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The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin

March 6, 2019

last romantics

  I believe now that certain events are inevitable. Not in a fateful way, for I have never had faith in anything but myself, but in the way of human nature. It seems as if there’s a trend in winter fiction about a parent dying, an absentee parent, and a determined oldest daughter raising their siblings. I noticed it first in Anissa Gray’s The Care and Feeding of ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: childhood, family, literary, William Morrow

When God Was a Rabbit

November 26, 2018

god

One of the best gifts of reading is not only discovering a new writer you love, but learning that they have written previous books, opening up the possibility of more wonderful reading. This was the case with Sarah Winman. I read her novel, Tin Man, and it was exactly the kind of simple but poetic prose that draws me in. So, when I saw it was her second novel I knew I wanted to ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Bloomsbury, childhood, debut, England, family, literary

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

August 15, 2018

crawdads

On Monday I mentioned having a book hangover and Delia Owens’s debut, Where the Crawdads Sing, is the culprit. What is worse is that I tried to read my way out of it and got mired in overwrought, pretentious prose that pushed all of Crawdads beauty out of my head and filled it with a tarry gunk that immobilized my brain. A foolish mistake that I’m paying for now. Still, I’ll ... Read More...

18 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, childhood, debut, Putnam, Southern life

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

April 25, 2018

night

Set in 1947 The Night Diary is the story of twelve-year-old twins, Amil and Nisha, who live in what was once India but has now, almost overnight, turned into Pakistan. Their mother, who died giving birth, was Muslim, but their father is Hindu—making them unwelcome where they are. They must get across the border into India and begin a new life away from everyone they have known ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1940s, book clubs, childhood, India, religion, young adult

The Magnificent Esme Wells

April 20, 2018

esme

Esme Silver is the flaxen haired, china doll, daughter of a Busby Berkley dancer and a handsome, low level grifter. They live in Los Angeles where her parents are certain her mother’s big break into movies is always only a day away. Except the only thing that is ever a day away is them being kicked out of their apartment because her father blew the rent money at the track. ... Read More...

3 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1950s, childhood, Harper, Las Vegas

Educated: A Memoir

April 18, 2018

educated

  I’d always known my father believed in a different God. As a child, I’d been aware that although my family attended the same church as everyone in our town, our religion was not the same. They believed in modesty; we practiced it. They believed in God’s power to heal; we left our injuries in God’s hands. They believed in preparing for the Second Coming; we were ... Read More...

7 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, childhood, coming-of-age, family, memoir, Random House

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