Four-Star Book Review 20/26

Feb 16, 2021

Review of A Burning by Megha Majumdar

There's enough injustice and crooked dealing in this captivating book to fully enrage a reader, yet the tone of Majumdar's debut title...

Feb 15, 2021

Review of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

I loved this. Romy's soaring hopes, her vulnerability and then her growing doubts, her self-reliance and quick thinking, and the shifts...

Feb 12, 2021

Six Books with Cold, Wintry Settings to Read by the Fire

01 The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld This book is dark and beautiful, with such expansive descriptions of the mountains, the closed-in...

Feb 8, 2021

Review of The Unwilling by John Hart

Hart reliably offers character-driven mysteries with heartbreaking interpersonal complications. The twists and turns here are excellent,...

Feb 5, 2021

Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups Will Love

01 The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden This is an ancient-feeling, dark fairy tale of a story that takes place within a small...

Feb 4, 2021

Review of The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

I was especially taken with the sisters' complicated relationships and with the link Harrow draws between witching and the women's...

Jan 29, 2021

Six More Great Historical Fiction Books Set in the American West

01 Inland by Téa Obreht Much of Téa Obreht's Inland is centered around Nora, an impulsive, hot-tempered, strong woman fighting for a...

Jan 27, 2021

Review of Only Killers and Thieves by Paul Howarth

A book that fascinated me, in case you missed it! This was often brutal to read, but it was beautifully written, in a style that felt...

Jan 26, 2021

Review of Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Evaristo offers a set of twelve interconnected stories about Black women in contemporary Britain and their friendships, loves, struggles,...

Jan 25, 2021

Review of With or Without You by Caroline Leavitt

What if you woke up from a coma and felt differently about almost everything, including the person you're supposed to love? In Leavitt's...

Jan 22, 2021

Six Great Books about the Immigrant Experience

01 Pachinko by Min Jin Lee In the early 1900s, a teenager falls for a silver-tongued stranger on the coast of Korea. But when the...

Jan 21, 2021

Review of Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

A book I loved, in case you missed it! I loved this post-World War II book about bravery and rural life for middle-grade readers....

Jan 20, 2021

Review of The Harpy by Megan Hunter

This slim, intriguing book packs a punch, featuring revenge fantasies mixed with magical realism. Lucy and Jake are the parents of two...

Jan 19, 2021

Review of Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner

Gardner's brand-new character-driven mystery offers an imperfect, unassuming heroine obsessed with solving the cold cases of missing...

Jan 15, 2021

Six Book Club Books I Loved Last Year

01 Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout Oh, Olive! In Olive, Again, she ambles through town and reflects on aging, on her life, and...

Jan 14, 2021

Review of The River by Peter Heller

A book I loved, in case you missed it: I loved the deep friendship; details of outdoorsy expertise and adventuring; and life-and-death...

Jan 13, 2021

Review of City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Young Vivian's carousing in 1940s New York City is entertaining, sexy, and an interesting burst of feminism and freedom in the era. In...

Jan 11, 2021

Review of Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Solomon offers a sweet, romantic young adult story with emotions that feel authentic; the book showcases competition, honesty, youthful...

Jan 8, 2021

Six 2020 Mysteries for You to Check Out

01 The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi Alex Pavesi's The Eighth Detective is appealingly old-fashioned. The murder mystery stories were...

Jan 5, 2021

Review of Here For It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas

Here For It is refreshing and playful yet thoughtful. I loved spending time with the uproariously funny Thomas. In Here for It: Or, How...

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