Room was a big deal when it came out a couple of years ago. If you tend to stay current with popular fiction, you’ve probably heard of it. I saw this book on a “recommended” shelf at my local library, and I vaguely remembered the buzz about it. I had zero interest in it back then, so I’m not sure why I picked it up this time. The subject matter is just not appealing to me: the main characters are a woman kept captive for […]
Unusual Heroines
We Are All Welcome Here is a story about extraordinary women. The book is set in the summer of 1964 in Tupelo, Mississippi, and it is told from the perspective of fourteen-year-old Diana Dunn. Diana’s mother, Paige, is a quadriplegic from polio contracted while she was pregnant. She is only able to move her head. Peacie has been Paige’s caregiver since Diana was born. Diana has a lot of responsibility in assisting with her mother’s care. The story follows this unusual family through an eventful […]
A Gift from a Master Storyteller
A Splendid Time Travel Tale (Or, Connie Willis Deserves All of Her Awards)
Kivrin, a historian and student at Oxford in 2054, plans a trip to the Middle Ages using the well-established technology of “the net.” She must do extensive research in order to blend in with the locals. The history department’s technicians must perform complex calculations to get her to the right location. Her instructors carefully set up a rendezvous to bring her back. No one has ever traveled to the fourteenth century before. Kivrin’s favorite professor, Mr. Dunworthy, is deeply worried for her. However, Kivrin has […]