Category Archives: fiction

Book Review: The Cider House Rules by John Irving

Who’s Rules? It’s hard to believe that when Morrow published John Irving’s Cider House Rules in 1985 he was just at the beginning of his prolific and critically acclaimed career with only Garp and Hotel New Hampshire preceding, other lesser-known … Continue reading

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Book Review: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

One of the perennial questions about a writer’s work surrounds the problem of theme and story. We all know writers who appear to come to each new work with a striking sense of discovery, the narrative seemingly completely new, original … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Fifth Assassin by Brad Meltzer

Brad Meltzer’s The Fifth Assassin is the the second book in the Culper Ring Trilogy.  The Culper Ring was introduced in the trilogy’s first book, The Inner Circle, which I reviewed in September 2011. The Culper Ring started during the … Continue reading

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Book Review: Whopper Cake by Karma Wilson and Will Hillenbrand

Maybe it’s just because my birthday is later this month, but I’ve been in the mood for good birthday and birthday cake stories lately.  One of my favorites to read with younger kids, approximately ages 4-7, is Whopper Cake by … Continue reading

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Let’s Eat Those Words, Shall We?: Another Look at Historical Fiction

Recently in this blog, I was somewhat dismissive of the “historical fiction” genre for adults. While I personally still prefer biographies to fanciful re-creations of events and characters, I’ve now been reminded of such fiction’s potential value for children, and … Continue reading

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