book review Archives

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

A Moving Memoir Author: Maya Angelou I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a powerful memoir about survival, about finding beauty and a voice even in the most desperate circumstances. It’s a story about self-definition, one that starts with five-year-old Maya watching her grandmother, a respected, educated Black woman who owned a shop, being mistreated by jealous white people. From the opening lines, then, we see that Maya’s growing up will be interspersed by moments of connection and cataclysmic disruption, unfairness both inside and outside of the family. Maya doesn’t belong anywhere: not with the white community and not with [...]

Frances Carden2024-06-29T20:24:49-07:00June 29th, 2024|Tags: book review, classic, memoir, read, reading|

All You’ll See Is Sky

A Memoir of Tragedy and Redemption in Africa Author: Janet A. Wilson Janet Wilson has had enough of her staid existence – of coloring within the lines, of abdicating her dreams, of the mundanity of daily life and an unexciting marriage. With or without her husband, she is determined to make a 25,000-mile drive across Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo. This time, she’ll answer the call to adventure, the struggle and strife of truly being alive, regardless of what’s smart, what’s responsible, what other people think she can and should do as a woman, a wife, a mother. Along the way, she [...]

Frances Carden2024-07-01T07:36:25-07:00June 29th, 2024|Tags: adventure, book review, journey, memoir, read, reading, reviews, travel|

Haar, The

Love Never Dies Author: David Sodergren Muriel McAuley has grown up, married, grieved, seen horrors and happiness, and plans to end her days, all in Witchaven. But an unscrupulous developer has found the charming little Scottish costal town and is steadily buying out and scaring away residents. Only Muriel and a few of the older residents remain, and the pressure and unethical tactics are escalating. People are dying now. What hope does one old woman, living only with her memories, have? Everything changes, however, when the Haar (an ocean fog) roles in one day and Muriel finds a pathetic, otherworldly creature [...]

Frances Carden2024-06-24T18:35:32-07:00June 24th, 2024|Tags: book review, horror, read, reading|