by Becky Chambers Overall: Not everyone loves science fiction as much as I do. If you think of yourself as someone who doesn’t read sci-fi, this might be a good choice to dip your toe outside your comfort zone. A Psalm for the Wild-Built avoids many of the tropes that turn people off of sci-fi:Continue reading “A Psalm for the Wild-Built”
Author Archives: Liz Helfrich
The Removed
by Brandon Hobson Overall: The Removed tells the story of a Cherokee family in the aftermath of their oldest teenage son’s death in a police shooting. When the reader meets them fifteen years after Ray-Ray’s death, everyone in the family has coped differently. Parents Maria and Ernest have tried to keep their son’s memory aliveContinue reading “The Removed”
Even As We Breathe
by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle Overall: I found this book featured in my library and was intrigued. A murder set in a fancy inn in Asheville, NC, while it was serving as an upscale prison for Axis diplomats and their families during WWII? With a disabled man of Cherokee heritage as the main character? Sounded compelling!Continue reading “Even As We Breathe”
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers Overall: This incredible family saga reaches back through history. In stories that intertwine, the reader moves back and forth from the modern-day experiences of Ailey Pearl Garfield all the way back to the earliest interactions of her ancestors, the Creek people of what is now Georgia and the first Black andContinue reading “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois”
Tabula Smaragdina: The Destiny Thief
by Natalia Wawrzyńczak Overall: Could this cover be any prettier? This fun YA fantasy is filled with every kind of creature from fairytales, folktales, and horror stories. Our reluctant heroine, Laura, accidentally falls into a magical realm while out for a job. Laura doesn’t believe in magic: following in the footsteps of her father, sheContinue reading “Tabula Smaragdina: The Destiny Thief”
Mustique Island
by Sarah McCoy Overall: Willy May Michael moves to Mustique Island in the early 1970s, joining a motley crew of wealthy British socialites looking for an escape. Born in Texas, Willy May married a British pilot at age 16 and had two daughters. After her divorce, she decided to sail around the world on herContinue reading “Mustique Island”
Wrong Place Wrong Time
by Gillian McAllister Overall: OK, this is definitely a book where too much information will spoil the story, so I’m going to try not to give too much away. We meet Jen on the night when she sees her teenage son murder a stranger on the street in front of their house and immediately getContinue reading “Wrong Place Wrong Time”
When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky
by Margaret Verble Overall: I love books set during the 1920s, so when I came across When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky, I immediately put it on my hold list. Set in Nashville’s Glendale Park Zoo, the novel is filled with characters from all different backgrounds (a Black zoo employee from a prominent family,Continue reading “When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky”
The Witch’s Heart
by Genevieve Gornichec Overall: The Witch’s Heart may sound like a Halloween read, but it’s a retelling of Norse mythology that wouldn’t be out of place any time of year. It feels quite appropriate for the end of fall or beginning of winter as it’s full of snow, dark plots, and mugs of ale byContinue reading “The Witch’s Heart”
The Pirate’s Wife
by Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos Overall: The Pirate’s Wife is the non-fiction account of the life of Sarah Kidd, whose third husband was the infamous Captain Kidd. Sarah lived a long and interesting life; born in England, she came to the colonies as a teenager and was promptly married off. Through her first husband, she becameContinue reading “The Pirate’s Wife”
Liz Helfrich 