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Reviews by Cathryn Conroy

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Dear Committee Members
by Julie Schumacher
Hilarious! A Short, Quick Read That Had This Old English Major Laughing Out Loud (8/31/2023)
In a word: Hilarious!

This is a witty, snarky, and comical skewering of modern-day college English departments, many of which are suffering from a lack of allocated funding from their universities as the number of English majors declines in favor of STEM majors. If you weremore
Malibu Rising
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Literary Equivalent of Eating Ice Cream for Breakfast: Sexy, Entertaining Summer ChickLit (8/29/2023)
This book is the literary equivalent of eating ice cream for breakfast. Wickedly fun, but not something you want to do on a regular basis. It's entertaining, engrossing, and sexy summer ChickLit. Nothing more. And sometimes that's just what you want.

Written by Taylormore
The Brutal Telling: Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, #5
by Louise Penny
This Is a Marvel of a Murder Mystery: A Clever Whodunit Filled with Life Wisdom (8/25/2023)
I never read murder mysteries until I started reading Louise Penny, and now I am an avid fan—of both the genre and (especially) this author. Like the other four books that precede this novel, this is expertly written with a compelling whodunit plot, bold and vividmore
Instructions for a Heatwave
by Maggie O'Farrell
A Brilliant and Captivating Novel About a Family Built on Shocking Secrets and Devastating Lies (8/19/2023)
This is the story of a family that is—on the surface, at least—picture perfect. But underneath that surface there is trouble—big trouble in the form of long-guarded secrets and outright lies that can only be described as shocking, astonishing, devastating, and even earth-more
Foster
by Claire Keegan
A Pitch-Perfect Story of a Parent's Love—of What Could Be and What Isn't. It Will Break Your Heart! (8/15/2023)
Oh, this is a masterpiece in just 62 pages. Every word is perfect. And when all those words are placed one after the other on the page, the result is a novella that just wrapped its way around my heart and wouldn't let go.

Brilliantly written by master short story-tellermore
Las Madres: A Novel
by Esmeralda Santiago
A Fierce, Touching, and Insightful Intergenerational Novel About Heritage, Memory, and Secrets (8/8/2023)
This is a fierce, touching, and insightful intergenerational novel about heritage, memory, and secrets, but most of all family, especially the family we create with our dearest friends.

Written by Esmeralda Santiago, this is the story of three mothers—Luz, Ada, and Shirley—more
Tenth of December: Stories
by George Saunders
A Spectacular, Special, and Brilliant Collection of Short Stories (7/31/2023)
I read this book now in preparation for being in the audience when author George Saunders is presented with the 2023 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction at the National Book Festival on August 12, 2023. While Saunders is receiving this award for the body of hismore
Lone Women: A Novel
by Victor LaValle
Adventure, Historical Literary Fiction, and Horror Mixed Up in a Blender and Spit Out in 282 Pages (7/28/2023)
This is quite the genre-defying novel written by Victor LaValle, mixing traditional historical literary fiction with a demon/monster that transforms it into a farfetched horror story.

It's 1915. Adelaide Henry, a 31-year-old Black woman is living with her parents on theirmore
Trust
by Hernan Diaz
A Brilliant, Highly Imaginative Literary Puzzle About the Power of Money, Ambition, and Greed (7/26/2023)
When it comes to reading novels, who do you trust? I'm not sure I ever before thought about this question in such direct terms, but that's the underlying premise of this remarkable novel by Hernan Diaz, which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Literature (shared with "Demonmore
Now Is Not the Time to Panic: A Novel
by Kevin Wilson
A Fun, Albeit Odd Book. The Story Drags in the Middle and Sputters to a Disappointing Ending (7/25/2023)
This short, coming-of-age book by Kevin Wilson begins with an imaginative and snappy plot…but then just starts to draaaaaaag out until it finally sputters to a disappointing ending.

It's the summer of 1996. Frankie and Zeke are two 16-year-olds living in Coalfield, a rural,more
Good Night, Irene: A Novel
by Luis Alberto Urrea
Imaginative, Authentic, and Haunting: A Masterfully Told World War II Story Unlike Any Other (7/10/2023)
This is one of those novels that sneaks up on you, dear reader. The first half is good—actually, quite good—but not what I would call riveting. Or compelling. It's more interesting than engrossing. But hang on to your hats because the second half is unputdownable. The storymore
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer
by James L. Swanson
A Nonfiction Book with a Tale So Riveting and Enthralling It Reads Like a Thriller Novel (7/3/2023)
Even though you probably know at least the basic facts about the beginning, the middle, and the end of this story about the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in cold blood during a play at Ford's Theater on April 14, 1865, you maymore
Poverty, by America
by Matthew Desmond
A Stunning Book That Will Shock, Anger, and Quite Possibly Change You (6/20/2023)
No matter where you are on the political spectrum, this book will make you think. It might make you cry. It might make you angry. But I can almost guarantee that you will have some visceral reaction to it.

Approach it with an open mind, and it could very well change how youmore
The Silent Patient
by Alex Michaelides
Read This Psychological Thriller Just for the Explosive Ending. It's THAT Good! (6/19/2023)
This novel is like an onion. Author Alex Michaelides very deliberately and very slowly peels away the layers, creating a psychological thriller that teases and tantalizes the reader right up to the explosive ending.

This is the story of Alicia Berenson, a talented artistmore
Our Country Friends: A Novel
by Gary Shteyngart
This Is an Intellectual, Erudite Literary Novel: Compelling in Parts and a Real Slog in Others (6/6/2023)
This is an intellectual, erudite literary novel that is compelling in parts and a real slog in others.

Written by Gary Shteyngart, this is the story of Sasha Senderovsky and Masha Levin-Senderovsky, who invite five of their closest friends to come live with them andmore
When We Were Sisters: A Novel
by Fatimah Asghar
A Brilliant, but Devastating, Novel Written in Fierce Prose That Sings Like Lyrical Poetry (5/31/2023)
This is a brilliant novel written in fierce prose that sings like lyrical poetry. It is heartbreaking, shattering, and overwhelming.

Written by Fatimah Ashgar, this is the story of three Pakistani-American sisters, who are orphaned at a young age after their father ismore
I Have Some Questions for You: A Novel
by Rebecca Makkai
A Complex Literary Mystery: A True-Crime Whodunit with a Brain That's Also a Page-Turner (5/26/2023)
This is a literary mystery—a true-crime whodunit with a brain—that is a gripping, masterful novel written by the award-winning author Rebecca Makkai.

It's 2018. Bodie Kane is 40, a film scholar, adjunct film professor at UCLA, and the co-host of a successful podcast onmore
Victory City: A Novel
by Salman Rushdie
A Fantasy of Epic Proportions—A Fable, Fairy Tale, Allegory, and Parable—with a Formidable Warning (5/13/2023)
This book is fantasy—a completely made-up world where the main character possesses extraordinary magical abilities and lives to be 247 years old. And while fantasy is my least favorite genre, I am enamored of Salman Rushdie. After all, any author who has a fatwa placed onmore
The Giver of Stars
by Jojo Moyes
A Story of Redemption and New Beginnings, a Story of Justice and Hope: I Was Captivated! (5/8/2023)
Before I read this book for my book club, I was skeptical. The only other novel I have read by JoJo Moyes is "Me Before You" (also for my book club), and it was a sappy love story. This one is more historical fiction than love story, featuring engaging characters and amore
When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present
by Gail Collins
From Historical Broad Strokes to Personal Anecdotes, This Book Is Brilliant and Entertaining (5/5/2023)
I started first grade in 1960. Even at that young age, I was told that when I grew up, I could only be a teacher, secretary, or a nurse, but most of all I should be a wife and mother. And then, quite suddenly about 10 years later, everything changed. While I wasn't part ofmore

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    Let's Call Her Barbie
    by Renée Rosen
    She was only eleven-and-a-half inches tall, but she would change the world. Barbie is born in this bold new novel by USA Today bestselling author Renée Rosen.
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Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

From the best-selling author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. comes a funny, eye-opening tale of work in contemporary America.

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