BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Donna W. (Wauwatosa, WI)

Power Reviewer

If you'd like to be able to easily share your reviews with others, please join BookBrowse.

The Housemaid's Daughter
by Barbara Mutch

A Beautiful Story (10/30/2013)

The Housemaids Daughter is a great read. It is written in the gentle voice of the black heroine, and explores South Africa and its history during apartheid. The author uses such beautiful language that she is able to draw pictures in the reader's mind. It is a fictional …more

Lost Luggage
by Jordi Punti

Lost Luggage (8/16/2013)

"Lost Luggage" is a story about 4 boys trying to find the father who abandoned each of them and their 4 different mothers. The main story is quite clever, but the author is so ambitious in his telling of it that he introduces too many side characters and goes off on too …more

Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets: A Memoir
by Jessica A. Fox

Great Memoir (6/6/2013)

I loved this book! It had smart, witty writing, a modern love story, and a heroine that had me routing for her the whole way.

Jessica Fox lets us have a glimpse into her life in this charming memoir, and it is handled in such an intelligent way with such clear writing that I …more

The Laws of Gravity
by Liz Rosenberg

The Laws of Gravity (4/5/2013)

A beautiful story full of the joys, disappointments, and love that go into being a family. The characters are set up well, each is real and the author makes us care about them all.
Ari and Nicole are cousins, and best friends since childhood. When Nicole becomes ill she …more

Walk Me Home
by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Walk Me Home (3/27/2013)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is well written, the characters are believable, and I felt connected to them right from the very beginning.

Two sisters, sixteen and eleven, are left on their own after the death of their mother. They begin trying to get back to their …more

Peking to Paris: Life and Love on a Short Drive Around Half the World
by Dina Bennett

Adventurous Trip (3/11/2013)

This was an interesting look at an adventurous road trip. The author conveyed the sense of adventure inherent in driving a vintage car through faraway places. Not an everyday experience by any means! She told her story with humor and wonderful description. I felt like I was …more

The Imposter Bride
by Nancy Richler

The Imposter Bride (11/28/2012)

I was hooked on this book from the minute I started reading until the satisfying end.

This was an excellent unfolding of a story from 2 different perspectives- first the actual story of " The Imposter Bride" and second the story through the eyes of the daughter she left …more

Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen
by Mary Sharratt

Illuminations (9/5/2012)

Hildegard was a fascinating character in the history of the church, and the writing was good but I just couldn't get into this book. Little is known of the events in the period of her 30 year confinement, and the treatment of this section seemed too fictionalized, with …more

Have Mother, Will Travel: A Mother and Daughter Discover Themselves, Each Other, and the World
by Claire & Mia Fontaine

Have Mother, Will Travel (6/4/2012)

This book was outstanding. It was at times funny, at times insightful, at times a travel guide, and above all it was always a worthwhile reading experience. The mother/daughter team gave corresponding personal reflections not only on their relationship, but on life in …more

Paris in Love: A Memoir
by Eloisa James

Paris in Love (3/7/2012)

I really liked this book. For the most part it is written with short entries much like a diary. Eloisa James has a charming and witty style, and the book is put together in such a way that it gives a delightful look at not only Paris, but also the author's family. It is …more

King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village
by Peggielene Bartels, Eleanor Herman

King Peggy (12/8/2011)

Peggy Bartels, born in Africa but living in America for 30 years, was awoken one morning with the news that she is to be the next king of Otuam, where her family had originated hundreds of years earlier. What follows is a delightful true story rich with the customs, beliefs, …more

Salvage the Bones: A Novel
by Jesmyn Ward

Salvage the Bones (6/28/2011)

Jesmyn Ward uses extensive detail in the writing of her book, and this leaves the reader with a good feeling for the poorness of the people, the texture of the area around Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and the pain inherent in some personal relationships. However, this …more

The Art of Saying Goodbye: A Novel
by Ellyn Bache

The Art of Saying Goodbye (3/28/2011)

The book revolves around the lives of 5 women both before and after they learn that one of them has a serious illness. It is not a great storyline, and the author doesn't delve deeply enough into any of the character's lives that we form much of an attachment to them.

I …more

Ever By My Side: A Memoir in Eight ~~Acts~~ Pets
by Dr. Nick Trout

Great Read! (12/23/2010)

I loved it! It's a memoir, it's about animals, and it was a delight to read. The book is witty, insightful and heartwarming. It is full of incidents from the Dr.'s life as well as incidents from various animals lives.....some producing tears and many producing laughter. I …more

Raising Wrecker: A Novel
by Summer Wood

Wrecker - A Love Story (10/28/2010)

With beautiful language and strong sentences the author weaves an intricate story of family love. The story begins in the late 60's in northern California, and it focuses on a boy named Wrecker. However, it is really the group of people surrounding Wrecker that make this …more

The Ghost of Milagro Creek
by Melanie Sumner

The Ghost of Milagro Creek (7/7/2010)

Melanie Sumner had a good idea for a story, and I really wanted to like this book. The story is set in the Taos, New Mexico area, and sometimes her descriptions were so good that I really felt I got a good sense of not only the area, but also the culture. However, her …more

Ten Minutes from Home: A Memoir
by Beth Greenfield

A Touching Memoir (4/19/2010)

Beth Greenfield has written a touching memoir dealing mainly with the years surrounding a tragic accident. She uses clear, concise language and a matter of fact recounting of events to tell her story. Although heartbreaking at times, it presents an honest look at the …more

The Wives of Henry Oades: A Novel
by Johanna Moran

excellent historical fiction (11/30/2009)

The author used some real life legal facts to create an excellent historical fiction book. The Wives of Henry Oades is an easy read, and it was such a vivid telling of the story that I could picture myself in many of the scenes. The main characters were likable and I could …more

Serena: A Novel
by Ron Rash

Vivid Language, Interesting Characters (9/2/2009)

The vivid language and interesting characters make this a fast moving drama. Serena grabs a hold of the reader's attention from her first introduction, and her greed and ruthlessness are balanced by Rachel's sweetness.

The author uses beautiful phrasing, and wonderful …more

Sweeping Up Glass
by Carolyn Wall

Wonderful Book (8/10/2009)

From the very first page the language created such clear pictures that I was immediately drawn into each scene. The setting is the 1930s in Kentucky, and I could feel what the times were like.

Olivia is the appealing main character, and the surrounding characters add great …more

BookBrowse Book Club

Dream Count
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A searing new novel from the bestselling author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists, exploring four women's desires.

About Discuss
The Jackal's Mistress
by Chris Bohjalian

From the New York Times bestselling author of Hour of the Witch, a Civil War love story of a Confederate wife and a wounded Yankee.

About Discuss

Members Recommend

Jane and Dan at the End of the World
by Colleen Oakley

Date Night meets Bel Canto in this hilarious tale.

Read the Reviews
The Dream Hotel
by Laila Lalami

A Read with Jenna pick. A riveting novel about one woman's fight for freedom, set in a near future where even dreams are under surveillance.

Read the Reviews
Fagin the Thief
by Allison Epstein

A thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London's most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.

Read the Reviews
Girl Falling
by Hayley Scrivenor

The USA Today bestselling author of Dirt Creek returns with a story of grief and truth.

Read the Reviews
Raising Hare
by Chloe Dalton

A moving and fascinating meditation on freedom, trust, and loss through one woman's friendship with a wild hare.

Read the Reviews
The Antidote
by Karen Russell

A gripping dust bowl epic about five characters whose fates become entangled after a storm ravages their small Nebraskan town.

Read the Reviews

Who Said...

It is a fact of life that any discourse...will always please if it is five minutes shorter than people expect

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

B O a F F T

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional books

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.