Last Night In Montreal is Emily St. John Mandel’s debut novel, but you’d never know it. From pretty much the first page, it had me completely under its spell. I went into this not really knowing what it was about. Just a vague idea that it would be your basic relationship story, but a
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE LIE OF THE LAND – AMANDA CRAIG
This is only the second Amanda Craig book I’ve read (the other being Hearts and Minds, which was one of my favourite books of 2014) but I already feel like I can count her among my all-time favourite authors. The Lie of the Land is, at its center, about the dissolution of a marriage
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG – MURIEL BARBERY
Do you ever finish reading a book, leave it for a while, and still have no idea what you thought of it? That’s this book for me. I’ve been letting it “settle” for over a month now, and I’m no closer to a succinct, concise review than I was when I closed the cover.
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | AUTUMN – ALI SMITH
I’ve been meaning to read Ali Smith for ages. I have her previous novel, How To Be Both, but was put off by the historic section and never picked it up. I then tried reading some of her short stories, and discovered that I very much enjoyed them – which is why I decided
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | AMERICANAH – CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
I’m so glad I finally got around to reading this book, after years of guiltily skimming past its spine on my bookshelf. It’s the first novel I’ve read by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, though I’ve read and loved her two short non-fiction works, We Should All Be Feminists (which you must read if you haven’t already)
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE PARTICULAR SADNESS OF LEMON CAKE – AIMEE BENDER
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is the story of a young girl, Rose Edelstein, who discovers one day that she can taste more in her food than its flavours. She can taste her mother’s restlessness and emptiness, she can taste if the cook was in a rush, or if he was angry. Over
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE HATE U GIVE – ANGIE THOMAS
This is the story of Starr, a sixteen-year-old from south central L.A. – not the part of L.A. where white people live in big houses, but the part they stay well clear of. But Starr doesn’t quite fit in. She and her brother go to a private school 45 minutes drive from home, where
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE BOOKSHOP – PENELOPE FITZGERALD
This book appealed to me because A) it’s short and B) it’s about a bookshop, and anything set in a bookshop has my interest. And it’s really because of point A that I actually made it through the whole book, because…. well, I’m not even really sure where to start with this one. On
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | COVENTRY – HELEN HUMPHREYS
I went into this book not knowing what to expect. I really just picked it up on a whim since it’s such a small book and I was curious to find out what it was all about. It’s the story of Maeve, who is a firewatcher on Coventry Cathedral the fateful night (November 14,
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY – MARY ANN SHAFFER & ANNIE BARROWS
I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for… I don’t even know how long, but definitely years. And it’s not like I didn’t know it would be good. I’d been told. Several times, and by a few different people whose opinions of books I trust. So I have no idea why I waited so
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | I HUNT KILLERS – BARRY LYGA
I’ve had this on my shelf for a very long time, and when I was going through my hidden books on one of the double-stacked shelves looking for some to get rid of, I figured I might as well give this one a try. It’s the story of Jasper Dent, whose father is the
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | PIGS IN HEAVEN – BARBARA KINGSOLVER
***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
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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
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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
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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE QUEEN OF BRIGHT AND SHINY THINGS – ANN AGUIRRE
I discovered Ann Aguirre via her Razorland Trilogy (Enclave, Outpost and Horde), which I started reading thanks to a tip from a fellow book lover on Twitter and ended up loving. So when this one came out, I just had to find out if her storytelling chops translate from fantasy to contemporary. Lucky for
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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
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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
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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
