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Fake Plastic Love

May 18, 2017

fake

  After almost five years of writing about books I kind of thought I’d seen it all. Not literally or in every way, but I firmly believed that plot and prose were inextricably intertwined. The best prose couldn’t save a bad plot and vice versa. Today I have to back off that belief because I just read a book that I really liked, but with writing that made me a little nutty. ... Read More...

3 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, contemporary life, debut, Flatiron Books, friendship, Manhattan, new adult, retellings

5 Star Week: All the Light We Cannot See

April 12, 2017

light

  I may be writing this review to watch myself write because virtually every reader I know has already read Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. Ostensibly, my excuse is, this Pulitzer Prize winning novel originally published in 2014 is being re-released in paperback. But really? WHY did it take me this long to read this wonder of a novel? I have no decent reason. ... Read More...

16 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, France, Germany, historical fiction, Pulitzer Prize, Scribner, WWII

Running: A Novel by Cara Hoffman

March 17, 2017

running

  It’s 1988 when Bridey first meets Jasper but when Running begins it’s with the news of his death. She is back in Athens, the place where she, Jasper and Jasper’s boyfriend Milo worked as runners—someone young and pretty who corrals tourists on the trains heading into Athens, regaling them with the beauty and savings of the hotels where they work, leading them to that ... Read More...

3 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, friendship, Greece, literary, Simon & Schuster

Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman

January 25, 2017

girlchild

  Well, well, well…finally, after two months of all-right-but-not-great reading I’ve been knocked off my feet. Not by a new release, but by a 2013 novel from my Goodreads to-read list. I’m not going to quibble; I’m just thrilled to have read something I loved so much that it’s hard to find the best words for it. Tupelo Hassman’s Girlchild is a piercing novel of childhood ... Read More...

12 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, childhood, coming-of-age, contemporary life, literary, Picador, social issues

The Futures: A Novel

January 18, 2017

futures

  Evan and Julia are college sweethearts who decide to take the next step and begin post-college life together in NYC. But while Evan is on a clear path in the world of finance, Julia is a bit more untethered. She finally gets a job as an assistant at a foundation owned by her parents’ friends, but only as a way to pay the bills. The Futures is Anna Pitoniak’s take on the ... Read More...

7 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, contemporary life, friendship, Little Brown and Company, Manhattan

Small Admissions: A Novel

January 3, 2017

small admissions

  Small Admissions is an example of a book whose writing goes the same way as its plot. Confused? I know, it’s weird, but what I mean is that it’s the story of a young woman named Kate whose life goes off the rails when she is unceremoniously dumped by a boyfriend. She basically checks out of life in the most stereotypical ways possible, lingering in an almost catatonic ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Atria Books, coming-of-age, family, humor, Manhattan

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