Book Reviews

[ad_1] Maria Kuznetsova’s novel Oksana, Behave! follows the fierce, and fiercely funny, misadventures of Oksana, a character whose every act of aggression and defiance proves how very full of love she is. The book begins with seven-year-old Oksana newly arrived in Florida from the Soviet Union. Called a “baby Bolshevik” by a teacher (after Oksana … Read more

[ad_1] The winter drags on, but that’s fine with us: The cold gives us an excuse to stay in and read, read, read! February brings a bevy of incredible novels, poetry collections, and works of non-fiction that we can’t wait to crack open by a crackling fire (or, more likely, a heated radiator–that’s city living … Read more

[ad_1] Death is a blank stare. It’s an enigma for the living. While we try to interpret the concept of death, we’ll never really know it until we experience it for ourselves. What we do know about death is the feeling of loss, the disruption of daily rhythms, companionship, and love. It’s difficult. Grief is … Read more

[ad_1] Tola Rotimi Abraham’s first novel is a story of tragedy. It is not supposed to be hopeful. But there is hope in the telling. Black Sunday is told through a scattering of episodes that center around the lives of four siblings in Lagos–twin sisters Bibike and Ariyike, and their brothers, Andrew and Peter. Their … Read more

[ad_1] While some books of historical fiction use a historical event or person only as a jumping-off point, others  are more biographical in nature, building on the factual details of a real person’s life with imagined thought, conflict and emotion. Allison Pataki’s new novel The Queen’s Fortune belongs mostly in the second category, but it … Read more

[ad_1] The story of Chicago’s South Side often falls within two narratives — stereotypes of violence and crime, and brilliant, extraordinary individuals (like the Obamas) who find their way out. But this dichotomy is narrow and silences the experiences of many South Side residents. In reality, most don’t fall into these experiences, but somewhere in … Read more

[ad_1] In 2012, as President Barack Obama publicly announced his support for same-sex marriage and effectively paved the way for marriage equality, Carmen Maria Machado was freeing herself from an abusive girlfriend. Machado once fantasized about marrying her and starting a family. Yet it’s this dangerous lover who stalks the chambers of Machado’s heart in … Read more

[ad_1] Helen Phillips is a widely celebrated author of speculative fiction. Her new novel, The Need, published in July by Simon & Schuster, was recently long-listed for the National Book Award. The stories from her previous book, Some Possible Solutions, combine elements of science fiction, fantasy, fairy tales, and surrealism. Curious about her writing process, … Read more

[ad_1] In her debut novel, A Kind of Freedom, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton was praised for her nuanced portrayal of intergenerational relationships between strong female black characters. In her much anticipated second novel, The Revisioners, Sexton returns with a lyrical family saga that traces multiple generations from the antebellum South (on the brink of the Civil … Read more

[ad_1] I’ve seen many blogs and Booktube videos about how Harry Potter inspired a whole generation of new authors to dedicate their lives to writing. That’s positively wonderful, and I’m truly happy for them that they were inspired to begin their author journeys from reading those books. There’s no doubt that HP has changed the … Read more