Book Review: Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips
In Disappearing Earth, author Julia Phillips transports the missing girl trope to a unique location. On the Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Russia, life is hard. It combines both modern conveniences like cell phones, and long-established behaviors like misogyny. So...Graphic Novel Review: My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
Emil Ferris shows off her storytelling and artistic talent in My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Volume 1. In her graphic novel, she creates the art journal and diary of Karen Reyes. Karen is a 1960s Chicago pre-teen, balancing the difficulties of her own adolescence with...Book Review: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Eleanor Oliphant is the oddest of odd ducks, created by Gail Honeyman in her 2017 debut novel, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Thanks to my IRL book group for suggesting it, as I probably wouldn’t have read it without them. Eleanor has a way with words. In fact,...Book Review: Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin
Alexis Schaitkin unspools a story of that 18-year-old we all know. The one with buckets of confidence and virtually no experience. Who wants to be thought well of, while never giving their parents the time of day. Who rolls her eyes, shows off her body, and keeps...Book Review: This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Laurie Frankel brings us inside a raucous and somewhat unconventional Wisconsin family in This Is How It Always Is. Rosie and Penn, respectively a doctor and a writer, are the parents of four boys when she gets pregnant again. Every time she’s expecting they hope for...Book Review: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
I wanted to love the new Gilead book from Margaret Atwood. I wanted that so much. And it didn’t happen for me. She tells a tale that pales in comparison to both The Handmaid’s Tale book and television series. It’s not gritty, suspenseful, or driven by compelling...Book Review: [Dis] Connected: Poems & Stories of Connection and Otherwise, Volume Two
Editor and publisher Michelle Halket showcases work from ten poets in [Dis]Connected: Poems & Stories of Connection and Otherwise Volume 2. Each of the ten poets submitted three poems, which are interspersed between short stories from the same writers. Halket...Book Review: The Merchant of Menace by Richard T. Ryan
(A Sherlock Holmes Adventure)
It’s a joy to revisit the world of Sherlock Holmes with author Richard T. Ryan and his latest novella, The Merchant of Menace. Holmes and Watson need to catch a thief who’s angling for priceless, one-of-a-kind items. And threatening the owners’ loved ones as he does...
Book Review: The Overstory by Richard Powers
Richard Powers weaves the stories of nine disparate people’s lives together like tree branches on the ground after a strong storm. There’s a college student, a software genius, an engineer, a soldier, an artist, a researcher, a scientist, an actuarial attorney, and a...Book Review: X by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone #24)
X is the second-to-last Kinsey Millhone book from Sue Grafton. Although is was published in 2015, the action happens in 1989. As always, I smile at the things Kinsey has to do to make a phone call. It’s a reminder of what some people call “simpler days.” Unless, like...Book Review: Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
Mary Beth Keane is a new author for me and her latest book, Ask Again, Yes, has rocketed into the public consciousness lately. I couldn’t resist giving it a listen after a friend commented on its emotional ending. Plus, it was chosen for The Tonight Show’s Summer...Book Review: A Nearly Normal Family by M. T. Edvardsson
M. T. Edvardsson crafts an enjoyable psychological thriller in A Nearly Normal Family. It’s told from three viewpoints. First, the father’s voice lays out both current and past events. Then, the daughter fills in some gaps, but makes it clear that she’s an unreliable...Book Review: A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline
Christina Baker Kline opens the doors and invites us into the farmhouse in Andrew Wyeth’s iconic painting, Christina’s World. This fictional work offers readers a chance to understand the world of the Maine residents he painted. It’s not about Wyeth very much,...Book Review: The Line Between by Tosca Lee
Tosca Lee brings us a strong entry for the “young innocent woman tries to save the world” genre. The Line Between is a cult escapee, pandemic, dangerous emergency road trip book. Its heroine is likable, and the topic is fairly relevant.The young protagonist is Wynter...Book Review: The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
Matthew Quick provides a window into the mind of his unique Everyman main character in The Silver Linings Playbook. Pat Peoples is a thirty-something guy who has just been sprung from “the bad place” by his mom and her legal team. And he tries hard to reintegrate...Currently reading
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