Making maps is the fulcrum for Jennifer Joukhadar’s debut novel, The Map of Salt and Stars. Rawiya and Nour are young women who tell their stories side by side even though they are separated by almost a thousand years. Rawiya is a sixteen-year-old in ancient Ceuta who longs to see the world beyond her village so she leaves home in the guise of a young man and becomes an ... Read More...
It’s Not You, It’s Me: Laura & Emma
The whole point of this feature is that it’s for books that did not come together for me, but this is one of the first times I’m doubting myself, because two of the bloggers I know and trust loved Laura & Emma. I did not. I didn’t even like it. I disliked it, but gladly admit that maybe I was in the wrong mood for the novel and am wrong in my assessment. In that spirit, ... Read More...
Self-Portrait with Boy: A Novel
A startlingly unique and uncomfortable premise is at the heart of Self-Portrait with Boy: an artist is in the midst of taking a series of self-portraits against a window of her apartment when she hears a commotion and learns that the 9-year-old son of her upstairs neighbors, has fallen to his death from the roof. When she develops her film, she discovers one of the ... Read More...
Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
Asymmetry is a novel split into three separate and seemingly unrelated parts. I know, sounds like short stories, but there is supposed to be a thread connecting the three. The question is whether I was able to find it or not. The first section is Folly, wherein 27-year-old Alice meets Pulitzer Prize winning author, Ezra Blazer, in Central Park. They talk and after ... Read More...
Literally Me by Julie Houts
After the heavy reading of Hillbilly Elegy, I needed something light and fun. With nothing at hand, I resorted to my favorite option—wandering the library. Within five minutes I’d found what looked to be perfect, even though I’m trying to move away from being a cover whore (it’s a process, all right?). Julie Houts is a well-known illustrator who has worked for Vogue and ... Read More...
Hell Hath No Fury: Mini-Reviews
OK, OK, the real quote ends with “like a woman scorned”, but I’m taking creative license and dropping “scorned”. I’ve spent much of the last year in a rage-y haze thanks to 1) a misogynistic Congress determined to take away every right women have and 2) learning that there are a lot of men in power, including the president, who like to use that power to sexually harass, ... Read More...
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