RaveSan Francisco ChronicleA compelling, experience-rich read ... The final chapters, describing Vasquez-Lavado’s path to the summit, are nail-biting and, at times, painfully funny ... Her ability to capture the complexity of Everest is flawless and unflinching ... In the Shadow of the Mountain has all the elements a great memoir requires — a strong voice, cinematic prose, a hero to root for — in essence, an extraordinary story about an extraordinary woman’s life.
Ed. by Halimah Marcus
PositiveSightlinesEssays like Enelow-Snyder’s give Horse Girls grit and heart. Dipping into broadened narratives is what makes the book a pleasure to read ... Some essays in the collection are not this strong. In fact, a few read as if the writer was responding to a generic prompt: write about horses. Unfortunately, Marcus puts the weakest essay at the beginning, so after the first few pages I worried all of the collection would be half-baked ideas about horses and girlhood. Thankfully, I kept reading and discovered essays worth their weight in gold towards the middle and end of the volume ... And after spending what feels like an eternity at home, unable to travel, thousands of miles from family and friends, I positively needed this book to transport me to woodland trails, dusty arenas, and the beautiful landscapes such as Mexico, Pakistan, and Iceland. For this form of vicarious travel alone, I’d recommend Horse Girls to horse lovers from all walks of life.
Sunjeev Sahota
RavePloughsharesWith a flair for building tension, Sahota creates a dance between power and powerlessness ... a beautiful symbolic gesture that speaks to how one generation seeks to repair the deep wounds and injustices inflicted on the preceding generations ... The scope of the novel—from 1929 to 2019—shows how much oppression holds fast. What intergenerational love does provide is a path towards self-knowledge, a catalyst to protect the sacred stories of family, and the desire to impart on the next generation new ideas, new hope, and a new path for moving forward towards freedom. China Room is a deeply captivating and necessary novel.
