Zoning, pollution, racism, anti-Semitism — these are heavy themes that could easily overwhelm “Strangers and Cousins” or, worse, look tritely exploited by it. But that’s the real artistry of Cohen’s work: her sensitive exploration of the whole range of our complicated, compromised lives. And she puts to rest the smug […]
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Ali Benjamin’s The Thing About Jellyfish, Review by Kimberly Christensen
The Thing About Jellyfish By Ali Benjamin Published September 22, 2015 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Middle Grade Fiction Review by Kimberly Christensen The summer before seventh grade, Suzanne’s former best friend, Frannie, drowns while on vacation. Frannie and Suzy’s friendship had derailed in that most painful of […]
Read MoreLagoon, Nnedi Okorafor
This is about Nigeria. Lagos Nigeria. It is about the people who live there and the culture and language that has arisen there from time immemorial, being created, generation after generation, as the evolution of any group. It is about the sea, about the animals and creatures, great and small, […]
Read MoreShe Would Be King, Wayétu Moore
Animals have inspired some of the most memorable moments in African storytelling. In 17th century Ethiopia, Galawdewos repeatedly relies on the appearance or the death of animals to portray Walatta Petros’ miraculous saintly power. When animals are incorporated in ritual process, the visual effect is powerful. The image of Ozidi […]
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Author: © Gila Green Publisher/pre-order: Stormbird Press Publication Date: September 17, 2019 Social Media: Author blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn Back to the Dragonfly Library Book blurb: Broken-hearted after losing her only brother in a terrorist attack, 17-year-old Yael Amar seeks solace on an elephant conservation program in South Africa’s Kruger […]
Read MoreProtectors of the Wood – Series, John Kixmiller
The Protectors of the Wood Adventure Novel Series is the fully illustrated story of a group of misfit teenagers who save the world from climate change. -Goodreads Part 1. Phoebe Comes Home Goodreads Review Back to GoodReads Part 2. Phoebe Breaks Through Goodreads Review Back to GoodReads Part 3. The […]
Read MoreThe Old Axolotl: Hardware Dreams, Jacek Dukaj
The Old Axolotl is an exhilarating post-apocalyptic tale about a world in which a cosmic catastrophe has sterilized the Earth of all living things. Only a small number of humans have managed to copy digitalized versions of their minds onto hardware in the nick of time. Deprived of physical bodies, […]
Read MoreMetro 2033, Dmitry Glukhovsky
The year is 2033. The world has been reduced to rubble. Humanity is nearly extinct. The half-destroyed cities have become uninhabitable through radiation. Beyond their boundaries, they say, lie endless burned-out deserts and the remains of splintered forests. Survivors still remember the past greatness of humankind. But the last remains […]
Read MoreWhere Oceans Hide their Dead, John Yunker
The long-awaited sequel to The Tourist Trail…Robert Porter has quit the FBI in search of his long-lost (and presumed dead) love, Noa, only to find himself on the wind-raked shores of Southern Africa working for a seal-rescue organization. When a confrontation with local sealers ends in murder, Robert must abandon […]
Read MoreWar Girls, Tochi Onyebuchi
The year is 2172. Climate change and nuclear disasters have rendered much of earth unlivable. Only the lucky ones have escaped to space colonies in the sky. In a war-torn Nigeria, battles are fought using flying, deadly mechs and soldiers are outfitted with bionic limbs and artificial organs meant to […]
Read MoreRègne Animale, Jean-Baptiste Del Amo
There’s a host of discussions about climate change, land and animals, including French literary big-hitter Jean-Baptiste del Amo whose novel Animalia transports us to life in a pigsty. –Bogotá Post Jean-Baptiste Del Amo: dopo Céline e Houellebecq la Francia celebra il suo nuovo grande scrittore apocalittico, duro, violento… Una voce […]
Read MoreEmpire of the Wild, Cherie Dimaline
From the author of the YA-crossover hit The Marrow Thieves, a propulsive, stunning and sensuous novel inspired by the traditional Métis story of the Rogarou–a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of Métis communities. A messed-up, grown-up, Little Red Riding Hood. -Goodreads Goodreads Reviews Back to Goodreads
Read MoreThe Orchardist’s Daughter, Karen Viggers
The theme of conservation runs strong in all four of Karen Vigger’s works. She trained as a domestic and wildlife veterinarian and loves the great outdoors. This strong attachment to nature appeals to her readers across the world. –rFI Set in the old-growth eucalypt forests and vast rugged mountains of […]
Read MoreThe Forbidden Place, Susanne Jansson
A book, television show, or movie set somewhere in Scandinavia leads the reader or viewer to expect dark, foreboding landscapes and ominous, threatening events. Susanne Jansson’s sparkling debut novel The Forbidden Place fulfills these expectations in a myriad of absorbing ways. –Run Spot Run In the remote Swedish wetlands lies […]
Read MoreMary Knight’s Saving Wonder, Review by Kimberly Christensen
Saving Wonder by Mary Knight Hardcover, 288 pages Published February 23rd, 2016, by Scholastic Review by Kimberly Christensen Curley Hines and his grandpa love their mountains and their way of life, even though mining accidents that happened on the mountains claimed the lives of their family members. Still, most everyone […]
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