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The Book of Essie: A Novel

June 20, 2018

essie

For most young girls, being seventeen and pregnant is not a good place to be. For Esther Hicks it’s even worse because she is the youngest daughter of a fundamentalist pastor and part of a reality TV show about their family. With a life played out in front of the camera and the nation, how can this be anything but catastrophic for Essie, and more importantly, for the show's ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, debut, family, Knopf, religion

How Hard Can It Be?

June 11, 2018

hard

You know how sometimes you see a trailer for a movie and it is fantastic, then you go see the movie and realize all the best bits were in the trailer? The cover for How Hard Can It Be? is like that. Every woman I know who’s seen it has laughed out loud, but does that mean that what lies behind the cover is any good?  It’s the modern-day story of Kate Reddy, who after an absence ... Read More...

13 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, humor, marriage, midlife, St. Martin's Press

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

June 6, 2018

us

  There’s a loser in every relationship. We may not like to admit it, but one of us always gets a little more, and one of us gives up a little more readily. Given that I have very little interest in sports related fiction, it was no small feat on Fredrik Backman’s part that he made me care so much about hockey. But, in his novel, Beartown, I did. Mostly because it ... Read More...

11 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Atria Books, contemporary life, relationships, sports

When Life Gives You Lululemons

June 4, 2018

life

Just when you thought The Devil Wears Prada series was finished, author Lauren Weisberger is back. Previously, she visited Andi in her new incarnation as a magazine editor in Revenge Wears Prada (which I liked, not loved).  Now, in When Life Gives You Lululemons, it is the snarky fashionista Emily who takes center stage. Which, if you ask her, is exactly as it should be.  At ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: chick lit, fashion, Manhattan, Simon & Schuster

The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner

May 23, 2018

mars

  There isn’t any status in it unless you’d be impressed to know that the Mars Room is not a middling or mediocre strip club but is definitely the worst and most notorious, the very seediest and most circuslike place there is. In stark contrast to all that was warm and lovely in Monday’s book, Tin Man, I’m back today with a book that probably worked because it was ... Read More...

12 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, Scribner, social issues, women

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll

May 16, 2018

favorite

There is a book for every mood and sometimes, your subconscious knows what you need better than your thinking mind. I had no idea how hungry I was for flat-out over-the-top drama until I finished Jessica Knoll’s newest novel, The Favorite Sister. I was drawn to the book by its premise—a reality TV show about a group of high achieving, self-made, female millennials whose life ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, mystery, New York City, pop culture, satire, Simon & Schuster, women

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