Review – Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

Spoiler: 5-star rating from me. Oh, I wouldn’t spoil the book for you. But I will scream “read it,” as loud as I can. This is the first I’ve read by Alice Feeney, and one of the best books I’ve read since Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. The two books are dissimilar, but both are …

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Review – The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

The Last Thing He Told Me is the first book I've read by Laura Dave. And most likely will be the last. The hyped reviews of the book prompted me to read it. The hyped reviews of the book contributed to my disappointment. I read comments like fast-paced, page turner, plot twists and so on. …

Review – Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing by New York Times bestselling author, Delia Owens, offers up a delightful mix of fiction genres in the pages of the author’s debut book as a solo writer. The novel prologue reveals a prominent citizen of Barkley Cove, Chase Andrews, dead and face down in a swamp. The author is quick …

Review — Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

To my beloved Harper Lee, It is with deep sadness I write to you concerning Go Set A Watchman. I write, too, out of much love and respect for your previous work To Kill A Mockingbird. Ms. Lee, when the literary world became aware of Go Set A Watchman, readers began to buzz. I must …

Review — Trampoline: An Illustrated Novel by Robert Gipe

Dawn Jewell Reading Trampoline is like reading a combination of social studies, history, daily news, and the comic strips. Dawn Jewell is the narrator and main character. She is fifteen and describes herself as "more of a kid fifteen than a grown fifteen." Author Robert Gipe does a great job showing the working class people …

Review — A Life of Dreams: The Good Times of Sportswriter Fred Russell by Andrew Derr

Dream Come True Whether it’s a childhood fantasy or a well thought out plan, dreams can and do come true, some by chance, some by choice, and maybe none more frequently than in the world of sports. Author, Andrew Derr is a 1992 recipient of Vanderbilt University’s Fred Russell-Grantland Rice Scholarship for Sports Journalism. It …

Review — The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

Masada It was the setting that roused my interest in The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. The novel is entrenched in the history of Masada, a mountain in the Judeaen desert in Israel. My familiarity with Masada is rooted in a personal visit taken while touring Israel. Hoffman's story adds life and meaning to my trip as …

Review — Nightwoods by Charles Frazier

The Characters Is it safe to write Charles Frazier may not produce a second literary masterpiece? Yet, his third novel, Nightwoods, comes closer to this feat than his second book . Nightwoods shows how bad life can be for some (Luce) and how bad some can be for life (Bud). Luce, the main character, is …

Review — Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

Jacob Written by Sara Gruen, Water For Elephants starts with a death and ends with a new life (of sorts). The narrator,  Jacob Jankowski, drops out of Cornell University his senior year, hops a freight train, and (yes) joins the circus. The name of the book is "lifted" from an attorney in an assisted living facility who claims he used to carry water for …