You know those books that have such great characters that they crawl into your heart and settle there? The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline is one of them. Spanning years and distance and set against the backdrop of British colonization, it tells the stories of three women on the receiving end of that brutality.Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna are memorable for their stories, but they tug on your heartstrings even more so because they are based on real people. There’s Evangeline, a governess sentenced to prison after her pregnancy is discovered; Hazel, a young midwife also sentenced for a minor infraction; and Mathinna, an orphan ripped from her home as an experiment in “taming the natives” by the wife of the new … Keep Reading
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‘Midnight Library’ and the Power of Regrets
Do you ever think about where you’d be if you did that ONE thing differently? If you, say, changed your major to match your passions, rather than your expectations? Or if you’d taken that leap of faith and moved to that far off city where you knew no one? The possibilities for how your life could have unfolded are endless, and it's hard not to think about them, sometimes. That's the premise of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and it's a good … Keep Reading
‘The First Day of Spring’ is a Powerful Debut Novel
When Chrissie was 8, she killed a little boy. Twenty years later, she’s a mom trying to do what’s best for her daughter. But how do you forgive yourself for something so awful? Or are some acts so terrible that there’s no coming back? Do the standards for redemption change if you killed someone as a child, rather than adult?Equal parts disturbing and heartbreaking, The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker is told through alternating points … Keep Reading
‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ Infuses Freshness Into the Familiar
Let me start off by saying I really enjoyed The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. My last few books have been duds so I was nervous about continuing my “losing streak”, but this one hit the spot. On its face, the story is tried-and-true: girl meets boy, boy has secrets, girl seeks truth and surprises abound; but Dave infuses freshness into it by going in an unexpected direction. Her approach strikes a balance between the familiar and the … Keep Reading
From the Archives
‘Wicked Girls’ is Wicked Awesome
I know, I know. My Boston roots are showing in the title of this post. But The Wicked Girls really is wicked awesome. I have, once again, to thank Jen at The Relentless Reader for stumbling across this book and sharing it with the rest of us. Without her, I never would have requested this one.The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood is about two girls who, at the age of 11, murdered a younger girl. The brutality of the murder was such that the two … Keep Reading
The Girl on the Cliff Disappoints
I recently discovered Lucinda Riley and read her debut book, The Orchid House (review here), which I absolutely adored. Despite its shortcomings in the second half, the intricate storyline placed it near the top of my list for best books of 2012. Naturally, I was ecstatic when I bought her second, The Girl on the Cliff and was looking forward to another equally-captivating story.Unfortunately, The Girl on the Cliff failed to impress me (it … Keep Reading
Men: Stop Explaining Things to Women (Book Review)
It's a sad state of affairs when a book titled Men Explain Things to Me is a title that makes sense. As a woman who has had men explain things to her, I was both looking forward to and dreading this book because I knew I would find both solace and frustration in our shared experiences. Thankfully, some of Solnit's experiences haven't happened to me yet, but because I was once patted on the head by a boss while he was telling me I did a good job … Keep Reading