Reviewed by Donna Meredith Escaping the past proves more difficult than New York editor Jen Gibbs thinks in The Story Keeper, Lisa Wingate’s uplifting new novel about a woman’s journey to find a manuscript, and along the way, to reclaim the missing parts of her soul. Jen has barely begun her new job at Vida […]
“Hiding Gladys,” by Lee Mims
September 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Hiding Gladys, a Cleo Cooper mystery by Lee Mims, reads easily, the pages gliding by in quick succession. Interesting facts about geology weave their way through this debut novel since Cleo is a field geologist. So was the author, lending authenticity to the science behind this entertaining story. But Mims never […]
“Lookaway, Lookaway,” by Wilton Barnhardt
August 26, 2014 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Chris Timmons This must be said as a mandatory prefatory statement: Countless novels have been written about the South, it being such a fertile topic, yet Wilton Barnhardt’s delightful novel Lookaway, Lookaway may top them all. Barnhardt’s novel has it all: an expansive social view of the New South, frequently outrageous and supremely […]
August Read of the Month: “Hush Puppy,” by Lisa T. Cresswell
August 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Ana Reyes Corrine Lamb earns her nickname, “Hush Puppy,” in the opening pages of this young adult novel by giving away her lunch – a sack of hush puppies – to Jamie Armstrong, a poor boy who’s just moved to town. It’s a fitting introduction to her character, as later on, she will […]
“The Trench Garden,” by L.C. Fiore
April 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith In L.C. Fiore’s short story, “The Trench Garden,” which appears in the new Ploughshare’s Solos series, four men come together to restore a ravine in Tennessee while World War II rages on the other side of the ocean. With his clear prose, Fiore crafts a story that meets Poe’s primary directive: it strives […]
“The Prayer Box,” by Lisa Wingate
March 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Mollie Smith Waters Although it is rare to read a book that will change one’s perspective on life, it is not all that uncommon to learn a valuable life lesson from a good read. Such is the case with Lisa Wingate’s The Prayer Box, a solid story with a clear message: do not […]