Catch & Release is the story of two MRSA survivors who go on a road trip together, and not much else happens.

Polly-That-Was had it all together. She was pretty and smart and popular, and she had plans for the future. Then she lost an eye, and part of her face, to an antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria. Her perfect boyfriend dumped her before she was even out of the hospital, and her boss at the day care gently informed her that it would probably be best if she didn't come back to work. Polly and her mom used to be close, but now her mom hovers and worries, making Polly fretful and self-conscious. When Odd, the only other survivor of the MRSA outbreak, arrives at her door inviting her on a two-day fishing trip, Polly apathetically accepts. The fishing trip stretches into a meandering road trip across the northwestern United States.

Here's what doesn't happen on the road trip:
-Polly and Odd do not go to Portland and beat up Bridger, the aforementioned ex-boyfriend
-Polly and Odd do not fall in love, nor do they have sex (although the issue does come up once or twice)
-Polly and Odd do not stand together at the shore of the Pacific ocean and contemplate their futures
-Polly and Odd are not chased by bears at Yellowstone
-Polly and Odd are not in a car accident, nor are they pulled over for speeding or drunk driving or driving a car with expired license plates
-Polly does not have a sudden realization that Life is Beautiful, nor does she have a stunning moment of self-acceptance

So, what does happen? As I said before, not much. They do occasionally fish. They drive randomly from one place to another. Odd says strange things and does strange things. They compose a few pages of a picture book about monsters. They drink stolen alcohol and smoke prescription marijuana. They become friends, in a sense. If you're looking for a grand plot-driven road-trip-as-self-discovery story, this isn't it. This book is all about voice -- Polly's voice -- and that is done masterfully. Polly is dark and bitter and sarcastic, and it's certainly justifiable. Her character growth is incremental, and rings all the more true because of that. Grand moments of self-acceptance and a sudden determination to embrace life would have cheapened the story. The ending is inconclusive in many ways, though a few things about Odd's character are revealed. I wanted this book to be a little more concrete. Though I think it succeeds in what it was trying to do, it just doesn't appeal to me all that much. On the other hand, I can see it winning literary awards on the strength of the writing. ( )

loved this book in that way that makes me want to copy down quotes and put them on my wall. also sort of a little bit insanely jealous I didn't write it. but way glad I read it. ( )

I'm essentially blown away by Blythe Woolston's latest novel, CATCH & RELEASE. Never has a book about a flesh-eating disease been so oddly romantic, so compelling. And perhaps you, readers, are thinking, "but I don't know of any other novels about a flesh-eating disease." But that's the thing. It doesn't matter. This book is the zenith of flesh-eating disease books.

Polly, a recent survivor of a lethal drug-resistant infection which killed most of its other victims, certainly never imagined herself in her current position. Recently released from the hospital, she and her friend-but-not-friend Odd are the only ones who didn't bite it in the quarantine unit. Not that there aren't personal casualties, so to speak. Odd lost a leg. And Polly lost an eye, and most of one side of her face. She hasn't heard from her boyfriend lately either.

Now stuck on an accidental road trip with Odd, stopping to fish -- the one thing they have in common -- every once in a while, Polly is left to figure out her new plan. The plan that no longer involves her boyfriend and the future she'd seen for them together. She's not exactly thrilled about being stuck on the road with Odd. But it might be the only way to figure it all out. The plan, that is.

Complete with the characters' monster-themed alphabet book for children (in rhyming verse, made up on the spot), and the addition of "beranoia" to my vernacular, CATCH & RELEASE is absolutely a must-read for 2012. Woolston's voice is impeccable, and Polly is a character you won't soon forget. ( )