Making maps is the fulcrum for Jennifer Joukhadar’s debut novel, The Map of Salt and Stars. Rawiya and Nour are young women who tell their stories side by side even though they are separated by almost a thousand years. Rawiya is a sixteen-year-old in ancient Ceuta who longs to see the world beyond her village so she leaves home in the guise of a young man and becomes an ... Read More...
Literally Me by Julie Houts
After the heavy reading of Hillbilly Elegy, I needed something light and fun. With nothing at hand, I resorted to my favorite option—wandering the library. Within five minutes I’d found what looked to be perfect, even though I’m trying to move away from being a cover whore (it’s a process, all right?). Julie Houts is a well-known illustrator who has worked for Vogue and ... Read More...
George & Lizzie by Nancy Pearl
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...
The Necklace by Claire McMillan
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...
Feast of Sorrow: A Novel of Ancient Rome
One of the grandest things that can happen to a reader is coming across a book with a new perspective on a subject they’ve read about extensively. Recently, I read Crystal King’s Feast of Sorrow, a novel about Italy in the time of Caesar Tiberius, because, hello, I read all of the Colleen McCullough Masters of Rome books and just finished reading a novel about Nero. I ... Read More...
It’s a Mystery: Mini-Reviews
My timing may be off for conjuring all things creepy and mysterious, but somehow these three books found their way to me in the last month and I didn’t want to delay sharing them. And honestly, if all you read in the summer are beachy, light reads you’ll get bored. Sure it’s great to be scared on a dark and stormy night, but it’s just as fun when you’re sitting in broad ... Read More...
