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
Happy Winter Solstice! Why Not Warm Up With These Books?
Happy Winter Solstice! Today is the first day of Winter and Summer is long gone, but you can always curl up with these great summer reads! Here's a collection of some of my favorite beach reads.Tigers in Red Weather by Liza KlaussmannSometimes you pick up a book and know from the first few pages that you are going to love it. This is one of those books. Tigers in Red Weather is a story about family, marriage and obligations. It takes … Keep Reading
On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah Takes the Obvious Path
If you're looking for a middle-of-the-road read that won't take much thought, time or effort, then On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah is the book for you.The story is pretty standard, which is disappointing because the author is usually more original. It's about a woman who lives in a fancy house with her high-powered husband and daughter, where they live a comfortable but emotionally distant life. Then the high-powered husband cheats, the … Keep Reading
‘The Summer that Melted Everything’ – What Would You Do if the Devil Came to Town?
Read this book. It's not often that I start off a review with these words, but Tiffany McDaniel's debut novel, The Summer that Melted Everything, is more than worthy of an off-the-bat recommendation. I say this for many reasons: the writing is beautiful, the characters are unforgettable, and the storyline is an important one. Plus, it made the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize Winners 2016 list, and I never enjoy the Booker winners, so that … Keep Reading