Tag Archives: *LOVE!!

The Forever Bridge by T. Greenwood

American Literature February 24, 2015 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A midwife derailed by grief struggles to repair her relationship with her troubled daughter, and a pregnant homeless girl seeks shelter as Hurricane Irene relentlessly approaches. Review: T. Greenwood is one of my all-time favorite authors, and her books are notoriously hard to synopsize and review. The Forever Bridge is perhaps her most conventionally plotted book, with a strong sense of narrative suspense, but it’s still a novel that takes its time in the nuances of character and relationships. There are so many moments…

Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb (Fitz and the Fool, Book 1)

American Literature May 3, 2014 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: After bringing dragons back to the world in the thrilling conclusion of the Tawny Man trilogy, past-haunted bastard Catalyst Fitz has now retired to a quiet life under an assumed name, but when his post-menopausal wife claims she is pregnant, and a pale messenger with an ominous message dies in his holdfast, Fitz wonders if the wheel of history is bringing his beloved Fool back into his life–for better or for worse. Review: Count me among those who had a major freakout upon realizing…

The Shining by Stephen King

American Literature February 17, 2013 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: Dysfunctional family gets collective ass kicked by haunted hotel. Review: I think The Shining is probably my favorite Stephen King book–and that includes the Dark Tower books. And I’m always tickled at how different it is from the Kubrick movie–and how I can love them both as complete works without needed them to resemble one another. My husband decided he’d give King a try, having never read any of his books, and asked me which one. I didn’t hesitate before recommending this one to…

The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle

American Literature September 7, 2012 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Pepper’s not mentally ill, but he’s in a mental hospital nonetheless, and he wants to get out before his automatic bill payments drain his checking account–and before he’s stalked and destroyed by the devil who lives behind the silver door at the end of the hall. Review: I rarely cry when I read books. Like, I’m talking under ten times in my whole reading life. So when I tell you that the end of The Devil in Silver moved me to tears, you get…

Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor LaValle

American Literature August 6, 2012 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Lucretia, a 12-year-old girl living in the projects in Queens, just wants to spend her birthday with her best friend, but the boarded up apartment on the top floor might be inhabited by people who have a different plan for the girls. Review: Scary, smart, beautiful, haunting, powerful, resonant–can I please have a few more adjectives of praise to apply to this fabulous novella? Victor LaValle might be the most exciting contemporary writer I can think of. He is endlessly imaginative, a brave writer…

Broken Harbor by Tana French

Irish Literature July 28, 2012 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Detective Mick “Scorcher” Kennedy has a spotless record of solves, but when he’s partnered with a street smart rookie on the murder of a family in a boom economy development turned recession slum outside of Dublin, the ghosts from his past threaten his ability to play by the straight and narrow. Review: I am a huge fan of Tana French and Broken Harbor definitely lived up to my expectations. First of all, her sense of mood and place is just brilliant. She sets the…

The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

American Literature February 21, 2012 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: New York City in 1938 is all martinis and heartbreak for smart girl Katey Kontent and her impossibly sexy best friend Evie Ross, as they navigate the tricky waters of the uptown social scene. Review: I was utterly captivated by The Rules of Civility, from the tone to the characters to the plot to everything. It’s a pretty perfect book, as if Edith Wharton were resurrected to write a pre-Code Billy Wilder movie where the smart one got to be the lead. It makes…

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…

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…

The Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler

American Literature October 27, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A beautifully written meditation on eating simply and well. Review: Oh, how I loved The Everlasting Meal! I will be referring to this book for countless years to come. Tamar Adler is a protege of Alice Waters an believes in eating locally and seasonally, a philosophy I very much agree with. She’s also a proponent of using everything, eating meat that has lived well, and that anything, no matter how humble, can make a delicious and nourishing meal. Her chapters touch on simple things…

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