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Swift River: A Novel

September 19, 2024

swift river

Swift River is both the title of Essie Chambers’ debut and the town where the novel is set. It’s about Diamond Newberry, a 16-year-old girl who stands out, but not for her flashy name or sparkling personality. She’s morbidly obese and ever since her father disappeared 7 years ago she’s the only Black person in town. Her white mother is of little help. She doesn’t drive and ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, coming-of-age, debut, New England

Rabbit Heart

September 11, 2024

rabbit heart

But doubting our terror is what we’ve been trained to do. Imagine being eight years old and awakened on what should be a normal school morning by your father and older brother sitting on the side of your bed. They tell you that your mother has been kidnapped and your father cries. This is where the memoir Rabbit Heart: A Mother’s Murder, A Daughter’s Story begins and the ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: memoir, true crime, women

By Any Other Name

August 27, 2024

other name

If you’re a reader of Jodi Picoult’s novels then you know to expect meticulous, thorough research on whatever subject she’s writing about. She is also a pro at exploring both sides of complicated issues in an evenhanded way. Now, only one of these two statements is true in her latest book, By Any Other Name, a dual timeline story set in the 1500s London and contemporary NYC. ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: historical, women

All the Colors of the Dark

July 10, 2024

all the colors

When 13-year-old Patch sees a girl being abducted he acts without thinking and rushes the kidnapper. The girl escapes, but what follows changes Patch’s life and is the foundation for Chris Whitaker’s new novel All the Colors of the Dark. Patch and everyone he knows is changed by his heroic act in this opus saturated with the feeling of a writer who is leaving it all on the ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, Midwest, mystery, suspense

The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella

July 5, 2024

same bright

As evidenced by Wednesday’s review I’m always up for dark dark fiction if there’s humor somewhere in the horror. At the same time, I appreciate a gentler approach—slice-of-life novels if you will. Ethan Joella’s The Same Bright Stars fits in this quieter space perfectly. Jack Schmidt has been in the restaurant business since he was a little boy. Now in his early 50s he’s begun ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, vacation reading

The God of the Woods

July 1, 2024

god

  "To panic was to make an enemy of the forest. To stay calm was to be its friend." —T.J. Hewitt, Director, Camp Emerson Summer sleepaway camp goes one of two ways for attendees—either an idyllic time or one of misery. Somehow author Liz Moore manages to encompass both in her new thriller, The God of the Woods. This multi-generational, slow-burn mystery is set at Camp ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, historical, literary, mystery

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