Edie. Raven Leilani’s debut novel titled, Luster, features a Black protagonist named Edie, an artist who navigates through a world that has left her unmoored. I found myself rereading sentences that are exquisitely crafted and express in art the life that is Edie. Before we know it, readers are awash in the waves that Edie tries to ride as she spends her 20s trying to find her place in the world. We encounter issues about race, class and fidelity. We watch as Edie takes one step after another toward becoming herself. Fans of finely written fiction are those readers most likely to enjoy this novel.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
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Magical. Alaya Dawn Johnson presents the perspectives of three characters in her novel titled, Trouble the Saints. In the first section, we meet an assassin named Pea whose hands have an unexplained, inherited, magical power. Pea’s lover, Dev, comes next, and we learn more about Pea and others from his perspective. By the time a dancer named Tamara gives her perspective, we know her well enough to increase our appreciation of her humanity and complexity. The prose often sings, and the setting in New York in the 1940s is drawn with great skill.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
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Twists. Fans of suspense novels will enjoy being deceived by the narrative in Aimee Molloy’s novel titled, Goodnight Beautiful. Protagonists Sam Statler and his new wife, Annie Potter, leave New York City to make a new life in Sam’s quiet hometown upstate. What follows builds in suspense, especially after Sam goes missing. Just when a reader follows the clues, Molloy switches gears and there’s a new puzzle to figure out. I enjoyed every time I had to accept that what I thought was going on just wasn’t the case. This novel offers readers a few hours of good entertainment.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
Click here to purchase Goodnight Beautiful from amazon.com.
Descriptive. In his book titled, The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency, journalist John Dickerson calls on Americans to reevaluate how we define the role of United States President, what we expect of a president, and how to best select the best person to carry out that role for a specific period of time. Using loads of examples, Dickerson describes how the job has changed over time, and how the current expectations of any president makes that person be set up for failure. Readers interested in public affairs are those readers most likely to enjoy this book.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
Click here to purchase The Hardest Job in the World from amazon.com.
Symbolism. No symbol is subtle in Ursula Hegi’s novel titled, The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls. Set on an island off Germany in the late nineteenth century, the joy from a traveling circus turns to despair after a giant wave drowns three children. The novel opens with that dramatic action, then develops the characters of three surviving mothers and how they deal with loss. Life on a small island means that there’s no escape from the looks on the faces of everyone who knows what the wave took away from you. Hegi allows the unfolding of joy in a beautiful setting while maintaining the presence of pain that will never go away. The novel celebrates these women, and every reader can gain strength from spending time with them in this novel.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
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Freedom. What every parent wants most of all is for their child to be happy. In her novel titled, The Great Offshore Grounds, Vanessa Veselka throws readers into the messy lives of parents and children. Thanks to rich character development and vivid description, patient readers can cross the world with these fascinating people as they learn about what’s really important in life. Financial insecurity might be a better inheritance than the inability to love or the absence of freedom. Whether on land or the sea, sibling bonds are strong, and a mother’s love and care is constant. Readers who love complexity and depth in a novel will find a lot to enjoy in this finely written novel.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
Click here to purchase The Great Offshore Grounds from amazon.com.
Secrets. The latest installment in the Mike Bowditch series by Paul Doiron is a novel titled, One Last Lie. Fans of the Maine game warden will enjoy the return of a familiar cast of characters, and the revelation of long-held secrets. Retired warden Charley Stevens has gone missing, and Mike goes on a hunt to find him. Charley’s daughter and Mike’s former girlfriend returns adding interest about a new spark for an old relationship. Fans of crime fiction are those readers most likely to enjoy this novel and this series.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
Click here to purchase One Last Lie from amazon.com.
