Book Review
When Shadows Burn
by Leah Block
Both eerie and lighthearted, the novel "When Shadows Burn" ties mysteries from the past into contemporary small-town disappearances. A man investigates the haunted house from his childhood in Todd Brown’s supernatural thriller "When...
Book Review
Sexbots of the Underground City
by Leah Block
"Sexbots of the Underground City" is a bittersweet satirical novel set in a fascist society. In Tiger Shane’s lively dystopian novel "Sexbots of the Underground City", a woman is on a mission to find her brother. Unlike most people in...
Book Review
Trance
by Leah Block
In K. L. Denman’s engrossing Hi-Lo novel "Trance", a perfectionist teenager loses control. Kira has a tight handle on her life and on her best friend Brigid’s psychic powers. When a horrible accident leaves Brigid’s client dead,...
Book Review
Owls, Doughnuts, and Democracy
by Leah Block
A mother works to improve her government and her family in the revealing novel "Owls, Doughnuts, and Democracy". A woman with political ambitions teams up with a knowledgeable octogenarian to effect change in Jason A. N. Taylor’s...
Book Review
EnWorld
by Leah Block
A masterful satirization of contemporary society’s sins, "EnWorld" is an engaging supernatural novel. In Leland James’s whip-smart corporate satire "EnWorld", Satan and his devilish subordinates are on a quest to strip the world of...
Book Review
American Lit
by Leah Block
A vulnerable, intelligent teenager navigates grief and his changing relationships in the absorbing novel "American Lit". A gay teenager navigates parental grief and neglect, a flirtation with his English teacher, and an unexpected...
Book Review
Drought
by Leah Block
In Scott Alexander Hess’s pastoral novel "Drought", an isolated man inherits a farm and learns about the estranged relative who left it to him. When Parnell, an aimless orphan, inherits a tobacco farm from his Uncle Willy, he moves to...
Book Review
One of the Boys
by Leah Block
Victoria Zeller’s humorous coming-of-age novel "One of the Boys" follows a transgender teenager’s changing relationship with the football team she left behind. Grace, a high school senior, gives football one more chance after...