AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) History Month has begun. It’s the perfect time to add to your reading list and expand your knowledge. As avid readers (or even casual readers), we know how much history, especially in literature, has an impact on our present-day circumstances. Below is a comprehensive list of a book from every…
Book Review: “White Fur” by Jardine Libaire
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….