Category Archives: American Literature

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

American Literature January 22, 2012 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: Chloe’s always admired her older sister, but when Ruby shows up with a girl who was dead the last time Chloe saw her, Chloe starts to fear that her sister can do anything–absolutely anything–she wants, no matter what Chloe or anybody else thinks about it. Review: Both Ruby and Chloe are compelling characters, for completely different reasons, and that’s what makes Imaginary Girls so successful. Ruby is obsessed with Olive, a town buried under a reservoir thanks to some eminent domain shenanigans in the…

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

American Literature January 17, 2012 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: Hazel and Augustus have terminal cancer–but that won’t stop them from falling in love. Review: I just can’t do justice to The Fault in Our Stars with a simple logline. Hazel and Augustus are simply two of the most original, quirky, lovable, real, charming, intelligent characters I’ve found in YA fiction–and that’s saying a lot, because I read a lot of awesome YA fiction. The competition is fierce for awesomest couple ever, but Hazel and Augustus win hands down. I loved them, I loved…

Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton

American Literature January 14, 2012 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: A memoir by the chef-owner of Prune in New York City’s East Village. Review: I loved Blood, Bones, and Butter, and not just because I have eaten at Prune. Gabrielle Hamilton’s memoir is more than just a restaurant tale–it’s an eyewitness account of the gentrification of both New York City, and of a street smart, fearless woman with a work ethic you just won’t believe. My favorite section of the book was an extended musing on what it means to be a “woman chef.”…

Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain

American Literature January 8, 2012 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: Essays from the chef, commentator, and food chronicler who wrote Kitchen Confidential. Review: I picked up Medium Raw through a sale on Audible, drawn in by the chance to hear Anthony Bourdain read his own book. I really really like the sound of his voice, except for the way he pronounces “restaurant” to rhyme with “runt.” (Or another word he’s really fond of that I won’t type here.) I enjoyed but didn’t love it. I was promised way more Top Chef trivia than I…

When Sparrows Fall by Meg Moseley

American Literature January 8, 2012 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A homeschooling widow with six kids finds her life thrown into chaos when her pastor announces the whole church is moving to another town–and she doesn’t want to go. Review: I just loved When Sparrows Fall. It’s the rare book about Christians that manages to portray a life of faith while still remembering that the characters are people, too. It was critical of things that are wrong in certain sectors of Christianity without condemning the faith as a whole. And the details brought to…

Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan

American Literature December 30, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Emma has everything going for her–success in the classroom and on the soccer field–but her home life is a nightmare of epic proportions, and she’s just trying to get by until she meets Evan and decides she deserves more out of life. Review: The love story in Reason to Breathe just blew me away. I really felt like I was falling in love myself–and I never get that feeling when I’m reading books. Romance just doesn’t do it for me in general–I’m not inclined…

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

American Literature December 30, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A teen girl’s new boyfriend isn’t the gentleman he seems to be, but she alienates her two best friends when they try to intervene, with violent results. Review: Bitter End is an insightful look at the psychology of a teen girl in love with an abusive boy. I thought that Jennifer Brown‘s execution was perceptive, risky, and emotionally honest. It was hard to watch Alex push her friends away, hard to see her put up with excuses and apologies, but I understood every choice…

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

American Literature December 27, 2011 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: Her boyfriend shot up the school then shot himself, and now Val has to make it through senior year. Review: Wow. I am so impressed with the execution in Hate List, a book that could’ve gone wrong in so many ways, but ended up getting everything right. Val’s predicament as the girlfriend of a school shooter tore me to pieces. I could see her point of view and wished I could send her in a better direction, even though I knew she had to…

Leftovers by Laura Wiess

American Literature December 27, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The daughter of an aspiring judge and her best friend, a loner whose parents and brother party all the time, find themselves contemplating a devastating and dangerous course of action when confronted with a very personal injustice. Review: The friendship between Ardith and Blair in Leftovers is somewhat reminiscent of the movie Heavenly Creatures, one of my all-time favorites. Alienated from their parents and desperate for a connection, the relationship between the girls blurs boundaries and takes on life-saving properties for both of them.…

Spoiler Edition: A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5)

American Literature December 26, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Tyrion becomes a slave, Dany pines for Daario while marrying someone else, her dragons eat children and incinerate a prince, Jon Snow upends 8000 years of tradition, a couple of no-goodniks get baked into a pie, Stannis can haz teh dumb, Theon Greyjoy lives the worst version of a Lifetime movie thanks to the Bastard of Bolton, Arya kills time, Ser Barristan the Bold displays mad skillz, Davos is not dead, Victarion rows his boat, Asha picks the wrong fort to defend, Cersei and…

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