Review of The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Whitehead, inspired by a real-life reform school that abused and terrorized boys for over a century, shares a tale of racial injustice,...
Mar 13
Review of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
Jonathan Haidt's examination of the power of smartphones and social media may feel logical and disturbingly unsurprising, but he offers...
Mar 12
Review of Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce
In Kristy Boyce's young-adult charmer, high schoolers Riley and Nathan, coworkers who have nothing in common, end up in a fake-dating...
Mar 11
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 3/10/25 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading the recently published Red Dog Farm , Nathanial Ian Miller's fiction about a young man growing up...
Mar 10
Six of My Favorite Literary Fiction Reads of the Year
Six Great Bossy Literary Fiction Reads I read so many read literary fiction books last year, I'll need another best-of-the-year list. But...
Mar 7
Review of Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Taylor Jenkins Reid offers the story of a band, its making, and its unmaking, through interviews with various characters that illuminate...
Mar 6
Review of The Book of Love by Kelly Link
In Kelly Link's wonderfully oddball debut novel The Book of Love , she uses every bit of the book's 640 pages to build realities,...
Mar 5
Review of Time of the Child by Niall Williams
Time of the Child feels like poetry in prose form, and Williams richly shapes a small-town Irish community's everyday and extraordinary...
Mar 4
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 3/3/25 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading The Anxious Generation , nonfiction by Jonathan Haidt that explores technology and an explosion of...
Mar 3
February Wrap-Up: My Favorite Reads of the Month
My very favorite Bossy February reads! February is the shortest month, but I squeezed in some great reading: compelling historical...
Feb 28
Review of Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher
Cher's lack of agency in her relationship with Sonny Bono came through in passive, reactive behavior, but as she grew older, she found...
Feb 27
Review of Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today by Cynthia and Sanford Levinson
Cynthia and Sanford Levinson, a noted children's author and a constitutional scholar, have created a fascinating nonfiction book for...
Feb 26
Review of Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine
Erin Crosby Eckstine's richly detailed historical fiction explores the life of Junie, an enslaved young woman in rural Alabama haunted by...
Feb 25
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 2/24/25 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to Cher , the first in Cher's planned two-part memoir; I'm reading an upcoming science-fiction...
Feb 24
Six of My Favorite Mystery Reads of the Year
Six Great Bossy Mystery Reads I didn't read as many mysteries last year as I typically do, but here are six of my favorites. I'm hoping...
Feb 21
Review of To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
Eowyn Ivey is masterful at intertwining fantastical elements with the grounding of the vivid details of nature. To the Bright Edge of the...
Feb 20
Review of Onyx Storm (The Empyrean #3) by Rebecca Yarros
In the third book in the series, the significant romantasy elements take a back seat to quests for knowledge and cures, attempts to...
Feb 19
Review of I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang
Ann Liang's trading-places young adult story allows faulted, imperfect Jenna Chen to live as her perfect, beautiful, Harvard-bound cousin...
Feb 18
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 2/17/25 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Lorne , the biography of Lorne Michaels, released as Saturday Night Live turns 50; I'm reading...
Feb 17
Six of My Favorite Historical Fiction Reads of the Year
Six Great Bossy Historical Fiction Reads I loved so many historical fiction books last year. Here are just six of my favorite reads--some...
Feb 14