The Sweet Relief of Missing Children begins with the story of Leonora. She is pretty and tidy and protected. She has her vaccinations, she knows not to talk to strangers, she eats her vegetables and she never takes the shortcut through the alley. She is precious to her parents and she understands these precautions because she understands that she cannot… Read more
The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai by Ruiyan Xu is all about isolation and communication. Li Jing is a Chinese businessman with a beautiful wife and son, a successful investment company, family and friends. But in one tragic instant, he finds himself cut off from everything. A gas leak, an explosion, and a flying sheet of glass change his… Read more
In Raven Stole the Moon, Jenna Rosen walks away from a life that is fractured. Two years ago, her young son drowned in a tragic accident at a resort in Alaska. Her husband seems to have moved on, but Jenna cannot let go of her grief. On the anniversary of their son’s death, they attend a party that turns out… Read more
I have occasionally described books as “a wild ride,” and it’s often a very apt description. Books are like trips we take — some are pleasant Sunday drives, some are fast and bumpy. John Dies at the End is like a ride on a twisting, speeding, swooping roller coaster. On acid. With no seat belt. John and Dave are slackers.… Read more
I have always loved Joyce Carol Oates’ writing. I love her combination of long, flowing sentences and short, choppy fragments. Little Bird of Heaven is lovely to read, even when the story is heartbreaking. Krista Diehl’s family was fine before “the trouble” came. Her father, Eddy, ran a construction company. A handsome man, he was well-known around town as a… Read more
I saw the movie, Let the Right One In, last year and was immediately drawn in by it. The stark settings and minimal dialogue gave the film a sense of isolation and dread. Nothing good could happen in these surroundings. As soon as I found out the film was based on a book, I had to have it. It just… Read more
It’s finally here! The Green Books campaign: 1 Day, 100 bloggers, 100 green books, 100 reviews!Today, there are 100 books being reviewed on 100 blogs around the web, promoting good books and good environmental policies. The boooks are printed on 100% recycled paper. Eco-Libris encourages readers to “balance out” their books – plant a tree for every book you read.… Read more
It took a little convincing to get me to read this book. I got an email about the book and they almost lost me with “as only a dog could tell it.” A dog telling the story is almost always a recipe for disaster. In this case, instead of disaster, there’s a pretty terrific story and a narrator with an… Read more
Marina Marks is a fake psychic. She developed a keen ability to read people as a method of self-preservation – it helped her survive her drug-addicted mother and the string of shady boyfriends that hung around them. Her mother stuck a deck of tarot cards in Marina’s hand and she became a revenue stream, one more way to scrape the… Read more
Gary Gray wants nothing more than to be “normal.” He wants to fall in love, get married, have children, go to church, go to Disney Land and live the American dream. He’s got one little problem, though: he’s in love with his roommate, Russ, and lusting after other men is frowned upon at Southern Florida Christian College. God Says No… Read more