Buy multiple copies and get ready for the movie that’s sure to follow Sittenfeld’s latest novel. She consistently proves herself as one of the most readable contemporary novelists. Her books are impossible to put down, and the characters will continue to swim around in readers’ minds long after the final chapters.
Berg continues to channel her own version of Fannie Flagg with her small-town Southern tale that goes back in time to fill in the details of a memorable character’s life.
A scholarly book on the life, triumphs, and heartbreaks of Abraham Lincoln’s life, but general readers may enjoy it too. This is a title that will likely be a fruitful one for all levels of book discussion groups.
Chen’s novel isn’t intended to replace a biography of Joan of Arc; instead, it’s a good choice for historical fiction readers who are curious for a unique perspective on the saint, one which may serve as an entry point to learn more about her life.
Irankunda joins other writers from the African continent (see Rwandan Clemantine Wamariya’s The Girl Who Smiled Beads and Liberian Wayétu Moore’s The Dragons, the Giant, the Women) in giving eloquent and stirring witness to a childhood shattered by war and the legacies of colonialism.