When I was fifteen, my parents returned to South Korea and left me behind with my brother in America. My mother started writing me letters in Korean, a language I could not fully understand at the time. Over a decade after she wrote me, I translated her letters into English. In one letter, she writes: …
Compelling narrative. Fantastic pre-teen middle reader that does an excellent job of exploring race and race-related issues via the clever mechanism of a young Black student who begins her middle school journey with some color-blind ideas and anti-Black biases that prevent her from forming meaningful relationships with other Black students. Great book to approach students …
Craig Childs’s Atlas of a Lost World is out in paperback this week. Childs—who, like John McPhee, makes any field trip interesting—tackles the prehistory of the western hemisphere in this book. Where did the first settlers come from? Were they all eaten by megafauna? Did ancient shamans ride giant sloths? (Sorry. Different book.) What did the kids …
A striking look at how anti-immigrant hate and a lust for profit revived the KKK in the ’20s and ’30s. Striking parallels to the anti-immigrant movement of today. It will make you think. –Bruce DeLaney, Rediscovered Books, Boise, ID Find history that resonates at Rediscovered Books and other independent bookstores. This is available now in …
Stiefvater uses her signature style of captivating characters and complex plot in this novel about a Colorado family that can perform unusual miracles. Switching from dark scenes in fantastical forests to a love song to the desert, Stiefvater celebrates the miracles that sit within us all. Like the owls that line its pages, this novel …
5/5 Stars Heart gripping from the start, Letters to the Lost wrapped me up with Brigid Kemmerer’s free flowing writing and ability to simply connect with the characters. I fell right in with Juliet and Declan; both have a piece that I completely understood. This book made me feel. It brought out so many emotions …
To call Days Without End “Blood Meridian lite” might sound dismissive, but it’s not. (In fact, for many readers, it might be just right.) You can’t get any darker than Cormac McCarthy’s Western hellscape, and while Barry’s novel encounters much of the same arbitrary mass slaughter as it makes its own way around the 19th-century West, it also …
This book is such an empowering tale of what is possible when you don’t give up. Jahren beautifully weaves the story of her success with the story of who she is as a person, resulting in an all-at-once heartbreaking and inspiring tale. Not only did she break through the barrier of being a female in …
This book, Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality, is laugh-out-loud, disturb all of those around you with ruckus laughter, funny! Jacob Tomsky is a fabulously gifted storyteller. You don’t feel like you’re reading a book, more like you’re having a conversation, sitting next to him on a barstool …
A deep, evocative story about fathers and sons, marriage, and mystery. About life pared down to the nitty-gritty, to what’s truly important. I love Stevie Kallos’ work. I wish everyone would read this book. — Pat, A Book for All Seasons, Leavenworth, WA Get lost in this rich and engrossing novel by Seattle author Kallos (Broken …
