Tag archive

Family

“The Lost Family” Covers Marriage and Love Post-WWII

in Fiction by

Jenna Blum, author of the bestseller Those Who Save Us, is back with another novel, one that is equally heartbreaking and haunting. Covering topics of grief and love, Blum artfully and skillfully reminds us that the past never seems to stay there, and that the repercussions can still be felt decades and generations later. The Lost Family begins in 1965 Manhattan. World War II may be over, but the memories are always present for Peter Rashkin, who survived Auschwitz, but lost his wife and daughters. Now, trying to make a new life for himself, he becomes the owner and head chef of a restaurant called Masha, a namesake to his lost wife. People from all over come to eat and savor the…

Keep Reading

Tall Poppies Review: Tina Ann Forkner Wakes Up Emotions

in Fiction by

My oh my but I have a thing for the Talleys. I must—I just finished reading Tina Ann Forkner’s Waking Up Joy  (Tule Publishing) for the second time. Joy Talley is the 40-something who has tasked herself with preserving her parents’ rural Oklahoma homestead as well as their large, rambunctious, and often complicated family. As one of five creative and opinionated siblings myself, I can relate to their brand of crazy. They may be bossy, hot-to-trot, or off their rockers, but the Talleys are fiercely loyal and never less than entertaining. As the book opens, Joy is in a bit of a spot. After falling from her roof while trying to pull an evil charm from the chimney, and then…

Keep Reading

The Elegance and Beauty of a Struggling Family

in Fiction by

In her heartfelt and elegantly written debut of a beautiful, struggling family, it’s clear that Fatima Farheen Mirza is a gifted writer. She is more than able to make you feel every character’s emotions, while offering compassion for different views, gradually revealing different aspects of each story to create a multilayered tapestry. A Place For Us begins at Hadia’s wedding in California, where the family gathers to celebrate a marriage based on love, rather than one that was arranged. Huda, the middle child, is determined to be like her sister more and more, headstrong and bold. Lastly, Amar, Hadia’s younger brother who ran away three years earlier, has returned for the celebration, taking his place as the brother of the bride.…

Keep Reading

Interview with Maxine Rosaler, Author of “Queen for a Day”

in Fiction by

It is bold work to invite us into the world of children who are eligible for special education—and their long suffering parents. Maxine Rosaler does this in her novel, Queen for a Day, through her main character, Mimi Slavitt and her young son, Danny. We, the audience, are alongside Mimi as she attempts to accept and comprehend her autistic son’s world. In the process, Mimi — and so we the readers — are introduced to the other mothers and their children, whom she encounters along the path, and the social system that provides aid. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2015-2016, 6.7 million students between the ages of three and 21 received special education services. Among the…

Keep Reading

“That Kind of Mother” Takes on the Challenges of Race and Motherhood

in Fiction by

Rebecca Stone desperately needs help with her newborn and Priscilla, a La Leche nurse from the hospital comes to her rescue. Having experience being a mother herself when she was a single, teen mother many years ago, Priscilla leaves her job at the hospital to become the nanny for Rebecca’s baby. Rebecca feels extremely close to Priscilla, confiding her fears, the hopes and dreams she had for herself and has for her child. She looks at Priscilla as a source of stability in her life, all while learning how to care for a child, and just what it means to be a mother.  Priscilla ends up changing the way that Rebecca looks on not only motherhood, but also the world…

Keep Reading

Tall Poppies Review: ‘Family Trees’ Captivates with Story of Love, Family and Heartbreak

in Fiction by

Family Trees by Kerstin March is a beautifully written story that captivates the reader with a cast of interesting characters and stunning landscape. The story unfolds against the gorgeous backdrop of Lake Superior with Shelby Meyers, a young local woman who lives and works with her grandparents at their family owned orchard in Bayfield, Wisconsin. I at once fell in love with not only Shelby’s intelligence and independence, but also her salt of the earth grandparents and her spunky best friend. The community of Bayfield and its residents come to life in a way that invites readers to feel like we are a part of it. One of the things I love most about this novel is how March brings Lake…

Keep Reading

The Secrets to a Stress-Free Holiday: 5 Tips for Survival from Author Madisyn Taylor

in Potpourri by

For most of us, when we think about the holiday season it evokes a feeling of excitement, anticipation, peacefulness, beauty and more. As the holidays get closer, we often begin to fall into our old patterns that have plagued us for our adult lives. The feelings of needing to buy gifts for everybody, having a ready supply of hostess gifts, dealing with family members, hosting the perfect party and the ever mounting list of expectations. When overwhelm sets in, it’s time to take a breath and find a remedy for these problems. In your own life, you can make a list of what stressors you are reacting to. On a piece of paper on the left hand side write down everything…

Keep Reading

The Freedom to Love is Paramount in Ariana Mansour’s ‘He Never Deserved Me’

in Non-Fiction by

For most American women, we cannot conceive of marrying a man we don’t love, much less marrying a man our parents and community chooses for us. Not to say that this doesn’t happen in some regions and/or faiths, or that it wasn’t a more common phenomenon in another time and place, but since the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and the mainstreaming of modern feminism, American women have been fighting for respect; not just respect of our persons, but of our needs, desires, passions and our choices. We won’t always make the right choices as life is overwrought with bad mistakes that began with the purest of intentions. But, we should be allowed to make those mistakes in a…

Keep Reading

Chaos Hits Home for the Holidays in ‘The Boyfriend Swap’

in Romance by

If you are looking for an escape this holiday season, The Boyfriend Swap by Meredith Schorr is just what you need! We step in on an unforgettable character, Robyn, who is a teacher dating an actor. Her family would like for her to meet a guy with ambition and some success but they are always disappointed with the creative types she is drawn to. Sydney is a lawyer at her father’s law firm and she is dating a lawyer. Her father is obsessed with the law and tends to talk business incessantly; something she has no patience for. Ann Marie is Robyn’s roommate and she works for Sydney at the law firm.  The three girls were together at a wine party and…

Keep Reading

Tall Poppies Review: ‘Perennials’ Unfolds Beautifully

in Fiction by

Julie Cantrell has long been one of my favorite authors, a writer whose pages I know I can turn to for stunning language, heartfelt stories and flawless character development. Her latest, Perennials, is no exception, and I found myself completely invested from the very first page. Lovey Sutherland’s Arizona life, complete with her successful career as an advertising executive, her centering yoga routine and her supportive, loving friends, is, on the surface, what she has always wanted. Free from the past she left behind in her hometown of Oxford, Mississippi—and the blame she faced when a fire in her childhood, perceived to be her fault, changed everything—in many ways Lovey has created the future she has always imagined. Even still,…

Keep Reading

‘The Best of Us’: Joyce Maynard’s Memoir on Love, Loss and Life

in Non-Fiction by

I highly recommend reading Joyce Maynard’s The Best of Us, but just make sure you have a box of tissues. Maynard finds the love of her life in her 50s, many years after being divorced and raising her children as a single mother. She and Jim, her new love, had a wonderful connection and were enjoying life to the fullest. And then their future was shattered when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She stood by him, provided hope and continued to look for treatments and solutions until the end. Her love story is beautiful and devastating as she chronicles the time before she meets Jim, during their love affair and his battle with this devastating disease, and afterward when she…

Keep Reading

‘White Fur’: Is Love Really More Powerful Than Money?

in Fiction by

The more I think about this novel, the more I love White Fur by Jardine Libaire. It’s the 1980s and Elise, a school dropout and recently homeless young girl is living in New Haven with a friend she met on the street. Jamey is one of the white, privileged and wealthy guys in the apartment next door; the longtime buddies are students at Yale and everything material has been given to them on a silver platter. The unlikely attraction between Elise and Jamey is powerful, lustful and trepidatious on Jamey’s part, as Elise is from low-class, poor, unsophisticated stock, and although she has big love for her family and knows what she wants out of life, his fancy and pretentious family and…

Keep Reading

Disney Pixar’s ‘Coco,’ Not Just for Kids

in Fiction by

For the past few years, Disney has been turning our favorite classic stories into live-action films.  These revivals remind us that sometimes, kids movies aren’t just for kids. In theaters this holiday season is Disney Pixar’s Coco, a beautifully animated film that takes place in Mexico. Lucky for us, the companion book Coco: A Story about Music, Shoes, and Family, has been released for us, as well! Twelve-year old Miguel Rivera just wants to be a famous musician, like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz, the most famous musician and film star in Mexico’s history. But Miguel’s family has a generation-old ban on music, and tell him to focus on the shoe-making shop that family runs, instead. A desperate attempt to prove his musical…

Keep Reading

The Life of Pie: Linda Lomelino Scores a Hit with ‘Lomelino’s Pies’

in Non-Fiction by

Who doesn’t love pie?   My nephew, that’s who! One of my mother’s favorite stories to tell about her grandchildren (and one we never let this particular one forget) is how he asked her if they could make a pie together. My mother really enjoys doing these things with her grandkids and they enjoy it just as much. So on this day, about 13 years ago, my mother set out to bake a pie with her first grandchild. The went to the store together and loaded up their cart with the freshest ingredients including the plumpest, juiciest blueberries, and vanilla ice cream from their favorite ice creamery.  They went home and made the pie from scratch— crust and all. My…

Keep Reading

Mental Health and Family Relationships Come Together in Yoerg’s ‘All the Best People’

in Fiction by

At BookTrib, we are constantly searching for the best ways to connect readers with writers, opening their eyes and worlds to fresh ideas! This is how we came across a wonderful group known as the Tall Poppies, who are not only avid readers, but extremely talented writers as well! This week, Katie Pryal reviews Sonja Yoerg’s ‘All the Best People.’ The heart of Sonja Yoerg’s All the Best People is Carole LaPorte, one of the book’s narrators, a mother of three and wife to Walt, the owner of an auto shop in small-town 1970s Vermont. Carole’s world starts to fall apart when she begins to question whether she might be like her mother, Solange, who has been locked in Underhill, the…

Keep Reading

1 2
Go to Top