throughout.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Penguin Random House for my copy. Opinions are my own.

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About the Author

Abbi Waxman was born in England in 1970, the oldest child of two copywriters who never should have been together in the first place. Once her father ran off to buy cigarettes and never came back, her mother began a successful career writing crime fiction. Naturally lazy and disinclined to dress up, Abbi went into advertising, working as a copywriter and then a creative director at various advertising agencies in London and New York. Eventually she quit advertising, had three kids and started writing books, mostly in order to get a moment’s peace.

Abbi lives in Los Angeles with her husband, three kids, three dogs, three cats, a gecko, a snake, five pigeons, four chickens, and two guinea pigs. Every one of these additions made sense at the time, it’s only in retrospect that it seems foolhardy.