Nov 5
Review of The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Espach layers complex emotional challenges like suicidal thoughts, grief, and loneliness with funny, quirky, poignant moments in this...
Oct 24
Review of Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Intermezzo is one of my favorite Rooney novels yet, exploring complicated families, grief, unconventional relationships, forgiveness, and...
Jun 4
Review of Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley
Crosley's memoir traces a treasured friendship and the gutting loss of that dear friend. She's vulnerable enough to allow the reader in...
May 30
Review of Love, Lists and Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz
Sarah Grunder Ruiz serves up an irresistible rom-com with great banter and with interesting and difficult, complex issues of loss, grief,...
May 28
Review of The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak's The Island of Missing Trees explores past Turkish-Greek conflicts in a small island community while illustrating the...
Aug 15, 2023
Review of A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella
Joella's lovely exploration of three characters' loss and grief allows for deep human connection, the forging of messy paths forward, and...
Aug 1, 2023
Review of Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
I LOVED this young adult book. It's perfectly charming, funny, quirky, and sweet, yet it deals with grief and fear, hope and forgiveness,...
Nov 30, 2022
Review of An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
ICYMI: Elizabeth McCracken shares her heartbreaking, gorgeous, terrible story of loss and love surrounding the loss of her baby at nine...
May 26, 2022
Review of One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
Rebecca Serle's love letter to Italy plays with time to allow a grieving young woman to know her mother at her same age, inspiring...
Nov 18, 2021
Review of This Shining Life by Harriet Kline
Kline's poignant, lovely book explores a family's emotional missteps and enduring love after a painful loss, and their hard-fought...
Sep 20, 2021
Review of The Guncle by Steven Rowley
The Guncle is full of heart and humor, quirky family love, and fun references to musicals and movies--yet Rowley also offers poignancy,...
Aug 5, 2021
Review of Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker
Walker offers a terrifying, disturbing premise--but I was fascinated with the character depth, explorations of grief, and the twist I...
Jun 4, 2021
Review of A Song for the Road by Kathleen Basi
Basi manages an incredible feat: the book involves messy feelings and grief, yet it isn't maudlin or sappy despite the tragedy and...
Feb 3, 2021
Review of Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
The interconnectedness of the characters and the details of household life and power structures of the time period were wonderful and the...