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Reviews by Kate G. (Bronx, NY)

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Help Wanted
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 …more
The Divorcees
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 …more
Paper Names
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 …more
Pieces of Blue
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 …more
Scatterlings
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 …more
Exiles
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 …more
On a Night of a Thousand Stars
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 …more
The Paris Bookseller
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 …more
Sisters of the Great War
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 …more
The Plot
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 …more
Morningside Heights
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 …more
Miss Austen
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 …more
The Guest Book
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 …more
Sold on a Monday
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 …more
French Exit
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 …more
Force of Nature
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 …more
Young Jane Young
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. …more
Mercies in Disguise
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 …more
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
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 …more
The Children
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 …more
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