Romantic Parvenu

Book Review: The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm

July 23, 2015

With its light tone, great characters, and unique premise, I think The Fourteenth Goldfish is a great book for readers of any age. Jennifer L. Holm is such a great writer, and I think there’s something amazing in how her books appeal to me still ...

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Book Reiew: The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane

July 23, 2015

The Night Guest‘s brief story, with its questions of sanity and reality, is skillfully written. Though it totals to only bit more that 200 pages, McFarlane’s brevity felt justified. She expanded upon everything necessary and created a eerie ...

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Book Review: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

July 18, 2015

In Life After Life, Kate Atkinson shows an impressive talent in her ability to conduct and control a complex plot. This nonlinear, time-travel/parallel-universe type story is presented with extreme skill, as each nonconsecutive section becomes ...

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Book Review: The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill

July 15, 2015

The Witch’s Boy, in general, was frustrating for me because it so clearly wants to be good, but isn’t able to quite manage the feat. I like the story—underestimated boy becomes hero. I like Barnhill’s take on magic—slippery, sneaky, and ...

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Book Review: Red Butterfly by A.L. Sonnichsen

July 13, 2015

This is a gorgeous novel in verse about Kara, a girl raised in Tianjin, China, by an elderly woman from the United States. Kara was abandoned by her birth mother as an infant due to her abnormally-formed hand, and she’s supposed to be grateful. ...

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Book Review: When We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord

July 12, 2015

Lovely in both concept and composition, Joshua Gaylord’s When We Were Animals is a coming-of-age confessional unlike any other. Yet, though the book is fascinating, dark, and gorgeous, I ultimately found it to be lacking in complexity and ...

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