Oct 19, 2016 | Uncategorized
The Secrets of Lake Road by Karen Katchur My rating: 5 of 5 stars If you’ve never been to the Poconos, The Secrets of Lake Road brings that world to you. Two drownings bookend this story about a lake community that is simultaneously torn apart and bound by...
Aug 5, 2016 | Uncategorized
Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica My rating: 5 of 5 stars Two slow burning tales intertwine in a stunning crescendo. I was a big fan of THE GOOD GIRL and this book surpasses the high bar set by Kubica’s debut. DON’T YOU CRY alternates between two...
Jul 5, 2016 | Uncategorized
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng My rating: 5 of 5 stars The antidote to vapid genre. This book is brimming with three generations of heartbreak, endurance, strangled dreams, and quiet, unyielding hope. The overarching question, which is the main point of...
Jul 5, 2016 | Uncategorized
My Last Continent: A Novel by Midge Raymond My rating: 5 of 5 stars Despite living in snow and ice for a good portion of every year, Antarctica is a continent I’ve rarely contemplated–until now. Midge Raymond’s debut novel is a gorgeous, consuming...
May 31, 2016 | Uncategorized
You: A Novel by Carolyn Kepnes My rating: 4 of 5 stars Joe Goldberg immediately draws you into his obsessive, insidious world as he begins a one sided conversation with Beck, the girl he starts stalking on the first page of this novel. I was mesmerized, disgusted,...
May 29, 2016 | Everything You Want Me to Be, Writing
So far in this series on book covers, I’ve looked at some of my favorite covers and unveiled the new cover for The Dragon Keeper. It’s just about time to look ahead to Everything You Want Me To Be, but before we do let’s step back for a moment and review the strange...
May 19, 2016 | Uncategorized
The Lake Season by Hannah McKinnon My rating: 4 of 5 stars A lovely summer read. The beautifully-drawn lakeside farm provides the backdrop for two adult daughters who come home to navigate very different milestones in their lives: one wedding and one divorce. I loved...
May 15, 2016 | Everything You Want Me to Be, The Daily Grind, Writing
I’ve been thinking about the nineties lately, maybe because of a number one essential album, or because my newest heroine is struggling through her late teenage years and I’ve realized half my life has passed since I was in her place, but somehow those limitless...
May 8, 2016 | Uncategorized
Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was wondering when to begin chapter books with my six-year-old, which is really to say I was wondering how to start him on the path toward our shared trip to Hogwarts that I’ve fantasized about...
May 8, 2016 | The Dragon Keeper
Writing a book and shepherding it into the world is a lot like raising a child, and it’s just as thrilling to see that book take on its own identity, remove itself from your watchful (helicopterish?) gaze, and even reinvent itself into something you never...
