“We all have our hiding places. Not just physical ones. Places deep inside where we put away the things we don’t want others to see. The less palatable parts. Our St. Peter’s box, I call it. The one we pray he won’t find when we’re trying to sneak in through the pearly gates.” THE BURNING…
Author: Booky Nooky
The Removed
“Go follow the trail lined with cherry blossoms,’ he told me. ‘It is not a trail of tears, son. It is a trail leading westward, without sadness or sickness or death. It is a trail to your home.” THE REMOVED by Brandon Hobson is a lyrical story about a Cherokee family coping with loss, grief,…
Klara and the Sun
“There was something very special, but it wasn’t inside Josie. It was inside those who loved her.” The brilliant Kazuo Ishiguro’s KLARA AND THE SUN is a slow-burn, page-turner that explores humanity, mortality, and love through the perspective of a sentient AI. In this genre defying dystopian sci-fi story Ishiguro questions whether or not there…
Infinite Country
“What he wanted to say was that something is always lost; even when we are the ones migrating, we end up being occupied.” Patricia Engel’s INFINITE COUNTRY is a soaring story about a family torn apart by borders and immigration status. Set in Colombia and the US, the book explores not only the trauma undocumented…
Milk Fed
“Life was a lot less bleak when you were staring straight down the barrel of a burrito.” Melissa Broder’s MILK FED is a compulsively readable book about food, sex, and Judaism. Though the concept may sound bizarre, MILK FED is an absurdly funny, remarkably clever, and surprisingly emotional read. Trust me, once you get a…
Land of Big Numbers
LAND OF BIG NUMBERS is the debut collection of short stories by Te-Ping Chen that compassionately portrays the uniqueness and complexity of life in modern China. With a blend of realism and surrealism, the ten stories provide sharp social commentary on China while giving a strong voice to the diverse Chinese people. I loved that…
Detransition, Baby
Torrey Peters’s DETRANSITION, BABY is a novel that everyone needs to be reading and talking about! It is a provocative, raw, and wholly original exploration of gender, sexuality, motherhood, and the expanding definition of family. Witty and sexy as well as emotional and vulnerable; DETRANSITION, BABY is unlike any other book out there! Trust me,…
Ready Player Two
In Ernest Cline’s READY PLAYER TWO, there is a moment when the antagonist asks the heroes: “Don’t you kids ever get tired of picking through the wreckage of a past generation’s nostalgia?” Sadly, this quote perfectly summarizes my feelings about this book! I loved Ready Player One for its originality and fun escapism, though I…
Mexican Gothic
“The world might indeed be a cursed circle; the snake swallowed its tail and there could be no end, only an eternal ruination and endless devouring.” Spooky. Moody. Tense. Fascinating. These are just a few words I would use to describe MEXICAN GOTHIC by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. MEXICAN GOTHIC is an innovative gothic horror novel that…
Crosshairs
“Do you know the joy of risking our lives to be us? So many people in this world will never know what it means to truly love someone. To truly be themselves. I am proud to say I have been me, I would never wash this off. I will never stop loving you. I will…
Booky Nooky 