Category: Literature
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I Take You by Eliza Kennedy
This book was pretty great. I devoured it within 2 days and was super sad when it ended. It’s witty and hilarious, and it literally made me laugh out loud every few pages, which I something I rarely do when reading a book. I won’t bore you with my version…
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I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis
This novel is about the woman behind Leonardo da Vinci’s famous portrait. Lisa Gherardini is Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.” Set against the backdrop of Florence during the Italian Renaissance, this novel goes into Mona Lisa’s background and her life under the rule of Lorenzo de Medici. Over the years,…
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The Never-Open Desert Diner by James Anderson
The Never-Open Desert Diner by James Anderson follows a trucker named Ben Jones, who delivers goods to people who live along a barren section of Route 117 in the Utah desert. Every day in Ben’s life is exactly the same: long, repetitive, and uneventful. One day, Ben impulsively turns off…
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The Mapmaker’s Children by Sarah McCoy
I was sold on reading The Mapmaker’s Children the moment I saw “Underground Railroad” mentioned in its synopsis. I’ve had an obsession with the Underground Railroad since learning about Harriet Tubman in grade school and reading The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton. It’s 1859 in New Charles Town.…
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Eleanor by Jason Gurley
Eleanor was self-published by Jason Gurley in summer 2014 and picked up by Crown Publishing later that year. Eleanor is a haunting story about twins who have been separated. Eleanor is six years old when her twin sister Esmerelda is thrown from the car and killed in a violent accident.…
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2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino
2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino is a great holiday book. The entire novel takes place on December 23rd (the eve of Christmas Eve) and focuses on three characters searching for love and life fulfillment in the wintry, snow-covered streets of Philadelphia. Madeleine The novel opens with…
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The Dinner by Herman Koch
This novel takes place entirely in one evening during a family dinner. Books written like this are usually pretty fast-paced and enjoyable for that reason. The Dinner is no exception, and I bet you’ll breeze through it like I did. The novel opens with narrator Paul Lohman arriving at a…
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Smoke by Catherine McKenzie
I became a big fan of Catherine McKenzie after reading Spin when it came out in 2012. She’s a great storyteller. In Smoke, after spending years putting out dangerous wildfires, Elizabeth is living a more low-key life as an arson investigator for Nelson County in the Rocky Mountains. One night,…
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The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton
The Lock Artist won the Edgar Award for Best Novel. This story is narrated by Mike, a young man sentenced to life in prison for being a “boxman,” also known as a “safe cracker,” in a series of heists. Mike has been mute since he was eight years old, when…