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Reviews by Laura C. (Woodworth, LA)

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This Strange Eventful History
This Strange Eventful History: A Novel
by Claire Messud
The search for home (4/18/2024)
Algeria's violent and bloody 8-year war for independence from France began in 1954. Native Algerians were just as much French citizens as people born in France, and, as such, were allowed to choose to live in France. Algerians who did so, called pieds noirs, were ultimately …more
The Day Tripper
The Day Tripper: A Novel
by James Goodhand
Patience required (12/3/2023)
Alex Dean experiences atemporal consciousness, "detethered from the ordinary passage of time," also known as time traveling. But so frequent are the time switches in The Day Tripper that early on I found myself quite frustrated, confused and wondering if I would even make …more
Alfie and Me
Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe
by Carl Safina
Alfie & Me (9/7/2023)
Carl Safina's rescue and rehab of a tiny injured screech owl near his Long Island home is a heart-warming story of dedication, perseverance and ultimate success. My enjoyment of Alfie's story, however, was diminished by the author's "philosophical musings" (Publishers …more
King of the Armadillos
King of the Armadillos
by Wendy Chin-Tanner
King of the Armadillos (5/5/2023)
Victor Chin is a child when his father takes him and his older brother from China to live in the Bronx in the fifties in search of a better life. But the discrimination Victor suffers because of his nationality pales in comparison to the ostracism and stigma he and his …more
The Gifts
The Gifts: A Novel
by Liz Hyder
The Gifts (2/23/2023)
Although a major theme of The Gifts is storytelling, to me the story actually gets off to a slow, even confusing start. But the reader who sticks with it will not be disappointed! Four talented, determined, intelligent women, way ahead of their time, eventually team up in 18 …more
Margot
Margot: A Novel
by Wendell Steavenson
Margot (12/11/2022)
When Margot Thornsen "slips the leash" and goes off to college, she is on a mission to make up for the independence she has been denied all her life by her constantly critical, overbearing, meddlesome, alcoholic mother who has no goal for her daughter other than that she …more
The God of Endings
The God of Endings: A Novel
by Jacqueline Holland
An impressive debut (10/8/2022)
The narrator of The God of Endings is a vampire whose immortality is bestowed on her at age 10 by her grandfather. Anna is never comfortable in the role and uses her superhuman powers only reluctantly and to benefit the humans who befriend and help her. To the author's …more
Flesh & Blood
Flesh & Blood: Reflections on Infertility, Family, and Creating a Bountiful Life: A Memoir
by N. West Moss
A very timely and candid reflection (8/3/2021)
Although a very quick read, even at 307 pages, Flesh & Blood leaves the reader with much to ponder beyond the last page. After three miscarriages and a hysterectomy followed by a relapse, N. West Moss struggles to adjust to the reality of infertility. The descriptions …more
At the Chinese Table
At the Chinese Table: A Memoir with Recipes
by Carolyn Phillips
More than just a memoir (6/15/2021)
At the Chinese Table is an amazingly detailed and enlightening romp of a memoir. Carolyn Phillips takes the reader through her first few very rocky years in Taiwan and mainland China as she struggles to decide whether her pursuit of linguistic fluency there is even worth …more
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman: A Novel
by Julietta Henderson
An amazing adventure not to be missed (2/7/2021)
Comedy and grief are perhaps surprising dual themes in a novel, but Julietta Henderson uses the two to weave a riotously delightful read in her debut novel, The Funny Thing about Norman Foreman. Twelve year old Norman and his single-mom, Sadie, are narrators who take the …more
The Fortunate Ones
The Fortunate Ones
by Ed Tarkington
The perils of privilege (10/15/2020)
The Fortunate Ones could be summed up with several platitudes. "Be careful what you wish for. All that glitters is not gold. The grass is always greener on the other side." But Ed Tarkington's tale of the haves and the have nots of Nashville is a deep dive into the sobering …more
The Woman Before Wallis
The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal
by Bryn Turnbull
A royal page turner (7/12/2020)
For lovers of historical fiction and avid followers of British royalty (yes, me on both counts), The Woman before Wallis does not disappoint. With some similarities to the recent courtship of American divorcée Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the story of Thelma Morgan's …more
The Paris Hours
The Paris Hours: A Novel
by Alex George
An exceptional read (2/4/2020)
Unfathomable loss, regret, remorse and longing have left indelible marks on Camille, Jean-Paul, Guillaume and Souren but in 1927 Paris, they strive ceaselessly to find what eludes them and will seemingly make them whole. Cameos by Ernest Hemingway, Marcel Proust, Gertrude …more
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    The River Knows Your Name
    by Kelly Mustian
    A haunting Southern novel about memory and love, from the author of The Girls in the Stilt House.
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