Reviews
-
In The Heights: Finding Home
Author: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Jeremy McCarterEdition: HardcoverDate read: July 22, 2021 Goodreads synopsis: In the Heights: Finding Home reunites Miranda with Jeremy McCarter, co-author of Hamilton: The Revolution, and Quiara Alegría Hudes, the Pulitzer Prize–winning librettist of the Broadway musical and screenwriter of the film. They do more than trace the making of an unlikely Broadway smash and a major motion picture: They give readers an intimate look at the decades-long creative life of In the Heights (Goodreads). Lit Girls Take Reading In the Heights: Finding Home truly is like coming home. Finding Home tells the making of the Broadway show, and the recently released movie, through the…
-
A Promised Land
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information. Author: Barack ObamaDate Read: January 15, 2021Edition: Audible Audio EditionGet a Copy: Bookshop Goodreads Synopsis: A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making – from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy. In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education…
-
The Office of Historical Corrections
Author: Danielle EvansDate read: January 11, 2021Edition: Hardcover, Book of the Month Club Edition Goodreads Synopsis: Danielle Evans is widely acclaimed for her blisteringly smart voice and x-ray insights into complex human relationships. With The Office of Historical Corrections, Evans zooms in on particular moments and relationships in her characters’ lives in a way that allows them to speak to larger issues of race, culture, and history. She introduces us to Black and multiracial characters who are experiencing the universal confusions of lust and love, and getting walloped by grief—all while exploring how history haunts us, personally and collectively. Ultimately, she provokes us to think about the truths of American…
-
Vita Nostra
Author: Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, Julia Meitov Hersey (Translator)Edition: KindleDate read: October 6, 2020 Goodreads Synopsis: While vacationing at the beach with her mother, Sasha Samokhina meets the mysterious Farit Kozhennikov under the most peculiar circumstances. The teenage girl is powerless to refuse when this strange and unusual man with an air of the sinister directs her to perform a task with potentially scandalous consequences. He rewards her effort with a strange golden coin. As the days progress, Sasha carries out other acts for which she receives more coins from Kozhennikov. As summer ends, her domineering mentor directs her to move to a remote village and use her gold to…
-
Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel
Author: A.W. JanthaEdition: HardcoverDate Read: October 11, 2020 Goodreads Synopsis Hocus Pocus is beloved by Halloween enthusiasts all over the world. Diving once more into the world of witches, this electrifying two-part young adult novel, released on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1993 film, marks a new era of Hocus Pocus. Fans will be spellbound by a fresh retelling of the original film, followed by the all-new sequel that continues the story with the next generation of Salem teens. Shortly after moving from California to Salem, Massachusetts, Max Dennison finds himself in hot water when he accidentally releases a coven of witches, the Sanderson sisters, from the afterlife. Max, his…
-
Transcendent Kingdom
Author: Yaa GyasiEdition: Hardcover, 264 pagesDate Read: October 4, 2020 Goodreads Synopsis: Gifty is a fifth-year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after a knee injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her. But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family’s loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith…
-
Ender’s Game
Author: Orson Scott CardEdition: Paperback, 324 PagesDate Read: September 19, 2020 Goodreads Synopsis: Ender Wiggin is a very bright young boy with a powerful skill. One of a group of children bred to be military geniuses and save Earth from an inevitable attack by aliens, known here as “buggers,” Ender becomes unbeatable in war games and seems poised to lead Earth to triumph over the buggers. Meanwhile, his brother and sister plot to wrest power from Ender. Twists, surprises and interesting characters elevate this novel into status as a bona fide page turner (goodreads.com). Should Lit Girls Read it? In the end, I liked Ender’s Game, but it took me…
-
Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination
Author: Toni MorrisonEdition: Paperback, 1993Date Read: September 13, 2020 Synopsis: Toni Morrison’s brilliant discussions of the “Africanist” presence in the fiction of Poe, Melville, Cather, and Hemingway leads to a dramatic reappraisal of the essential characteristics of our literary tradition. She shows how much the themes of freedom and individualism, manhood and innocence, depended on the existence of a black population that was manifestly unfree–and that came to serve white authors as embodiments of their own fears and desires. Written with the artistic vision that has earned Toni Morrison a pre-eminent place in modern letters, Playing in the Dark will be avidly read by Morrison admirers as well as by students, critics, and…
-
Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined
Author: Stephanie MeyerEdition: Twilight Tenth Anniversary/Dual Edition, Kindle EditionDate Read: September 7, 2020 Synopsis There are two sides to every story….You know Bella and Edward, now get to know Beau and Edythe. When Beaufort Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edythe Cullen, his life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With her porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edythe is both irresistible and enigmatic. What Beau doesn’t realize is the closer he gets to her, the more he is putting himself and those around him at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back….(goodreads.com) Should Lit Girls read…
