Reviews by Beverly J. (Hoover, AL)

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The Waters
The Waters: A Novel
by Bonnie Jo Campbell
Swamps and Secrets (1/11/2024)
Fierce women, an atmospheric setting, weighty secrets, simmering rage, and magnificent storytelling are the necessary ingredients for noirish storylines.

Campbell's setting is an off-the-grid island in Michigan's Great Massasanga Swamp, "The Waters," and is home to the aging …more
Digging Stars
Digging Stars: A Novel
by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
Resonant and Finely Observed (9/12/2023)
A delicately but very nuanced written novel exploring a father/daughter relationship, personal and national identities, and Bantu geometries/indigenous astronomies.

When Athandwa Rosa Siziba is born, her father lives Zimbabwe to further his studies of the Cosmos and then …more
The All-American
The All-American: A Novel
by Joe Milan Jr.
A Jaunt of an Adventure (3/17/2023)
All Bucky has ever wanted to do is play college football, even if it means he will be a walk-on on a community college team. But, just as this dream looks possible, an unknown reality snatches the ball right out of his hands. Bucky is unknowingly an undocumented immigrant …more
Ghost Season
Ghost Season: A Novel
by Fatin Abbas
A sober story told with warmth and understanding. (1/3/2023)
A sober story told with warmth and understanding.

When a burnt corpse is found outside of a NGO compound at a remote Sudanese border town where the current uneasy peace of the civil unrest always seems on the brink of collapse, the five people living/working inside the …more
River Sing Me Home
River Sing Me Home
by Eleanor Shearer
Smart, Original, & Completely Captivating (10/7/2022)
A keenly observed lyrical historical novel about an enslaved mother's resolve to search for her five children sold away from her.

When the plantation master in Barbados announces in one breath that The Emancipation Act of 1834 abolishes slavery providing, but in the next …more
The Family Izquierdo
The Family Izquierdo: A Novel
by Rubén Degollado
Smart, Original and Completely Absorbing! (9/9/2022)
A grippingly readable family saga using linked short stories to offer a riveting intimate glimpse into three generations of a Mexican American family as they experience the vicissitudes of life.
The family tree at the beginning of the book was my foundation to delve into the …more
The Immortal King Rao
The Immortal King Rao: A Novel
by Vauhini Vara
Smart, Clear-eyed, Riveting! (5/15/2022)
A clear-eyed and endlessly thought-provoking entertaining read of the age-old debate of the role of technology as a tool for betterment, and opportunity.

The author displays her journalist skills as she effectively combines a matter-of-fact view with intimate details across …more
Fencing with the King
Fencing with the King: A Novel
by Diana Abu-Jaber
Emotionally Rich Drama (1/17/2022)
A touching story with wide appeal and a sharp example of a family's past haunting the present.

It is 1995 and Jordanian- American Amani Hamdan has convinced her father to return to his native Jordan to fence, a sport she did not even know he ever played, with the Jordanian …more
Take My Hand
Take My Hand
by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Blistering and Incisive (9/19/2021)
Inspired by the real life case (Relf v. Weinberger), Perkins-Valdez's richly observed novel is blistering and incisive story of a Black nurse whose young patients' has reproductive injustices inflicted upon them because of their race and class.

It is 1973, recent nursing …more
The Personal Librarian
The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
Rich, Colorful, and Glorious! (2/22/2021)
In 1905, Belle de Costa Greene is hired to her dream job, to be the personal librarian to financier to J.P. Morgan and curate his ever expanding rare manuscripts private collection. As trust builds between employee and employer, Belle's responsibilities to expand to …more
Ruthie Fear
Ruthie Fear: A Novel
by Maxim Loskutoff
Smart, Original and Completely Absorbing (7/6/2020)
A richly observed tale spiked with survival and violence, rough justice, and love.

The reader meets Ruthie Fear when she is six years old and follow her up until her early thirties as she battles her inner demons on what type of life does she want to live as her home in the …more
American Dirt
American Dirt: A Novel
by Jeanine Cummins
Haunting, mesmerizing, unforgettable! (12/27/2019)
I am so very touched by American Dirt, a richly told timely and relevant contemporary story.

Cummings clear-eyed storytelling, compelling narrative and characterizations along with being expertly plotted had my heart racing in the many tense situations. While there are many …more
Creatures
Creatures
by Crissy Van Meter
A Mournful Tale (10/30/2019)
Van Meter's debut is a mournful novel on Evie's attempt to be self-truthful about her childhood through teen years into adulthood.

The format is both a strength and weakness of this story, The main sections of the book is names for the three days leading up to Evie's wedding, …more
The Shadow King
The Shadow King: A Novel
by Maaza Mengiste
A Gem of a Story (8/12/2019)
The Shadow King is a richly textured and carefully constructed compelling must-needed work of historical fiction. As Fascist Italy invades Ethiopia in 1935, the men prepare to defend their country, but the women of Ethiopia will not be denied to preserve their country. …more
Patsy
Patsy: A Novel
by Nicole Dennis-Benn
A Gem of a Story (7/2/2019)
This sweeping tale is equal parts heart-wrenching, impactful and hopeful and highlights Dennis-Benn strong storytelling skills.

The unflinching portraits of the complex characters each of whom is looking to be comfortable within their skin is told with compassion and …more
A People's History of Heaven
A People's History of Heaven
by Mathangi Subramanian
Beautiful, emotionally evocative storytelling (3/25/2019)
I so enjoy when a story drags me to where they want me to be as these five fearsome girls sneak their way into your heart. Raised in a Bangalore slum, each character gets to provide their backstory that centers around lives defined around by femaleness and class structure …more
House of Stone
House of Stone
by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
Powerful, exquisitely affecting, blisteringly honest (1/19/2019)
House of Stone is an impressive debut that examines the integration and recreation of personal and national identities through the lens of one "family" from the dissolution of Rhodesia, the birth of Zimbabwe, and what being a nation entails.

It is through the lens of the …more
The Kinship of Secrets
The Kinship of Secrets
by Eugenia Kim
The Bonds That Bind Us (11/18/2018)
This captivating and poignant story opens at the start of the Korean War and thwarts the dreams of two sisters; one who lives in the United States with their parents and the other sister who was left behind in Korea. This deeply moving story is told in alternate chapters by …more
America for Beginners
America for Beginners
by Leah Franqui
Engaging and Riveting! (4/26/2018)
A charmingly heartrending story that will soothe your soul as three strangers on a road trip across America find themselves discovering there is more to the journey than just the tourist sites. One of the most appealing aspects of this storyline is the engaging and …more
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions
by Mario Giordano
Lively, Smart, and Dynamic (2/3/2018)
A gutsy protagonist, Auntie Poldi, who has experienced the vicissitudes of life and has a passion for cocktails and virile men in uniforms has "retired" to Sicily to drink wine and admire the scenery until a young reliable handyman disappears. As Poldi sets out to get her …more
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