THE BASICS Title: White Fur Author: Jardine Libaire Genre: Romantic Contemporary Fiction Structure: Interchanging third-person character perspectives First Line: “Outside their motel window, Wyoming is lurid with sunset.” Synopsis: When Elise Perez meets Jamey Hyde on a desolate winter afternoon, fate implodes, and neither of their lives will ever be the same. Although they are next-door neighbors in New Haven,…
Book Review: “The Leavers” by Lisa Ko
THE BASICS Title: The Leavers Author: Lisa Ko Genre: Contemporary Fiction Structure: Interchanging third-person and first-person character perspectives First Line: “The day before Deming Guo saw his mother for the last time, she surprised him at school.” Synopsis: One morning, Deming Guo’s mother, an undocumented Chinese immigrant named Polly, goes to her job at the nail salon and never comes…
Book Review: “Chemistry” by Weike Wang
THE BASICS Title: Chemistry Author: Weike Wang Genre: Contemporary Fiction Structure: First-person linear narration First Line: “The boy asked the girl a question.” Synopsis: Three years into her graduate studies at a demanding Boston university, the unnamed narrator of this nimbly wry, concise debut finds her one-time love for chemistry is more hypothesis than reality. She’s tormented by her failed…
Book Review: “Woman No. 17” by Edan Lepucki
THE BASICS Title: Woman No. 17 Author: Edan Lepucki Genre: Contemporary Fiction Structure: First-person linear narration with alternating points-of-view First Line: “It was summer.” Synopsis: High in the Hollywood Hills, writer Lady Daniels has decided to take a break from her husband. She’s going to need a hand with her young son if she’s ever going to finish her memoir….