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Fifty Words for Rain
Fifty Words for Rain
by Asha Lemmie
a heart felt sweeping saga (9/14/2020)
Once you begin this book, it is hard to not be swept up into this enveloping narrative. Niko, an 8 year old Japanese child is a product of an illegitimate affair or a woman of Japanese royalty and an African American GI officer in the post world war II. I dare you to read …more
Eat the Buddha
Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town
by Barbara Demick
a riveting piece of history (8/21/2020)
Forgive my ignorance, but I did know that China has been trying to seize control of Tibet but I never really understood why. Barbara Demick delivers a non fiction book that feels like fiction but delivers a remarkable arc of history spanning Mao's Long March through the …more
The Last Flight
The Last Flight
by Julie Clark
Suspense is undeniable (6/28/2020)
In the age of covid-19, when we all would all like to escape to the moon, Julie Clark offers up the perfect remedy. Speeding forward like a locomotive, the book pulsates with the energy of a good suspense novel, while creating heart stealing characters. Claire is married to …more
Apeirogon
Apeirogon
by Colum McCann
Wrenching stories (5/31/2020)
Breathtaking.. Heart stealing characters. A voice that somersaults on the page. Pulsates with urgency and lingers with hope. My absolute favorite of 2020. A mosaic of small chapters, descriptive snippets of the Israeli Palestinian confrontations examined through the voices …more
Hollywood Park
Hollywood Park
by Mikel Jollett
Pulls at your heartstrings (5/25/2020)
Prior to reading this, I knew nothing about the author, nor his place in history as the frontman of the band Airborn Toxic. In fact, as I immersed myself in the book, I had to remind myself that these events really happened to someone, sometimes outlandish and always …more
My Dark Vanessa
My Dark Vanessa: A Novel
by Kate Russell
a variance on Lolita (5/24/2020)
It took the author 18 years to write his novel. Who would have know how prescient it would become during the current "Me-Too" crisis. This is a very unsettling novel examining the life of a 15 year old girl who becomes enamored with her 42 year old teacher as he stealthily …more
Eden Mine
Eden Mine
by S. M. Hulse
a gem-perfect for book clubs (5/18/2020)
I don't even know where to start. Reading this was like finding a precious jewel in the bottom of a haystack. I hadn't even heard about this book until a book friend that I respect introduced it to me. I will be forever grateful. I was transfixed by this quiet contemplative …more
These Women
These Women: A Novel
by Ivy Pochoda
Gritty and powerful (5/18/2020)
Once in a while, if you are lucky, a novel comes along that leaves you breathless and stunned. Pochoda's book threw me down a whirlpool sucking me under . Using descriptive street language ,the author explores the life of five different women who live in southwestern LA, a …more
A Good Marriage
A Good Marriage
by Kimberly McCreight
Wicked ride of surprise (5/15/2020)
A perfect book for a book club discussion! What indeed constitutes a good marriage? How do we even define that? This novel creates 4 marriages that are wildly disparate, emphasizing the foundation of McCreight's work. In this fast pacing mystery, it is peppered with …more
Code Name Hélène
Code Name Hélène
by Ariel Lawhon
Resistance for the brave (5/12/2020)
Fascinating historical fiction of Nancy Wake, a spitfire woman who, though only in her early 20's to 30's became a celebrated heroine in WWII. Through her work as a salty tongued firehouse, this Australian woman worked for the British as an intrepid spy. She went on …more
Hard Cash Valley
Hard Cash Valley
by Brian Panowich
page turner (5/10/2020)
How do I begin to even talk about this hard scrabble book that I loved with such fierce intensity. Panowich is such a great writer; I was lucky to have found him before and read his previous two novels. I finished this book with tears streaming down my face. Who would have …more
Hidden Valley Road
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
by Robert Kolker
the history of schizophrenia (5/8/2020)
The deft assured writing was the icing on the cake as it explored the history of schizophrenia and the price it cost for this family of 12 children. Six of the children were eventually diagnosed with this disease as the reader becomes intimately enveloped in their …more
Sharks in the Time of Saviors
Sharks in the Time of Saviors
by Kawai Strong Washburn
Mythology and family tussles (5/4/2020)
Enter magical realism. Combine the mythology of the gods and their importance in the land of Hawaii. Produce a family that grapples about upholding their bonds to one another while escaping them and the land for freedom of a different sort. Bake for 376 pages. Serve to find …more
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
by Deepa Anappara
A voice that is textured and enveloping (4/23/2020)
This was no popcorn thriller that pulled you to alarming heights. No, this was a book to savor slowly enjoying each sentence, sipping slowly to obtain the full body and essence. Her words spilled out with a sumptous resonance, along with piercing observations along the way. …more
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
by Deepa Anappara
the slums of India (4/23/2020)
Because I adore India and have traveled there several times, I treasured the authenticity revealed in this novel. There are some who may be reluctant to read this because it is filled with poverty, class divisions, sadness, kidnapping ,and abandoned children. However, from …more
A Good Neighborhood
A Good Neighborhood
by Therese Anne Fowler
not to be missed (3/15/2020)
This storyline is a real departure from Fowler's usual historical novels, but I think she has come up with a winner that could be adapted for one of Reese Witherspoon's movies. Book clubs will have a lot to discuss with the issues that are brought up in fast reading prose. …more
Children of the Land
Children of the Land
by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo
the immigrants' invisibility (3/11/2020)
Today,March 11, the Supreme Court said" the Trump administration may continue its 'Remain in Mexico' policy for asylum seekers while lower court challenges continue, after the federal government warned that tens of thousands of immigrants amassed at the southern border.." …more
Conjure Women
Conjure Women
by Afia Atakora
Slavery, women and hoodoo (3/9/2020)
Voodoo.Hoodoo.Healing.The Civil War.Mother/child love.Midwifery.Slavery.These are an intricate part of Atakora's debut novel so intimately expressed with breathtaking intensity. The time period is before and after the devastation of the Civil War expressed through the …more
The Girl with the Louding Voice
The Girl with the Louding Voice
by Abi Daré
Female empowerment (2/11/2020)
May this 14 year old Nigerian girl never leave the imprint of her struggle, her humanity and her bravery from my brain. As she narrates how her world widens from her poor home in her village to the city of riches in Lagos, one watches the unfolding of the chrysalis becoming …more
Dear Edward
Dear Edward
by Ann Napolitano
A surprising tender read (1/25/2020)
When I read the premise of the book, I couldn't imagine appreciating it. Why did I want to read about a plane crash of 191 people where only a 12 year old boy survived? It felt depressing just twirling these words around my tongue. However, I was in for one sweet surprise. …more

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