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Dances: A Novel by Nicole Cuffy

May 16, 2023

dances

CeCe Cordell is a 22-year-old ballerina who becomes the first Black principal dancer at the NYC Ballet. It should be a happy time for her, but in addition to pride and excitement CeCe feels lonely and unable to shake the feeling she’s an imposter. Her father left their family when she was little, she hasn’t seen her older brother in years, and her mother has never supported her ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, debut

Chrysalis: A Novel

April 13, 2023

chrysalis

Ready to switch reading gears? On Tuesday I reviewed Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, a novel that was all heart and humor. Today I’m back with Chrysalis which was neither, but is a unique little novel that held my interest. It’s split into three parts, despite there being four characters. Author Anna Metcalfe leaves her protagonist unnamed and never speaks for ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary fiction, debut, literary, women

The Golden Spoon: A Novel

April 7, 2023

golden spoon

It was only a matter of time before some clever writer jumped on the Great British Bake Off juggernaut and wrote a novel about it. In this case, the author is Jessa Maxwell and the novel is The Golden Spoon, a murder mystery on the set of the American version of GBBO. Known as Bake Week, the show is filming its tenth season when things in the tent begin to heat up and it’s not ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: debut, food, mystery, vacation reading

Maame by Jessica George

January 30, 2023

maame

Maame is an African word for “woman” and the title of Jessica George’s debut novel, but for young Maddie it feels like a yoke on her shoulders. She lives at home as the part-time caretaker for her father. Her mother manages a hostel she inherited in Ghana and only returns to England intermittently. Her older brother James has his own apartment and says he’ll help, but never ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, debut, London, new adult

The Book of Everlasting Things

January 27, 2023

everlasting

The Book of Everlasting Things is a multigenerational debut spanning the globe from India to Europe. Initially set in Lahore, India in the 1930s and 40s the novel encompasses 70 years in the lives of one Hindu boy and one Muslim girl. Two children, who despite different backgrounds, grow into love only to have it, and their lives, shattered when Great Britain partitions part of ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: cultural, debut, historical fiction, India, religion, world war II

I’m Glad My Mom Died

January 25, 2023

I'm glad

How to review a memoir with a title so jarring I felt bad for even looking at it? Especially as my mother has always been one of the biggest supporters of my writing and reads every review (Hi, Mom, I love you!). Here goes. Jennette McCurdy was a child actor on a popular Nickelodeon show called iCarly. Now in her mid-thirties she’s released her memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died. The ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, childhood, debut, Hollywood, memoir, pop culture

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