Book Review: The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️for The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan (releasing 4.28.20)!

Three Sweeney sisters (preppy art dealer and mother Liza; hippy, carefree artist Maggie; and lawyer and serious runner Tricia) gather to settle their recently deceased father’s estate and are faced with some surprises: financial discrepancies, a missing memoir…and a surprise half-sister! I’ll admit at first I thought this would be a sugar coated and silly “comedy of errors” story with a whole “the more the merrier” theme. Thank goodness it was not. It was messy, realistic, and smart! Author Lian Dolan included lots of information about intellectual property, real estate law, and other details that may have been glossed over in lighter novels. Her addition of these details along with her fully formed individual characters gave the story substance. In addition to the 3 + 1 Sweeney sisters, this story has lots of great love ‘em and hate ‘em secondary characters (too many to name here) and one character that is somewhere in the middle. Their father, William Sweeney wrote a coming of age novel that was so widely acclaimed that it was included in many high school and college curriculums. He also wrote a novel about the Vietnam war, a book about his poet wife’s cancer and his subsequent depression, an article about Derek Jeter for The New Yorker, and many other male-centric pieces. Dolan did a wonderful job creating this beloved but flawed man and showing the circle of his thoughts and actions toward his family and their feelings toward him both during his life and after his death.




Also, pictured: Vegetable Noodle Casserole for Meatless Monday

Book Review: Frida in America: The Creative Awakening of a Great Artist by Celia Stahr

[I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review]


I received this beautiful finished copy of Frida in America: The Creative Awakening of a Great Artist by Celia Stahr (released 3.3.20) months ago and couldn't wait to read it, but 2020 got off to a rocky start and just kept crumbling. I didn't want this to become one of those books that gets passed over, so better late than never!⁠
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I read Hayden Herrera's biography of Frida Kahlo after I was first exposed to Kahlo's art in a college art appreciation class. I was instantly obsessed with Kahlo's art and I was searching for any information about her. I poured over art books at the library, looking for her work and was so excited to find her biography (This was early 2000s so I didn't have the endless online access that is available today.) ⁠
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I would recommend this release, Frida in America: The Creative Awakening of a Great Artist by Celia Stahr, as an accompanying text to Herrera's biography which spans her entire life in great detail. Stahr's book focuses on the three years Kahlo spent in the United States (Gringolandia) in the early 1930s. ⁠
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Publisher's Summary:⁠
"Only twenty-three and newly married to the already world-famous forty-three-year-old Diego Rivera, she was at a crossroads in her life and this new place, one filled with magnificent beauty, horrific poverty, racial tension, anti-Semitism, ethnic diversity, bland Midwestern food, and a thriving music scene, pushed Frida in unexpected directions. Shifts in her style of painting began to appear, cracks in her marriage widened, and tragedy struck, twice while she was living in Detroit."⁠

Book Review: Burn It Down!: Feminist Manifestos for the Revolution by Breanne Fahs

⁠[I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.]

I have a minor in Women's Studies from the University of Georgia (almost a dual English/Women's Studies degree) so when I first saw this book my eyes lit up. I loved learning about feminist theories and reading works by feminist authors but in all of my studies and personal reading I've never seen a collection of feminist manifestos before this. ⁠

Author Breanne Fahs describes a feminist manifesto as "impolite by nature, refusing the very qualities--politeness and deference in particular--that women are socialized to cultivate in themselves; it is frankly impatient, unmotherly, irritated, revolutionary, nasty, ambitious, bossy, and at times violent--all of which constitute traditionally 'unfeminine' qualities." I marked up this collection (yes, *gasp* I write in my books) just like I used to do in college with underlining, marginalia, and dreamy questions to myself. Organized into 8 themes (Queer/Trans, Anticapitalist/Anarchist, Angry/Violent, Indigenous/Women of Color, Sex/Body, Hacker/Cyborg, Trashy/Punk, and Witchy/Bitchy, this book is easy to read straight through or to skip around at your will.
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I think this book is a must-read (and if possible own for the sake of reference) for everyone. It is absolutely exploding with reflections, challenges, and suggestions to open your mind and keep you thinking. ⁠

Book Review: Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

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[I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review originally appeared on my Instagram 4.11.20]

Sin Eater by Megan Campisi was pitched as "The Handmaid’s Tale meets Alice in Wonderland" but I feel that the description is a bit off the mark. This historical novel centered around a young sin eater (someone who eats the sins of another person with specific foods assigned for each sin) in 16th-century England. I had never heard of this transference ritual before so that was a unique and interesting angle but there is also a mystery surrounding several deaths within the royal court. I understand The Handmaid's Tale comparison since so much of Atwood's details are based on acts that have actually occurred in history, but the Alice In Wonderland analogy lends the impression that this novel will have elements of magic or the supernatural, which it does not. After finishing this book I think I wanted it to either be much longer or much shorter. There are so many characters that could have been more fully formed or totally eliminated. I did like the insight into the young protagonist's mind as she figured out clues to the conspiracy and began to question her village's religious acts and expectations. I won't give any spoilers but I also didn't like the ending. I didn't love this novel or hate it, and I am also not totally dismissing it with a *meh* rating. I feel like this is a warm-up for the author and that whatever she next produces will be stellar.⁠
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Also pictured, sausage and egg biscuits on my grandma's china. I am craving so many breads and casseroles and sweets. I just "discovered" gelato thanks to @jackiereadsbooks and I don't think my life will ever be the same. I think it may have knocked Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie out of my top spot! ⁠

Book Review: Afterlife by Julia Alvarez

[I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review originally appeared on my Instagram 4.3.20]

I had zero motivation today. So little that I crawled back in bed after breakfast and stayed there all day. I read Julia Alvarez’s “Afterlife” and it was a perfect match. Not a heart-stopping storyline with twists and turns, but more of a calm and introspective novel. During my reading, I often thought of Didion’s “Year of Magical Thinking” and Kingsolver’s “Prodigal Summer” I loved Alvarez’s portrayal of four Latina sisters, “the sisterhood” as a complex and layered unit. Her characters (migrant workers in her community, a pregnant teenager, the local sheriff) are all trying to do the right thing but they aren’t perfect and she doesn’t make any of them martyrs. How refreshing.

Book Review: The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni

[I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review⁠. This review originally appeared on my Instagram on 4/2/20]
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Before I begin on this review I want to say that my mind isn’t the sharpest right now. I feel jumbled and unsettled and I’m riding the same emotional roller coaster as everyone else. I want to write a review that sings this book’s praises in the best way, touching on themes, writing style, and all the literary elements that added up to a create a story that swept me away and I absolutely loved reading.⁠
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Unfortunately, I can barely string a sentence together lately, let alone analyze and articulate. However, I have a habit of not reviewing books I love right away because I never think I can do them justice…and then I never circle back to provide a review at all—and I don’t want that to happen here.⁠
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I added Danielle Trussoni’s “The Ancestor” to my request list spreadsheet last year when I first read this description: “a bewitching gothic novel of suspense that plunges readers into a world of dark family secrets, the mysteries of human genetics, and the burden of family inheritance.” I thought “I’ve gotta get my hands on that one” and after some unsuccessful attempts to procure an ARC I was lucky enough to actually receive a finished copy this Monday. I immediately started reading it and loved being swept away to a remote deserted castle in the Italian Alps.⁠
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As with most of my reviews, I don’t want to go into too many details and give away the wonderful twists and turns I got to experience. I will say that I am not generally a fan of horror, but if I can find more books like this…I will become one.⁠
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It’s hard to choose another book to compare “The Ancestor” to as it is exquisitely unique. I love Elizabeth Kostova’s “The Historian” and I love all books about genetics. Trussoni’s “The Ancestor” is the perfect combination of the two. Be prepared to hear me rattle on about this one for some time to come because this one has landed on my “Favorite Books of All Time” list.

Review:: The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power by Deirdre Mask

[partner @stmartinspress]⁠

I recommend that everyone read The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power by Deirdre Mask (releasing 4/14/20).⁠

I think we all know that some addresses quickly tell a lot about a person (for example, in the U.S., someone who lives in Beverly Hills brings to mind a different lifestyle than someone who lives in Missoula, Montana) but have you ever thought about the places in the world that don't have addresses, where addresses constantly change, or the future of the address? Deirdre Mask takes a deep dive into how politics, race, class, and status affect how addresses are created, decided upon, and enforced across the globe.⁠

I learned the layered histories behind streets named after Sonny Carson, Bobby Sands, and Martin Luther King, Jr.; the insane addresses that "blind officers" deciphered to get The Royal Mail correctly delivered in the early 1900s; the meaning and creation of the ZIP (zoning improvement plan) code; the Philadelphia (even/odd side of street numbering) system; that Clement C. Moore once owned all of Chelsea, how Japan's writing style is reflected in their city layout/lack of street names; and the political history wrapped up in addresses.⁠

The lack of an address means you can't vote, receive deliveries, and emergency medical workers will likely not find you. Not having an address is also a major obstacle for people trying to rise from poverty and homelessness (they cannot provide an address on job applications, receive notifications for particular health/employment opportunities/appointments that are only sent via mail, and they cannot open a bank account).⁠

There are also some great sections about "less than glamorous" street names that made me think about the Gilmore Girls episode when the town wanted to change all the streets back to their original names. (It's also the Birkin bag and dollhouse delivery episode). Does anyone remember that one?⁠

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[Also pictured: Turkey Kielbasa and Peppers Skillet.]