65 ratings | 38 reviews | avg rating:4.48

Erin Van’s Year In Books

Erin Van’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Erin Van’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Erin Van Rheenen’s Followers (6)

Erin Van’s Bookshelves

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Erin Van’s Friends (9)

kyle

530 books | 181 friends

Polly Dugan

99 books | 136 friends

Pat Murphy

35 books | 212 friends

Brigit Binns

219 books | 63 friends

Nikki Nash

11 books | 69 friends

Ellen Neuborne

62 books | 7 friends

Deborah Lynn Smith Daughetee

56 books | 119 friends

Kate W

284 books | 6 friends

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Erin Van Rheenen

Goodreads Author

Born

in Portland, Oregon, The United States

July 13

Website

https://erinvanrheenen.com/

Genre

Fiction, Nonfiction, Travel

Member Since

May 2017

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/erinvanrheenen

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Erin writes fiction and nonfiction that explores family dynamics, cultural difference, and the power of place.

She earned an MA from City College of New York, has spent many years living abroad, and is now based in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in publications like Atlas Obscura, BBC Travel, The Sun, and Bellevue Literary Review. She has taught English and writing in universities, high schools, and in the San Francisco Women's Jail.

Kirkus Reviews calls her novel, You Could Be Happy Here, "a beautiful homage to family that urges readers to rethink what “home” can really mean." Her live-abroad guide, Living Abroad in Costa Rica, was a best-seller, and her bilingual children's book, The Manatee's Big Day, is beloved of all who love Cost ...more

26 posts
Erin Van Rheenen's Blog: What to Read Where

Travel scrambles the body & brain

Montezuma rainforest eco-lodge / Parque National Natural Tatamá

We set out before dawn to get an early start on an 11-hour day of birding in the Andean cloud forest. It takes two hours to drive 11 km. Our driver is Christian, a taciturn young man with braces who drives his rig through mud and potholes and rock shelves like he’s caressing his six-month-old baby girl, and in fact his rig, a Toyot

Combine Editions
Erin Van Rheenen’s books

Average rating: 3.96 · 148 ratings · 35 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	Living Abroad Costa Rica 3.77 avg rating — 97 ratings — published 2004 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	You Could Be Happy Here: A Novel 4.30 avg rating — 46 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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Erin Van’s Recent Updates

Erin Van Rheenen entered a giveaway Crocodilopolis by John Manuel Arias (Goodreads Author) 20 copies available, ends on May 11, 2026 Enter to win »
Apr 27, 2026 08:43AM · like · see giveaway
Erin Van Rheenen rated a book it was amazing An Elephant Ate My Arm: More true stories from a curious traveler (The Curious Traveler Series) by Laurie McAndish King (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Each chapter of the wonderful "An Elephant Ate My Arm" brought a new place and/or experience so alive that I found myself constantly thinking: I want to go there! I want to do that! When our experiences overlapped, I thought, "She nailed it." This is ...more
Mar 18, 2026 02:59PM · 1 like · like · see review
Erin Van Rheenen is now following Pamela Troy's reviews
Mar 09, 2026 05:23PM · like
Erin Van Rheenen rated a book it was amazing Chick Singer: A Novel by Lorraine Devon Wilke (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
CHICK SINGER is a bracing dive into the world of rock-and-roll and the complex dynamics of a fractious mother-daughter bond. The novel also takes on what happens when a unrealized dream of your youth comes back to bite you on the ass. Believable char ...more
Mar 09, 2026 05:01PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Chick Singer by Lorraine Devon Wilke. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Chick Singer by Lorraine Devon Wilke <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Erin Van Rheenen rated a book it was amazing Fallout by Jordan Rosenfeld (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
“Propulsive” was a word that kept coming up in reviews of FALLOUT, and I’m here to say: and how! We’re talking head-over-heels propulsion in this fast-paced eco-thriller that is also a mediation on female friendship, loss, and roles that women are fo ...more
Mar 09, 2026 04:57PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fallout by Jordan Rosenfeld. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fallout by Jordan Rosenfeld <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Erin Van Rheenen liked Jordan's review of You Could Be Happy Here: A Novel: "In lucid, gorgeous prose, Erin Van Rheenen captures the complexities of yearning: for perfect parents, for family connection, for a place to call home. However, "You Could Be Happy Here" isn't a too-tidy exploration of these deep human needs, but one" Read more of this review »
Dec 31, 2025 03:24PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of You Could Be Happy Here by Erin Van Rheenen. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — You Could Be Happy Here by Erin Van Rheenen <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Erin Van Rheenen rated a book it was amazing I Never Do This: A Novel by Anesa Miller (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
My six-word review: Propulsive hillbilly noir tackles reproductive rights. Longer review: LaDene Howell, this novel’s protagonist, delivers a mesmerizing monologue that rushes along like a rain-swollen river, as she explains to the police what led to ...more
Dec 12, 2025 02:56PM · like · see review
Erin Van Rheenen rated a book it was amazing Reading Jane: A Daughter's Memoir by Susannah Kennedy (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
What would you do if, after your mother's death by suicide, you found 45 years' worth of her intimate diaries? That's what happened to Susannah Kennedy, the author of this well-written and expertly paced memoir. Some friends advised Kennedy to burn o ...more
Dec 12, 2025 10:13AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Reading Jane by Susannah Kennedy. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Reading Jane by Susannah Kennedy <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Erin Van Rheenen wants to read Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen by Fay Weldon	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 12, 2025 10:10AM · like
Erin Van Rheenen wants to read Crocodilopolis by John Manuel Arias (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 12, 2025 10:08AM · like