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
Conquering the Classics: ‘The Bell Jar’ Blew Me Away
Considering how much I love the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, I'm pretty surprised by how long it has taken me to finally read The Bell Jar. I think it is because I have heard so much about it's depressing nature that I was wary. How could such a depressing book be so wonderful? But since it is on my 2013 TBR Challenge list, Classics Club challenge and 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list, I finally read it. And now I know why it's … Keep Reading
Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller (Book Review)
I'm calling it - Our Endless Numbered Days is going to be a hit. I feel pretty confident in saying this because I usually don't like books told through the eyes of a child or teenager and I made it almost a quarter of the way through before realizing that's how this book is written, which says a lot. Plus, it has a twist that will leave you stunned.So what's the book about? In short, it's about a girl returned to society recounting … Keep Reading
Quick Review: Every Day Is For the Thief
Can you ever go home again? This is one of the many questions readers are left with upon finishing Every Day Is For the Thief by Teju Cole (a #30Authors recommendation), a short book about a Nigerian living in New York who returns home after fifteen years, only to find that nothing is as he remembers. As an adult, the narrator is acutely aware of the corruption of his home country but finds pockets of hope throughout his … Keep Reading