Category Archives: General Fiction

The You Know Who Girls: Freshman Year, by Annameekee Hesik (2012)

Posted on December 22, 2014 by tom

The last place Abbey Brooks wanted to be that day was at the mall with her fashionista BFF, Kate, but she couldn’t have imagined what would happen next. She orders fries and a small lemonade from Hot Dog on A … Continue reading →

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Driving Lessons: The You Know Who Girls Soph Year, by Annameekee Hesik (2014)

Posted on December 20, 2014 by tom

Abbey Brooks is ready for her sophomore year. She’s determined to get her driver’s license, come out to her mom,, live through basketball season, and get–and keep–a girlfriend. With Abbey Brooks, though, nothing is ever as easy as it sounds. … Continue reading →

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Maxine Wore Black, by Nora Olsen (2014)

Posted on December 18, 2014 by tom

“Maxine Wore Black” is basically two stories mashed into one. Mostly, it works. The first–and primary–story is an updating of Daphne du Maurier’s classic, “Rebecca.” In the acknowledgements, author Nora Olsen calls “Maxine Wore Black” an homage to “Rebecca,” and … Continue reading →

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Season’s Meetings, by Amy Dunne (2014)

Posted on December 13, 2014 by tom

(nb: I received a review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley) Catherine is a type AAAAAAAAAAA (read that, extremely type A), and she hates Christmas. When her boss suddenly demands Catherine’s underlings turn in reports just before … Continue reading →

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The Haunted Vagina, by Carlton Mellick, III (2011)

Posted on October 25, 2014 by tom

Carlton Mellick III is at the foremost of the new “Bizarro” fiction genre, and “The Haunted Vagina” is certainly bizarre. It’s also hysterically funny in parts, oddly touching in others, and really, a damned good read…for some people. Steve works … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Books Read in 2014, General Fiction, Horror, Humorous, Novella, Paranormal | 3 Comments

TTYL; TTFN; L8TR,G8TR; YOLO, by Lauren Myracle (various pub.)

Posted on October 23, 2014 by tom

I hadn’t originally intended to read this book (or this series), and I’m writing one review for the whole series. You’ll see why. What happened was I read an article on banned books, and this was mentioned. I went to … Continue reading →

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American Tabloid, by James Ellroy

Posted on June 9, 2014 by tom

Kemper Boyd—suave FBI Agent infiltrating car theft rings. His best friend, Ward Littel, also an FBI agent, but a bored one stuck in Chicago. Pete Bondurant: a six-foot-five fixer for various underworld figures, including getting drugs for Howard Hughes. Howard … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Books Read in 2014, General Fiction, Literary or Genre Fiction, Mysteries/Thrillers, series | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

We Are The Goldens, by Dana Reinhardt (2014)

Posted on May 10, 2014 by tom

We Are the Goldens (2014) By Dana Reinhardt Nellayla That’s what a young Nell used to call herself, because she was so close to her older sister. Layla would laugh: “I am Layla,” and [Layla] tapped [her] chest, then you … Continue reading →

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The Tycoon’s Daughter (Treadwell Academy Novels), by Caitlyn Duffy (2014)

Posted on April 12, 2014 by tom

Before the first word of this story, there are voluminous resources as to how and when and where to get help for eating disorders. There’s encouragement. There’s potentially life-saving information. This is one thing that I love about Caitlyn Duffy’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Books Read in 2014, General Fiction, Memoir or Biography, Short Stories/Novella, Young Adult | Leave a comment

The Summer of Letting Go, by Gae Polisner (2014)

Posted on March 10, 2014 by tom

(nb: I received an Advance Review Copy from the publisher via NetGalley) It’s summertime, to paraphrase the song, and the livin’ ain’t easy, not for Francesca “Frankie” Schnell. It’s the summer she turns sixteen, and it’s supposed to be filled … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Books of the Year, Books, General Fiction, Young Adult | 2 Comments