This novel was author Muriel Spark’s favorite of her own works. It is short — a mere 107 pages — but suspenseful, dark and twisted. The NYT called it a “spiny and treacherous masterpiece.” What makes it all the more horrifying is that the reader knows from the beginning what is going to happen. Lise, the young woman going on holiday, is going to be murdered. We know how it happens but we don’t know who does it or exactly how Lise gets herself into […]
Good, Evil and the Vast In Between
Nimona, a graphic novel that was a finalist for the National Book Award, features knights and dragons and beings with amazing powers. It is not, however, your typical good versus evil story. Nimona is full of wonderful shades of gray in the form of its three main characters: Nimona, Ballister Blackheart, and Ambrosius Goldenloin. Young Nimona, a teen, shows up at the lair of the well known supervillain Ballistair Blackheart to become his uninvited sidekick. She is more than ready to get involved in evil […]
When mom is gone
This is not a book that I had been meaning to read, but it’s the first 7th grade reading assignment for this year, and I figured I might be able to help my son a bit if I read it too. Oy! I was not prepared for the gut punch of this story and I wonder what kind of conversations it will generate amongst 12 year olds. Walk Two Moons is the story of Salamanca Tree Hiddle and her family falling apart. She’s just a […]
“There’s no better investment than your cleavage.”
I really liked this one! I’m a big fan of Pride and Prejudice, and I’ve been known to pick up a Pride and Prejudice “sequel” or two. (I’ve even gone as far as reading the fanfiction. Because I’m that person.) I tend to shy away from the “modern” retellings of the Austen tale, though. Usually because they’re poorly written. But I was pleasantly surprised with this one! Many of the characters from the original are here, and our core cast even have the same […]
Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is sitting atop the NYT bestsellers chart and is an Oprah pick. It is an amazing novel about race, injustice and the American way. The story of a slave named Cora’s quest for freedom from slavery is also the story of America’s racism throughout history. Whitehead imagines a mid-nineteenth century America where the Underground Railroad was an actual physical railroad existing beneath the earth. As Cora’s first station master says, If you want to see what this nation is all […]
Then you look back at me and suddenly I’m helpless
YOU GUYS I can’t tell if I like this author or if she makes me want to stab my eyes out. I think it’s both? This is how I feel when I watch, I don’t know, True Blood. I’m simultaneously entertained but I also hate myself for watching it and I hate most of the characters. I didn’t hate everyone in Truth or Beard by I found myself confounded by many of their actions and thoughts and parts of this plot were just outright WHAAAAA. […]
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