“A page had been turned. It was that quiet and that simple, but Artie – having almost died – no longer wanted to.” Elizabeth Strout is a talented writer, I’d just previously decided I don’t really like her leading characters. To be fair, I’ve only read Oh William! and I said the following regarding it:Continue reading “THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY – Elizabeth Strout”
Tag Archives: Book reviews
ALL THEM DOGS – Djamel White
A buzzy debut with some Booker-heavy blurbs, including from the first Booker prize winner to serve as chair of the award, Djamel White’s All Them Dogs (Riverhead Books 2026) has been on my radar for a bit. It’s one of two releases that I anticipated would end up on my predictions list and hoped toContinue reading “ALL THEM DOGS – Djamel White”
GHALEN: A ROMANCE IN BLACK – Walter Mosley
The first half of Walter Mosley’s Ghalen: A Romance in Black (Amistad 2026) is achingly tender. The love story between Ghalen’s mismatched parents is just beautiful; Robert is neurodivergent with a slower, different view of life, and Jamilah, a brilliant med student, falls head over heels with how he sees her. They meet at aContinue reading “GHALEN: A ROMANCE IN BLACK – Walter Mosley”
THE YOUNG WILL REMEMBER – Eve J. Chung
“I am in such despair that everything looks like a noose. But then I remember that I cannot leave, or you will have no home to return to. And so I stay.” Eve J. Chung’s The Young Will Remember (Berkley 2026) is a captivating historical fiction novel that takes a deep dive into the humanityContinue reading “THE YOUNG WILL REMEMBER – Eve J. Chung”
RETURNS AND EXCHANGES – Kayla Rae Whitaker
Kayla Rae Whitaker’s Returns and Exchanges (Random House 2026) is likely going to wind up in my top five reads of the year – most definitely in the top ten. Spanning 1979-2015, the novel follows one Kentucky family – a rags to riches to reckoning story of resilience and risking it all to be seen,Continue reading “RETURNS AND EXCHANGES – Kayla Rae Whitaker”
PORCUPINES – Fran Fabriczki
“And after all, every story is a manipulation in one way or another.” Fran Fabriczki’s debut novel, Porcupines ( Summit Books 2026), shows a lot of promise but ultimately falls just short of the mark because it under-delivers in each timeline, bringing us to a rather unsatisfying conclusion. I love the idea – but IContinue reading “PORCUPINES – Fran Fabriczki”
SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER – Vincent Yu
Seek Immediate Shelter by Vincent Yu ( Flatiron 2026) was a bit of a disappointment. The novel is a series of interconnected short stories about residents of a small Asian-American community in Massachusetts following a false ballistic missile alert. There is one section that takes place months after the alert and piggy-backs on an earlierContinue reading “SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER – Vincent Yu”
THE BOOK OF GOOSE – Yiyun Li
“If my geese ever dream, they alone know that the world will never be allowed even a glimpse of those dreams, and they alone know the world has no right to judge them. I live like my geese.” Despite this being my “library” year, I am getting to some of the books on my physicalContinue reading “THE BOOK OF GOOSE – Yiyun Li”
JOHN OF JOHN – Douglas Stuart
“His hands were rough, but the fingers were long and elegant as though God had granted them for a life he had never lived.” “I’m not going to watch you torture yourself and then come round here expecting sympathy for it.” When I reviewed Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain back in 2020, I wrote: “This novelContinue reading “JOHN OF JOHN – Douglas Stuart”
PERMANENCE – Sophie Mackintosh
I didn’t enjoy Erin Somers’s The Ten Year Affair, so the fact her blurb was front and center on Sophie Mackintosh’s novel about an affair caused a momentary pause; however, Permanence (Avid Reader Press) did not suffer from the same “meh” that made me indifferent to the Somers’s novel. It’s an intimate portrayal of anContinue reading “PERMANENCE – Sophie Mackintosh”
A Girl Named Tommi 