***WARNING: Contains spoilers for The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver*** In the sequel to Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees, we catch up with a slightly more mature and settled Taylor, who is living with her musician boyfriend Jax and her adopted daughter Turtle, now six. But of course, things can’t stay calm and secure for long. As READ MORE
Category: Sunday Review
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE BEAN TREES – BARBARA KINGSOLVER
This isn’t the first time I’ve read this book, but it might as well have been. It was my first Kingsolver, read at the fervent recommendation of my mother. Over the years, the memory of the book’s specifics faded, but the general feeling that I had loved both the story and characters, and that READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BEFORE WE WERE STRANGERS – RENEE CARLINO
I’ve heard Renee Carlino’s name around for a while now, but never got around to any of her books. I went in with only a vaguely fuzzy idea of what the book was about, mostly because I was bored one day, and it was there. It’s the story of first love, loss and the READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BORN WEIRD – ANDREW KAUFMAN
I thought this book was going to be quirky going into it, but I was still surprised. This is the story of the Weird family, five siblings whose lives have been overshadowed by unique character traits that have both protected and hamstringed them. We first meet Angie, who has been called to her grandmother’s READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | SHADOW AND BONE – LEIGH BARDUGO
If you read YA books and haven’t been living under a rock, this series has been on your radar for a couple of years now. It’s been Tweeted about, quoted, squeed over and highly anticipated. As usual, I put off reading it because I’m wary of hype and worry that books won’t live up READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA – BECKY ALBERTALLI
This book has been on my radar for months, mostly due to the hundreds of pictures featuring it along with packages of Oreos on my Twitter feed. I put off reading it half because I was scared it wouldn’t live up to the hype, and half because if it did, I wanted to save READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | EXTRAORDINARY MEANS – ROBYN SCHNEIDER
I started this book sitting in a bookstore and before I knew it I was in the third chapter. When I finally got my own copy and sat down to read it in earnest, I ended up finishing the entire thing in one sitting. Which is always a good sign. The story is an READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | M TRAIN – PATTI SMITH
This book took me by surprise. I read Just Kids earlier this year after hearing a lot of buzz about it, but not really knowing much about Patti Smith herself. Perhaps because I didn’t come to her book as a fan of her as an artist, I didn’t have the same craving for celebrity READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | DIETLAND – SARAI WALKER
It’s not hard to see why everyone has been talking about Dietland. This is a book that will challenge you. It’ll challenge you to think about your prejudices and pre-conceptions, it’ll make you uncomfortable, and it’ll even make you think about your ideas of wrong and right. Which makes it sound heavy and serious READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE RED NOTEBOOK – ANTOINE LAURAIN
I can’t recall where I heard about this book, but I wish I did so I could thank the blogger who pointed me to such a brilliant discovery. This book had everything I was in the mood for when I picked it up: books, whimsy, mystery, Paris and a fair dose of extraordinary circumstance. READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | WHY NOT ME? – MINDY KALING
I’ve got a confession to make. Before reading this book, I’d never watched Mindy’s show The Mindy Project. I’d also meant to but never got around to reading her first memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? despite having heard fantastic things. So when I had the chance to review her new book, I READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE GOLD EATERS – RONALD WRIGHT
Ronald Wright’s newest book is a brilliant and epic work of historical fiction set in 16th century Peru. It begins with a young Peruvian boy called Waman. Waman lives in a small fishing village on the coast with his parents and cousin, Tika. At the cusp of manhood, Waman is itching to experience the READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL RECOMMEND – KATARINA BIVALD
There’s nothing I love more than meeting a character in a book who shares my love of reading. From Helene Hanff in 84 Charing Cross Road to A.J. Fikry and Amelia in The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry to Matilda in Roald Dahl’s beloved book of the same name to Anne in Anne of READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | PURITY – JONATHAN FRANZEN
I’ve been seeing Jonathan Franzen’s books around for years, but to this point hadn’t actually read any of them (admittedly their length intimidated me somewhat). So when the book fairy (AKA Random House Canada) delivered an ARC of his upcoming novel, Purity, to my mailbox, it seemed that fate had intervened. I went into READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | WICKED AND WEIRD – RICH TERFRY
Rich Terfry is a Canadian public figure – I use that term because I can’t think of a better one for a man who has been an (almost pro) baseball player, a hip hop artist and a CBC radio presenter – and is now an author. He is better known by many as “Buck 65,” READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE – JESSICA KNOLL
Luckiest Girl Alive is unlike any other book I’ve read. Don’t get me wrong, there are elements to it that will feel familiar. But taken as a whole it completely surprised me. The book begins with a perfect girl. She’s got a high-powered job working for a magazine in New York, she’s pretty and READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | WIND/PINBALL – HARUKI MURAKAMI
Haruki Murakami’s newest book is actually a set of two novels (or novellas) that were the very first stories he ever wrote. This is the first time in years these two stories have been available in print – much less in English – and they provide a fascinating glimpse of this venerable writer’s beginnings. READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | HYPERBOLE AND A HALF – ALLIE BROSH
I’ve been a fan of Allie Brosh’s blog, also called Hyperbole and a Half, for quite some time now. So though I was given this book a while ago (thanks, Martha!), I’ve been saving it and saving it. Not only are Allie Brosh’s drawings fantastic, but the words she puts with them have been READ MORE