Realist Fiction
Realist fiction novels are set in a time and place that could actually happen in the real world. They depict real people, places, and stories in order to be as truthful as possible. Realist works of fiction remain true to everyday life and abide by the laws of nature as we currently understand them.
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Book Review: I See You’ve Called In Dead
I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney My rating: 5 of 5 stars This excellent story feels like it’s got multiple personalities. It’s part Dave Barry-ish snark, part Douglas Adams style…
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Book Review: Shadows in Chinatown
I quite enjoy historical fiction novels. When they are well done, it's as if I've been given my own time travel machine. Shadows in Chinatown transported me back to 1886, where Miss Karine…
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Book Review: Eleven Numbers
What could possibly go wrong at a mathematics conference?
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Book Review: Rewrite: Loops in the Timescape
Be honest: Who hasn't wished they could go back in time and re-do that most awkward stage of life... being a teenager?
- Action and Adventure, Book Reviews, Coming of Age, Dystopian, Historical Fiction, Realist Fiction, Suspense and Thriller
Book Review: Strawberry Fields
Strawberry Fields by Patrick D. Joyce My rating: 5 of 5 stars In 1968, I was a bookwormish fourteen-year-old whose biggest worry was finishing my math homework. In those insular, pre-internet times in…
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Book Review: Alpha Bette
What a strange book. Enjoyable, but odd. With each new chapter, we change the point of view, rotating through what's happening with eight characters, all just trying to get though the day.
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Book Review: The Old Place
With a lot of trimming, this could make a fine novella. But it's just too much of an unfocused wander for a long read in a large book.
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Book Review: Him
When author Brian Gotta first offered me a copy of Him, I wasn't sure if the book was for me. The synopsis sounded sweet; the story of a dog's predicament, told by the…
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Book Review: The Little Wartime Library
The Little Wartime Library gives readers a chance to understand the power of comfort-reading. It's a book that's difficult to set aside once you bond with the characters you'll meet within the pages.
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Book Review: The Workshop: Week Two
The Workshop: Week Two by Matt Mills My rating: 4 of 5 stars If you haven’t read The Workshop: Week One, this review won’t make much sense. Why don’t you go read that,…
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Book Review: The Workshop: Week One
It's clear that Matt Mills is a writer (yes I know, duh, he wrote this book). But he's a writer that's fought in the trenches and, so far, has lived to tell the…
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Book Review: Odds Against (Aces High, Jokers Wild Book 7)
I wouldn’t be conforming to acceptable standards if I wrote a review that recommended a different book. But in the spirit of the Wildcards, I am going to risk insubordination and do what…
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Book Review: We Hope for Better Things
Having previously read three books by this author, I trusted her storytelling skills to thread together three stories set in different times - the American civil war, 1967 Detroit riots, and present day.
- Action and Adventure, Book Reviews, Coming of Age, Detective and Mystery, Dystopian, Historical Fiction, Realist Fiction, Suspense and Thriller, Young Adult
Book Review: Back in the USSR
The back-cover synopsis had me lunging for this book, which I easily read in just a couple of evenings. It's quite the page-turner! Now, I'm not going to write a book report describing…
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Book Review: Gargoyle
College life is difficult. Now, add on the extra challenge of being Mattie, a young gay man with a huge crush on a straight quarterback.
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Book Review: Hard Times
Finishing this book is a great example of "Hard Times". I started it just before Halloween, 2021, and just finished it last night.
- Black Authors, Book Reviews, Coming of Age, Historical Fiction, Realist Fiction, Womens Literature, Young Adult
Book Review: Flygirl
I expected to like this book, as it deals with topics dear to my heart. I enjoy learning more about the lives of those who experienced World War II, and as a woman,…
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Book Review: You’re Welcome, Universe
You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner My rating: 4 of 5 stars Julia is a rebellious, troubled teenager with one passion in her life: Street art. Graffiti. She spends most of her time…
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Book Review: The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water
Having previously read The Words Between Us, I knew I'd be reading The Girl that Could Breathe Underwater before I even looked at the synopsis. I wanted another beautifully crafted Erin Bartels story,…
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Book Review: Lying to Children
Lying to Children by Alex Shahla My rating: 3 of 5 stars I wasn’t sure what I was getting into here, but I liked the title of the book – that probably says…
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Book Review: Hell of a Book
How do I even start describing the most powerful book I’ve read in years? I know I won’t be giving you a synopsis of the story. If you’re hoping for a clear-cut, concisely…
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Book Review: Herb of Grace
I am not Amish, so why did I choose to read Herb of Grace?
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Book Review: Fish Heads and Duck Skin
Fish Heads and Duck Skin by Lindsey Salatka My rating: 1 of 5 stars I very much wanted to love this book. I had a preconceived notion that it might be in the…
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Book Review: AFK
AFK by Huckleberry Hax My rating: 3 of 5 stars AFK will only make sense if you’ve been in the virtual world of Second Life for quite a few years, as this ‘SL…
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Book Review: Draw Dead (Aces High, Jokers Wild Book 5)
What unfolds is a story that—as sensationalist media might say—is ripped from today’s headlines.
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Book Review: Everything Is Free
Everything is Free by Adele Ward My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve always felt that shopping malls were little self-contained worlds. Author Adele Ward really drives that concept home as her protagonist,…
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Book Review: The Places We Sleep
Imagine being twelve years old, a battle-weary Army brat trying to adjust to yet another new school in Tennessee, just about to get your first period... and it's September 11, 2001.
- Black Authors, Book Reviews, Coming of Age, Realist Fiction, Romance, Suspense and Thriller, Womens Literature, Young Adult
Book Review: Hurricane Summer
Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield My rating: 3 of 5 stars As if coming of age isn’t already one of the toughest transitions a girl has to make, Tilla’s experiencing it in a…
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Book Review: Ice Planet Goth
Ice Planet Goth (Originally Depth Charging Ice Planet Goth, which I must mention as I personally loved the original title) by Andrez Bergen is optimistically due for release early in 2014. The year…
