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Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe
“Our friendships started with “What’s your name?” The answer carried with it looks that I can still see clearly: Stacia’s begged me not to talk to her, and Tonya’s asked, “Is she talking to me?!” We got past those facial expressions and gave our names. Names that sound like heartbeats: Fe Fe, Precious, Stacia, Tonya.”…
1990s, 20th century, 4 STARS, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, Black & Black heritage authors, Chicago, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, coming of age, family, female authors, female friendships, friendships, girlhood, growing up, Illinois, Last Summer on State Street, lyrical prose, missing girls, missing persons, RACE, read in 2022, Religion, siblings, social issues, strong sense of place, summer reads, Toya Wolfe, violence against women, YOUNG ADULT, youth -
The Break by Katherena Vermette
The Break is a harrowing yet lucidly written intergenerational family saga that examines the repercussions of a horrific act of violence.The book opens with Stella, a young Métis mother, witnessing a violent attack on some land near her house. Although torn, Stella doesn’t rush to the victim’s rescue and calls the police instead. When they…
3 STARS, addiction, Adult, body dysmorphia, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, canada, canadian author, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, ghosts/spirits, grandmothers, indigenous, indigenous author, Katherena Vermette, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, motherhood, mothers & daughters, My reviews, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, published in 2016, rape, read in 2022, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, The Break, trauma, violence, violence against women -
Honor by Thrity Umrigar
Previously to reading Thrity Umrigar’s Honor I’d read another novel with the same title and subject matter. Both books make for harrowing reads, however, whereas I found Elif Shafak’s more thoughtful tone to be more appropriate to the subject fitting, here, well, Umrigar’s undermines her social commentary by throwing into the mix a rushed romantic…
2.5 STARS, Adult, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, class, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), distressing reads, female authors, graphic content, hinduism, Honor, honor killings, India, indian american author, insta love, Islam, journalism, MELODRAMA, MURDER, My reviews, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, Religion, revenge, ROMANCE, Thrity Umrigar, trauma, violence, violence against women -
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
re-re-read: what can i say, whatever this book has going on, i here for it. re-read: it hasn’t even been a year and I have already re-read this. This book slaps. Ninth House can be best described as: “talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done…
3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, abuse, academia, addiction, adrenaline fuelled reads, Adult, alex stern, Alex Stern #1, all of the trigger warnings, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, California, campus, Contemporary, dark, dark academia, dark fantasy, DEATH, FANTASY, female authors, ghosts/spirits, graphic content, it’s about the *aesthetics*, Leigh Bardugo, MAGIC, mental health, MURDER, MYSTERY, NEW ADULT, New Haven, Ninth House, occult, PARANORMAL, Pedophelia, place as character, published in 2019, rape, re-reads, read in 2020, read in 2021, read in 2022, rich people, secret societies, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, strong sense of place, SUPERNATURAL, terrific prose, THRILLER, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, URBAN FANTASY, violence, violence against women, Yale -
The Travelers by Regina Porter
The cast of characters and locations at the start of Regina Porter’s The Travelers is a tiny bit daunting as they promise to cover a far wider scope than your usual family saga. The Travelers explores the lives of characters who are either related, sometimes distantly, or connected in less obvious ways. Porter’s switches between…
1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 20th century, 4 STARS, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Berlin, Brittany, CHILDHOOD, class, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), f/f side, family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, FRANCE, friendships, georgia, Germany, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, interconnected stories, intergenerational, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, MARRIAGE, MEMORY, new hampshire, NEW YORK, published in 2019, queer, RACE, rape, read in 2020, Regina Porter, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, tennessee, terrific prose, The Travelers, travel, unrequited love, Vietnam, vietnam war, violence against women, war, war related ptsd, WWII -
Cardiff, by the Sea: Four Novellas of Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates
As I highly rate Joyce Carol Oates I was quite looking forward to Cardiff, by the Sea, a collection of four novellas ‘of suspense’. While I have only read a few of Oates’ works Patricide, a novella of hers, is a favourite of mine. The novellas collected in Cardiff, by the Sea have more in…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, abuse, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad love, Cardiff by the Sea, collection of short stories, dark, family, female authors, feverish, GOTHIC, HORROR, illness, Joyce Carol Oates, mental health, Mia Dao, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, Phantomwise, published in 2020, rape, read in 2020, sexual assault/abuse/rape, short stories, SUSPENSE, The Surviving Child, THRILLER, toxic relationships, trauma, violence against women -
Not My Time to Die by Yolande Mukagasana
In this powerful and gut-wrenching testimony, which has only been recently translated in English, Yolande Mukagasana writes of the Rwandan genocide. In a striking and incisive prose Mukagasana recounts the horrific three months in which Hutus massacred hundred of thousands of Tutsis. Mukagasana, a Tutsi, worked was a nurse/doctor in Kigali. She was married with…
1990s, 1st pov, 4 STARS, all of the trigger warnings, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, DEATH, distressing reads, female authors, genocide, GRIEF, HISTORICAL FICTION, history, MEMOIR, MEMORY, Nonfiction, Not My Time to Die, published in 1997, RACE, read in 2020, rwanda, rwandan, rwandan author, Rwandan genocide, survival, TRANSLATED FICTION, trauma, violence, violence against women, war, Yolande Mukagasana -
The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado
Having only read Carmen Maria Machado’s memoir, I wasn’t sure what to except from The Low, Low Woods. The summary promised a creepy tale: we have the classic small town setting (here called Shudder-to-Think), strange creatures (deer-women, skinless men), and an old mystery.The first issue begins with our two protagonists, El and Octavia, waking up…
2.5 STARS, abuse, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Carmen Maria Machado, Contemporary, f/f, FANTASY, female authors, friendships, Graphic Novels, HORROR, latinx author, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, MAGIC, PARANORMAL, Pennsylvania, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, sapphic, SMALL TOWN, The Low Low Woods, violence against women -
Three by D.A. Mishani
Three wasn’t quite the “dark psychological thriller with a killer twist” I was anticipating. The blurb and cover suggests a far more suspenseful and possibly subversive tale that the one D. A. Mishani actually delivers. The novel’s tripartite structure didn’t feel particularly original as it has become quite popular in novels that fall under the…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, affairs, Contemporary, CRIME, D.A. Mishani, domestic thriller, drama, heavy on telling, Israel, Israeli, Israeli author, Jewish, male authors, MARRIAGE, published in 2020, read in 2020, serial killers, SUSPENSE, Three, THRILLER, TRANSLATED FICTION, violence against women, west bank -
Notes on a Silencing: A Memoir by Lacy Crawford
“The teachers, rectors, lawyers, and priests of St. Paul’s School lied to preserve their legacy. It would take decades to learn not to hate the girl they disparaged, and to give her the words she deserved.” Notes on a Silencing is a profoundly poignant memoir and a deeply moving account of a young girl’s sexual…
1980s, 1990s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, abuse, academia, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, boarding/private school, bullying, class, female authors, feminism, introspective, Lacy Crawford, MEMOIR, MEMORY, mental health, new hampshire, Nonfiction, Notes on a Silencing, PRIVILEGE, psychological, published in 2020, rape, read in 2020, rich people, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, teachers, trauma, true crime, violence against women
luce [is reading] 