Book Review: Stuck in Manistique

On December 3, 2018December 10, 2018 By whitreadslitIn Book Reviews2 Comments

Stuck in Manistique by Dennis Cuesta ~ 360 pages ~ published 10/29/18 by Celestial Eyes Press

Goodreads Synopsis:

Near the midpoint of the Upper Peninsula, along a Lake Michigan bend of shore, is the town of Manistique, Michigan. Mark had never heard of Manistique before the death of his estranged aunt, but as sole beneficiary of Vivian’s estate, he travels there to settle her affairs. As Mark tours his aunt’s house for the first time, the doorbell rings.

Days after graduating medical school, Dr. Emily Davis drives north, struggling with her illicit rendezvous on Mackinac Island. She never makes it—on the highway near Manistique, her car collides with a deer, shattering the car’s windshield. Stranded for the night, Emily is directed to a nearby bed and breakfast. Continue reading “Book Review: Stuck in Manistique” →

Book Review: Foolish Hearts

On November 26, 2018December 10, 2018 By whitreadslitIn Book Reviews6 Comments

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills ~ 320 pages ~ published 12/5/17 by Henry Holt

Goodreads Synopsis:

A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love.

The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn’t supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn’t know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they’re both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
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Book Review: Wild

On November 12, 2018December 10, 2018 By whitreadslitIn Book Reviews6 Comments

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed ~ 315 pages ~ published 3/20/12 by Knopf

Goodreads Synopsis:

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.
Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

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Book Review: The Poet X

On November 5, 2018December 10, 2018 By whitreadslitIn Book Reviews8 Comments

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo ~ 368 pages ~ published 3/6/18 by HarperTeen

Goodreads Synopsis:

A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.

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Book Review: The Witch of Willow Hall

On October 29, 2018December 10, 2018 By whitreadslitIn Book Reviews5 Comments

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox ~ 368 pages ~ published 10/2/18 by Graydon House (Harlequin)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two centuries after the Salem witch trials, there’s still one witch left in Massachusetts. But she doesn’t even know it.

Take this as a warning: if you are not able or willing to control yourself, it will not only be you who suffers the consequences but those around you, as well.

New Oldbury, 1821

In the wake of a scandal, the Montrose family and their three daughters—Catherine, Lydia, and Emeline—flee Boston for their new country home, Willow Hall. The estate seems sleepy and idyllic. But a subtle menace creeps into the atmosphere, remnants of a dark history that call to Lydia, and to the youngest, Emeline.

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Book Review: The Belles

On October 23, 2018December 10, 2018 By whitreadslitIn Book Reviews3 Comments

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton ~ 440 pages ~ published 2/6/18 by Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads Synopsis:

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

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