I probably wouldn’t have picked up Caite Dolan-Leach’s We Went to the Woods (Random House 2019) had I seen the comparison to Donna Tartt. I don’t know if Dolan-Leach studied the literary brat pack from Bennington, but her work is certainly reminiscent of that particular group of writers and their self-absorbed and unlikeable characters whoContinue reading “WE WENT TO THE WOODS – Caite Dolan-Leach”
Author Archives: Tommi Powell
ANXIOUS PEOPLE – Fredrik Backman
“Our hearts are bars of soap that we keep losing hold of…” If you’re going to split a book into the next year, you better make sure it’s a damn good one. Otherwise, you’ll be cursed to read lukewarm works that just miss the mark for the entire year. (A bookish superstition that I’m notContinue reading “ANXIOUS PEOPLE – Fredrik Backman”
THE SENTENCE – Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence (Harper 2021) was my last read of the year, and it was my favorite read of the year. (I didn’t think anything would edge out Black Sun, but Erdrich’s effortless, timely and amazing storytelling did. I shouldn’t have been surprised; Erdrich has been weaving some of my favorite stories for decades.)Continue reading “THE SENTENCE – Louise Erdrich”
TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING – Kwame Mbalia
The third and final installment of Kwame Mbalia’s Tristan Strong series, Tristan Strong Keeps Punching (Disney Hyperion 2021), was a near perfect conclusion to a story that writes itself in your bones and whispers in your sleep. All three works were five star reads for this bookdragon, and I know had I read this asContinue reading “TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING – Kwame Mbalia”
ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES – Charlotte McConaghy
Charlotte McConaghy’s Once There Were Wolves (Flatiron Books, 2021) is a slow burn of an environmental novel that begins tumbling fast into a whodunnit. McConaghy skillfully masters three classic literary conflicts in this novel that initially appears to be man versus nature before turning to man versus man before showing its true colors as manContinue reading “ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES – Charlotte McConaghy”
WHEN TWO FEATHERS FELL FROM THE SKY – Margaret Verble
Margaret Verble’s When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky (Mariner Books 2021) is one of those disappointing novels that simply does not live up to its potential. It’s a perfectly okay read, but I wanted it to be as great as a historical novel written by Verble about a Cherokee horse diver should have been.Continue reading “WHEN TWO FEATHERS FELL FROM THE SKY – Margaret Verble”
WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM – Christine Pride & Jo Piazza
I’ve read mixed reviews of Christine Pride and Jo Piazza’s joint novel We Are Not Like Them (Atria Books, 2021), but this was to be expected with such a heavy topic. Some of the criticism was very fair, but much of it revolved around unrealistic expectations and a failure to recognize the delicate balance PrideContinue reading “WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM – Christine Pride & Jo Piazza”
SANKOFA – Chibundu Onuzo
Chibundu Onuzo’s Sankofa (Catapult, 2021) is one of the best books I’ve read in 2021. It would have been in my top three but for the last quarter of the novel, which I don’t think carries the same power and charm as the rest of the work. Regardless, it’s a fantastic read about family, belonging,Continue reading “SANKOFA – Chibundu Onuzo”
VELVET WAS THE NIGHT – Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Last year’s Mexican Gothic was my introduction to Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and while her 2021 release wasn’t a horror, I was equally drawn to the plot and, truth be told, the cover; it’s not as stunning as the cover of Mexican Gothic, but just like that cover made clear the novel was a gothic, Velvet wasContinue reading “VELVET WAS THE NIGHT – Silvia Moreno-Garcia”
CAZADORA – Romina Garber
A few months ago, I reviewed Romina Garber’s Lobizona, and I stated that “there’s a comforting familiarity” to the story. The follow-up, Cazadora: Wolves of No World #2(Wednesday Books, 2021), continues in that familiar pattern but maintains the very unique feel that set Garber’s worldbuilding apart in Lobizona; Garber’s story relies heavily on Argentinian folkloreContinue reading “CAZADORA – Romina Garber”
A Girl Named Tommi 