A good mystery is a great read any time of year. Most mysteries are written as a series, and it is helpful to begin at the beginning. North Carolina...
Novel
“This Is Happiness”
This Is Happiness by Niall Williams is set in the imagined village of Faha on the rainy western coast of Ireland. Elderly Noel Crowe, known as Noe,...
“Saints of the Household”
Happy Indigenous Peoples Month! Celebrate by reading Saints of the Household by local Indigenous author Ari Tison. This debut young adult novel is...
“Still Waters” Tells a Story of Siblings
Siblings Liv and Gabe Ahlstrom fly to Chicago after their sister-in-law informs them that their older brother, Mack, has died unexpectedly. Though...
“The Mighty Red”
Kismet Poe is a former goth, high school senior and beautiful brainiac. In her, farmwife Winnie Geist finds the angel who calms her son, Gary, the...
“Doorman Wanted”
When Henry Franken’s father dies from a heart attack, it tears an emotional hole into his life. His widowed father had raised him. As a boy, Henry...
“The Find” Explores the Irony of the Iron Range
Debut novel explores an exciting discovery and the tumult that follows. Timothy Duff remembers it well. “November 2010, a couple days before...
Moving Heaven and Earth
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store weaves history, extraordinary language, gripping plot and characters that have depth and humanity into a book...
“The Museum of Failures” Explores Family Secrets
In Thrity Umrigrar’s new release, The Museum of Failures, advertising executive Remy Wadia travels to Mumbai, India, from the United States to adopt...
Author Pallavi Sharma Dixit Releases Debut Novel
Edison is an intricate love letter to childhood and heritage. Edison, New Jersey, is a borough 30 minutes outside of New York City. It’s famous for...
Forgiveness, Grace and Sacrifice in Novel “Absolution”
Decades ago, I met Alice McDermott after a talk that she gave about being an Irish American writer. She was delightful and pragmatic. That Night had...
Prizewinning and Thought Provoking
Last fall, one of my book clubs read Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver; it won one of two Pulitzer Prizes given for fiction in 2023. Damon...
Love is in the Air
It’s a wedding extravaganza, and you’re invited! This anthology for young adult readers is packed with romance across eight short stories of Desi...
Novelist Payal Doshi’s Passion for Writing Shines Bright
Discover the drive behind a rising star in the world of fiction. From debut novelist to 2022 Juvenile Fiction IPPY Gold Medal Award Winner a year...
Where You See Yourself
In Claire Forrest’s debut novel, Where You See Yourself, Euphemia “Effie” Galanos is in her senior year at Mill City High School in Minneapolis....
The Cherry Orchard
Returning from the American Library Association meeting in Chicago this past June, I sat in my aisle seat reading an advance review copy of Ann...
A Good Family
A Good Family, written by local author Matt Goldman, is paced so perfectly that it is very hard to put down. Set in the Country Club neighborhood of...
And This Is About Love
Sam Masur and Sadie Green meet in the game room of a Los Angeles hospital, where Sam is recovering from a bad car crash and Sadie’s sister is...
Now Is Not the Time to Panic
Four years ago, I attended Library Journal’s Day of Dialog and Book Expo in New York. For me, it was like attending the Academy Awards. I heard a...
Love Marriage Book Review
The novel Love Marriage by Booker Award–finalist Monica Ali opens in the London bedroom of 26-year-old Dr. Yasmin Ghorami. The delicious scents of...
