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See What I Have Done

August 16, 2017

see

No one is free from the stain of darkness in Sarah Schmidt’s See What I Have Done. Which may not be surprising because the novel is about Lizzie Borden and the death of her father and stepmother. If somehow you made it through childhood without hearing the rhyme about her, you’ll have to google it yourself. I, for one, was mildly obsessed. Mostly because the thought of a child ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 19th century, Atlantic Monthly Press, book clubs, debut, family, historical fiction, mystery

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

The Necklace by Claire McMillan

July 14, 2017

necklace

  There are few literary set-ups more likely to grab my attention than the wealthy family black sheep/outcast who unexpectedly comes in to power when the patriarch/matriarch dies. What could go wrong? Everything and that’s what makes it so delightful. Claire McMillan must know this because it is the premise for her new novel, The Necklace. Nell Merrihew has never spent ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: family, historical fiction, Touchstone, wealth

Miss Jane by Brad Watson

July 12, 2017

miss jane

Summer is generally a time when I enjoy lighter books, those that don't take up too much brain space. Sometimes, though, it’s also lovely to disengage from all the activity, find a shaded space and give yourself up to gorgeous prose and stories with meaning. Miss Jane, one of my favorite novels from 2016 is out in paperback this week and fits the bill for this kind of reading. ... Read More...

1 Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, family, literary, Southern life, W.W. Norton

Goodbye, Vitamin: A Novel

July 10, 2017

goodbye

  Rachel Khong's debut novel, Goodbye, Vitamin begins with a young woman named Ruth making the trip home for the holidays and her mother asking her if she could stay for a while longer because of her father. Because her father, a well-regarded history professor has begun forgetting things, to the point of being asked to take a leave from his job. And it turns out that by ... Read More...

9 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, family, Henry Holt and Company, humor, literary

Great Summer Reading: The Identicals

June 30, 2017

identicals

  Happy second Friday of the summer and the cap to my great summer reading week! This one is almost a no-brainer because Elin Hilderbrand is the quintessential light, vacation-reading author and her newest novel, The Identicals is as refreshing and fun as popsicles (or mojitos) next to the pool. In it, identical twin sisters, Harper and Tabitha, are compared to twin New ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: chick lit, contemporary life, family, Little Brown and Company, New England

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