Book Review
Between Starshine and Clay
In "Between Starshine and Clay", Nigerian-born writer Sarah Ladipo Manyika gathers significant voices from the African diaspora for engaging discussions on race, culture, and society. Bernardine Evaristo introduces the book with a note...
Book Review
Jennie's Boy
Wayne Johnston’s moving, often funny memoir Jennie’s Boy concerns his hardscrabble Newfoundland childhood, which was marked by chronic illness. Although Jenny married Art, “the first educated man she’d ever met,” to elevate...
Book Review
I Got It from Here
"I Got It from Here" is a memoir about persistence and personal growth in spite of dire odds. Francesca Miracola’s memoir "I Got It from Here" is both a bid for understanding and a cautionary tale by a woman who married the wrong man....
Book Review
Halfway from Home
Sarah Fawn Montgomery’s essay collection "Halfway from Home" is careful in its considerations of home, family, the natural world, and how the three intersect. Beginning in Montgomery’s childhood in a dusty California town, “Dig”...
Book Review
Phalaina
"Phalaina" is an enchanting dark fairy tale focused on an ethereal, red-eyed girl who may not be human. Manon is a little girl when she appears, alone in the woods, in late nineteenth-century England. Although she is free and happy, she...
Book Review
Dispatches from the Cowgirl
"Dispatches from the Cowgirl" is a fascinating diplomat’s wife’s memoir that covers exciting postings in Africa. Julie Tully’s memoir "Dispatches from the Cowgirl" is a vicarious visit to expat life in Africa. Tully, the American...
Book Review
Ginger Mancino, Kid Comedian
In Wendi Aaron’s delightful novel "Ginger Mancino, Kid Comedian", a girl navigates the spaces between fame and friendship. Ginger may be on a first-name basis with Jimmy Kimmel, but her career as a stand-up comedian comes to a...
Book Review
Oy Mame! Oy Mame!
"Oy Mame! Oy Mame!" is an inspiring Holocaust survival story. "Oy Mame! Oy Mame!" is the eyewitness account of Abraham Gutreiman, a Polish Jew, who, along with his elder brother Yankel, survived the Holocaust. Although his brother...