The Atlas of Forgotten Places by Jenny D. Williams

I was pretty much glued to this book while I was reading it.  It’s both suspenseful and thoughtful, and provides detailed information about a country that most Americans know little about.  Williams, a former aid worker in Uganda, tells the story from two perspectives.  Sabine is a German woman who has spent most of her adult life … Continue reading →

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong

I recommend this short but moving first novel by Rachel Khong about a woman caring for her father with Alzheimer’s.  This is a prospect I find absolutely terrifying, whether for my parents and for myself.  It seems to me that almost any physical ailment would be less scary than gradually losing one’s mind, knowing that … Continue reading →

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The world feels very wrong right now. Between shootings, terrorism, and the horrible people that are governing our country with seemingly no ethics or empathy whatsoever. I’ve been trying to write a review of this book for a while, and it’s especially relevant right now with this week’s acquittal of Philando Castile. On top of … Continue reading →

The Long Drop by Denise Mina

This was a really interesting novel about a real-life serial killer in Scotland in the 1950’s.  I say interesting because it wasn’t quite like anything else I’ve read.  It’s not a mystery or a thriller, or a true crime novel.  It’s a little closer to Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, although I hesitate to compare … Continue reading →

Reading the Bailey’s Longlist: The Lonely Hearts Hotel and The Gustav Sonata

Both of these books were on this year’s Bailey’s Prize for Women longlist, although neither made it to the shortlist (in addition to Hag-Seed). The winner of the Bailey’s Prize will be announced June 7. Though quite different, these two books had several things in common.  Both are historical fiction, both have a main character who … Continue reading →

The Leavers by Lisa Ko

This is a really thoughtful, moving novel about a Chinese family that is torn apart in the United States.  Peilan grows up in China in a small village but dreams of exploring the world, so she travels to New York for factory work at better wages.  She has Deming while still very young herself, and … Continue reading →

The Last Days of Café Leila by Donia Bijan

Part of my Reading All Around the World Challenge, this is a book written by a chef in the U.S. who was born in Iran.  Café Leila tells the story of an Iranian family that experiences terrifying changes in the country after the revolution and establishment of the Islamic Republic in the early 1980’s. The … Continue reading →

In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero

With the current news about deportations and ICE arrests, it felt important to me to read a book from the perspective of someone who has experienced it firsthand.  Guerrero is not an immigrant herself, but her parents and older brother were born in Columbia.  Guerrero’s parents were deported when she was only fourteen years old, … Continue reading →

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova

Kostova’s new novel is reminiscent of The Historian, in that it’s a big, sweeping tale that will take the reader all over modern-day Eastern Europe.  It’s quite different, however, in that there are no vampires.  But there’s still horror. The weakest part of this book is the beginning, because the story seems implausible at first, … Continue reading →

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah’s memoir of his childhood in South Africa is compelling reading for anyone who wants to know more about South Africa and apartheid.  At times humorous, and at times devastating, Noah brings his unique voice to this story.  He writes like he speaks, and many times in this book it felt like I was … Continue reading →

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti

This is a book I ended up feeling torn about.  The writing is beautiful and I was deeply engaged in the story.  If you like a good anti-hero story, this is one you should read. The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is structured around the stories behind Hawley’s twelve bullet wounds.  We begin the story … Continue reading →

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

This is a beautifully written book.  Woodson is known for writing award-winning children’s books; this is her first adult novel in twenty years and was a finalist for the National Book Award.  In it she tells the story of August, who returns to Brooklyn for her father’s funeral and runs into an old friend.  This … Continue reading →