About Book Marks
Recent Reviews
Claire Keegan
Rave Shelf Awareness ... a slim novel that resonates with emotional depth ... Keegan\'s spare prose conveys both love and sorrow. The novel\'s apparent simplicity belies its poetic exploration of childhood heartbreak, loss and love. Though the ending is ambiguous, there is no doubt the Kinsellas and the girl are forever linked by the joy of their shared summer.
Fredrik Backman
Positive Shelf Awareness ... a big-hearted, epic novel, bouncing between hope and tragedy as smoothly as a puck flying down the rink ... Backman brings his saga to an often brutal but ultimately heartwarming and hopeful conclusion.
Javier Zamora
Rave Shelf Awareness ... poetic ... This heart-pounding, vivid recollection of a desperate path to a better life takes readers every terrifying step of the way ... Zamora creates a sense of immediacy with vibrant descriptions.
Katie Hafner
Positive Shelf Awareness The charming, witty love story between solitary Ethan and \'people person\' Barb in The Boys includes a plot twist that invites an immediate reread and will have readers looking for the \'aha!\' clue that reveals how Katie Hafner so thoughtfully constructed her first novel ... Likable characters whose flaws are limited to an excess of love and compassion flourish in a plot that journalist Hafner infuses with details from her years of science and music writing. The novel also possesses a generosity of spirit for Ethan and Barb--and a well-deserved, heartwarming affirmation of their love. -
Jean Thompson
Positive Shelf Awareness Even the least likable of these admire Carla and Viridian, and the story is enhanced with dialogue ranging from laugh-out-loud funny to lines of poetry. The Poet\'s House forecasts hope for young Carla even as Viridian faces mortality. Readers will long recall these women fondly.
Elisa Albert
Rave Shelf Awareness Elisa Albert confronts sensitive topics in a provocative, darkly humorous style ... Fiercely smart, poignant.
Melissa Bond
Positive Shelf Awareness ... propulsive, poetic ... Bond narrates her experience in harrowing detail, determined to speak for \'others like me slipping into the dark\' of addiction to prescribed drugs ... It is a comfort to realize from the memoir\'s opening that Bond has survived. This doesn\'t ameliorate the horror of her story, told with a journalist\'s commitment to fact and a poet\'s touch.
Ann Leary
Positive Shelf Awareness ... a heart-pounding climax ... speaks to the injustice imposed on society\'s most vulnerable women and the tenacity required to confront the powerful.
David R. Gillham
Positive Shelf Awareness Shadows of Berlin and its details of Jewish persecution balance the tragedy of the Holocaust with glimpses of hope and redemption, the latter bringing Rachel closer to healing and peace.
Cindy House
Rave Shelf Awareness ... an unexpectedly uplifting memoir ... In her masterfully crafted memoir, House includes stories of despair and joy. Ultimately, the narrative she shared with her son also brings hope to her readers.
Kim Michele Richardson
Positive Shelf Awareness Longtime Troublesome Creek friends and a tenacious lawyer boost Honey\'s hopes, but the suspense heightens as ignorant unkindness and archaic laws threaten her future. Readers unfamiliar with Richardson\'s earlier novel will still enjoy this; she includes Mama\'s experiences in Honey\'s coming-of-age story, a gripping and cautiously optimistic tale.
Bill Roorbach
Positive Shelf Awareness A story of love and heartbreak in a world of breathtaking splendor and deep injustice, Bill Roorbach\'s Lucky Turtle is a novel of perseverance, brimming with entertaining dialogue and rich details of the flora and fauna of the West ... Readers also remain optimistic, following these sympathetic characters to an ultimately happy ending
Laura Stanfill
Positive Shelf Awareness Laura Stanfill\'s debut novel with a folktale style as lyrical as its melodious title, beckons readers to the rainy but inviting 19th-century French village of Mireville ... Whimsical ... The novel unexpectedly turns dark, then adventurous.
Liz Scheier
Rave Shelf Awareness ... touching ... In a compelling, even humorous narrative, Scheier parallels her life story--itself a fascinating journey to career, marriage and motherhood--with her mother\'s erratic existence. Scheier illustrates how a child can not only heal from trauma, but evolve into forgiveness.
Deborah Feldman
Rave Shelf Awareness [Feldman\'s] resolve and unwavering quest to fill the space left when she fled her repressive Hasidic community are impressive ... She demonstrates her commitment as well as her anxiety, and those new to Feldman\'s story will catch up easily ... inspiring.
Laurie Frankel
Rave Shelf Awareness ... heartbreaking yet heartwarming ... The story unfolds in alternating chapters, told by One, Two and Three, emphasizing the whip-smart girls\' distinctive voices, sharp humor and mutual (yet never sappy) affection. Frankel adds a quirky but credible supporting cast of Bourne citizens. All the way to a fast-paced and heroic climax, readers will be rooting for them.