Mini Review: Absalom's Daughters

Absalom's Daughters
by Suzanne Feldman
Henry Holt and Co. (2016)
Historical Fiction

What's It All About?

Self-educated and brown-skinned, Cassie works full time in her grandmother’s laundry in rural Mississippi. Illiterate and white, Judith falls for “colored music” and dreams of life as a big city radio star. These teenaged girls are half-sisters. And when they catch wind of their wayward father’s inheritance coming down in Virginia, they hitch their hopes to a road trip together to claim what’s rightly theirs.

Who Should Read It?

It's ideal for fans of historical fiction and those interested in learning more about the grim realities of Jim Crow and the harshness of poverty in the 1950s. There's just a touch of magical realism; very reminiscent of O Brother, Where Art Thou?

What Else Should I Read?

• Getting Mother's Body by Suzan-Lori Parks
• Caucasia by Danzy Senna
• Sula by Toni Morrison

What If I Don't Believe You?

Don't take my word for it! Check out these other reviews...

Bookfan | Coffee Pot Review

Mini Review: Lost Girls by Heather Young

The Lost Girls
by Heather Young
William Morrow, 2016
Literary Fiction

What's It All About?

In the summer of 1935, six-year-old Emily Evans vanished from her family's vacation home on a remote Minnesota lake. The loss devastated the family. Sixty-four years later, Emily's sister Lucy writes the story of that harrowing summer in a notebook that she bequeaths, along with the lake house and a hefty investment portfolio, to her grandniece, Justine.

“How terrible to die without finishing a book, she thought. Never to know the end of the story.”

Who Should Read It?

Read this book if you don't mind waiting a REALLY long time for any action to happen in the plot. The book builds and builds to a rather anti-climactic climax that is ultimately not very surprising. 

I'd give it a pass.

What Should I Read Instead?

• Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon
• The Bright Forever by Lee Martin

What If I Don't Believe You?

Don't take my word for it! Check out these other reviews: 

Smart B***hes, Trashy Books | The Misstery

This Librarian's Quick Picks: The Key to Extraordinary

The Key to Extraordinary
by Natalie Lloyd
Scholastic (Feb. 23, 2016)
Fantasy Chapter Book

“Some books are so special that you never forget where you were the first time you read them.”

 Summary:

Twelve-year old orphan Emma Casey lives by a haunted graveyard in her Tennessee town, giving tours, and helping her brother and Granny Blue with the family bakery, and waiting for the destiny dream of her ancestors--but when it comes it shows her only a key, and she finds that she must solve a ghostly mystery that has haunted her town for generations.

Why You'll Love It:

• The book's evocative setting and cast of eccentric minor characters will draw readers into Emma's world-one warmed by friendship, love, and hope-to share in her discovery that the most valuable treasures lie within.
• Despite ghosts and graves, the story avoids the macabre and instead focuses on the relationships among memory, sadness, and joy, especially as Emma's still recovering from her mother's death.
• This novel will be appreciated by younger middle grade readers who enjoy mysteries with an ample dose of magic and whimsy.

Who Should Read It:

Great for 3rd-6th graders...and here's the book trailer from Scholastic.



What Else You Should Read:

• A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
• A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff
• Savvy by Ingrid Law