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
‘American Rust’ a Remarkable Debut
Raw and gritty are the two words that come to mind when I think about American Rust, the debut novel by Phillip Meyer that came out in 2009. Taking place in Buell, Pennsylvania, a steel town that saw its mills shut down and its workers fleeing, it is not a happy story. It is an important one, though, for it highlights the plight of mill workers in small town America who saw their way of life derailed by shifting economic conditions. … Keep Reading
Take an Emotional Journey With ‘Marigolds’
Today I'm participating in a blog tour for a new book by award-winning novelist Susan Meissner who’s here with me today to talk about her newest book from Penguin NAL. A Fall of Marigolds is a part historical novel, part contemporary novel set on Ellis Island in 1911 and in Manhattan a hundred years later.Susan Meissner is the multi-published author of fifteen books, including The Shape of Mercy, named one of the 100 Best Novels in … Keep Reading
Dark Places Disappoints
I have very vivid memories from my childhood, some real and some made up. But it's the ones I've told myself over and over that I dreamt up that I believe the most fiercely. For example, I swear I saw my mom fall down the stairs when I was 3, but I'm told this never really happened. I also swear that I dumped a bucket of sand in my eyes when I was putting the bucket on top of my slide, whereas my family swears that I was digging in the sandbox … Keep Reading