Debut Novel Follows a Late Bloomer’s Growth at an Arizona Spa Resort

People Watching in the Desert by Cali Adeline

People Watching in the Desert is a bold, luminescent debut novel by Cali Adeline, who is being justifiably favorably compared to Fredrik Backman, Gail Honeyman and Helen Simonson. It’s the perfect blending of an intriguing plot featuring a quirky, emotionally deprived, lonely and socially inept heroine in a finely-crafted, heartwarming and poignant novel.

Sonny McGee is a 25 year-old who hasn’t acquired an understanding of the unspoken terms of friendship. She quietly observes life from the sidelines, purposely shielding herself from random conversations by wearing broken Beats headphones that effectively proclaim: “Leave me alone!” Meanwhile, she richly imagines stories about the ordinary people she watches at work, in cafes, and supermarkets, on public transportation or anywhere someone interesting appears. Sonny continues this solitary pursuit throughout her stay at Sanctuary Resort and Spa, a luxurious retreat in the Arizona desert, jotting down descriptions and contriving plots about fellow guests in a notebook which will result in some unexpected consequences.

A Rocky Start

A substantial financial settlement from a freak work accident completely alters Sonny McGee’s life, providing unaccustomed financial security and the means to travel for the first time. This is an opportunity to blossom, expand her drab constricted universe, and tentatively contemplate risking real human connections — to become an active participant in life at long last.

Her free-spirited late mother spoke of a long-ago camping trip to the desert in Arizona where she slept under a canopy of endless stars. When she wasn’t high or ill, she would take Sonny outdoors to pick out constellations in the night sky which provided the only experience of love her daughter had known. The upbeat music of Sonny & Cher had inspired Mama to name her only child for Sonny Bono; convinced during pregnancy the baby would be a boy, she saw no reason to alter that choice. Sonny never played with other children, but by age six knew how to roll her drug-addled sleeping mother on her side to prevent her from choking. Mama died while she was still in elementary school, which left this fatherless child in the care of Della, her neglectful, mean-spirited, and verbally abusive grandmother.

To avoid unwelcome queries from prying authorities, Della continued to send Sonny to school, but the little girl was chronically malnourished and ill-clad. A favored punishment for any minor transgression was to forbid bathing for extended periods of time, and as a result, the child often reeked. Sonny enjoyed reading and learning, earning high school grades sufficient for one kind teacher to encourage her to attend college — but this was forbidden by Della, who demanded she work full-time to repay for her care.

Escape from their rented hovel mercifully came when Della died two year before the novel’s main plot begins, leaving nothing but deep-rooted trauma and bad memories. Sonny earned enough from her clerical job to afford a shoebox apartment, bargain aisle food and thrift shop clothing. For a time she had a work friend with whom she would occasionally eat lunch or see a movie, but that ceased when she departed for another job. Little Free Libraries provided most of the many books she read. This comprised her lonely forlorn life until the work accident graced her with financial freedom.

Observations and Overtures

Sharp humor is woven throughout People Watching in the Desert, which cleverly alternates between Sonny’s prickly notebook observations and fanciful tales of fellow guests at the Sanctuary Resort and Spa and the plot that unfolds. Although uncomfortably out-of-place in this upscale facility, she is gently aided by the caring staff who bolster her confidence by answering her questions and guiding her to activities. Sonny forms a bond with the ubiquitous all-round handyman, driver, and bartender Jack, who introduces her to unfamiliar foods and drinks and even invites her home to a family meal on his day off. A tall, striking woman who arrived as part of a boisterous quartet offers friendship through shared cocktails and confidences.

It’s surprising and almost miraculous how a week of pampering and actively taking part in conversations, trust exercises, hikes and climbs begin to coax Sonny from the isolation of her cocoon. Author Cali Adeline has created an eloquent and sensitive warm-hearted first novel that fully justifies the accolades sent its way.