Lisa Francine

An homage to Kentucky, the Pack Horse librarians, and the women who care/cared for all of us at different times in our lives. Kim Michele Richardson enthralls us with Cussy's life circa the 1950s onward. Richardson translates her avid research into a multi-layered story that includes issues of racism, poverty, healthcare, incarceration, and literacy/illiteracy. Cussy is our heroine once again, in small and in large moments.

Thank you to @netgallery for the audio version, beautifully read by Katie Schorr!

The history of mass incarceration in the United States, told through powerful stories, facts, statistics & art.

Can love be sustained after 30 years together? Meet Jesse & Norman and their extended chosen family to find out!

Once again Rowley’s wit, observations of life & love shine in this complicated & at times, hilarious love story.

13 year old Samim’s harrowing escape from Afghanistan, with his best friend Zayn, is told with compassion, honesty & heart!

Throughout his difficulties, tragedies, and finding chosen family, Samim learns to “Live fiercely, act kindly and love deeply.”

Ruby Hamad brilliantly weaves together history, personal experiences, and current day events to share why white tears leads to brown scars. If you consider yourself a white ally, feminist or otherwise, you need to read this book!

Beautiful & brutal! Benji shares his humanity, anger, love, and raw courage to care for his found family. I am now a HUGE fan of AJW!

Evans’ writing is brilliant, at times brutally difficult to read & to process, but always made me think & feel.

Utterly amazing and unputdownable!

Grace Talusan’s extraordinary voice & soul shines throughout her intimate memoir. I was immersed in her powerful & personal prose!

A swoonable sweet rom-com - Alexis & Daniel are opposites attract on steroids. And Alexis’ best friend, Bri made me laugh out loud!

“Everyone lies about their lives. What would happen if you shared the truth instead? The one thing that defines you, that makes everything else about you fall into place?”

So begins the opening of this multi-layered, multiple narrated story of new friends, loves, and trying to make amends. A rollicking read!

Courageousness in the face of crime & callousness. Thank you Bill Furlong for your kindness & humanity.

So fun! A quirky & delightful cast of characters who become chosen family & have some outrageous adventures.

I’m appreciating Nevada Barr’s descriptive & evocative writing of the wildness & wondrous natural world - also enjoying getting to know Anna Pigeon again.

@robinmarty thank you for this informative read & for demystifying & destigmatizing abortion care. I appreciated your explanation on the difference between reproductive rights and reproductive justice.

I hope you are working on another new edition as we head into 2025!

These courageous & brilliant girls, who were just barely at the cusp of adulthood, when they began secretly working at Bletchley Park are no longer hidden in history. Amen, for telling the stories we need to hear and to witness.

WOW!

Meh. Skimmed the last 1/4 of the book.

Too meandering - was this historical fiction, a mystery, a history lesson, alcoholism across the generations, all of the above and more?

My first Reese’s Book Club pick that I disagreed with her pick!

Thank you T.J. Klune for this delightfully rich sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea. It was wonderful to spend time with the Baker-Parnassus family and revisit Marsyas Island!

3.5/5 stars

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