Fleishman is in Trouble - Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Random House, 2019) Fleishman might be in trouble but I spent much of the novel thinking, This guy deserves it. Toby Fleishman is newly divorced and his ex-wife has disappeared. This is particularly a problem because Toby and Rachel share two young children - Hannah and Solly -… Continue reading Book Review: Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Where the Light Fell - Philip Yancey (Convergent, 2021) If you look at a list of Philip Yancey's book titles, I think you get a good sense of the kind of Christian thinker he is. Titles like Where is God When it Hurts?, Disappointment with God, and What's So Amazing About Grace. Yancey is now… Continue reading Book Review: Where the Light Fell by Philip Yancey
Despite this being something of a modern children's classic, I'd never before read Howl's Moving Castle or seen the movie. It was very different than I expected. I found it to be a fun read but somewhat difficult to follow along with. Sophie is the eldest sister of three girls. So she knows she isn't… Continue reading Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
The Son of the House - Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia (Dundurn Press, 2019) Nwabulu and Julie are thrown together when they are kidnapped on a lonely road in Nigeria. Waiting for their families to pay ransom, they begin to tell each other their life stories. With their own mortality at hand, they are completely honest in ways… Continue reading Book Review: The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia
The Books of Jacob - Olga Tokarczuk (Riverhead Books, 2022) It is, I think, a testament to Olga Tokarczuk's writing that I undertook to read The Books of Jacob at all. I loved her novel Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead and she won the Nobel Prize for Literature shortly after I… Continue reading Book Review: The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk
The Sentence - Louise Erdrich (Harper, 2021) This book was so much more than I expected. I went into it knowing that it was set in a bookstore, that the bookstore was haunted by their most annoying customer, and that part of it was set during lockdown in 2020. All of that is present in… Continue reading Book Review: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Normal People - Sally Rooney (Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2018) At this point, Sally Rooney probably needs no introduction. All three of her novels have been huge bestsellers and Normal People was turned into a mini-series. I'd sort of written her off as a young Millenial author and as an elder Millenial myself, I assumed… Continue reading Book Review: Normal People by Sally Rooney
Astray - Emma Donoghue (Back Bay Books, 2012) I've loved everything I've read by Emma Donoghue so it shouldn't be surprising that I also loved this short story collection. But I really was blown away. The Wonder showed me that Donoghue excels in historical fiction but I was still so impressed by what she manages… Continue reading Book Review: Astray by Emma Donoghue
Butter Orange Tree - Jokha Alharthi (Catapult, 2022) I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Publication Date: 10 May 2022 Bitter Orange Tree is the follow-up novel to Jokha Alharthi's Man Book International Prize winning Celestial Bodies. While I haven't read Alharthi's previous work, I was familiar with… Continue reading Book Review: Bitter Orange Tree by Jokha Alharthi
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo I bought this book for my children on the recommendation of Ann Patchett. In her most recent essay collection, These Precious Days, Patchett details her introduction to the work of DiCamillo and how she devoured her work, even though it is written for children and Patchett… Continue reading Book Review: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Karissa Reads Books 