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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Recent Reviews
‘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
Karin Slaughter’s “Criminal” is Just That
This was my first book by international bestseller Karin Slaughter and the book’s description grabbed me right away. It has crime spanning 20 years, a mysterious connection between the two main characters and a dash of a love story thrown in. While the book was a good read and I recommend it, it wasn’t the masterpiece it has been called by other reviewers. The book follows two main characters, Amanda and Will, who work with the Georgia Bureau … Keep Reading
Languish In This Book!
Have you ever read a book that leaves you feeling peaceful? That's how Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler left me feeling. It reminds me of being on a boat that rocks in time with the steady ocean waves or floating down a lazy river. If I had to pick one word to define my reading experience, it would be languid, and I loved every minute of it.Set in the 1920's, Z chronicles the tumultuous marriage of Zelda Sayre … Keep Reading
The Shore by Sara Taylor (Book Review)
Sara Taylor's debut novel, The Shore, has been getting some rave reviews and I was thrilled to snag a copy of it. Set in a remote set of islands off the coast of Virginia, it offers up a series of short stories that overlap to create a wonderful novel about the importance of home, the conflicting desire to run away and stay where you are, and the joys and sorrows that come with living in a small town where everyone knows everything … Keep Reading