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
A Reread of ‘The Prince’
I recently started a book titled The Next Decade: Empire and Republic in a Changing World by George Friedman and it relies on the philosophies offered up in Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince. Before starting this new book, I decided to refresh my memory and reread The Prince so that I would go into this new book a little better equipped than I would be without a reread. The book was much as I remembered, but I forgot how much of a proponent … Keep Reading
Megyn Kelly’s Memoir, Settle for More, Challenges Everything You Think You Know About Her
Megyn Kelly - how much do you know about her? If you're like me, the answer is not much except for the fact that she hosts her own show on Fox News and that Donald Trump released his rage on her during the presidential election. The attacks she was subjected to leaves many of us extending our sympathies to her, but before you feel too bad for her, know that she doesn't play the victim card. Instead, she is choosing to use the experience to lift … Keep Reading
‘The Senator’s Wife’ Stumbles
When I first heard about The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller, I was so excited. As a news and politics junkie, I was delighted at the prospect of reading a political book written from the other side, especially one that focused on the family of a politician rather than the politician himself. It is my own fault for not doing enough research about this book before adding to my 2013 TBR Challenge list because, as it turns out, it isn't about a senator … Keep Reading