For Patrons of Mechanicsville Public Library

  • Top Picks

    Review

    Hunchback

    Saou Ichikawa's debut novel, Hunchback, is acerbic and sexy and lightly provocative, partly because of the "twisted" thoughts of its narrator and partly for its depiction of the erotic relationship ...

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    Beyond the Book

    Tomoko Yonezu: The Activist at the Intersection of Women's Liberation and Disability Rights in Japan

    In Hunchback, protagonist Shaka considers writing her dissertation on Tomoko Yonezu, a women's liberation and disability rights activist. Yonezu may be most known for attempting to spray paint the ...

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    Review

    The Otherwhere Post

    Maeve Abenthy has spent the past seven years hiding her identity to avoid being connected to her father, who broke one of magic's biggest rules, thereby destroying a world and most of its ...

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    Beyond the Book

    Emily J. Taylor's Inspirations

    Emily J. Taylor's sophomore novel, The Otherwhere Post, is an academic young adult fantasy filled with haunting secrets, a fascinating magic system, and a sweet slow-burn romance. Taylor has ...

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    Review

    The Dream Hotel

    Laila Lalami is an award-winning writer whose previous books include The Moor's Account, The Other Americans, and Conditional Citizens. Our First Impressions reviewers gave The Dream Hotel an ...

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    Beyond the Book

    "Pre-Crime" in The Dream Hotel and Real Life

    Laila Lalami's The Dream Hotel takes place in a dystopian future in which government surveillance extends to dreams, and people can be arrested for being deemed a risk to society based on their ...

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  • Top Picks

    Review

    Woodworking

    Erica Skyberg is a popular English teacher and long-time community theater director, preparing to put on a production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town. She's more or less a pillar of the community, even ...

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    Beyond the Book

    Transgender Support Organizations Serving Rural America

    In Emily St. James's debut novel, Woodworking, the protagonist, Erica, must travel more than an hour each way, from Mitchell to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to attend a support group for transgender...

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    Review

    Theft

    Karim is the result of an unhappy marriage. His father is completely absent from his life after his parents' divorce, and his mother is emotionally distant and neglectful, then absent as well after ...

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    Beyond the Book

    The Blue Mosque

    In Abdulrazak Gurnah's novel Theft, multiple characters dream of seeing the world, but only some have the privilege of doing so in reality. Badar, whose economic situation puts travel out of reach, ...

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  • Top Picks

    Review

    A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe

    Set predominantly in 2020, during the onset of COVID and resulting lockdowns, A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe brings together a chorus of different voices, most of them young New Yorkers,...

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    Beyond the Book

    The Social Impact of COVID-19 on Young Adults

    COVID-19 has had an immense impact on people of all ages, in all stages of life, and in all parts of the world. Mahogany L. Browne's novel A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe focuses on the ...

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The BookBrowse Review

ezine jacket

March 26, 2025

The BookBrowse Review

March 26, 2025

This issue of The BookBrowse Review contains reviews and "beyond the book" articles for 14 titles, including Woodworking by Emily St. James, Nesting by Roisín O'Donnell, and Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah. We also feature recommendations for book clubs, discussions in our community forum, the latest book news, and much more.

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  • Book Jacket: Anita de Monte Laughs Last
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  • Book Jacket: Anita de Monte Laughs Last
  • Book Jacket: Clear
  • Book Jacket: Leaving
  • Book Jacket: Held
  • Book Jacket: Long Island
  • Book Jacket: Anita de Monte Laughs Last
  • Book Jacket: Clear
  • Book Jacket: Leaving
  • Book Jacket: Held
  • Book Jacket: Long Island
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BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.