BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Barbara F. (Santa Monica, CA)

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Zig-Zag Boy: A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood
by Tanya Frank

Grace Under So Much Challenge—Cracks Where the Light Tries (& Tries) to Come In (2/7/2023)

"Zig-Zag Boy"—a perfect title for a beautifully written story of a mother's love for her sweet, funny, popular son who's suddenly confronted with hard to imagine challenges. Though I'm not usually a 'memoir' reader, Tanya Frank is a wonderful writer and I was hooked from …more

Dirt Creek: A Novel
by Hayley Scrivenor

Wow—an Ingenious 'Who Done It' from Down Under (2/28/2022)

As a bibliophile, during the pandemic it's been a challenge to find novels that hooked me from page 1–-Dirt Creek did. As Jane Harper, another terrific Australian author, wrote about the book—'it's a stellar debut', and that was one of the things that amazed me—how …more

How to Find Your Way Home
by Katy Regan

Will They Find Their Way Home? (10/6/2021)

It's been too long since I read such a heartfelt book as "How to Find Your Way Home', so was delighted to get an advance copy from Book.Browse. Regan's writing resonated for me and as I read—kept wondering (hoping) Emily & Stephen would indeed re-connect after do many …more

The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman: A Novel
by Julietta Henderson

A Book Lover's Perfect Pandemic Antidote (1/30/2021)

During the pandemic,I have been making a conscious effort to read more positive, upbeat, 'happier-ending' novels, & "The Funny Thing..."hits the spot. Not sugar-coated or too good to be true, but a thoughtful book about family, friendship & loss told with humor, …more

The Last Romantics
by Tara Conklin

“The Last Romantics” gets an A (11/29/2018)

“The Last Romantics” is an engrossing novel about four siblings and the profound impact on their young lives by their parents. Though I was ambivalent after reading the prologue, by the end of chapter one, I was pretty hooked. This family saga follows the Skinner siblings …more

Gone So Long
by Andre Dubus III

A Heartbreaking Story That's Hard to Forget (9/24/2018)

This is Andre Dubus III's first novel in a decade, and it's a wrenching, compassionate story of deep regret and irretrievable loss.I was spellbound at Dubus's ability to evoke his characters' so viscerally, but at the same time, confess that 1/3 through, it almost became …more

A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza

The Promise of a Place for Us Not Delivered (3/9/2018)

A beautiful, heartfelt novel about a loving, observant Muslim-American family. A story about faith & love and the dreams parents have for their 3 children. It's akso a story about the deep pain that can happen—despite the best of intentions—when we make mistakes, have …more

Force of Nature: Aaron Falk Mystery #2
by Jane Harper

Tense and Suspenseful—Hard-to-Put-Down Whodunit (10/10/2017)

It's been awhile since I've not gotten impatient or disinterested in a book I'm reading. Definitely not the case with Force of Nature! The author juxtaposes the present time with the unfolding back story of the disappearance of Alice, a woman taking part in an 'Outward …more

BookBrowse Book Club

Lies and Weddings
by Kevin Kwan

A forbidden affair erupts at a lavish Hawaiian wedding in this wild comedy from the author of Crazy Rich Asians.

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The Girls of Good Fortune
by Kristina McMorris

Brave the Shanghai tunnels in this tale of love, identity, and resilience passed through generations.

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The Lilac People
by Milo Todd

For fans of All the Light We Cannot See, a poignant tale of a trans man’s survival in Nazi Germany and postwar Berlin.

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Daughters of Shandong
by Eve J. Chung

Based on the author’s family story, comes an extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters’ escape from Taiwan.

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