Category Archives: American Literature

A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

American Literature

Synopsis: Subtitled “How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband ‘Master’.” Review: I didn’t think I wanted to read A Year of Biblical Womanhood because it seemed gimmicky and I assumed that the writer was going for snark. But I gradually became turned on to the beautiful, incisive, perceptive, and deeply Christian writings of author Rachel Held Evans and realized I had to make this my next read. I want all of my friends to read…

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The Believing Game by Eireann Corrigan

American Literature

Synopsis: Greer’s been dumped in a home for disturbed kids, but amazingly she meets the boy of her dreams–and his creepy AA sponsor, a 50-year-old possibly homeless guy who has grand plans for Addison, Greer, and their friends. Review: The Believing Game is the portrait of a nascent cult. While Greer doesn’t quite buy Joshua as a spiritual leader, she’s so in love with Addison that she accepts Joshua so as not to lose her boyfriend. But Joshua has a way of getting under people’s…

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As It Is On Earth by Peter M. Wheelwright

American Literature

Synopsis: A lost professor muses on the mess he’s made of his life and his inability to shake himself free from the burdens of family, tradition, and history. Review: As It Is On Earth is a stunningly well-written novel. Comparisons to Walker Percy are more than apt, they’re jump-with-joy appropriate. Who writes like this? I’m just not used to seeing this level of thoughtfulness, depth, poetry, and philosophy in books anymore. Plus it’s weird and funny and bawdy and depressing and bizarre and twisted. It…

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Lost Claus by Dan Fiorella

American Literature

Synopsis: A jaded private eye takes on the case of a lifetime when an unusually small client by the name of “Tweedle” walks in the door wearing a red and green outfit claiming his boss is missing. Review: Lost Claus is really, really funny. Dan Fiorella gets all the hard boiled lingo just right and it’s hilarious when juxtaposed with some snooty elves, Santa’s hot-to-trot adopted daughter, and the threat of Christmas without the big man himself. It’s a great satire and a fun story,…

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Luthecker by Keith Domingue

American Literature

Synopsis: Gifted with prescience borne of his preturnatural ability to make the most minute observations possible about people, Alex Luthecker lives in the criminal underworld, until an impulsive choice to save a strange woman’s life by revealing her future to her exposes him and puts him in jeopardy from the government and criminals alike. Review: Luthecker is a fast-paced, aggressively plotted book with a compelling protagonist whose abilities confound and terrify. I think that anyone who likes crime novels should pick this one up, because…

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Bound by Fire by Ronald Craft (The Twin Flames Book 1)

American Literature

Synopsis: When he’s kidnapped by a feisty female assassin, a young blacksmith discovers himself at the heart of a battle between dead gods who want to live again. Review: I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the prose in Bound by Fire, because, you know, with emerging fantasy authors you have to be prepared for the worst. I really felt like I was drawn into a world I was interested in, and the characters had enough depth to keep me reading. However, about 3/4…

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The Hoard by Alan Ryker

American Literature

Synopsis: When Pete discovers his mother is living in a filthy hoard, he tries to get her help–not realizing that her problems may have a supernatural origin. Review: I loved the idea of marrying a zombie story to a hoarder story, but I did feel like The Hoard petered out and ended on an unsatisfactory note. But up until the last few pages, I really couldn’t put it down and even got pretty freaked out–not to mention grossed out. Many thanks to DarkFuse for the…

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The Hoarder in You by Dr. Robin Zasio

American Literature

Synopsis: Subtitled: How to Live a Happier, Healthier, Uncluttered Life. Review: The Hoarder in You is a self help book for people who struggle with clutter and hoarding. I’m a very very organized person and find hoarding fascinating, and Dr. Zasio is one of my favorite experts on A&E’s Hoarders. I actually got some good counseling tips that will help in my volunteer work!

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Superfreakonomics by Steven J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt

American Literature

Synopsis: Subtitled “Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance.” Review: In Superfreakonomics, economist Levitt and journalist Dubner use principles of economics to understand the vagaries of human behavior. As they put it, human beings respond to incentives, and through looking at some very fascinating studies they show over and over again that this is the case, in bizarrely complex ways.

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Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla

American Literature

Synopsis: The story of Squanto, the Native American who helped the pilgrims and journeyed to England. Review: I read Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims, aloud to my almost 5-year-old, and I have to say I’m a little obsessed. First of all, I was prepared to stop if it veered into anything offensive, like a noble savage stereotype, and that never happened. All I felt like I needed to explain was that we don’t say “Indian” anymore, we say “Native American.” Bulla does give Squanto a…

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