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Reviews by Barbara F. (Santa Monica, CA)

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Zig-Zag Boy
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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