In which I discuss some of the skinny volumes, which have nestled into my bookbag. (Meanwhile longer works, like Kathleen Winsor's Forever Amber and Greg Iles’ The Bone Tree, were left at home.) Patricia and Fredrick McKissack's Best Shot in the West tells the story of Nat Love, who was born into
Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and, most recently, The Widow: girls make for good pageturners. But Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins and Fiona Barton are looking to tell different kinds of stories about girls. In a BookPage interview, Gillian Flynn tries to explain why Gone Girl captured "the popular
If the idea of experimental or innovative short stories makes you squirm, even though you are simultaneously bored with more traditional structure, Not Anyone’s Anything belongs on your bookshelf. Ian Williams puts relationships at the core of his work and this fiction collection exhibits this tendency as well. I also
Penguin-Razorbill, 2012 Mariko Tamaki's (You) Set Me On Fire (2012) Read: At the hair salon, on the TTC, standing in line: everywhere. Allison's voice is strong and compelling. I could pick up this story and immediately fall into step with her, even if I only had a very
It begins with Butterworm "the neighborhood's oldest resident", the tale slipping between his bared teeth: Courtney Crumrin: The Night Things, written and illustrated by Ted Naifeh (Oni Press 2012). He introduces readers to Courtney Crumrin, who is new in town. Her parents have run out of credit and have begged rooms with
