BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Help Wanted: A Novel
by Adelle Waldman

Too Many Characters, not enough Plot (12/23/2023)

This is a work place novel and there is a lot of detail about the work place. A general store, a step above Walmart, Town Square has its own drama, but the large number of characters made it hard for me to care about any of them. A little depressing as well, as all are struggling, except for the managers. Adelle Waldman has written a social critique, including important issues, especially racism and worker exploitation. It is too bad her prose and plot took away from her message.

The Divorcees
by Rowan Beaird

Such Mixed Feelings (11/9/2023)

I loved the idea of a novel set at a Reno Divorce Ranch in 1951. Lois has taken the train from Chicago to live at the Golden Yarrow for 6 weeks awaiting a no contest divorce from her husband. He has not abused her; rather she has gone from living with one cold dictatorial man to another and she is slowly realizing there is so much more to being in the world than housework and women's groups and behaving like a lady. Greer Lang arrives at the ranch soon after Lois and the 2 become best, fast friends. This debut is well-written, but the days are repetitive and thus I was bored in spots. The story picked up for the final 20 and the ending was fine, but it did not make up for Lois' utter naivete, and the lack of fully fleshed out characters.

Paper Names: A Novel
by Susie Luo

Different Views of the American Dream (3/7/2023)

This coming of age debut is the story of Chinese immigrant Tammy who at 9 is living with her parents in a basement apartment in Flushing. As she grows up, her father moves from being a doorman in Manhattan to a senior engineer for a private firm. This enables them to move into their own home in Scarsdale, New York and Tammy lands Harvard times two: undergrad and law) leading her to a white shoe law firm. However, neither Tammy nor her parents seem happy or satisfied and while they may not have been happy had they stayed in China, I ultimately was frustrated. It was not nearly as light as the colorful cover would have led you to believe. Most of the other characters in their lives were mostly cynical, rich and unaware of their privilege which probably reflects reality as seen by the author.

Pieces of Blue
by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Beach Read (2/1/2023)

Lindsey's husband has died in a surfing accident and she and her 3 children need a new start. Moving from Oregon to Hawaii and buying a run down beach motel is a new start. This started slow and picked up momentum and I am sure it will be widely read this summer on the beach, near the pool and by book groups. This story felt familiar to me; the teenage daughter is pouty and difficult, the son, the middle child embraces change and the younger 7 year old daughter is wise beyond her years. It dragged at some points as it was a lot of the same days with the kids going to school, Lindsey walking and working on the motel, and then school evenings, dinner and homework. A handsome stranger shows up and starts to help Lindsey with repairs and her loneliness. Ultimately, I felt Lindsey was a little too naive; if she had been a stronger character, it might have been a stronger story.

Scatterlings: A Novel
by Resoketswe Martha Manenzhe

Scatterlings (10/6/2022)

Set in South Africa in the early 20th century, Scatterlings examines the ramifications of the 1927 law which prevented blacks and whites from marrying and having relationships and was deemed retroactive. Abram and Alisa have been married and have 2 daughters and their lives are upended as they try to flee north to Southern Rhodesia. Alisa has always written in her journal and seems to have struggled with depression. One horrible act changes everything and the story deals with the fall out from Alisa's behavior. A large chunk near the end of the novel is devoted to Alisa's journals and while they are a character study, ultimately they bogged the novel down. A debut, the author may have tried to do too much. There is a lot of interiority, not only in the journals, but among the other characters. Very descriptive of the south South African flora and fauna, I am glad I was given the opportunity by BookBrowse and HarperVia to read this soon to be published novel.

Exiles: Aaron Falk Mystery #3
by Jane Harper

A Fitting Conclusion (8/16/2022)

Jane Harper has said this is her conclusion to the Aaron Falk series and like the previous 2 books it is well written and compelling. Weather plays much less of a factor in this novel, it is set during a beautiful Spring week. Aaron has traveled to the Marralee Valley to be godson for his friend, Raco. He does investigate 2 deaths, but they occurred 1 and 6 years prior. As well, he is not on the clock; these are musings and thoughts in his spare time. The characters, though plenty, are clearly different from each other and while I wanted to slow down and savor my time with Aaron, I just kept turning the pages.

On a Night of a Thousand Stars
by Andrea Yaryura Clark

Argentina's Dirty War and its Secrets (2/13/2022)

This dual timeline historical novel tells the story of Argentina from the early 1970s through the mid 1980s, prior to the military dictatorship and when people were disappeared through a law student and then in 1998 through his daughter. I was interested in the place and what happened and I found the first timeline much more interesting, although I am still not too sure of which government was better for the citizens (or neither?). Santiago is privileged and falls deeply in love with Valentina, but marries Lila. He would prefer to keep his student days a secret. His daughter Paloma seems happy enough, but goes digging into the past, uncovering secrets she is not sure she wants to know. She is not really all that interesting and Franco, whose parents were disappeared and murdered, is not all that interesting either. In the end, this was probably not the book for me.

The Paris Bookseller
by Kerri Maher

Sylvia Beach and her Bookstore (11/7/2021)

Kerri Maher's detailed novel about Sylvia Beach and her English language bookshop, Shakespeare and Company is a great read. I flew through the second half as I wanted to know what happened next. Sylvia is in Paris in 1919 and opens her store which becomes the center of life for the ex-pat authors who lived in Paris in the interwar period. Looming the largest is Irishman James Joyce who is unable to publish Ulysses as it is banned in the US. Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway all loomed large in Sylvia's life and helped keep the bookstore financially afloat. Sylvia's lover, Adrienne Monnier helps her achieve her dreams for her store and her life. Overall, an interesting novel about a little known literary figure.

Sisters of the Great War: A Novel
by Suzanne Feldman

Sisters go to War (9/14/2021)

World War I gets short shrift compared to all the novels written about World War II. Suzanne Feldman's novel carves out a small part of the first war to end all wars and tells the story of two sisters who leave the comfort of their Baltimore home and got to work as a nurse and an ambulance driver for the British during the battles near Ypres, Belgium. Gruesome at times, the story of the sisters showed how women made their place in a war and society which lead to some of them finally being able to make choices that allowed them lives outside of traditional marriage and motherhood.

The Plot
by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Are there any new plots to be written? (6/3/2021)

My disclaimer: I have met Jean Hanff Korelitz many times and have attended many of her Pop-up book groups in NYC through her venture, Book the Writer.
I received an ARC of The Plot for Celadon and I was thrilled. I am not a thriller person in general, but The Plot hooked me from the beginning. I felt it was a slow burn. It starts at a bottom of the barrel MFA program, where Jacob Bonner Finch has arrived to teach fiction to his low residency students. After learning of an incredible plot his student is going to write about, Jake is even more depressed as his career is inert at the moment. Randomly, Jake learns of the student's death and having few if any moral scruples, appropriates The Plot. Korelitz's deft writing keeps you turning the pages as Jake becomes the novelist and gets his amazing career. But is Jake destined for happily ever after or does someone realize The Plot might not be his creation?

Morningside Heights: A Novel
by Joshua Henkin

Family Dysfunction (3/29/2021)

Joshua Henkin writes family dysfunction very well and this novel did not disappoint. Pru Steiner has subverted herself to her husband, starting with their affair when she was his Grad Student. Academic novels are my catnip, but the characters in this book felt too flat to me, not completely fleshed out. The estranged son from the prior relationship, Arlo, was just too depressing. The writing and descriptions kept me reading, but ultimately, I liked his prior novel, The World Without End better.

Miss Austen
by Gill Hornby

The Misses Austen (2/16/2020)

Cassandra Austen, Jane's older sister and fierce protector is the main character of this novel. Elderly, she is still continuing to protect Jane's reputation at all costs. I have only read one Jane Austen novel and this book strives to be similar in tone. There are a lot of characters discussed and so much focus on manners and "the right thing to do and ways to behave." Towards the end, I just wanted it over. It is a quick read and true fans of Jane Austen may enjoy this book more than I did.

The Guest Book
by Sarah Blake

The Sins of the Father or Grandfather (4/13/2019)

This will be one of the hot books of the summer of 2019! It is perfect vacation reading: A multi-generational story which mostly takes place during the summer on private island at a decrepit beach house off the coast of Maine. The Ogden Miltons were a moneyed family as the patriarch had started his brokerage house in the 1920s, catering to like minded people and making them money. Decisions made mostly by Ogden's wife Kitty reverberate not only through to their children, but to their grandchildren. Kitty was all about keeping up appearances, believing there was a right way to do everything and there were the right people to be kept in your social system. Her beliefs and decisions reverberate down to her grandchildren and as secrets are revealed, her granddaughter Evie realizes that peace may be found not only in a particular place, but rather in a particular situation.

Sold on a Monday
by Kristina McMorris

Does the picture tell the story? (8/21/2018)

Ellis Reed is a Society reporter looking to become an above the fold breaking news reporter, when he takes a photo of two boys with a sign behind them saying "2 children for sale." Based on a real photograph, author Kristina McMorris has written an engaging novel that crosses genres. Set during the depression, almost every character has a secret and is intent on keeping them. The repercussions of Ellis' article, published with the photograph reach across the United States and he is helped by Lily Palmer, the editor's secretary, whose secrets push her to help Ellis. Part mystery, part romance, this historical novel brings a small piece of the 1930s to life with its portrayal of working class people trying as best they can under at times, harsh circumstances.

French Exit
by Patrick deWitt

Not for Me (2/4/2018)

This was my first Patrick deWitt and I wanted to like it very much, but it was not for me. It is described as a "tragedy of manners", but the main characters, mother and son, were uninteresting and boring. I don't know how they made friends or how they kept them. The mother was a bully disguised as a society matron and the son was passive, useless (and uneducated). These were unlikeable characters without a point to make.

Force of Nature: Aaron Falk Mystery #2
by Jane Harper

Now Australia is wet and cold (10/13/2017)

In her debut novel, The Dry, Jane Harper introduced us to Aaron Falk, a federal police officer who deals with financial white collar crime. He was called back to his hot, dry hometown to help solve a murder. In the sequel, the weather remains a large force in the novel, and she again tells a great story. Five women, who all work for the same company in many different roles, are sent out into dense, cold, wet woods as a teambuilding experience. Only four return. Agent Falk and his partner have been investigating this company and the missing women was their contact person, passing documents and making their case. I kept reading until late in the night to reach the end and its satisfying conclusion. I am so glad Jane Harper has found a US publisher and I am waiting eagerly for number 3!!

Young Jane Young
by Gabrielle Zevin

A Worthy Follow-Up (7/6/2017)

Young Jane Young is a different story than The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, but Gabrielle Zevin has such a great writing style that I kept turning the pages and flew through it. Jane Young made poor decisions while in college and they haunted and followed her after graduation. She successfully remakes her life, moving away and raising her daughter. As always, when secrets are kept, they are revealed in the most uncomfortable ways. This story is fairly light in tone, and a worthy addition to your TBR.

Mercies in Disguise: A Story of Hope, a Family's Genetic Destiny, and the Science That Rescued Them
by Gina Kolata

Decisions, decisions.... (11/22/2016)

Medical science has advanced so rapidly over the past 40 years, that patients are being placed in situations which place the burden of their healthcare squarely on them. Some members of the Baxley family have died due to a neurological disorder which resembled a combination of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Several of them had become physicians and studied and researched while several scientists were also describing and discovering what this disorder could be. Science and family intersect through Amanda Baxley who has lost her grandfather to the disease and is watching her father and uncle succumb. She must decide whether she wants to know her future and if so, will she risk passing on the disorder to her hypothetical unborn children? The story is compelling as Amanda's story unfolds. Most of the scientific information was very familiar to me, except for the disease itself and I found it a satisfactory, though not an enjoyable read. Gina Kolata is a gifted science writer and storyteller and while I think it provides much for book groups to talk about, the subject matter may be difficult for some to handle.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
by Kathleen Rooney

Lillian Walks New York (9/6/2016)

Lillian Boxfish resonated with me in so many ways. Although I am much younger, I vividly recall NYC in 1984. I was working nights and so careful about where I went, especially at night. Lillian Boxfish has led the quintessential New York life and we learn her story as she walks around on New Year's Eve 1984. Through her memories we learn about her successful career, less successful marriage and the evolution of women's rights in the 20th century. Her story reflects the story of many women trying to find work-life balance even now. Kathleen M. Rooney is a gifted writer and her story of an older woman in NYC kept me turning the pages.

The Children
by Ann Leary

A Disappointing Beach Book (5/12/2016)

I enjoy a good beach book ( set at a summer house, functional or dysfunctional family) and sadly, The Children was not it. The story started with potential and then spiraled into a darker place. There seemed to be a current of real mental dysfunction through most of the characters which went unrecognized. The narrator seems to be housebound and the reader is never given an explanation or reason. The other characters are types or tropes and are never fleshed into real people. While several awful situations occur, this family is unable to get out of its own way to deal with them in a rational manner. The family ultimately was very sad, but I was unable to muster enough empathy for them.

Reviews by Kate G. (Bronx, NY)

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