book review Archives

There There

“The city made us new, and we made it ours.” Author: Tommy Orange Starting off like a short story collection and then weaving together into something more, There There is a loose affiliation of 12 broken lives, spiraling together around a doomed event: the Big Oakland Powwow. Each character is connected in two ways: they are Native American, and they are either going to the powwow or somehow involved in it. For some, the powwow is a near mystical moment, evoking potential reconnection, whether that be with a person or with a culture. For some, it’s a means to an end: [...]

Frances Carden2025-02-23T20:54:57-07:00February 23rd, 2025|Tags: book review, read, reading|

Day of the Door, The

Murder Behind Closed Doors Author: Laurel Hightower The Lasco siblings were torn apart by their mother, Stella, and her evil, her abuse, and the day when she took their 17-year-old brother behind a door and beat him to death with a baseball bat. After that, the authorities came, separated them, took her away, and yet, somehow, never quite found her guilty. Self-defense, she claimed. Shawn was suicidal, a creature driven by rage. A troubled teen. He was the violent one. Twenty years later though, as the remaining siblings have come together, each left with nightmares and troubles, Stella says that now [...]

Frances Carden2025-02-18T18:10:27-07:00February 18th, 2025|Tags: book review, horror, Laurel Hightower, read, reading|

Crown of Wishes, A

Be Careful What You Dream Author: Roshani Chokshi While A Crown of Wishes is ostensibly the sequel to The Star-Touched Queen, it is truly a separate tale. Maya and Amar and their deadly kingdom with its interwoven threads of fate; its sardonic, flesh-eating horses; and its tree of deception, are a backdrop, and their roles here are minimal. Instead, this is Maya’s sister’s, Gauri’s, story about her hard-won journey to freedom. While Maya’s prophecy leads her into the underworld, Gauri’s story takes her from princess to prisoner, awaiting her death sentence. Like her sister, though, Gauri has a certain toughness. When [...]

Frances Carden2025-02-15T14:48:39-07:00February 15th, 2025|Tags: book review, fantasy, magic, myth, read, reading, romance|