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
‘Fall of Giants’: More Fact Than Fiction
When I finished Fall of Giants, the first in Ken Follett's latest trilogy, I was filled with happiness. It was a stunning book filled with accurate historical accounts of the events surrounding World War 1 and the characters where rich and real to me. About five minutes later, I started to panic a little for the exact same reason - the book was over and I would never again get to experience the lives of Gus, the advisor to President Wilson who … Keep Reading
‘Did You Ever Have a Family’ – An Emotional Story of Grief
When I first picked up Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg, I didn't know much about its content. I knew that it had overwhelmingly positive reviews and, based on the title, that it was an emotionally heavy read, but that was about it. It turns out that my assumption was true and it's easy to see why this book is so popular - it's well-written, fairly short, and packs an emotional punch. It is the story of a loss so great that even … Keep Reading
Ice-T’s Memoir Offers Breathtaking Honesty
Chances are, when you hear the name Ice-T, one of two images comes to mind: 'Cop killer' or 'Odafin Tutuola. What probably doesn't come to mind is a guy who was on the high school gymnastics team that hated stealing with a passion. That's because over the past 20 years, the Original Gangster (given name, Tracy Marrow) has built a tough-guy reputation and catapulted himself into two different industries, music and television. For me, the name … Keep Reading