Reviewed by Adele Annesi Family Law, by novelist Gin Phillips, is a work of historical fiction set in Montgomery, Alabama, from 1979 through 1981. Told from the perspectives of young attorney Lucia Gilbert and budding teen Rachel Morris, Family Law explores the course of two female alter egos on the cusp of change and […]
“The Girls in the Stilt House,” by Kelly Mustian
November 17, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Adele Annesi Longing, aspiration, and murder converge in rural 1920s Mississippi to link and forever shape the lives of two diverse teenage girls in Kelly Mustian’s haunting debut novel, The Girls in the Stilt House. Young runaway Ada Morgan vows never to return to the cruelty of her father’s house and her hardscrabble […]
“Chita: A Memory of Last Island,” by Lafcadio Hearn (edited by Delia LaBarre)
January 8, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Adele Annesi The nineteenth-century novella Chita: A Memory of Last Island, by Lafcadio Hearn, blends fact with fiction in a lavishly haunting tale of a Louisiana isle whose serene beauty is destroyed, leaving a legacy of sorrow, joy, and warning. The real L’Île Dernière (“Last Island”) is gone, but her story remains. Set […]
August Read of the Month: “To Lay to Rest Our Ghosts,” by Caitlin Hamilton Summie
August 7, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Adele Annesi It’s been said we can’t go home again, but home is a stubborn traveler that tags along in our prickliest family and friends, the people we are and become, the places that fill the heart as no one person can. To Lay to Rest Our Ghosts, by Caitlin Hamilton Summie, is […]
April Read of the Month: “The Feathered Bone,” by Julie Cantrell
April 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Adele Annesi The Feathered Bone, by New York Times bestselling author Julie Cantrell, fuses poetic voice and unwavering honesty in a haunting tale of worst fears come true, best intentions gone horribly wrong, and a freedom that brings hope beyond this life. Set in New Orleans and rural Louisiana in the years involving […]
Adele Annesi Interviews Julie Cantrell
March 5, 2012 by 1 Comment
AA: You’ve written nonfiction in the past, but this is your first novel, correct? JC: I have published two children’s picture books (Zonderkidz, 2009), and I have contributed to a dozen books, including the most recent coffee table book, Mississippians (Ed. Neil White, 2011 and 2012), but this is my debut novel. AA: What was […]
March Read of the Month: “Into the Free,” by Julie Cantrell
March 1, 2012 by 1 Comment
Review by Adele Annesi Julie Cantrell’s debut novel, Into the Free, offers a poetic voice and compelling story for young adults and adults that engages readers in tales of segregation, challenges, secrets and hope in unexpected places. Set in Depression-era Mississippi, Into the Free is the story of Millie Reynolds, whose mixed Choctaw and white […]
Adele Annesi
July 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Adele Annesi is an award-winning editor and writer. Her articles, columns, and stories appear in newspapers, magazines, blogs and literary journals, including 34th Parallel, The Fairfield Review, and The Pittsburgh Quarterly. She has contributed to The Circle and the Italian-American literary journal Pyramid, and her short fiction appeared in an anthology for Fairfield University. […]