A Publication of Humanities Tennessee

Book Reviews

A Feisty First

By Liz Garrigan

February 13, 2013 Jenny Milchman’s debut novel, Cover of Snow, is memorable and affecting, and it avoids all signs of banality, that great danger for genre fiction in general and new authors in particular. There’s a good reason the characters feel three-dimensional: though Cover of Snow is Milchman’s first published novel, it is in fact the eighth she’s written, and the eleven years she spent honing her skills are evident in this intricately woven thriller. Milchman will appear at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on February 16 at 2 p.m.

Stepping Into the Mouth of the Devil

By Ed Tarkington

February 7, 2013 Margaret Wrinkle has some very ambitious aims in her debut novel, Wash: to explore and reconcile the contradictions and conflicts of the relationship between owner and owned in the antebellum South, a feat she manages by opening a window onto the infamous practice of slave breeding. Margaret Wrinkle will discuss and sign Wash at Parnassus Books on February 16 at 2 p.m.

Decisions and Destiny

By Tina LoTufo

February 6, 2013 “My mother’s a prostitute,” observes seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine. “She’s actually quite pretty, fairly well spoken, and has lovely clothes. But she sleeps with men for money or gifts, and according to the dictionary, that makes her a prostitute.” Thus begins Out of the Easy, the new young-adult novel from bestselling Nashville author Ruta Sepetys. As Josie fights her way to self-knowledge and a better future, one small victory at a time, Out of the Easy will remind readers of classic coming-of-age stories like Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Sepetys will appear at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on February 13 at 6 p.m.

British Invasions, Successful and Not

By Ralph Bowden

February 5, 2013 Thanks to slow and unreliable communications between the admiralty and ships at sea, naval officers such as fictional hero Captain Alan Lewrie could often exercise considerable independence once out of port. In Hostile Shores, Dewey Lambin’s nineteenth Alan Lewrie adventure, however, Lewrie’s frigate, Reliant, is under the close command of a half-baked commodore with dreams of grandeur. Lewrie nevertheless finds ways to maneuver, sometimes stepping on toes or taking considerable risks. His adventures here, as always, are rollicking good yarns, with authentic details and characters, a hero, his ship, and lots of excitement.

A Humble Mysticism

By Maria Browning

January 31, 2013 Using images of the natural world to convey a deeply spiritual vision, the poems in Jeff Hardin’s Notes for a Praise Book seem to speak directly to the reader. He has a knack for shaping phrases that capture the ordinary, fleeting impressions nature delivers, as well as the moments of beauty that usually go uncelebrated.

One For the Records

By Sarah Norris

January 30, 2013 At only twenty-five, Nashville author Victoria Schwab has experienced the kind of success most authors only dream about. Her debut novel, The Near Witch, was published when she was barely twenty-three. Two years later, her second YA novel, The Archived, has just hit shelves. This year will also see the arrival of Vicious, Schwab’s first novel for adults. And she’s already sold the sequel to The Archived. Schwab will celebrate with a book signing and launch party hosted by East Nashville’s Art & Invention Gallery on February 1 at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Visit the Book Reviews archives chronologically below or search for an article

TAKE THE SHORT READER SURVEY! CHAPTER 16 SURVEYOR SURVEYING