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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Scavengers
Reader Score
76%
76% of readers
recommend this book
Critic Reviews
Good
Based on 5 reviews on
"Immensely moving and very funny."
--Megha Majumdar, author of National Book Award finalist A Guardian and a Thief "Wholly original and truly surprising, Scavengers is an ode to revisitation and reinvention, proving that changing your views of other people is the only way to change yourself. This is a desert rose of a debut."
--Courtney Maum, author of Touch and Costalegre A rollicking debut novel about a cautious daughter and her eccentric, estranged mother venturing west in search of buried treasure--and a way back to each other--before they run out of patience, money, and options After being fired for taking an uncharacteristic risk at her commodities trading job, Bea Macon sublets her New York apartment and books a one-way ticket to stay with her mother, Christy, a free spirit who has been living in Salt Lake City on Bea's dime. Usually the responsible one, Bea isn't about to admit exactly why she's suddenly decided to visit, but she isn't the only one keeping secrets: Christy has a man. She has a map. She has . . . a username on a forum devoted to unearthing $1 million in buried treasure that an antiquities dealer claims to have hidden somewhere in the western U.S.? Bea is convinced this is just another one of her mother's wild larks, an elaborate way to refuse, as she has for Bea's entire life, to finally grow up. But Christy believes she's onto something--and she's arranged a rendezvous in a rural town called Mercy with the guy she's been obsessively trading theories with online to prove it. Out in the desert that one woman believes to be a promised land, the other a wasteland, they find themselves barreling toward a more high-stakes, transformative escapade than either of them could have imagined. Populated with unforgettable characters and set against one of the world's most oddly enrapturing landscapes, Scavengers is a funny and heartbreaking novel about old injuries, new beginnings, and the lengths to which we'll go to find, escape, and reinvent ourselves.
--Megha Majumdar, author of National Book Award finalist A Guardian and a Thief "Wholly original and truly surprising, Scavengers is an ode to revisitation and reinvention, proving that changing your views of other people is the only way to change yourself. This is a desert rose of a debut."
--Courtney Maum, author of Touch and Costalegre A rollicking debut novel about a cautious daughter and her eccentric, estranged mother venturing west in search of buried treasure--and a way back to each other--before they run out of patience, money, and options After being fired for taking an uncharacteristic risk at her commodities trading job, Bea Macon sublets her New York apartment and books a one-way ticket to stay with her mother, Christy, a free spirit who has been living in Salt Lake City on Bea's dime. Usually the responsible one, Bea isn't about to admit exactly why she's suddenly decided to visit, but she isn't the only one keeping secrets: Christy has a man. She has a map. She has . . . a username on a forum devoted to unearthing $1 million in buried treasure that an antiquities dealer claims to have hidden somewhere in the western U.S.? Bea is convinced this is just another one of her mother's wild larks, an elaborate way to refuse, as she has for Bea's entire life, to finally grow up. But Christy believes she's onto something--and she's arranged a rendezvous in a rural town called Mercy with the guy she's been obsessively trading theories with online to prove it. Out in the desert that one woman believes to be a promised land, the other a wasteland, they find themselves barreling toward a more high-stakes, transformative escapade than either of them could have imagined. Populated with unforgettable characters and set against one of the world's most oddly enrapturing landscapes, Scavengers is a funny and heartbreaking novel about old injuries, new beginnings, and the lengths to which we'll go to find, escape, and reinvent ourselves.
Book Details
- Publisher: Viking
- Publish Date: Jan 13rd, 2026
- Pages: 304
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 9.11in - 6.11in - 1.21in - 1.00lb
- EAN: 9780593834480
- Categories: • Women• Family Life - General• Literary
About the Author
Kathleen Boland's fiction has appeared in Tin House, Conjunctions, Gulf Coast, and elsewhere, and she has received support from the Tin House Summer Workshop, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and the Vermont Studio Center. The former event director for Catapult/Counterpoint Press/Soft Skull Press, she earned her MFA from Louisiana State University, where she received the Robert Penn Warren Thesis Award.
Critics’ reviews
Praise for this book
Praise for Scavengers:
"Immensely moving and very funny, Scavengers is an ode to those who dream in an indifferent world, to the desert which grants and withholds, to the bond between mothers and daughters, and to quests which alter our understanding of treasure."
--Megha Majumdar, author of National Book Award finalist A Guardian and a Thief "Kathleen Boland's debut novel is, at its core, a moving story of a mother and daughter. But it's also a treasure hunt; a road trip novel; and a cautionary tale about the lure of the wild West."
--Town & Country's Must-Read Books of Winter 2026 "Smart, electrifying, and utterly consuming, Scavengers crackles with humor and heartbreak. A wild ride, this mother-daughter treasure hunt fearlessly explores resentment, regret, and the profound human capacity to yearn for connection despite it all. Kathleen Boland's masterful debut novel explores the exhilarating, devastating lengths we'll go to escape and reinvent ourselves. These desperate characters are boldly and fearlessly written, marking Boland as an original and exciting new voice in American fiction."
--Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman and Godshot "Scavengers is the moving, madcap mother-daughter adventure I never knew I always wanted, snuggling a deft character study and deep understanding of family dynamics inside an unexpected treasure hunt. From her gorgeous settings to her tender skewering of human foibles, Boland's wonderful novel had me spellbound--laughing, worrying, and wondering until its surprising and beautiful end."
--Lydia Kiesling, author of Mobility and The Golden State "Wholly original and truly surprising, Scavengers is an ode to revisitation and reinvention, proving that changing your views of other people is the only way to change yourself. This novel is a desert rose among the year's new books."
--Courtney Maum, author of Touch and Costalegre "What might life look like if we relinquish the scripts of success we've been told to desire and let ourselves be guided by love, not obligation, to our beloveds, and by a willingness to chase down the unlikeliest dreams at risk of absolute failure? A search for buried treasure, both literal and metaphorical, both externally and inwardly, is what Scavengers embarks upon in this mother-daughter romp fueled simultaneously by adventure and escape. An exhilarating debut whose inhabitants are alternatively buffeted and emboldened by the winds of circumstance, billowing us forward towards its delightful, gratifying end."
--Jemimah Wei, author of The Original Daughter "What if the very best part of you decided to sabotage your life? What would you do next? Boland has written a necessary novel about the strange and miraculous psychic currents that undergird American life. David Lynch meets Willa Cather in this wondrously hopeful tale of madness, love, and redemption in the still-Wild West."
--Lucy Ives, author of An Image of My Name Enters America: Essays "Boland blends genuine thrills with an affecting story of a mother and daughter's restored relationship, and the narrative builds to a surprise ending. Readers will be delighted."
--Publishers Weekly "This depiction of a mother-daughter relationship is agonizingly apt. . . . Rich, vivid characters. . . . Gasps of gorgeous prose. . . . Moments that gleam with brilliance."
--Kirkus Reviews "In Boland's jaunty debut, an estranged mother and daughter head off for a weekend in the Utah desert in search of buried treasure--and possibly some forgiveness. . . . Boland clearly has a deep knowledge of this otherworldly, often dangerous landscape, and she's come up with a fresh and unexpectedly sweet take on the theme of strained but salvageable mother-daughter bonds."
--Margaret Quamme, Booklist
"Immensely moving and very funny, Scavengers is an ode to those who dream in an indifferent world, to the desert which grants and withholds, to the bond between mothers and daughters, and to quests which alter our understanding of treasure."
--Megha Majumdar, author of National Book Award finalist A Guardian and a Thief "Kathleen Boland's debut novel is, at its core, a moving story of a mother and daughter. But it's also a treasure hunt; a road trip novel; and a cautionary tale about the lure of the wild West."
--Town & Country's Must-Read Books of Winter 2026 "Smart, electrifying, and utterly consuming, Scavengers crackles with humor and heartbreak. A wild ride, this mother-daughter treasure hunt fearlessly explores resentment, regret, and the profound human capacity to yearn for connection despite it all. Kathleen Boland's masterful debut novel explores the exhilarating, devastating lengths we'll go to escape and reinvent ourselves. These desperate characters are boldly and fearlessly written, marking Boland as an original and exciting new voice in American fiction."
--Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman and Godshot "Scavengers is the moving, madcap mother-daughter adventure I never knew I always wanted, snuggling a deft character study and deep understanding of family dynamics inside an unexpected treasure hunt. From her gorgeous settings to her tender skewering of human foibles, Boland's wonderful novel had me spellbound--laughing, worrying, and wondering until its surprising and beautiful end."
--Lydia Kiesling, author of Mobility and The Golden State "Wholly original and truly surprising, Scavengers is an ode to revisitation and reinvention, proving that changing your views of other people is the only way to change yourself. This novel is a desert rose among the year's new books."
--Courtney Maum, author of Touch and Costalegre "What might life look like if we relinquish the scripts of success we've been told to desire and let ourselves be guided by love, not obligation, to our beloveds, and by a willingness to chase down the unlikeliest dreams at risk of absolute failure? A search for buried treasure, both literal and metaphorical, both externally and inwardly, is what Scavengers embarks upon in this mother-daughter romp fueled simultaneously by adventure and escape. An exhilarating debut whose inhabitants are alternatively buffeted and emboldened by the winds of circumstance, billowing us forward towards its delightful, gratifying end."
--Jemimah Wei, author of The Original Daughter "What if the very best part of you decided to sabotage your life? What would you do next? Boland has written a necessary novel about the strange and miraculous psychic currents that undergird American life. David Lynch meets Willa Cather in this wondrously hopeful tale of madness, love, and redemption in the still-Wild West."
--Lucy Ives, author of An Image of My Name Enters America: Essays "Boland blends genuine thrills with an affecting story of a mother and daughter's restored relationship, and the narrative builds to a surprise ending. Readers will be delighted."
--Publishers Weekly "This depiction of a mother-daughter relationship is agonizingly apt. . . . Rich, vivid characters. . . . Gasps of gorgeous prose. . . . Moments that gleam with brilliance."
--Kirkus Reviews "In Boland's jaunty debut, an estranged mother and daughter head off for a weekend in the Utah desert in search of buried treasure--and possibly some forgiveness. . . . Boland clearly has a deep knowledge of this otherworldly, often dangerous landscape, and she's come up with a fresh and unexpectedly sweet take on the theme of strained but salvageable mother-daughter bonds."
--Margaret Quamme, Booklist