by E. K. JohnstonExit, Pursued by a Bear is a worthy successor to Laurie Halse Anderson’s seminal novel Speak. In Speak, Melinda Sordino was so traumatised by her assault that she was unable to even say the words “I was raped,” to herself, much less out loud for months afterwards. Hermione Winters, the protagonist of Exit, […]
The Husband’s SecretThe Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty The Husband’s Secret was an unexpected choice for me as I don’t usually seek out mystery, and am always wary of it getting too dark and creepy. Luckily Liane Moriarty filled the bill on a great, suspenseful read. A mysterious sealed letter from her husband- to […]
By Sophie Kinsella Sophie Kinsella, of the Shopaholic series fame, brings us this account of Audrey, a teen suffering from anxiety as the result of some sort of traumatic event (we don’t know what) that has sent her into darkness and despair. She is unable to leave her house, or go to school, or talk […]
The Sisters Brothers By Patrick DeWitt Patrick DeWitt’s The Sisters Brothers is an old western with a modern twist. Even if you don’t like westerns (like me), you might like this one. Hilarious and grotesque at the same time, The Sisters Brothers is surprisingly funny and doesn’t shy away from a bit of self-reflection. The […]
By: Laura Ruby Gossip reigns high in the small farm town of Bone Gap, USA. In a town where everyone knows everyone else’s business (or at least thinks they do), Finn is laden with guilt over the misconceptions of his peers. Roza, a beautiful Polish woman who recently appeared in Bone Gap under mysterious circumstances […]
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood is a book that will stay with me for years to come. I have never read anything like it, and don’t expect to ever find something like it again. Be aware this book will make you lose sleep and wreak […]
By Kate ElliotAs a child of mixed-race, Jessamy is torn between her duty as a Patron and her longing for the freedom of the Commoners. In particular, Jessamy is determined to compete in The Court of Fives, a dangerous multilevel competition. Through the Fives, Jessamy achieves that sense of freedom and begins making friends such […]
by Meg Wiviott A birthday card. Something simple, a sign of affection and love that we take for granted. But for a Jewish prisoner at Auschwitz in 1944, a birthday card is so much more – an act of defiance, a statement of hope, a crime punishable by death. Zlatka knew this as she stole […]
Although All That Matters is the sequel to Wayson Choy’s first novel, The Jade Peony, it is actually a parallel story. Told this time from the point of view of the eldest son of the Chen family, rather than his younger siblings, the Chens have arrived in Vancouver’s Chinatown in the 1930’s, during the Great […]
All the Single Ladies By Rebecca Trainster From the title, you might mistakenly assume Rebecca Traister’s “All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation” is a self-help tome or maybe a biography of Beyoncé, but it’s actually a well-written and engaging history of the women’s liberation movement in the United […]