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Reviews by Bonnie G

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The Names
The Names: A Novel
by Florence Knapp
Stellar novel (4/17/2025)
Occasionally someone says, "you rate too many novels 5 stars." So I thought about this and attribute it to the following: 1) I am choosy about what I read and do my research so the odds are high it will have merit and be good; 2) as a lifelong voracious reader, I recognize …more
The Eights
The Eights
by Joanna Miller
Moving and Illuminating (4/16/2025)
Women know well the uncomfortable experience of being the sole woman in a hostile environment. Women also know well the validating experience of being surrounded by women who lift you up and support you during the good and bad times. Miller has written a universal story …more
The Bright Years
The Bright Years
by Sarah Damoff
Redemptive and hopeful (4/10/2025)
As readers, we all long for a well written story with a redemption arc; a book that tackles some of society's most heart-wrenching issues - addiction, adoption; a book that shares a viewpoint but does not hammer the reader over the head with dogma or ideology. The Bright …more
Careless People
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
by Sarah Wynn-Williams
A clear eyed frightening behind the scenes look at big tech (4/10/2025)
When you can't stop thinking about a book, when it invades your dreams, when you ask everyone you know to read it ... you know it has had an impact. Even if Meta was not working so hard (and succeeding in part) to get this book and the author's voice quashed, I would be …more
Tilt
Tilt: A Novel
by Emma Pattee
A wild dystopic but all too real ride (3/25/2025)
Pattee's novel is one of those read straight through in one sitting book. Actually, this book is one of those where you have to physically restrain yourself from reading the last few pages to find out what happens! Tilt tells the store of one day in the life of Annie, who …more
Famous Last Words
Famous Last Words: A Novel
by Gillian McAllister
Buckle up - this one is a roller coaster (in the best way!) (2/25/2025)
Not going to lie, I am here for anything Gillian McAllister writes. But unlike some of my other long term mystery and thriller writers favorites, McAllister's novels just keep getting better and better and better. My recommendation for Famous Last Words is to read it as …more
Show Don't Tell
Show Don't Tell: Stories
by Curtis Sittenfeld
Another winner from Sittenfeld (2/25/2025)
I often think of Curtis Sittenfeld as the author of short stories for people who don't typically read short stories (i.e. me!). Her stories are accessible, the world-building extensive, and the messages profound. This collection is no different. The protagonists - mostly …more
Tilda Is Visible
Tilda Is Visible: A Novel
by Jane Tara
Self help with a fictional twist (2/25/2025)
Tilda is a sweet fable about aging women who let themselves become invisible by society. Tilda is disappearing - she has been diagnosed with invisibility - slowly losing herself and disappearing to those around her. But as the spiritual guide to whom our heroine turns for …more
How to Share an Egg
How to Share an Egg: A True Story of Hunger, Love, and Plenty
by Bonny Reichert
Superb memoir of food and family (1/14/2025)
Bonny Reichert grew up hearing her Holocaust survivor father telling her "Sweetheart, do you hear me? It's okay. It's over and we survived." But what Ms. Reichert comes to understand - through painful discussions with her father, travel back to Poland, and through the …more
Sandwich
Sandwich: A Novel
by Catherine Newman
Funny and nostalgic (11/4/2024)
A fast read about important topics that will resonate if you are a middle aged woman living in her “sandwich” era - balancing growing and grown kids with aging and aged parents, all while being in a long loving and long suffering marriage. It will also resonate if your …more
The God of the Woods
The God of the Woods: A Novel
by Liz Moore
Moore has done it again with another fantastic novel (11/4/2024)
This book is 10 out of 10. Moore does her magic with a multi perspective multi decade story of two disappearances separated by about 10 years, the first in the 1960s and the second in the 1970s. Saying anything more about the story gives it away. Best to enter this one cold …more
Wanted
Wanted: Toddler's Personal Assistant: How Nannying for the 1% Taught Me about the Myths of Equality, Motherhood, and Upward Mobility in America
by Stephanie Kiser
Compulsive, silly and profound (11/4/2024)
Compulsive. Funny. Profound. As our world gets more divisive, not less, it is critical to read memoirs that offer windows into worlds not our own. Sure Kiser shows us how the ultra ultra wealthy live in NYC as she nannies, with all its liberal values, absurdities and glam. …more
Long Island Compromise
Long Island Compromise: A Novel
by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
An outstanding novel from Brodesser-Akner (11/4/2024)
Every now and then a book comes along that is so good that it is also so hard to read. This is one of those books. This book has possibly the best propulsive opening scene I have ever read, followed by one of the hardest chapters dealing with sexual transgressions and drug …more
The Sequel
The Sequel: The Book Series #2
by Jean Hanff Korelitz
The Sequel is a worth sequel (11/4/2024)
The Sequel is as much fun for voracious readers as The Plot. Sprinkled throughout a solid mystery thriller, Hanff Korelitz slyly winks to the peculiarities of the book business. She saves her sharpest knives for book signings, the idea of sequels, agents and editors, book …more
I Hope This Finds You Well
I Hope This Finds You Well: A Novel
by Natalie Sue
Surprisingly compelling and moving office novel (11/4/2024)
I am not usually one for office novels (maybe my time as an office drone is so far in the past and so poorly remembered that I don't want to revisit it?) but Natalie Sue takes the office novel to remarkably compelling and captivating new heights. The premise is simple - …more
One Day I'll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman
One Day I'll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman: A Mother's Story
by Abi Maxwell
Necessary and urgent memoir (11/4/2024)
Abi Maxwell's memoir tells of the heartbreaking experiences of her family in a small town in New Hampshire who were vilified and and ostracized when her daughter transitioned socially to her new name, new pronouns and new identity at a very young age. Maxwell's language is …more
A Reason to See You Again
A Reason to See You Again: A Novel
by Jami Attenberg
Superb family drama (11/4/2024)
The Cohen family is unlikable - Frieda is a difficult, and often cruel, mother to her daughters Nancy (the pretty one) and Shelley (the smart one). Neither daughter cares much for their mother, and all can go months without speaking. And yet. Attenberg skillfully builds …more
Like Mother, Like Mother
Like Mother, Like Mother: A Novel
by Susan Rieger
Another winner from Rieger (11/4/2024)
There is no other way to say it - I simply adored this book. It hit all my sweet spots - a mother daughter dilemma (several!), a mystery at the novel's core, strong Jewish characters (and how they interact with characters of several different faiths in this fraught and …more
Long Island Compromise
Long Island Compromise: A Novel
by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
An important novel that may be divisive but will definitely be talked about (6/19/2024)
Every now and then a book comes along that is so good that it is also so hard to read. This is one of those books. This book has possibly the best propulsive opening scene I have ever read, followed by one of the hardest chapters dealing with sexual transgressions and drug …more
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