In Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom, a neuroscientist tries to makes sense of her family’s unraveling
…prowess — so that Transcendent Kingdom tells several stories simultaneously. Alongside Gifty’s bildungsroman is her family’s story of immigration, from the tightly woven social fabric of Ghana to the isolation…
Erica Waters’ Ghost Wood Song is a suspenseful story about grief, bravery, and growing up
…his fiddle, which had been in the family for generations. The spirits, once awakened, began haunting Shady’s dreams, which quickly devolved into nightmares. But her father continued to play obsessively,…
Contemporary Appalachian writers profile one another in Step into the Circle
…source for hope. But Berry’s vision offers no miraculous deliverance. “Its hardship is its possibility.” Trent Thomson and Amy Greene With Step into the Circle, editors Amy Greene and Trent…
Communing with the dead is good business in Helene Dunbar’s Prelude for Lost Souls
…of ghost stories and mysteries alike will enjoy following the unlikely threads Dunbar weaves into spooky surprises in this dark novel, upending many traditional tropes along the way. In St….
Ashleigh Bryant Phillips weaves a transcendent tapestry of stories in Sleepovers
…blood and proximity. Called “incantatory” by Lauren Groff, who judged it as the winner of the C. Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize, Sleepovers is a transcendent tapestry of stories….
Acclaimed children’s author Renée Watson talks about inspiration, collaboration, and activism
…to Ramona Quimby more than once. Does that have any special meaning to you? As a child, did you read Beverly Cleary’s books? Renée Watson: Yes, I grew up reading…
