Sweet Pea (publication day November 3, 2027) by Kit de Waal is a sweeping character study of a Caribbean British woman, Paulette, who came from St. Kitts with her grandmother in the 1960s, but stayed in Birmingham after her grandmother went back to the island. As the novel opens, she is working as a nurse’sContinue reading “Sweet Pea”
Tag Archives: grief
Madeline McKnight Signs Off
Madeline McKnight Signs Off (publication day November 3, 2027) is Evan Brooke’s debut novel, and I look forward to many more from her. Considering I have a high tolerance for stories involving grief and main characters with cancer, I was delighted by the story, but it may not be for people who can’t tolerate blackContinue reading “Madeline McKnight Signs Off”
Furious Violet
Furious Violet (2026) is Sarai Walker’s third novel, and it’s very different from Dietland (2015) and The Cherry Robbers (2022), but excellent in its own way. I’d probably consider it a literary horror/ thriller, featuring a nearly-fifty year old main character, Violet “West” Shelley. West is a true crime writer, traveling on her own acrossContinue reading “Furious Violet”
Hear the Dead
Hear the Dead by Ann Dávila Cardinal (publication day October 6, 2026) is a pulse-pounding thriller centering on 66-year old Elena Altieri, a former punk rock photographer who has been living a quiet life as a teacher in Vermont for the past forty years, since she fled New York City one awful day that sheContinue reading “Hear the Dead”
Another Word For Love
Another Word For Love (2024) by Carvell Wallace is such a beautiful memoir that, after listening to it, I had to purchase it so I could browse its wisdom whenever I want. The author reads the audiobook himself, so I recommend that version if you do audiobooks. Wallace was raised by a single mother whoContinue reading “Another Word For Love”
The Gods Will Sing Our Song
The Gods Will Sing Our Song by Autumn Krause (publication day September 1, 2026) is Krause’s fourth published novel–I’m definitely checking out her backlist! Krause identifies as a triracial author–she is of Japanese, Mexican, and white heritage, and in The Gods Will Sing Our Song, she fictionalizes some of her family history and adds fantasyContinue reading “The Gods Will Sing Our Song”
Body Language
Body Language (publication day September 1, 2026) by Meg Howrey is her fifth book, and the first of hers that I’ve read. I’m a sucker for stories with three sisters, and this one hit a little close to home for me, though we’re not quite in the same place as this family. Howrey uses severalContinue reading “Body Language”
How To Read a Book
How To Read a Book (2024) by Monica Wood was recommended by someone in my book group and I highly agree with her recommendation! The book follows three characters in and around Portland, Maine. Violet Powell is a 22-year old woman in jail because she was driving drunk, crossed the double-yellow line, and the accidentContinue reading “How To Read a Book”
The Twilight Garden
I was a big fan of Sara Nisha Adams’ The Reading List (2021) and so when I saw she had a new book, The Twilight Garden (2023), I knew that I had to read it, and I was glad that I did. Sometimes you just want a book that takes you somewhere else into someoneContinue reading “The Twilight Garden”
Fat Angie
I picked up Fat Angie (2013) by e. E. Charlton-Trujillo in the YA section of my library; I hadn’t seen it before. After reading, I have very mixed feelings, though it received a Stonewall Book Award. As the book opens, Angie is involved in a fight during gym class. There’s a mean girl, Stacy, andContinue reading “Fat Angie”
