What’s New Book Review

SAM SHAW The Night Tiger By Yangsze Choo pp. 384 Flatiron Books Published Feb 12, 2019 “The Night Tiger” by Yangsze Choo is a highly acclaimed fantasy novel that National Geographic so aptly called “A lushly detailed novel imbued with folklore, mystery, and romance.” It was dubbed one of the Best Books of the Year […]

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The New Poetry Review: Oculus by Sally Wen Mao

NATALIE PATTERSON Oculus Sally Wen Mao 2019 Sally Wen Mao’s second poetry collection, Oculus, is a meeting of past, present, and future, at once a work of historical imagination and speculation for the digital age. Mao, born in Wuhan, China and raised in northern California, crafts an immense undertaking with Oculus, weaving together contemplations of […]

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What’s New Book Review

SAM SHAW This is How It Always Is By Laurie Frankel pp. 338 Flatiron Books Published January 4, 2017 #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George said about “This is How It Always Is” by Laurie Frankel that, “This is a novel everyone should read. It’s brilliant. It’s bold. And it’s time.” She could […]

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The New Poetry Review: New Poets of Native Nations

NATALIE PATTERSON New Poets of Native Nations Ed. Heid E. Erdrich 2018 What is the purpose of a poetry anthology? Merriam-Webster defines “anthology” as merely “a collection of selected literary pieces or passages or works of art or music.” Truly, the compiling and editing of an anthology goes much deeper than this—the text must offer […]

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What’s New Book Review: “Insurrecto” by Gina Apostol

SAM SHAW “Insurrecto” By Gina Apostol pp. 336 Soho Press Published Nov. 13, 2018 From the PEN Open Book Award-winning author of “Gun Dealers’ Daughter”, Gina Apostol, comes “Insurrecto”, a haunting tribute to America’s past and present for the people of the Philippines. Woven between the parallel storylines of Filipino translator Magsalin and American filmmaker […]

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Contemporary Poetry Review: “The Best American Poetry 2018”

NATALIE PATTERSON “The Best American Poetry 2018” Dana Gioia, Guest Editor David Lehman, Series Editor In an essay published in The Atlantic in 1991, poet Dana Gioia asked, “Can Poetry Matter?”  Now, over twenty-five years later, he serves as guest editor for the 2018 release of “The Best American Poetry,” a series that has, since […]

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What’s New Book Review

SAM SHAW “Children of Blood and Bone” by Tomi Adeyemi Published March 6, 2018 Zélie Adebola, the feisty protagonist of Tomi Adeyemi’s new high fantasy novel “Children of Blood and Bone”, is a divîner–her white hair marks her to be something “lesser” simply because her ancestors were maji. Zélie remembers when her beautiful country of […]

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What’s New Book Review

SAM SHAW Mirror, Mirror By Cara Delevingne with Rowan Coleman 354 pp. HarperCollins. Published October 3, 2017 Easy as it is to get caught up in the twists and turns of a Young Adult novel, “Mirror, Mirror” by Cara Delevingne leaves the readers behind like Hansel and Gretel with nothing but a few breadcrumbs to […]

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