“I’d say follow your heart, but in that way madness lies.” It’s Stephen King meets Pat Conroy’s The Prince of Tides with the faintest dash of Fredrik Backman’s Beartown’s small town heart. It hums with hints of My Girl and Fried Green Tomatoes – perhaps it’s the bees or the friendship or both. In short,Continue reading “ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK – Chris Whitaker”
Tag Archives: BOTM
THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI – Shannon Chakraborty
“For when Amina chose to leave her home and return to life at sea, she became more than a pirate. More than a witch. She became a legend.” A female pirate retired to a life of single-motherhood and relative domesticity takes to the sea for one more daring adventure? Sign me up. From the momentContinue reading “THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI – Shannon Chakraborty”
THE FROZEN RIVER – Ariel Lawhon
“To name a thing is a proprietary act. It is a commitment. Of ownership or care or loyalty. It means something. With that single word I have declared that this little beast is mine, and that I have a responsibility to protect her.” While the quote refers to a silver fox, the importance of namesContinue reading “THE FROZEN RIVER – Ariel Lawhon”
LADY TAN’S CIRCLE OF WOMEN – Lisa See
“Do you need a man to confirm what your body is already telling you to be true?” Set in 1469-1511, Lisa See’s Lady Tan’s Circle of Women (Scribner 2023) is a remarkable story of a high-status woman doctor, her midwife best friend, and an assortment of women from whom she draws strength, courage, and goodContinue reading “LADY TAN’S CIRCLE OF WOMEN – Lisa See”
LET US DESCEND – Jesmyn Ward
“The first weapon I ever held was my mother’s hand.” Let Us Descend (Scribner 2023) is my first Jesmyn Ward novel, but it certainly won’t be my last. Ward’s writing is as lush and powerful as everyone says, and there is a cadence to the storytelling that echoes oral traditions centuries old. The novel isContinue reading “LET US DESCEND – Jesmyn Ward”
THE BULLET SWALLOWER – Elizabeth Gonzalez James
“I think a person knows when their parents are gone for good, when the people that brought them into existence have gone out. I think the air gets heavier or the light changes, something like that. I haven’t seen the sun get dimmer yet.” One of my highly anticipated 2024 releases was an early releaseContinue reading “THE BULLET SWALLOWER – Elizabeth Gonzalez James”
FAMILY LORE – Elizabeth Acevedo
“I knew there was no safe home in the world for the violence I felt in my body in that moment.” Clap When You Land, Elizabeth Acevedo’s young adult novel in verse, was pure magic. When Acevedo’s first adult novel, Family Lore (Ecco 2023) was published, I wondered if Acevedo would be able to sprinkleContinue reading “FAMILY LORE – Elizabeth Acevedo”
THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW – Adrienne Young
I love magical realism. I do not love time travel. Admittedly, I should have looked into Adrienne Young’s The Unmaking of June Farrow (Delacorte Press 2023) beyond the magical realism and North Carolina setting BEFORE selecting it for my BOTM box, but I did not. This novel has overwhelmingly positive reviews so take this forContinue reading “THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW – Adrienne Young”
THE RIVER WE REMEMBER – William Kent Krueger
“Charlie Bauer doesn’t intend to leave this life filled with rancor or regret or plagued by the demons of if only. She intends to lie down in peace. And so, she sips her whiskey and reads her books and every once in a great while allows herself the pleasure of a cigar, and she awaitsContinue reading “THE RIVER WE REMEMBER – William Kent Krueger”
THE INVISIBLE HOUR – Alice Hoffman
“Trick your enemy, do what you must, believe in enchantments, save yourself.” Alice Hoffman’s The Invisible Hour (Atria Books 2023) is a slim, magical novel that smells like apples and fall. It’s also my first Hoffman work. (I know – that’s surprising considering my love of magical realism and of the movie Practical Magic.) TheContinue reading “THE INVISIBLE HOUR – Alice Hoffman”
A Girl Named Tommi 