Book Review: Storm of Locusts, Rebecca Roanhorse Science Fiction: Storm of Locusts, Rebecca Roanhorse It is not often that I anticipate a new book as eagerly as I awaited Storm of Locusts, and Rebecca Roanhorse does not disappoint. In this sequel to Trail of Lightning, Maggie (known to some as a “Monsterslayer” and to others […]
Month: May 2019
Book Review: Seafire, Natalie C. Parker
Book Review: Seafire, Natalie C. Parker Young Adult Fiction: Seafire, Natalie C. Parker Seafire is the young adult adventure I want my granddaughters to read when they get older. Natalie C. Parker has put together a tale of rebellion on the high seas that features as tough a heroine as you may ever meet in […]
Book Review: Florida, Lauren Groff – National Book Award Finalist
Book Review: Florida, Lauren Groff Short Story Collection: Florida, Lauren Groff Florida was a finalist for the 2018 National Book Award and was named one of NPR’s “Books of the Year” for 2018. A collection of short stories is the official description, but this basic characterization fails to do it justice. It is a collection […]
Book Review: American Spy, Lauren Wilkinson
Book Review: American Spy, Lauren Wilkinson Thriller: American Spy , Lauren Wilkinson American Spy is one of the deepest, most profound books I have ever read dealing with race, gender, imperialism, and American identity. Lauren Wilkinson has managed to weigh in on numerous deep and profound topics while weaving a tale of spycraft that stands […]
Book Review: The Evolution of Everything, Matt Ridley
Book Review: The Evolution of Everything, Matt Ridley Nonfiction: The Evolution of Everything, Matt Ridley When Matt Ridley titled his book The Evolution of Everything, he really wasn’t kidding. From the scientific to the social to the technological, Ridley examines how things develop from the bottom up rather than the top down. His arguments are […]
Booklist: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Booklist: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month We at www.scintilla.info have had the privilege of reviewing many books by people whose heritage and ancestry hails from the world’s largest continent. Although this month is specifically devoted to the celebration of Americans who count Asia and the Pacific Islands in their genealogy, we are going […]
Book Review: The Poppy War, RF Kuang
Book Review: The Poppy War, RF Kuang Fantasy: The Poppy War, RF Kuang Shortlisted by many as one of the best fantasy books of 2018, The Poppy War is a stellar debut novel that feels both familiar and brand new. In some ways there is familiar territory being covered: Runin, a poor orphan girl, studies […]
Book Review: Severance, Ling Ma
Book Review: Severance, Ling Ma Fiction: Severance, Ling Ma Severance is an odd novel, really almost three novellas telling the story of one person. Candace Chen is a millennial living in NYC. Born in China and raised in Utah, Candace loves her routine. Her job for a printing company has her overseeing the production of […]
Black Is the Body: Stories from My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine; Emily Bernard
Book Review: Black Is the Body: Stories from My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine, Emily Bernard Nonfiction: Black Is the Body: Stories from My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine, Emily Bernard Black Is the Body is an extraordinary book. It is a collection of first-person essays by Emily Bernard, essays that […]
Book Review: Mother Love, Rita Dove
Book Review: Mother Love, Rita Dove Poetry: Mother Love, Rita Dove Rita Dove served as US Poet Laureate in the 1990s. Her collection of sonnets, Mother Love, was written at the end of her tenure in that post. It is a powerful collection inspired by the myth of Persephone. Dove’s speaker sometimes is Persephone, […]