Category Archives: American Literature

The Bling Ring by Nancy Jo Sales

American Literature July 20, 2013 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Subtitled: “How a Gang of Fame-Obsessed Teens Ripped Off Hollywood and Shocked the World.” Review: I was really glad I only paid $2.99 for The Bling Ring during a special Kindle promotion, because it didn’t give me much more than I already knew from reading about the spoiled Valley kids who robbed a bunch of celebrities’ homes, including those belonging to Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Orlando Bloom. Not that I was expecting anything particularly hard-hitting, but I felt like this was just an…

Dead by Sunset by Ann Rule

American Literature July 15, 2013 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The true crime account of the murder of a brilliant attorney by her sociopathically narcissistic husband. Review: I was looking for a quick and easy read and decided to return to an old favorite. Dead by Sunset is one of Ann Rule’s best books, offering an exquisitely detailed portrait of a narcissist and the destruction he created in the lives of his wives (5 of them), girlfriends (too numerous to count), kids (sadly he was a bad father to 6 kids), and business associates.…

The Soldier Son Trilogy by Robin Hobb

American Literature July 10, 2013 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A military cadet with a gleaming future is captured by magic and turned into a traitor against his own people. Review: I’ve already read the three books that comprise Soldier Son, but when I saw a Kindle deal for the trilogy all in one I decided it was time for a reread. Shaman’s Crossing comes first, then Forest Mage, and Renegade’s Magic completes the series. I love Robin Hobb but I remember feeling like this series wasn’t one of her best. My reread elevated…

Joyland by Stephen King

American Literature July 4, 2013 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: It’s the summer of 1973 and Devin Jones has just signed on to work at a beachside carnival–that may be haunted. Review: Joyland is Stephen King at his most elegiac and nostalgic, ordinarily my least favorite mode of his, but this book really got me. I loved the carnival setting, the lingo, watching Devin learn the ropes. Sure, he was a little bit Mary Sue but it mostly worked. I felt that the plot faltered in the second half but I wasn’t expecting anything…

Lie Still by Julia Heaberlin

American Literature July 2, 2013 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: When pregnant Emily and her lawman husband move from New York City to a small, wealthy Texas town, she finds herself enmeshed in mean girl culture and doesn’t take it seriously until the town’s queen bee goes missing–and a mysterious package hinting at her own dark past shows up on her doorstep. Review: Lie Still is your next read if you liked Gone Girl–and if you did, this is probably all I need to say. Lie Still hooked me from the very beginning with…

Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry by Elana Amsterdam

American Literature June 18, 2013 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Subtitled: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Recipes. Review: I have recently gone grain free and it really has been the right decision for me. I’m losing weight and feeling great, all while eating a lot. I love to bake, so I’m keen to discover how to make tasty baked good without flour or other grains. I am intrigued by a lot of the recipes in Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry as she is a blogger who comes up in search results a lot. The directions look…

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

American Literature June 11, 2013 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: Time travel makes a vicious serial killer unstoppable, but when one of his “shining girls” survives, the paradoxes in her case send her looking in the right direction, even as the killer grows more disorganized and deadly. Review: The Shining Girls is, quite simply, a great crime story with time travel element that probably has Stephen King kicking himself for not thinking of it first. In 1932, Harper has found a house filled with shining objects, and when he steps outside he can will…

Kalifornia Blu by Kendell Shaffer

American Literature June 11, 2013 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: When dreadlocked and delinquent skater girl Kal’s rock star mom fails to come back to LA for a hearing, Kal finds herself living with the father she never knew, under a strict curfew–and enrolled in a magnet school for teens who aspire to careers in law enforcement. Review: Set in the meticulously and passionately described LA town of Venice Beach, Kalifornia Blu has attitude and the plot to back it up. Kal has always been a wild child, the daughter of an aging rock…

Walk Me Home by Catherine Ryan Hyde

American Literature June 1, 2013 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Two sisters set out to walk from New Mexico to northern California in the hopes that their mother’s ex-boyfriend will take them in, but the theft of some eggs while traveling through a Native American reservation threatens to bring their whole scheme crashing down around their ears. Review: Walk Me Home had me hooked from the very first pages. Carly and her little sister Jen have such a realistic, touching relationship that I couldn’t help but become immediately invested in their journey. As the…

The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber

American Literature May 28, 2013 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Charlie Cullen was a hospital administrator’s dream–a nurse who took any shift and worked harder than anyone else–but to his patients, he was an “Angel of Death” who killed upwards of 300 people. Review: It’s been awhile since I read a true crime account, but when I heard a radio interview with The Good Nurse author Charles Graeber I knew I had to pick this one up. Charlie Cullen’s story is fascinating because of the institutional protection he received over his career as a…

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