Biblio Reviews

The premise seems compelling: Two boys, same name, same background, same neighborhood. However, one becomes a Rhode Scholar and the other becomes an inmate serving a life sentence. What led to these boys' diverging paths? A reporting and analysis would be presented. Only, the final product did not deliver on that premise. Wes Moore's The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (2010) is a New York Times  bestseller that is now common on many schools' summer reading list. That's how I came about purchasing it. In the end, I found the book stylistically bland, socially relevant, and politically irresponsible. In short, The Other Wes Moore does not deliver on its premise, for other than sharing the same name and being black, the two Moores have very little in common. This is because Wes Moore, the writer, comes from an environment rich in resources that enabled him to succeed: he was born from college-educated parents whose married partnership was intact, who had their ...

Pearl Cleage: sassy, seemingly self-assured and wise, I enjoyed her appearance on  The Oprah Winfrey Show  to promote her 1998 Oprah Book Club selection,  What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day  (1997), which I also enjoyed. Edwidge Danticat: a fellow compatriot, I've taken personal pride in her publishing success. James McBride: Winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction for  The Good Lord Bird  (2013), his candidness during his acceptance speech and his interview with Anna Sale for her WNYC podcast  Death, Sex, & Money (one of my favorites)   drew me in. Cheryl Strayed: Best known for her memoir-turned-into-feature-film, Wild (2012), I mostly know of her wisdom and forthrightness in sharing thoughtful and empathic advice (along with co-host Steve Almond) on another of the best podcasts around, WBUR's  Dear Sugar Radio . What do these authors have in common--other than being published, successful writers? They are...

Tessa Dare's  A Night to Surrender  (2011) is the first of her Spindle Cove series. It stars Susanna Finch, the "spinster" mother hen of this village and Victor Bramwell, a recently wounded soldier who is intent on returning to active duty. That's what brings him to Spindle "Spinster" Cove, where he meets a group of emasculated men and unconventional women, the most alluring of whom for him is Susanna Finch. What follows is a humor-filled story full of hijinks and romance. Having read this title three months ago, I do remember enjoying it. Victor Bramwell, newly titled Earl of Rycliff, is a stubborn man but finds his match in Susanna, a woman way ahead of her time: She is an independent woman, and dare I say, a feminist (pun unintended). Together and apart, they are both fully fleshed characters. While the story dragged for me a little 3/4 of the way, there's enough heat and other interesting elements to make this romance overall very enjoyable. A N...

I didn't love Rose Lerner's  Sweet Disorder (2014) as much as Ellepkay  of CBR8 did, though her wonderful review is what sold me on reading it. Nonetheless, she is correct in identifying the nonstandard aspects of this romance as being its main appeal. Sweet Disorder is the story of Phoebe Sparks, a widow whose husband's voting rights get passed on to her new spouse, and Nick Dymond, an injured veteran and middle child of a politically active and ambitious family. Their paths cross when Nick's mom manipulates a depressed Nick to secure a political vote for his younger brother's campaign by marrying Phoebe off to a supporter of their political party. In the end, they both fall for each other which creates a bit of a problem for their family members. What I liked: Phoebe being a headstrong and adult heroine, though presented as foolishly too selfless Phoebe being a plumper heroine and that not being the driving force of the story Phoebe being a widow who was...