Fiction Archives - Page 21 of 172

Eleven Diverse Audiobooks in Verse [in School Library Journal]

01 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Arab American, Audio, Black/African American, Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Filipina/o American, Indian American, Korean American, Latina/o/x, Lists, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, South Asian American, Syrian American, Verse Novel/Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

April is National Poetry Month. Of course, reading, writing, and performing poetry can and should be done any time of the year, but April encourages newbies and doubters to give verses a try. Audiobooks are a particularly effective medium for poetry, with well-chosen narrators enhancing and...

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters [in Booklist]

31 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Repost

As the anointed February 2021 title of literary überstar Roxane Gay’s “Audacious Book Club,” Peters’ debut novel is surely facing demand in multiple formats. Renata Friedman, with just over a dozen solo credits, immediately embodies the provocative narrative, effortlessly adapting her flexible voice to a...

Author Interview: Kaitlyn Greenidge [in Shelf Awareness]

30 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Black/African American, Fiction, Repost

"I Write for Black Women" Kaitlyn Greenidge's debut novel, We Love You, Charlie Freeman, won the 2017 Whiting Award and was among the New York Times Critics' Top 10 Books of 2016. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Whiting Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts...

There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura, translated by Polly Barton [in Shelf Awareness]

29 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Translation

Kikuko Tsumura has already won major Japanese literary prizes – most often writing about women in the workplace. Her U.S. fiction debut, There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job, smoothly translated by award-winning Polly Barton, features a 36-year-old unnamed working woman, her anonymity convincingly...

The Lost Package by Richard Ho, illustrated by Jessica Lanan [in Shelf Awareness]

26 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction, Repost

*STARRED REVIEW "Serendipity" perhaps best describes Richard Ho's (Red Rover) second picture book, The Lost Package, enhanced by writer/artist Jessica Lanan's (The Fisherman & the Whale) superbly expressive watercolors. Together, the creative pair present a wondrous story about separation and near-magical reunion. Under the watchful eye of a...

Serena Singh Flips the Script by Sonya Lalli [in Booklist]

25 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

Actor/dancer Ulka Simone Mohanty confidently makes her solo debut and is clearly poised to become a chosen voice for contemporary South Asian American protagonists. Her versatility is immediately clear as she effortlessly ciphers Sonya Lalli’s (Grown-Up Pose, 2020) diverse cast: beyond career-driven exec Serena Singh,...

Amphibians by Lara Tupper [in Shelf Awareness]

24 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Repost, Short Stories

Mobility, adaptability, and colorful changes are confronted by the girls and women in Lara Tupper's nimble interlinked collection, aptly titled Amphibians. Although each memorable story easily stands alone, to seek and recognize the deft connections intensifies the reading experience. Unnamed narrators bookend the collection, requiring...

I’m Waiting for You: And Other Stories by Bo-Young Kim, translated by Sophie Bowman and Sung Ryu [in Shelf Awareness]

23 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Korean, Repost, Short Stories, Translation

As impressive as Kim Bo-Young's intriguing stories are, their literary provenance is equally entertaining. "I wrote 'I'm Waiting for You' for one person to read and one person to hear, with no ambitions of it ever being published," Kim reveals in her author's note. An...

Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge [in Shelf Awareness]

22 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Black/African American, Fiction, Repost

*STARRED REVIEW Kaitlyn Greenidge wowed the literary world with her disturbingly delightful debut novel, We Love You, Charlie Freeman; her follow-up, Libertie, shows no hints of sophomore slump. Inspired by Susan Smith McKinney Steward, New York's first Black female doctor (and the third U.S. Black woman...

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire by Joy McCullough [in Booklist]

19 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Latina/o/x, Nonethnic-specific, Poetry, Repost, Verse Novel/Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Invoking the shocking Chanel Miller case, Joy McCullough introduces a mixed Guatemalan/presumed-to-be-white family in which older daughter Elinor is brutally raped; although found guilty, the rapist is released for “time served.” Despite best intentions, younger daughter Marianne’s social justice-driven public outrage only causes further damage...

Illegal: A Disappeared Novel by Francisco X. Stork [in School Library Journal]

17 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Latina/o/x, Mexican, Mexican American, Repost, Young Adult Readers

Narrators Roxana Ortega and Christian Barillas resume the high-octane energy of the Zapata siblings introduced in Francisco X. Stork’s heart-thumping Disappeared. Separated after surviving the treacherous crossing over the U.S. border, former journalist Sara remains imprisoned in the Fort Stockton Detention Center, while teen Emiliano...

Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia [in School Library Journal]

16 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Latina/o/x, Middle Grade Readers, Repost

Following the success of her lauded “We Set the Dark on Fire” duology, Tehlor Kay Mejia makes her middle grade debut, proving mothers are always right, ghosts exist, and La Llorona is legit. From 12 to eternal, desperate parent to dismissive cop, madwoman to murderer,...

Chlorine Sky by Mahogany L. Browne [in Booklist]

15 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Poetry, Repost, Verse Novel/Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Mahogany L. Browne takes aural control of her novel-in-verse – a first novel for the prolific poet and writer (Black Girl Magic, 2018) – enhancing her story with soft, determined rhythms. “ME & LAY LI AIN’T TALKING,” Browne opens, “cause she think she cute / cause...

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson [in Library Journal]

12 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Repost, Young Adult Readers

Before the story even begins, the recording opens with a content warning for sexual abuse, rape, assault, child abuse, kidnapping, and opioid addiction. Tiffany D. Jackson’s (Let Me Hear a Rhyme) latest has all that and worse: the gruesome opening chapter introduces 17-year-old Enchanted Jones...

My Tree by Hope Lim, illustrated by Il Sung Na [in Shelf Awareness]

11 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Korean American, Repost

Author/illustrators Hope Lim (I Am a Bird) and Il Sung Na (The Dreamer) form an ideal #OwnVoices Korean American partnership in My Tree, which follows an immigrant child's quest for "home." In the backyard of the new house stands "an old tree. Tall, crooked, quiet." Reminded...

Anxious People by Frederik Backman, translated by Neil Smith [in Library Journal]

09 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Swedish, Translation, Uncategorized

*STARRED REVIEW Marin Ireland has a mere couple dozen audio credits – the majority of them in the last few years – yet she’s undoubtedly one of the industry’s most versatile, consistently stupendous narrators. Returning for her third Fredrick Backman pairing, Ireland superbly brings to life...

Seven Special Somethings: A Nowruz Story by Adib Khorram, illustrated by Zainab Faidhi [in Shelf Awareness]

08 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Persian, Persian American, Repost

Persian American Adib Khorram joyfully and playfully celebrates his heritage in Seven Special Somethings, his picture book debut, following his award-winning Darius the Great YA duology. Khorram is partnered with fellow debut picture book creator Zainab Faidhi, an Iraq-born artist whose animation background provides each page...

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia [in Booklist]

04 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Cuban, Cuban American, Fiction, Latina/o/x, Mexican, Mexican American, Repost

Gabriela Garcia turns her MFA thesis for Purdue University (where she studied with the revered Roxane Gay) into her widely buzzed first novel. Presented in 12 chapters that read more like interlinked stories, Garcia channels her Miami-based Cuban-Mexican American heritage into five generations of a...

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro [in Booklist]

02 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, British, British Asian, Fiction, Repost

With echoes of themes in his internationally lauded Never Let Me Go (2005) – that life can be manufactured, bartered, bought – Booker-ed, Nobel-ed, and knighted Kazuo Ishiguro presents a bittersweet fable about the human heart as “[s]omething that makes each of us special and...

Are You Enjoying by Mira Sethi [in Booklist]

01 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Pakistani, Repost, Short Stories, South Asian

*STARRED REVIEW Mira Sethi showcases her literary lineage as the daughter of internationally renowned, award-winning journalists Najam Sethi and Jugnu Mohsin, and the younger sister of lauded author and musician Ali Sethi. Already an established actor and journalist, Sethi makes her fiction debut with six partially...

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