Book Reviews | Chapter 16

Too Big and Too Loud and Too Much

A hilarious and poignant YA novel about finding your place in the world

By Tina Chambers | September 21, 2021

In How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe, Raquel Vasquez Gilliland introduces readers to 17-year-old Moon, who longs to be loved for who she is but worries that she doesn’t deserve success and happiness — especially since everyone keeps comparing her to her more popular sister. Gilliland will discuss the novel at the online 2021 Southern Festival of Books on September 21.

Compact, but Planetary

Richard Powers’ Bewilderment is a meditation on grief and the possibilities of radical empathy

By Emily Choate | September 20, 2021

In an early chapter of Bewilderment, Richard Powers’ heartbreaking and transcendent new novel, astrobiologist Theo Byrne charts the far reaches of the universe for all forms of life. But caring for his troubled young son, Robin, becomes a more dangerous and profound experiment, provoking questions about radical empathy and humankind’s survival.

Corruption and Redemption

Wiley Cash’s fourth novel combines rich characters and compelling mystery

By Bradley Sides | September 16, 2021

Wiley Cash’s When Ghosts Come Home is a timely novel that, while certainly dark, also asks us to believe in hope. Cash will discuss the novel at a virtual event hosted by Novel in Memphis on September 23 and at the online 2021 Southern Festival of Books.

Limning the Condition of Loneliness

Kristen Radtke’s Seek You considers our solitary era

By Hamilton Cain | September 15, 2021

Kristen Radtke’s Seek You explores the pain and pleasure of solitude in a time of isolation. Radtke will appear at the online 2021 Southern Festival of Books.

The Order of Masculinity

Brian Broome’s memoir rescues a childhood ended too soon

By Kashif Andrew Graham | September 14, 2021

Punch Me Up to the Gods by Brian Broome is a Black, gay, coming-of-age memoir. Broome, a screenwriter and poet, recounts his formative years in Ohio and his subsequent escape. Against the backdrop of Ronald Reagan’s conservative America, the book presents scenes of Black boy initiation into the order of masculinity. Broome will appear at the online 2021 Southern Festival of Books.

A Right Guy

In Robert Olen Butler’s Late City, America’s last surviving WWI soldier reports his life story to God

By Sean Kinch | September 13, 2021

In Late City, Robert Olen Butler imagines a deathbed dialogue between God and a 115-year-old man who happens to be America’s last surviving veteran of World War I. Butler will discuss Late City at the online 2021 Southern Festival of Books.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker