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All in Fiction
Everyone’s already calling James — Percival Everett’s reimagining and extension of Huckleberry Finn — a favorite for next year’s Pulitzer Prize. I’ve got to agree.
Our queen has blessed us once again. Boy, does Leigh Bardugo know how to sweep us away, how to write a love story, and how to knock an ENDING (!) out of the park.
Wandering Stars isn’t as propulsive as There, There was, but don’t worry; it twists the knife. I thought the way it highlights the generational trauma forced upon Native Americans was really effective, and it broke my heart. Highly recommend.
Beautyland is one of those books that will sneak up on you and hit you right smack in the feels. My favorite kind of book. (The audiobook was also excellently performed, and the story was easy to follow in that format!)
The moment Ædnan landed in my hands, I was excited to read it. And friends, I was not disappointed. This novel in verse is absolutely stunning and deeply moving, with a translation that’s both accessible and musical.
My latest Booker Prize longlister, and while I see its merits, I’m not super surprised that we didn’t see this one on the shortlist. Sometimes I felt super engaged and sometimes I felt the opposite. All in all, I think I am slightly to the positive side of neutral on it.
This trilogy is a set of solid early-YA fantasy novels with an imaginative magic system and really good political world-building. All in all, I think the first book was my favorite, but this was still an adventurous, satisfying ending!
When I heard that speculative-short-story-GOAT Kelly Link had written a doorstopper of a debut novel, I was ALL IN. This won’t be for everyone, but this was extremely my thing.
I think this book successfully did what it set out to do, but tech apocalypse stories just aren't my thing. But if you’re looking for a slightly more sophisticated version of a dystopian thriller, this might be your jam.
All vibes/no plot in outer space. Harvey has given us a breathtaking meditation on what makes us human, what connects us, and our beloved planet Earth.
SJM didn’t give me everything I’d hoped for out of this book, but that’s okay — it was a good finale to this specific trilogy. I’m just glad she’s not done writing books in this universe!
I loved this book!! I don’t think it will be exactly everyone’s cup of tea, but it was definitely mine, and I think everyone will still find something to love in here regardless.
Somehow, this book is completely engrossing and also felt sooooo slow to me. But at the end of the day, this is a devastating, scary, very moving book that absolutely achieves what it sets out to.
If you like unreliable narrators, beautiful writing, and a touch of mystery, this one may just be for you.
I was pretty lukewarm on Such a Fun Age, but I decided to give this one a go anyway. But ultimately, I feel pretty similarly about this one: not bad but not for me. If you really loved SaFA, I think you’ll probably like this one too, but I just don’t like train-wreck plots.
I can’t quite say that I ENJOYED this book — it’s tense and uncomfortable and heavy — but it’s also unputdownable, and there’s no denying that Eleanor Catton is an incredible talent.
There’s something just so cozy — and yet satisfyingly literary — about an Ann Patchett novel. And the cherry on top (no pun intended)? Meryl Streep reads the audiobook. I loved it.
Ultimately, this ended up in a “liked a lot” instead of a “loved” category for me. I think it was just a little too much “and then, and then, and then” held away at juuuust a little too much distance. But also, the prose was excellent, and I’ll definitely be reading more from Yiyun Li.
The Unmaking of June Farrow is part sweeping time-travel, part love story, part murder mystery, and fully unputdownable. It’s the perfect book if you’re looking for a fast, immersive read that you’ll want to gobble up in one day.
I didn’t think I’d really like a whole book about Nesta, but I was willing to be sold on a story that cracked open her icy front and took us on a big-time journey through trauma healing. And that’s exactly what this book did.
