Alexis Wright composes seriously literary fiction....and I was intrigued when I read a review of this book. However, twenty-five pages in, my brain was beginning to pound. Now I was an English major in college and I still read more than a hundred books every year (many of them intricate and intense masterpieces) so I was surprised to realize this one was too deep and too long for me at this moment in time.(661 pages of small print and very long passages.)

Please do not misunderstand me, it is very well written and eloquent, but it seemed to be a slow build (probably necessary for the material-climate crisis, wealth and racial and cultural inequities) and there is just too much happening in my life right now (including my pending move, a new grandchild and other family issues and I have an incredibly huge TBR list calling out to me) to dedicate the time necessary to this particular narrative.

So I have placed it back on my TBR stack with the hope that someday it and I will find our way back to each other.

People read fiction for many reasons. Some want to be entertained. Others are looking to get some intellectual stimulation. Many simply want to feel something. The best books accomplish all three of these and Charlee Dyroff's first novel, "Loneliness and Company" attains membership in this group.

Lee has been working so hard for so many years to reach her goal of an offer of employment at one of the "Big Five." Instead, the placement system dumps her with an unheard of company working on creating an AI friend to combat loneliness, even though that word (though not the feeling) was expunged from this society.

Lee instantly captures our attention and we take this roller coaster of a journey with her, as she struggles with her past and her present and realizes the narrative she has been telling herself about her life is not exactly accurate. There are many memorable quotes that we all can relate to, but one that resonates the most is "These facts march behind my skull telling me that the reality I'm living in is one I never would have expected."

Dyroff sets the location as New York City, but one that seemingly has lost most of its former glory. The writing style is excellent and engaging, all the characters are well crafted and interesting, and this tale of a young woman searching for her identity and her purpose while learning about friendship and love and what it means to be human (possibly a lifelong quest) will linger in the reader's thoughts for quite some time. Definitely a book to share with friends and family!

I vaguely remember all the great reviews and awards Rachel Khong received back in 2017 for her first published novel, "Goodbye, Vitamin" and thinking I should add it to my TBR list, which somehow never actually happened (which I totally regret-and it's on there now!) but I definitely was thrilled to get a free copy of "Real Americans" (thank you to Penguin Random House.)

I devoured this one in two days-which meant I did not pay much attention to real life-but, that's fine because it was so worth it. On the basic level it is a tale of Lily Chen, a 22 year old unpaid intern in New York City who meets Matthew, a wealthy heir to a pharmaceutical fortune. One of the most memorable quotes is Lily saying "More than I love you, I wanted him to say that he knew me. Who else did?" The expertly written and crafted tale shares their journey to love, with both obstacles and moments of joy, but also goes much, much further than that.

It includes multiple generations, with deep dives into Lily's parents-especially her mother , May and her son, Nick. May preferred her career in biology to her role as a mother, and this understandably resulted in many difficulties for Lily. But, a secret will soon be revealed that changes everyone's lives and raises relevant questions about nurture vs. nature, and the whole concept of family (including creating your own family outside of birth ties.) Throw in the issues of race and class and ethics and Khong has produced a modern classic.

I highly recommend this book to all who love family stories and literary works of art!

After reading the ARC of "Clear" so generously supplied by Simon and Schuster (Scribner) there is a new author on my favorites list-Carys Davies. Succinct and special, this novel eloquently and masterfully tells the tale of John Ferguson, a minister who is in financial straits due to his leaving his position with the established church of Scotland for the newly formed Free Church of Scotland and Ivar, the last remaining tenant of an island whose owners wish it to be completely cleared of humans and animals, so that they can proceed with a money making scheme involving sheep.

The eloquently written portraits of these two men, strangers who do not even speak the same language, and the beautiful descriptions of the landscapes traveled draw the reader into a narrative that slowly reveals their personalities and tragedies from their pasts and takes a journey into their unlikely friendship precipitated by an awful accident that befalls John in his attempt to earn some desperately needed funds as he traverses the island in search of the man he must evict.

Add to the plucky protagonists, Mary-John's loving wife, who bravely chooses to follow her husband's path when it becomes clear he must be in some sort of danger. Her journey is just as important and equally well crafted. This novel has a powerful ending and is ideal for lovers of historical fiction and those who favor literary fiction. Grab a copy and prepare to be enthralled!

"The Naming Song" by Jedediah Berry was not on my radar until BookBrowse (yet again introducing me to authors I was unaware of and adding to my ever expanding TBR list!) offered it as a First Impressions selection. I was hooked after the very first page where the unnamed Courier is introduced. She is delivering new words into this complex world by acting them out-for example, secreting herself away on a freight train boxcar to speak the word stowaway. As the narrative continues we learn that some sort of apocalyptic event occurred that wiped out all the words, and the Diviners are slowly researching the proper replacements and the Couriers are restoring them in live action scenarios. There are humans that are named, there are others that are nameless, there are monsters dreamed into being, and this is simply the most amazing, original, intricate work of fiction I have read in a long time.

This one is a keeper- it has tons of action, and thoughtful conversations that will resonate with the reader for a very long time. The lead protagonist, our Courier, is a well crafted personality faced with so many obstacles and every single one of the supporting characters is just as relevant and interesting. The reader will feel all the feels, so many emotions- sorrow and anger and moments of hope and joy and love- it is hard to put this one down.

I am not going to give any more details, no spoilers here-you need to experience this one yourself, without any preconceived notions. Suffice it to say, I could see this as a well developed, multi seasons, streaming series in the hands of the right director and actors. I will definitely be rereading this book at some point and wish that Berry would continue this saga, either by returning to the narrative of the Courier or any of the other roles his imagination has so eloquently put to the page.

I honestly only have minimal memory of "The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain. I know I read it after "Tom Sawyer" and I was probably eight or nine years old-that was the time frame when I was borrowing a lot of classics from my local library. I recall Huck's basic character and I did not pay as much attention to the character of Jim. Granted, I was a child and I did not yet care about the perspectives of adults (particularly male viewpoints as I was already a budding feminist!) so I am glad (like thousands and thousands of others) that I picked up "James" by Percival Everett.

This is the book we did not know we needed. Powerful and memorable, funny and poignant, and a masterful work everyone should read. Everett has a masterful writing style and the reader is immediately drawn into the narrative. Giving voice to Jim was a brilliant choice and stirs up so many emotions. This one is a keeper, get it now!! I would definitely enjoy a sequel!

Before I read a review of Leif Enger's latest novel I was completely unaware of his work! I am thrilled to have finally discovered him and now simply have to read his previous books! "I Cheerfully Refuse" is a keeper, which means I must purchase it and add it to my collection (I borrowed it from the library)!

It is masterfully written, eloquent and will resonate with the reader for a long, long time! Love and loss and grief and searching and a dystopian landscape filled with wonderful souls and horribly cruel people and so much more. I am not going to share details, this is a work you need to consume with an open mind and enjoy the experience.

One of many quotes I found worthy of being embedded in my memory: "What scares me is the notion we are all one rotten moment, one crushed hope or hollow stomach from stuffing someone blameless in a cage."

Who needs to read this book, well-everyone, but especially those who love literary fiction!

I LOVE reading books! However, I usually first borrow books from the library (occasionally from family/friends) and then if I feel the novel deserves five stars AND I would happily re-read it, I will purchase it for my own collection.  This is primarily because I have limited space and limited funds. Occasionally I do buy a work of fiction immediately-when it is part of a series I already have or it is just so intriguing I am 100 confident it meets my criteria.

I was surprised by how quickly I became engrossed in Leigh Bardugo's latest book, "The Familiar."   I have other works by Bardugo, but it usually takes a chapter or two for me to become totally invested in the characters, setting and plot.  Luzia is a strong protagonist who unfortunately lives during the time of the Spanish Inquisition.  She is a converso (one of the Jewish faith who converts to the Catholic religion to stay alive) and an orphan and  a destitute servant, forced to sleep on a dirt floor and work constantly with no hope of a better life.  She is intelligent (having learned how to read as a child) and ambitious-yearning to improve her lot.  She is also gifted with a talent for magic (restoring broken items/healing injuries) and once her mistress, Valentina discovers this power things begin to get interesting.

She is forced to perform and we get to go along for the ride.  We watch her grow and discover her true nature and just how powerful she can be and also find love for the first time with Santangel-an immortal man who is not a good person.  We also see Valentina  blossom as a better woman and realize her husband, Marius, will never make her happy.   There are evil priests, there are powerful wealthy men with their own agendas, and an aunt that is more concerned with her own survival than really helping her niece..
Bardugo weaves a captivating tale, full of detail and richly constructed personalities.  It is difficult to put down!   It is ideal for those who love historical fiction and those who love literary fiction.   I am grateful to BookBrowse and Flatiron Books for the ARC- but I definitely would have gone out to buy it!! It is a keeper!!

Mostly original concept, engrossing with a protagonist who will immediately capture your interest and your heart, great debut novel and I am eager to read more by this author!!

Because I am an avid reader (on average I finish 2.5 books every week) and I am addicted to print books, I refrain from purchasing every book I consume-instead I borrow them from the library or friends or family.   Only if I find that I absolutely love the book AND would want to read it again AND I want my children and their children to read it do I end up buying it (I do not have the budget to buy or the space to store every book I read).  Yes, I have an e-reader and yes, I occasionally use it and totally comprehend the cost savings, but print books soothe my soul!

So "Beautyland" by Marie-Helen Bertino satisfies all my requirements and it is on my list to acquire (thanks to the library for having it readily available and to BookBrowse for leading me to this title). It is just amazing.   It is the story of Adina Giorno who believes she was sent to Earth by her people (aliens) to report, via fax machine, on humans.

Is this true? Is she really an extraterrestrial or does she have some serious psychological issues?  You can decide for yourself.  I chose to hold both possibilities within my mind as I turned the pages - think, Schrodinger's cat.  This saga takes you from Adina's birth and through the many decades of her life.  You learn of her intelligence and empathy for the humans she is "studying" and you ache at her loneliness.  You grow to understand her mother, at first an unsympathetic character, but as she says to her daughter, "It's like when you wrote that all we ever ate for dinner was chicken.  Little girl, I made pasta every night. What other facts are you misremembering about your childhood?"

We watch her lifelong friendship with her best friend Toni and her second best friend Toni's brother Dominic.  There are many others in her life, most notably her beloved dog Butternut, her romantic relationship with Miguel and her nightly "visits" with her alien mentor, Solomon.

It is rare that a book makes me weep, this one does.  It is even more unusual for a work of fiction to make me cry AND laugh, but somehow Bertino does this with her engaging writing style.  I cannot wait to add it to my collection so I can refer back to it.  I will be thinking about this one for a long, long, long time. 

Scott Alexander Howard clearly aims to capture a huge chunk of the reading population with his finely crafted debut, "The Other Valley." It is first and foremost literary fiction, a novel that takes and twists family drama in surprising ways, a coming of age saga, and the oft used alternate reality concept is upgraded to a level unexpected and infinitely imaginative.

Odile is our leading character and we meet her standing alone in the back of her school, her usual state of being after her only friend moves away. Already heavily burdened at the tender age of sixteen with a father who committed suicide, a mother whose ambitions are centered on her only child's fulfilling her failed desires for her own life, and the unfortunate reality that now, at this ridiculously impossible young age, is the time to pick her career and vocation, Odile is without close peers for support.

Surprisingly accepted for the coveted Conseil vetting, a lengthy audition process for the group that dictates who among the bereaved or terminally ill residents will get permission to travel outside of the heavily patrolled borders of their town-a consolation to see a person you would never live to meet or a person you would never get to see again. To the west you would be twenty years in the past and to the east you will be twenty years in the future. Odile is uncomfortable with the idea of such a public position, but cannot disappoint her mother by not making the attempt.

Before she even learns if she is chosen, she is in the wrong place at the wrong time and sees the parents of her classmate Edme, wearing masks, accompanied by a guard, and clearly there to secretly see their son, which means they are visiting from the future and Edme will die soon. This knowledge sculpts Odile's actions and feelings and leads her to make choices that imperil her life's path.

This story will linger in your thoughts and feelings for a long time. What decisions would you make? Grief and love complicate judgment and resolutions. Put this completely original work at the top of your TBR pile. Howard is a talented author and hopefully is already at work on his next creation!

The title of Shubnum Khan's latest novel, "The Djinn Waits A Hundred Years" made me stop and wonder just how quirky this tale would be?  I am so happy my initial reaction did not prevent me from reading it!   It is great!



Who does not love the epic and involved history of a huge and now deteriorating mansion?  Throw in a plucky curious young girl trying to navigate her life without her mother and with her grief stricken dad and an assorted, diverse group of down on their luck co-residents and a djinn haunting the premises and this story sings!
Sana needs this mystery to distract her from the less than optimal conditions of her new home at he South African estate known as Akbar Manzil. (After her dad Bilal tries to reassure her by saying he thinks her mother would have liked this place, Sana muses "She would have hated this place. She would have said it was filthy and falling apart.  She would have said he was out of his mind for coming here.")  



Sana finds an old photo of a couple obviously in love and some discarded diaries in the east wing and starts researching the past.  She also gets to know her neighbors, the elderly Doctor who runs the place and Razia Bibi- abandoned by her husband and rarely visited by her beloved son, and lonely Fancy who misses her daughter and tries to mediate all the conflicts within the building, Pinky- the staff member who fails hilariously at meeting her responsibilities and talks in the third person, and Zuileikha who has fled her renowned musical career and failed love affairs.



Khan keeps the narrative engaging and interesting, with flashbacks to the past and Sana's search for answers and closure.  The djinn is around to provide important details and while the reader will soon be fairly certain of the fate of the female of the couple,  the  particulars will be well worth the wait.    This book deserves a spot on your TBR!!!   It will linger in your thoughts for quite some time!

I am totally beyond satisfied that "Wellness" by Nathan Hill was the first book I read for 2024! (Like many readers I always try to choose an epic one to begin the year!) It totally deserves its selection as an NPR best book of the year and an Oprah's Book Club pick, though it was already on my radar since I loved Hill's first book "The Nix" and I fervently hope he is already furiously writing his next great book!

"Wellness" tells the tale of Elizabeth and Jack who meet when they are college students. Fast forward and now they routinely tell their story of living in apartment buildings directly across from one another and how they watched each other furtively until they finally met accidentally in a dive bar and Jack simply said "Come with" and thus their relationship began. But now, they are older, and life is filled with the mundane, and they have a child, and issues with the construction and designing of their dream home, and serious problems with their careers. Throw in suburban drama and social media trolling helmed by Brandie (of course she spells her name with an ie!) a mean girl mom who hides behind her positive thinking mantra while sabotaging anyone who doesn't fit in with her narrative and an interesting couple with an open marriage who fixate on Elizabeth and Jack.

Hill has taken the traditional love story into the modern era with great style. We watch Elizabeth and Jack face the hard truths about their lives. We learn they both have dysfunctional families that they fled, but have they repeated the mistakes of their own parents? Elizabeth has never told Jack the complete story of how her father wanted her to fail at everything and in turn Jack has never told Elizabeth why he feels responsible for the death of his beloved older sister when he was only nine years old.

As Hill writes, " ...people created a story that explained themselves to themselves, and then they believed their made-up story was the actual objective truth." Can this couple unearth their inner selves and then reveal them to one another? Or is it as Jack fears, "His wife and son were becoming other people, new people, people who found Jack more and more unnecessary."

Hill's writing style will appeal to fans of the literary genre and those who prefer a family tale that is relevant to today's society and all its enormous overwhelming flood of information and striving to be the best at everything one does. The reader is engrossed and captured within this saga on the very first page and it will linger in their thoughts for a long, long, long time. It deserves to be on the top of your TBR list!!

What could be more intriguing than a new debut novel about an autistic woman that is written by an author who has studied autism on a graduate level and is actually autistic herself? "All the Little Bird-Hearts" by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow is a perfect choice to kick off your 2024 reading!   
It is superbly crafted, wise and funny and heart-warming. Sunday is our main protagonist and she sharply examines her life and motherhood and her relationship with her sixteen year old daughter Dolly (named Dolores after Sunday's deceased sister.) The details of her condition are explained with thought provoking style and realistic incidents and occurrences. Sunday's experiences with her need to enact her natural behaviors such as assigned lists of foods (all white foods on certain days) and inability to conduct "normal" conversations allow the reader to understand and empathize with her life and the reactions of those around her.

When Vita, along with her husband Rols, appears as the temporary resident next door, Sunday is quickly fascinated by the quirky, wealthy woman. 
Initially, Vita's ability to accept and enjoy Sunday for who she actually is gives the reader hope. As Sunday herself says early on in the book, "These things that I accurately discerned about Vita were not, as it emerged, the important ones." As the narrative continues we learn of Sunday's failed marriage to Alex (nicknamed the King) and her childhood with a cold hearted mother and a father whose "bird heart" was loving but only for his wife. The circumstances regarding the drowning death of Sunday's sister and Sunday's role in that tragedy are revealed with appropriate emotion and empathy.

The pages almost turn themselves and pull the reader into the captivating story. As Vita and Sunday grow closer, the reader will become increasingly uneasy. As Vita begins to transfer her attention to Sunday's daughter, the apprehension mounts. The cracks in Vita's charisma widen and the reader recognizes why "All the Little Bird-Hearts" was longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize. This book deserves to move to the top of your TBR stack. It will linger in the thoughts of this reader for a long, long time.

Adrienne Young has written a new novel that will attract readers who enjoy a good mystery, and those that like a bit of time travel, and those who appreciate a good romance, and also those who want to get absorbed by a saga about a family (so pretty much everyone!)

The women of the Farrow family are all cursed. When the book opens, we are introduced to June Farrow as she buries her grandmother Margaret, and is faced with the sad realization she is the last living Farrow. Because all the females eventually submit to madness, June firmly intends to remain childless and end this bane permanently.

Susanna, June's mother, disappeared after abandoning her child and is believed dead. Margaret raised June, but suffered from the disease for several months before succumbing. Birdie, a long time family friend and Mason, June's childhood friend (June and Mason are slightly in love with each other but reluctant to pursue it because of the curse) are both there to help her with her grief. The townspeople ostracize the family because of their reputation and their lack of participation in the local church. They only interact with them for their flowers: they run a family farm renowned in the region for unusual and beautiful blooms.

June has been suffering from episodes for nearly a year now and is writing the details of her "hallucinations" in a journal. She sees the same horse, a mysterious red door, and hears the voice of man repeatedly. Then images of a man, Nathaniel Rutherford, begin to appear. He was murdered decades earlier and the crime was never solved. Then June receives a photograph of Nathaniel and his wife in the mail, and the woman turns out to be her mother! Which is impossible unless Susanna could time travel.

June researches the town and church records and discovers the evidence that sets her on a quest to discover the complete truth. Birdie advises her to go through the red door, but will not explain much more. June begins to question everything she believed about her life and her family members, but goes through the door the next time it appears to discover that she has an entire other existence.

As the novel proceeds, June slowly unearths the entire truth of her family and her involvement in Nathaniel's murder. Young keeps her readers engaged, though there are a few instances where some sentences could have been edited a bit sharper to make the clues and revelations easier to understand. There are enough twists and turns and action to keep it interesting and a definite page turner. The reader will be rooting for June and satisfied with their choice to read this book!

Michael Cunningham is probably best known for his Pulitzer winning modern classic "The Hours:A Novel" which was also made into a movie starring Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman. His latest "Day: A Novel" also tells a tale of several individuals struggling to find their paths in life despite all the demands of family and friends with the additional complications arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.


Our three main protagonists are Isabel, her brother Robbie and her husband Dan. None of them really completely know or understand each other even as they are all a little bit in love with one another. Fluttering about them are the children Violet and Nathan (also both a little in love with Robbie) who are so much wiser beyond their years, and Dan's brother Garth, an undependable soul who is trying to be a successful artist and Chess, the mother of Garth's child Odin. None of these characters grasp the true nature of the others, likely because they cannot even fathom themselves.

One of Cunningham's lines in the latter part of the book (a letter from Robbie to his sister Isabel) will resonate with the reader, "Do you think we ever really survive our childhoods?" Isabel is finding difficulty in her relationship with her daughter Violet while her husband Dan is coming to the realization that their son Nathan does not like him at all. None of the adults had ideal childhoods and now they feel they are failing at their own lives and almost completely lacking in perfect parental skills. Dan thinks he can repair his marriage, but does Isabel feel the same? Garth did not expect to fall in love with Chess, but does she see him as anything more than Odin's dad?

As the book begins, Robbie is dealing with the truth that he has to move out of the home he shares with his sister and her family because they just need the space and they are all more than a bit overwhelmed with this reality. Throw in a lockdown shortly after Robbie jets off to Iceland and everything begins to unravel. This is a great family drama and will appeal to those who enjoy that genre. It builds slowly and draws the reader in. A definite must read!

They are back! Laina, Ridley, Rebecca, Dragon, Melku, Sondra, Sonya and Cal return from their triumphant debut in "No Gods, No Monsters" to entrance us once again in Cadwell Turnbull's "We Are The Crisis".

Do you need to read the first book before cracking open the sequel? Absolutely! Otherwise you will not know the vital back stories of these fascinating characters. For example, Cal (deceased Cory's big brother- the frequent narrator who, as Damsel says in "No Gods, No Monsters" ...."never been hurt , have you, out here, swimming around minding other people's business?") who travels between alternate universes without the ability to influence history and events in any way. It is equally frustrating for him to be so helpless and for the reader to watch him being utterly incapable of saving or warning those he loves.

Turnbull has a dense, intricate writing style that captures thoughts and actions and the heart, soul and mind of the reader. It is almost beyond belief that he can create a narrative so memorable and imaginative. Monsters have always existed in this world, and now they have been revealed and humanity has to react. As one would expect, given the way people have always treated those that are different from themselves, groups form to aid the monsters, other groups (most notably the ominous Black Hand) fervently devote their lives to destroying them, and others just want to pretend the entire situation is just not happening.

Beneath all of this are some shadowy goings on. Mysterious gods and the nature of magic are wielding influence. Will there be a war? Can our heroes discover the truth behind the conflicts? What are you waiting for? Grab this book now and immerse yourself in Turnbull's creation! And then try to wait patiently until the next in the series arrives.

Sandra Newman has written the companion novel to Orwell's "1984".  We never knew we needed this, but in "Julia" so many of our questions are finally answered and we get the feminine perspective on the Party and Big Brother and the authoritarian nightmare.  If you ever wondered why Julia behaved as she did, then you will find the explanations you seek within this book.

Is it necessary to read or re-read "1984" before beginning "Julia"?  No, this is a narrative worthy of standing alone.  However, it is interesting to refresh by reading the original and then as you read the new book you will marvel at how well Newman captures the events, language, and ambience of Oceania.  Newman takes the old classic a step further by giving us Julia's perspective, emotions, and thoughts and we gain insight into her mind and background.   

"1984" was a stark reminder that democracy is fragile and that we need to be ever diligent to retain our freedom. "Julia" is even more timely as our world struggles with misinformation and confirmation bias and the countless numbers of wanna be authoritarians who want absolute power.

This is not a happy beach read. This will make you think and worry and hope this never happens in your country. Remember the tale of the frog in the pot of water, if the temperature is slowly increased in gradual increments, the frog never notices until it is too late and the water is boiling hot. 

This could be a slightly complicated read. On one hand it definitely cracks open the myth that pregnancy is all glowing and magical and that mothers instantly bond with their offspring, but the protagonist harbors some dark feelings towards her child and this will likely make most readers squirm uncomfortably-which may very well be the intention of the author, Olga Ravn. It shares the idea that bearing and raising a child is work and also details the protagonist turning to writing as work to retain her sense of self.

The back cover says it is "....radical, funny and mercilessly honest". The reader might not agree with the funny claim; the only humor seems to be in the unusual shopping sprees and some of the diary entries, " My doctor repeats that thinking you're going insane is a very common symptom of anxiety, but that the nausea is concerning".

Anna clearly has some issues with her current state of mind, "Let's agree right now that someone else has written it. Another woman, entirely unlike me. Let's call her Anna......I don't want anyone but me to know her".

The narrative jumps back and forth through time, and employs normal chapters, medical chart entries, poetry, diary entries and letters to tell the story of a woman who experiences many physical discomforts during her pregnancy. Anna also suffers from anxiety and depression both during and after this period. Her writing seems to be both therapy and release (though she actually does go to therapy-both individual and group).

Even if you are a mother, the parts where Anna feels she wants to kill her child, or imagines the death of the child are difficult to read. They are so fraught with negativity, even Anna does not want to re-read them. Still, Ravn has created a compelling woman and an important work of fiction. It definitely gives insights into motherhood that are not prevalent in the world today, give it a chance!

The concept of the existential dark abyss is well known to most.   Sarah Rose Etter raises the bar by instead imagining a bleak black hole that hovers about the protagonist, Cassie in "Ripe" her latest novel.  Cassie is the only one who can see her unwelcome constant companion (though it does shrink and grow in size based on both Cassie's emotional state and location) and it has been with her as long as she can remember. perhaps even back to her birth. 

Now 33, Cassie is living in California and working in Silicon Valley at a company called Voyager that is currently embroiled in shady efforts to take down their competition.  Like many of us, Cassie has to create a "fake" personality to fit in and survive at her demanding job.   San Francisco is well known for its very wealthy residents and its very, very high rate of homelessness.   As Cassie muses while she walks around the bay of her company's complex,  "The truth of the world bares itself when the tide goes down, devoured, used, rotting."  

Faced with several dilemmas at once- an unexpected pregnancy with her lover (who is in an open relationship with his "real" girlfriend), the realization that she is abandoning all her principles to keep her job, and the long overdue acknowledgement that her mother is harsh and unduly demanding while her father only wants her to stay in California and succeed- Cassie is struggling to avoid sinking into the shadowy center of her black hole. 

The dictionary definitions that begin most chapters and the frequent headlines interspersed throughout the novel, along with Cassie's research notes, are essential to the narrative so the reader should pay attention to them.  "Ripe" is an original and creative tale, a modern cautionary saga that will appeal to all that relish literary fiction.  More importantly, it is a work that will engage your emotions and your brain.