Blue Marlin by Lee Smith

July 21, 2020

Dimestore: A Writer’s Life was Lee Smith’s first nonfiction title. Somewhere, I have a copy that I haven’t read yet. But, when I heard Judy Blume recommend Smith’s novella Blue Marlin, I immediately ordered the book. It may be a small...

Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey

January 05, 2020

I’m not a fan of unreliable narrator novels. I am a big fan of coming-of-age stories. Those stories often are heart-breakers, as is Jess Lourey’s Unspeakable Things. But, I like the voices. Young people see the world, and their situations, with...

Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens

November 12, 2019

Allen Eskens’ Nothing More Dangerous currently tops my list of favorites for 2019. For me, it’s this year’s November Road. That means I’m recommending it to everyone who reads crime fiction or coming-of-age novels. Loved William Kent...

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

September 02, 2019

William Kent Krueger’s second coming-of-age story is not the sequel to Ordinary Grace that readers expected. Instead, This Tender Land is his version of Huckleberry Finn or the Odyssey, as adolescents are forced to move toward adulthood. It’s a lush,...

The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone by Felicty McLean

June 23, 2019

Who is responsible when three sisters go missing? It’s a question that lingers in the debut novel The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone by Felicity McLean. Even at the end of the story, it still haunts Tikka Malloy. 1992 is the summer of a loss of innocence in Australia....