The women are friends, all single and childless (though not by choice), and each is a little quirky. By the time Essie’s 11, she’s read a great deal about the world but experienced little. Meeting G.E., a boy who looks just like her, makes her dream of being part of a large family. The two […]
This second visit to the Dogtown animal shelter brings back some familiar furry faces while introducing a new narrative perspective—that of one of the mice residing in the building’s rafters. Mouse enjoys lounging in the basement with the “unadoptable” pups, among them Buster, a “bounceback,” who has been adopted several times but then been returned […]
Graves, who was born in the late 1930s in New Orleans, recalls that his first clear memory was learning about the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Although his parents were distraught that the surprise assault meant that the country was going to war, he remembers his father sprang into action, serving as a neighborhood […]
Tess Rosenbloom hasn’t had much of a life recently. Working the night shift at a Brooklyn hotel helps her manage the chronic insomnia she’s been dealing with ever since a traumatic experience caused her to drop out of grad school. The only escape she’s had through her biggest ups and downs are her favorite vampire […]
In this second series entry, the Weirdoughs—werewolf Bram, Sheila the ghost, surly Mona the elf-witch, Skele-tony Le Bone, and fartmeister extraordinaire Bryan the Lion—immediately smell something rotten in Felix Frostbite, a charismatic if literally icy new instructor. The friends wind up in a good position to scupper his genuinely villainous scheme to destroy the Villains […]
Rather than spin this memoir out in a single chronological thread, the co-authors (who are not related) open with the good stuff—the recruitment of “Charlie B.” into NASA in 1979 as the fourth Black astronaut and his four space flights between 1986 and 1994. They follow with information about his childhood, his early career as […]
“Corporate agriculture has not only destroyed the rural spirit and harmony of living as one with the land but of living with one another as well.” So writes Trom Eayrs toward the end of her book, equal parts manifesto and memoir. A constant presence is her father, the grandson of a Norwegian immigrant who made […]
Vivian and Brandy Borne are antique dealers with a sideline in solving mysteries and annoying many people along the way, especially Brandy’s fiance, local police chief Tony Cassato. Everyone in their household, including Sushi the dog, relies on legal drugs to deal with the vicissitudes of life. As their Mississippi River hometown of Serenity busies […]
American yacht designer Cassandra Brenner has spent five years in Singapore working for the family business, Ocean House, on her most extravagant project ever, building the superyacht Red Dragon. Cass is also involved in unspecified spying activities for something dubbed Operation UNDERTOW. Heading to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel one evening to meet her contact, […]
Growing up in a village where few families believed in educating their daughters, Umm Kulthum (1898-1975), who was named after a daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, defied expectations early by memorizing the Qur’an. Described as “no ordinary girl,” she became known across the countryside for her resonant voice. She appears here with a large head […]