Archive for the ‘Fiction’ Category

“Dead in the Family” has a very appropriate title — all sorts of family members pop up, and not just for Sookie. Charlaine Harris still can whips up a pleasant warm Southern vibe for her not-so-urban fantasies, but unfortunately this latest novel isn’t quite up to her usual standards: it’s basically a mass of fluffy in-between storylines that rarely go anywhere. Just after Amelia leaves for New Orleans, Sookie’s cousin Claude appears at her home and asks to move in [...]

After beginning to read Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, I checked my hands to see if there happened to be glue on them. Use that as a warning. Once you start the book, it’s impossible to put it down. There is action after action and even when you close the book, what you just read stays in your thoughts throughout the whole day. Beautiful Creatures can be classified under fantasy-fiction, and I would recommend it for readers [...]

The scope and breadth of this novel is immense. Hilary Mantel sets out to describe a tumultuous period in English history, not by focusing on the main event- Henry and Anne- but by showing the struggle faced by those more behind the scenes. Thomas Cromwell says, late in the book, that worlds are not changed by kings and popes, but by two men sitting at a table, coming to an agreement, or by the exchange of thoughts and ideas across [...]

This is a book that takes through the up and downs of being Kenyan and in love, kinda…You will recognize the places, smell the places, love and hate the characters, incredible word pictures! Muthoni Garland’s characters are so sharply etched that you want to ask them for the fifty bob they borrowed from you last week. I can’t decide if I like it as much as Tracking the Scent of My Mother, or even more. I wish it ended ‘my [...]

The story revolves around David Small from the age of 6 to adulthood. He comes from an interesting family–his mother and her side of the family is explored in depth. David develops a growth on his neck, which turns out to be cancer. However, his family does not tell him this, which is just one of the sources of conflict between him and his parents. I really enjoyed how the story was told. You can really feel the struggles David [...]

An amazing set of short stories by debut author Doreen Baingana, “Tropical Fish” quickly drew me in and held me captive until the very last page of the last tale in a series of stories on the lives and development of three Ugandan sisters. Largely focused on the youngest, Christine Mugisha, these stories take us into life as young women in a society full of such promise but decimated in many ways by missteps such as the regime of Idi [...]

I want to be fair to Dan Brown. Elitist literary critics say that Brown is not a good writer, and that his stories are bland. I personally think that if you manage to genuinely entertain and awe your audiences, then you have accomplished something worthy of reading. I also think that “The Da Vinci Code” was nearly an impossible act to follow. People will have all sorts of crazy expectations for your next book that you won’t be able to [...]

Set in Kenya but could be a prototype for a native culture anywhere colonized, breaking free, then globalized which is an extension of colonialism. It is easy to understand why the author was imprisoned after the book’s publication in 1977 as he presents a bleak view of what the Kenyans got in the way of leaders after independence from the white rulers. The viewpoint here seems to be anyone “for the people” is assassinated, those that stay in power are [...]

Kelly Cunnane, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya, tells the charming story of a little boy who is supposed to be tending his grandfather’s cows when… well, there are so many other interesting things to do! You’ll follow him on his adventures and find out what happens when the cows come home. The colorful illustrations by Ana Juan are perfect for the story. I would definitely recommend this as a fun way to broaden a child’s horizons. I’d like [...]

Say You’re one of them is a collection of five intriguing stories by Uwem Akpan, a Nigerian author. This book received rave reviews from the media and I think the attention was well deserved. What makes it stand out is that the author portrays what we would consider adult themes through the eyes of a child. The five young narrators, in their innocence, are forced to face intricate situations where they have to deal with poverty, child prostitution, religious intolerance, [...]