Book Reviews
I typically post between two and three book reviews a week. Please refer to my review policy if you’d like to submit a book for consideration. I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter to get a summary of my reviews once a month.
Book Review: Rabbit Foot Bill by Helen Humphreys
Rabbit Foot Bill by Helen Humphreys is my online book club's November pick (yes, that's still going!), and days after we announced our choice, a reader messaged me to say it took her only four hours to read. I love a fast read, so I was delighted when I read this in a...
IveReadThis Jr. Edition: The World Around Them
When I saw the announcement for the upcoming release of the picture book Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky, I was really excited. I had been looking for a way to approach the topic of racism with my 5 year-old because she hears the...
Book Review: White Ivy by Susie Yang
I've been so excited to dive into this debut novel since it landed on my doorstep a few months ago, and although I thought it was going to be a book mainly about race, wealth is the true focal point of the story. White Ivy by Susie Yang has been compared to Little...
Book Review: A History of my Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt
The more I read, the more eager I am for a challenge, or at the very least, the more I want to read stories that aren't entirely straightforward or obvious. After the entertaining Harry's Trees from last week, I headed back to my book shelf in search of a book that...
Book Review: Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen
I rarely do this, but when my new boss handed me a book and said 'you have to read this' I quickly slotted Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen into my reading queue. Why did I make an exception this time? Number one: she's my new boss and I want to keep her happy because I'm...
Book Review: Big Friendship, How we Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman
When I read non-fiction I'm always on the look-out for something unique, a new topic or perspective that hasn't been done to death. This is why celebrity memoirs rarely interest me, because I find they touch on similar things regardless of the author (rags to riches,...
Book Review: In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt
This is probably one of the oldest books on my shelf. Hachette shipped me a copy of In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt two years ago, and every time Halloween came around, I vowed to read it. I finally got the chance in 2020 because *gestures wildly...
Book Review: Watching You Without Me by Lynn Coady
When I first received this book for review I was under the impression it was a thriller, but after talking to a few people they told me it wasn't really like that. Then, I assumed it was just a literary 'character study', but others assured me this book was also quite...
Book Review: The Beguiling by Zsuzsi Gartner
The Canlit community is abuzz over Zsuzsi Gartner's debut novel, The Beguiling. Despite this being her first novel, Gartner is a well-established pillar of the Canadian writing community. She's been shortlisted for a Scotiabank Giller Prize for her short story...
Book Review: The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox
As I continue to read through my recently-released spooky books for Halloween collection, I'm treated to a wide variety of genres that incorporate elements of horror into their narratives. Today's novel, The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox leans heavily into the...
Book Review: Consider This by Chuck Palahniuk
I haven't actually read a book by Chuck Palahniuk since his 2010 release Tell-All, which is also the year I met him, and helped organized his event here in Calgary. His writing memoir Consider This, Moments in my Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different...
Book Review: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Is my reading palette less refined for loving a bestselling book? Should I be embarrassed that I easily jump on book bandwagons with the rest of the world? Maybe some fellow book critics see it that way, but I certainly don't. Good books sell well because they are...