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Little Fires Everywhere

September 11, 2017

fires

  In her outstanding debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng delicately exposed the family tragedy that can result from unrealistic expectations and the insecurity of trying to fit into a new culture. In her newest novel, Little Fires Everywhere, the Richardson family has no such problem. They are picture postcard perfection, happily sailing through their ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, family, literary, Penguin Press

The Burning Girl by Claire Messud

September 7, 2017

burning

Julia and Cassie meet in nursery school and are best friends from that moment on. Cassie is the power and spirit in their duo and Julia is the steadfast and careful one. The dynamic works until the end of middle school when what was so strong starts to fray. Cassie makes a new friend, a girl she used to mock with Julia, for being so silly and interested in boys. Julia watches ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, childhood, coming-of-age, friendship, literary, W.W. Norton

The Resurrection of Joan Ashby

September 1, 2017

resurrection

  When Joan Ashby is in her early twenties she is acclaimed as a writer to watch. Her short stories win awards, she is interviewed and profiled, and all await her first novel. She knows this is her one true gift and so even when she marries Martin, a man she loves deeply, it is with the agreement that there will be no children. Which is fine until Joan is pregnant. ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: family, Flatiron Books, literary, marriage, midlife

Emma in the Night

August 18, 2017

emma

  Apparently, I’ve moved from dystopian novels this summer to thrillers. On Monday I reviewed See What I Have Done a novel about Lizzie Borden, which I found fascinating more for its bizarre family dynamics than the actual murders. Now I’m back with Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker, a contemporary novel with a family that makes the Bordens look like the Brady Bunch. ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, family, mystery, psychology, St. Martin's Press

It’s Not You, It’s Me: Mrs. Fletcher

August 8, 2017

fletcher

Eve Fletcher is an attractive divorcée in her mid-forties. Her husband left her for a woman he met on Craigslist and her only child, Brendan is heading off to college on the morning. Eve has a good job, but feels like it is all that’s left to her with her husband and her son gone and while she’s ferociously lonely she’s gotten no further in navigating the single world than ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, midlife, relationships, Scribner, social issues

Beautiful Animals: A Novel

July 19, 2017

beautiful

  But things settled down and flowed on, because it was the law of summers among the rich that the season of leisure should flow like a large and charming river. The imperative was to have a good time and float on the luminescent surface. Meet Naomi, a bored, twenty-three-year-old Brit vacationing on the beautiful Greek island of Hydra. She’s staying at the lovely ... Read More...

3 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, Greece, Hogarth, literary, suspense

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