I’ve been away for a month on a lovely vacation. Mountains, beach, Boston, family, and 10 great books. And now I’m back to reality. Laundry, unpacking, back to school shopping, and book reviews. I’m not sure I can take it. Because I read a 5-book (well, actually, 4 novels and one novella) series, I’m going to start my reviews there. Even though they were the last books I read, and the freshest in my mind, and I should probably try and remember what happened in those […]
Hold me closer, tiny dancer
I’m not sure what “Sloe Ride” title of Rhys Ford’s new book is referring to, but that’s a small quibble for an otherwise generally enjoyable book. It’s number 4 in The Sinners series, and while I was able to follow it without too much effort, I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if I’d read books 1-3 first. There were enough references to recurring characters and earlier occurrences that made it pretty clear I should’ve already known these secondary (in this book) storylines. They are […]
“I was not a hug person, so I didn’t know the secret of hugs until that moment: They’re not only one person’s effort. You have to hold each other up…”
Imagine that you could change your life instantly. In The Cost of All Things, witches called Hekamists cast spells for a price. These spells can erase memories or make you prettier or less depressed. Hekamists are under strict laws, but nobody stops them from performing spells for teenagers (Which seems incredibly unwise to me). The book is told by five teens. Winn has been suffering from severe depression and asks for a spell to feel better. Unfortunately, his chapters are flashbacks because we know that […]
My Hero
If you didn’t know any better, you might think that Fran Ross’ Oreo was a brand new hip novel from a humorist with a brilliant future ahead of her. It’s intellectual and witty and funny as hell. Yet Fran Ross (1935-1985) wrote and published this gem in 1974, her one and only novel newly reissued by New Directions Publishing. Her views on race and women’s rights are timeless; setting up her story as a modern day version of the myth of Theseus (and the Minotaur […]