Emira Tucker is struggling with adulthood. She’s not quite sure what she wants to do. The only job she enjoys is babysitting two-year-old Briar. So, when Briar’s mother calls on a Saturday night asking if Emira can come and get the little girl she says yes. From there things in Such a Fun Age get bad fast. A store security guard decides that Emira has kidnapped Briar, because ... Read More...
Ten Best Books of 2019
Well, what do you know. Rather than being my usual contrarian self, I actually have ten books I consider to be the best of 2019. Of course, that doesn’t include the eight debut novels I wrote about on Wednesday, but let’s not split hairs. The point is: ALL of these books are marvelous. Even better, you still have time to get any one of them before Christmas for your ... Read More...
September Misses: Mini-Reviews
I’m not sure when exactly something can be considered the home stretch, but I think we’re getting there with our move. We have a closing date on our Ann Arbor house and we’ll be moving east at the end of October. However, there is still so much to be done that I’m not able to commit to this blog the way I want to. Bear with me, by November I should be back on track. September ... Read More...
The Reckless Oath We Made
Zee’s life has never been easy (to begin with, her full name is Zhorzha), but now it’s coming completely unraveled. She left her last worthless boyfriend after she crashed his motorcycle and broke her hip, she traffics marijuana because she lost her job after the accident, and she’s living with her sister LaReigne and her young son, Marcus. Her mother is morbidly obese and a ... Read More...
If You Want to Make God Laugh: A Novel
Delilah hasn’t been home in forty years, but when she arrives on her family’s farm in South Africa it’s to find her sister Ruth drunk on the couch and getting ready to sell the place. The sisters are polar opposites. Literally. Delilah left the family at 17 to become a nun and when that didn’t happen devoted herself to working in an orphanage in Zaire. Ruth became famous as a ... Read More...
After the End by Clare Mackintosh
There are many unimaginable things in life, but one of the worst is being the parent of a dying child. Max and Pip are a couple in love who adore their son Dylan. He’s a happy child, but developmentally a bit slow—he doesn’t talk much and falls down more than most children. Shortly before his third birthday they learn he has a brain tumor. A tumor that’s been causing the damage ... Read More...
