Reviews with TLC

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. I tend to steer away from dystopian type books, but Butler might have just convinced me to open my mind to the genre. Parable of the Sower introduces a concept that tears down accepted perceptions of the world and where it might be headed in a way that feels both  fantastical  and  all too real  at the same time. The destructive nature of politics and religion bubble to the surface without ever pointing a finger at any particular group exposing assumptions and attitudes that come into conflict. Through a large cast of characters, Butler exposes biases, family dysfunction, and the importance of community. Parable of the Sower doesn't fear killing off a character in service of the story. Butler's depiction of domesticated animals gone feral was, at times, as painful as the depiction of humans gone feral. Her presentation of the creation of a possible new religion and definition of god ...

The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman is a sweet story that focuses on Violet, the daughter of Sophie from the previous books. When the story started, I felt a twinge of trepidation about how a grown up Violet would be. I soon settled into the story liking Violet more with each paragraph. Throughout Violet's time in Paris, I was torn between my heart cheering for Violet to go home and pushing for her to build a life in Paris. When she finally feels like she's making a connection, the call that finally pushes her home comes. Hoffman writes Violet's story in a way that had me rooting for her and wishing for her to have both home and adventure. At home, she reconnects with her family and community and even the connection she left behind. The Bookstore Family is a beautiful short story that feels almost magical about love, connection, exploration, and family. Currently Reading: A People's History of the United States  by Howard Zinn   If I Must Die: Poetry and Prose  by R...

Pretty Is As Pretty Does by Alison Clement took me on an unexpected journey. Clement lured me into what I thought was going to be a light read only to deftly weave in some heavy issues after I'd gotten comfortable. The main character, Lucy is hard to like, but she's also intriguing enough that I wanted to like her more than I did. At times, her attitude towards other people was infuriating but her seeming naiveté about life, especially beyond her small town, was refreshing in an unexpected way while at the same time being disturbing. I often wondered if Lucy was really as oblivious as she seemed to be because she could certainly be manipulative. Still, my heart often ached for her as she navigated the circumstances of her life and longed for something different. Lucy's family was all too reminiscent of small town families I've known all my life, and I found myself wincing at harmful attitudes, words, and actions. Lucy's seeming detachment from the consequences her ...

Fallen Grace by Sadeqa Johnson packs a lot in a few pages in this engaging short story. I immediately felt immersed in the characters' lives enough to care what happened to them. Fallen Grace follows two young girls who escape from a home where young girls are sent to have babies and try to figure out how to take care of a baby while finding their way in a segregated community. Johnson demonstrates the hypocrisy of judging others when grace could be given by highlighting the mistakes and betrayals that prove people are fallible and also worthy. Fallen Grace explores family, friendship, religion, social standing, and empowerment with honesty, realism, and grace.   Currently Reading: How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older  by Michael Gregor, Md. Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran The Message  by Ta-Nehisi Coates Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a commission ...

The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman continues the story of Isabel's life after returning to the island she left in her young adulthood. In this story, Isabel must figure out how to support Johnny after life creates a change in him that she doesn't know how to approach. Add in her niece wanting a different life than expected causing a bit of upheaval for the whole family demonstrating how accepting change often means letting go of expectations and finding a way to find common ground. The Bookstore Keepers is a sweet story of family facing life and working through the challenges of failing to meet expectations, changing expectations, and creating a new path forward together. Currently Reading: Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America  by Ijeoma Oluo How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older  by Michael Gregor, Md. Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran Fallen Grace  by Sadeqa Johnson The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates Disclosure:...

Dusty's Winter by Maeve Binchy started in a place I didn't expect but soon made sense. Dusty's relationship with her family and her friends is interesting and intriguing. The decisions Dusty makes have an innocence that feels naive yet she somehow often makes decisions that are good for those around her and demonstrate a fortitude and awareness that both surprises and feels obvious. Binchy creates flawed characters who manage to feel relatable and unrelatable at the same time in Dusty's Winter . As the characters make mistakes and then deal with the consequences, the family's worries about their image feel far too realistic. Dusty's Winter challenges the traditions of one generation juxtaposed against another generation and demonstrates how rigidity can drive wedges between people, even family members. Currently Reading: Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America  by Ijeoma Oluo How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get...

The June Paintings by Maggie Shipstead gently pulled me into June Trembley's life leaving me feeling reluctant, curious, and voyeuristic. As June seeks to find herself while telling herself she's trying to find her artistic voice, she shows a willingness to embrace the moment and make decisions that feel at once cunning and reckless. Shipstead creates characters that feel simultaneously loveable and detestable. June's relationship with the painter, Lammergeier, is dysfunctional at best, but also feels inevitable and understandable. The June Paintings made me feel a bit uncomfortable about how easily I found myself accepting some of June's decisions, particularly toward the end of the story. Currently Reading: Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America  by Ijeoma Oluo How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older  by Michael Gregor, Md. Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran Dusty's Winter  by Maeve Binchy Disclosure: This blog c...

Tune in Tomorrow by Melanie Benjamin exceeded my expectations. I was unsure when I decided to read Tune in Tomorrow ; however, I quickly started to like the characters and to care about the choices being made. The premise of being set around the creation of the soap opera genre largely contributed to my initial hesitation, but Tune in Tomorrow centers Abby Taylor's success and unconventional for the time lifestyle. Abby's determination, dedication to her family, and strong boundaries make for a story that works even when it feels like it shouldn't. Benjamin brings all the characters off the page through Abby's lens. offers the story of a strong woman who doesn't sacrifice herself for the men around her. Tune in Tomorrow offers an inspiring story of a strong woman who doesn't sacrifice herself for the men around her. Currently Reading: Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America  by Ijeoma Oluo How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthi...

When We Were Widows by Annette Chavez Macias hit all the notes with me. The emotional impact felt like being on a merry-go-round and a roller-coaster at the same time. There was a gentleness and a fierceness in the relationships in the book, particularly those between the three generations of women the story focused on. I felt their heartaches, their joys, and their determination. The frustrations of the three women both with their lives, with each other, and with their individual selves bring so much understanding to the interconnectedness of life as well as the desire to detach from the reality of our lives. I found myself fully immersed in When We Were Widows and wanting to sit down for a cup of coffee with Yesica, Ana, and Mama Melda while at the same time thinking about my own relationships and my own journey with grief. When We Were Widows is a beautiful, realistic, inspiring examination of grief, family, secrets, and healing. Currently Reading: Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy ...

Depart, Depart by Sim Kern  feels all too real and surreal at the same time. In the dystopia Kern creates, there is a moment of that notion that dystopia happens more often than we think. Depart, Depart drives home the idea that a dystopia can be created by local catastrophe and can offer an end point while at the same time driving home how catastrophes live with people and change their lives in ways we can't always imagine because everyone has different needs and different lives. Kern creates characters that slid into my thoughts and didn't let go until the last page and left me wanting more. I cheered for Noah and the friends Noah made. I mourned the loved ones Noah lost. I felt the panic and the despair of the characters leap off the page. I also felt the hope and determination the characters expressed in trying to rebuild their lives. Depart, Depart offers a lesson to all of us about the world we live in and the catastrophes we face through complex characters caught up i...

Shattered Dreams: The Arranged Marriage #1 by Jyotsna Ramani explores an arranged marriage in Indian culture with a reluctant bride as the arranged marriage spells the end of her dreams of being a career woman. The story was emotional and engaging. The exploration of culture, changing generational attitudes, and tradition clashing is interesting and offers a chance for the characters to grow. Shattered Dreams: The Arranged Marriage ends on a bit of a cliffhanger setting up the next story. Currently Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass   by Robin Wall Kimmerer Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment   by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief  by Grancis Weller Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian Forest of Noise: Poems  by Mosab Abu Toha Morning In The Burned House: Poems by Margaret Atwood Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a...

Foster by Claire Keegan floated into my mind and heart with a soft intensity that surprised me. As Keegan reveals both the child's story and the Kinsellas' story, there are surprises that somehow make perfect sense even when they feel like they shouldn't.  Foster feels so real yet there is also a surrealness about it, the kind of surrealness that comes with deep grief and dysfunction coming together trying to form something functional, a family.  Currently Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass   by Robin Wall Kimmerer Shattered Dreams the Arranged Marriage  by Jyotsna Ramani Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment   by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief  by Grancis Weller Forest of Noise: Poems  by Mosab Abu Toha Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no additional cost to you. If you'd like...

When We Were Friends: A Short Story by Jane Green is a story of a friendship that feels too good to be true, but had me rooting for the friendship to not take the turn I suspected was coming. Green demonstrates that sometimes a friendship is there to help people grow to the next phase of their lives and that is okay. It's clear from the beginning the friendship is going to go awry. Just when I started to feel comfortable with the friendship, a hint would show up to remind me that relationships are messy. I really enjoyed When We Were Friends quite a bit and also liked the characters even when I didn't like their behavior. Currently Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass   by Robin Wall Kimmerer Foster  by Claire Keegan Shattered Dreams the Arranged Marriage  by Jyotsna Ramani Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment   by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief  by Grancis Weller Forest of Noise...

People Like Them by Minka Kent teases with the story of a neighborhood party and a good time, but from the beginning there's an underlying current that feels deceptive but intriguing. Kent highlights how relationships aren't always what they appear to be while also showing how people can also understand circumstances better than we often think. People Like Them shows us how community can be a source of both good and harm in a short story that feels both unexpected and expected by the end.   Currently Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass   by Robin Wall Kimmerer When We Were Friends  by Jane Green Foster  by Claire Keegan Shattered Dreams the Arranged Marriage  by Jyotsna Ramani Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment   by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh Verseweavers: The Oregon Poetry Association Anthology of Prize-winning Poems Number 28/2023 Forest of Noise: Poems  by Mosab Abu Toha Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you...

Harlem: A Short Story  by Jerome Dickey packs quite a punch. I'm not sure what I expected when I started Harlem , but this short story took me on a bit of a rollercoaster ride yet was woven together beautifully. Harlem's experiences landed in my body in unexpected ways making me feel like I was experiencing what he was while still also being detached from it which he also seemed to be at times. Dickey creates a world based in reality that feels all too real and yet somehow surreal at the same time. Harlem kept me invested until the very end and even left me wanting more. Currently Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass   by Robin Wall Kimmerer When We Were Friends  by Jane Green Foster  by Claire Keegan Shattered Dreams the Arranged Marriage  by Jyotsna Ramani Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment   by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh Verseweavers: The Oregon Poetry Association Anthology of Prize-winning Poems Number 28/2023 Forest of Noise: Poems...

The Bad Friend by Caroline Kepnes twisted me up while keeping me engaged. Kepnes included more than seems possible in a short story yet every moment included feels necessary. I felt the struggle Ellen's perception of her place in her world created internally and the problems that perception created in her life from her friendships to her romances. Ellen often seemed oblivious to the reality in her life and seemed to be seeking something she could never find. A part of me understood related to her disconnection from her life even when I felt frustrated with her. When the big secret that became between her and her friend, Tanya, is revealed, it made perfect sense even as I resisted it as reality. The Bad Friend seemed like there was more than enough bad friendship to go around proving how important communication is in any relationship. Currently Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass   by Robin Wall Kimmerer Harlem  by Eric Jerome Dickey When We Were Friends  by Jane Green Foster...

Larger Than Life: A Novella by Jodi Picoult is, at its heart, a story of mothers and daughters. Picoult explores the expectations of mothers and daughters in a story that draws parallels between mothering styles in humans and elephants. The story explores the roles of both nature and nurture in the mother/daughter relationship all through the eyes of a daughter who can't leave behind a baby elephant to die and becomes its mother figure even as she struggles to reconcile her relationship with her own mother in her heart and mind. Larger Than Life explores how expectations can damage not only a relationship but individuals.  Currently Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass   by Robin Wall Kimmerer The Bad Friend  by Carolline Kepne Harlem  by Eric Jerome Dickey When We Were Friends by Jane Green Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights   by Omar Barghouti Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment by Mazin B...