Author Archives: Teresa

Call Down the Hawk

Posted on January 19, 2020

The interactions between the Lynch brothers were one of my favorite parts of Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series, so I was delighted to learn that she would be writing a new series focusing on Ronan Lynch (with, presumably, a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's / YA Lit, Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 2 Comments

Among Others

Posted on January 15, 2020

Mori’s diary starts in September 1979, as she heads to a new boarding school in the country, after the school year has already started. Teenage Mori suspects she’s being sent to school so her aunts can be rid of her. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 4 Comments

Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen

Posted on January 13, 2020

I loved Dexter Palmer’s previous book, Version Control, and so I knew I’d be interested in whatever he did next. However, I did not expect his next book to be about a woman who, in 1726, claimed to be giving birth … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction | 8 Comments

The Water Dancer

Posted on January 12, 2020

There is a lot to like about Ta-Nehisi Coates’ debut novel. I appreciated, for example, the way he illuminates the complex relationships between the enslaved and those who enslaved them, especially when, as so often happened, those characters were actually … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 6 Comments

2019 in Review

Posted on December 31, 2019

In a lot of ways 2019 felt like a pretty typical reading year for me. I finished 96 books, and my total is usually somewhere in the 90s. I read more books by women than men, and a little over … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 18 Comments

Fleishman is in Trouble

Posted on December 31, 2019

For a long time, Toby Fleishman and his wife Rachel weren’t happy together, and the decision to divorce felt like a relief. But then, in the midst of the separation period, Rachel takes off for a yoga retreat, a day … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 2 Comments

Overthrow

Posted on December 30, 2019

Overthrow by Caleb Crain starts out as a bit of a muddle, then becomes fascinating, and then reverts back to being a muddle. That makes it very difficult for me to say whether I enjoyed it or would recommend it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction | 5 Comments

Americanah

Posted on December 29, 2019

It has taken me ages, but I finally got around to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2013 novel, Americanah. It is every bit as good as Half of a Yellow Sun and for this American, much more potent in its subject matter. The book is … Continue reading →

Posted in Food | 4 Comments

Trust Exercise

Posted on December 26, 2019

The relationships among the students at the performing arts high school at the center of Susan Choi’s novel are intense. And the theatre (always with the -re!) teacher seems to thrive on that intensity. For Sarah, the most intense relationship … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction | 2 Comments

Oval

Posted on December 25, 2019

Anja and her boyfriend Louis live in a supposedly sustainable housing enclave in Berlin, all thanks to Anja’s employer, a corporation devoted to science and sustainability (or the appearance of it). Anja, Louis, and their friends spend their evenings partying … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 2 Comments