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My Absolute Darling

October 11, 2017

absolute

  What do you need to know about Turtle Alveston beyond her weird name? Well, she knows her way around almost every firearm there is and she eats raw eggs for breakfast. She is fourteen, but while she goes to school she doesn’t talk and is about to be held back from high school. She lives with her father in the woods of Mendocino. These simple facts might sound like ... Read More...

9 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, contemporary life, debut, literary, Riverhead Books

The Rules of Magic

October 9, 2017

rules

Whatever is meant to be is bound to happen, whether or not you approve. Frances, Bridget (Jet) and Vincent are born and raised with no sense of family. Their parents, actively discourage any discussion of grandparents or other relatives. Even worse, their mother, Susanna, gives them odd rules for living, including: no walking in moonlight, no red shoes, no cats, no candles, ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, family, literary, magic, relationships

George & Lizzie by Nancy Pearl

October 6, 2017

george

  George and Lizzie of Nancy Pearl’s debut novel, George & Lizzie are one of those couples that can only be attributed to opposites attract. George is open, gregarious, and endlessly upbeat. Lizzie is quiet, self-absorbed, and largely aimless in what she wants to do with her life. George comes from loving parents and a nurturing environment while Lizzie has grown up ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, marriage, new adult, Touchstone

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

It’s Not You, It’s Me: Motherest

August 11, 2017

motherest

  Today is part two of novels that did not work for me, but could be perfect for you. Motherest, by Kristen Iskandrian, ticks off a lot of the boxes in what I look for in my reading. Namely, a disaffected teenager brimming with angst, a dysfunctional family, and the ever-popular minefield of school—in this case, college. Agnes is headed off to her freshman year when the ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, contemporary life, family, literary, relationships

How to Survive a Summer

June 21, 2017

survive

  Will Dillard’s film studies dissertation is making his life miserable because he can’t seem to finish it. In fact, finishing anything after the summer he spent at Camp Levi when he was fifteen, has been difficult. Now, a movie, based on a memoir about the camp has come out and whatever semblance of motivation and forward motion there was in Will comes to a complete ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Blue Rider Press, coming-of-age, social issues, Southern life

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