RaveWashington Independent Review of BooksHarrison deftly weaves the story of Polly’s present life in the summer of 2002 Montana with remembrances of her 8-year-old self in 1968, living on Long Island Sound with her parents (who were often not home) and her great-grandparents ... Polly’s memories of her Long Island Sound childhood serve as a kind of welcome relief to her, as well as to the reader, and provide a background of understanding for what is to come ... Harrison elegantly yet simply paints the lives of her characters ... In The Center of Everything, Jamie Harrison has created a world so total, so real, so personal, that the reader, on finishing it, is missing it already.
Gill Hornby
RaveThe Washington Independent Review of Books... a warm and fascinating story that reads as though it could be a Jane Austen work itself ... Hornby has written Miss Austen with compassion, wisdom, an observant eye, and a great deal of humor — sardonic and otherwise. Miss Austen is a novel that could well take its place on the bookshelf beside one of Jane Austen’s own.
Tara Conklin
PositiveWashington Independent Review of Books...[a] tightly woven and immersive saga ... told beautifully and with wisdom and heart ... The Last Romantics pulls the reader into these lives, treating each character with honesty and, yes, love.
Carrie Callaghan
RaveWashington Independent Review of Books\"Though most of Leyster’s life beyond her painting has been lost to history, Carrie Callaghan, in her debut novel, A Light of Her Own, has brilliantly re-imagined this woman who dared to believe herself the equal of her male Artists’ Guild co-members ... In A Light of Her Own, Carrie Callaghan has created a remarkable pair of heroines... And the Netherlands of the 17th century is described to us as only an artist — and a realist — could ... With details like these, A Light of Her Own catches the reader in a web of intrigue, art, and ambition and does not let go until the final page.\