Tommi Powell

YELLOW WIFE – Sadeqa Johnson

I love a good historical novel, particularly a well-researched novel that stands out both for its writing style and for a unique story that doesn’t feel regurgitated. While I admittedly gravitate more toward historical fiction with hints of magical realism (Remembrance and Conjure Women from last year being excellent examples), Sadeqa Johnson’s Yellow Wife (1/12/2021)Continue reading “YELLOW WIFE – Sadeqa Johnson”

AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED – Khaled Hosseini

I don’t know how I’ve managed to go so long without reading anything by Khaled Hosseini, but here I am in 2021 reviewing my first book by this master storyteller. And the Mountains Echoed (Riverhead Books 2013) is a novel I am unlikely to forget in this lifetime or the next. The decisions the charactersContinue reading “AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED – Khaled Hosseini”

THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON – Kelly Barnhill

I read forty-seven books in 2020, and my last read of the year ended up one of my top two. I knew I’d like Kelly Barnhill’s The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Algonquin Young Readers, 2016), but I didn’t anticipate it even being in my top five. Yet I found this novel of an “enmagicked”Continue reading “THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON – Kelly Barnhill”

THE NEW WILDERNESS – Diane Cook

Diane Cook’s The New Wilderness (Harper (August 11, 2020)) rounds out my 2020 Booker Prize shortlist selections. This book has been heralded as the “environmental novel of our time” by Booker judge Lemn Sissay, but I’d like to think our time could do better. I think I’ve actually read better. (Barbara Kingsolver, anyone?) Cook isContinue reading “THE NEW WILDERNESS – Diane Cook”

SHUGGIE BAIN – Douglas Stuart

He wanted to crush her with his secrets the way she had once done him with hers. “What’s wrong with me, Mammy?” He asked quietly. 262 Douglas Stuart’s debut novel, Shuggie Bain (Grove Press, 2020) was recently awarded the highly coveted Booker Prize. It’s my favorite book award, and I try and read some ofContinue reading “SHUGGIE BAIN – Douglas Stuart”

I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER – Erika Sánchez

“But how do we live with these secrets locked within us? How do we tie our shoes, brush our hair, drink coffee, wash the dishes, and go to sleep, pretending everything is fine?” (284-285) Once upon a time, I was an immigration attorney. Many of my clients were “undocumented” or had “undocumented” parents. The pointContinue reading “I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER – Erika Sánchez”

THE MOUNTAINS SING – Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

It truly has been the season of “women at war” books for this booknerd. After I left Korea, I went to Vietnam and a family saga that spans decades of turmoil. The Mountains Sing (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2020) is Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s first novel in English. A celebrated poet, Mai’s language purrsContinue reading “THE MOUNTAINS SING – Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai”

RIOT BABY – Tochi Onyebuchi

“If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see torches in the woods, keep going. If there’s shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.” Riot Baby, 124 Tochi Onyebuchi’s Riot Baby (2020) perfectly illustrates how successful science fiction can be at providingContinue reading “RIOT BABY – Tochi Onyebuchi”

A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD – Therese Anne Fowler

I seldom say that I hated a book because I can usually find something redeeming about it, but I hated Therese Anne Fowler’s A Good Neighborhood (2020). This review will be quite brief and in a slightly different format because I don’t want to launch into a tirade about my visceral reaction to this novel.Continue reading “A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD – Therese Anne Fowler”

THE MERMAID FROM JEJU – Sumi Hahn

From the battle torn France of World War II, to the women warriors of Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, and now to the haenyeo in post-WWII Korea, I’ve been on a bit of a “women at war” kick. The Nightingale, The Shadow King, and The Mermaid from Jeju are all three written by women andContinue reading “THE MERMAID FROM JEJU – Sumi Hahn”