THE PLOT: Broadwater by Jac Shreeves-Lee is a collection of interconnected short stories set on the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham. An area with a lot of black residents, Broadwater is often stereotyped as ‘rough’. The IRL community is … Continue reading Review: Broadwater
THE PLOT: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is about twins, Desiree and Stella Vignes. They grow up in a small town in 60’s Louisiana but dream of escape. After running away to New Orleans at sixteen years old, the … Continue reading Review: The Vanishing Half
THE PLOT: A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes is about the women of the Trojan War. A retelling of the Odyssey and Iliad from the perspective of the female characters, it’s built on the premise that heroes aren’t only men. … Continue reading Review: A Thousand Ships
THE PLOT: Nuri is a successful beekeeper in Aleppo. He runs a large business creating and exporting honey with his cousin Mustapha. When war breaks out Nuri’s wants to leave Syria but his wife, Afra, refuses to go. As the … Continue reading Review: The Beekeeper of Aleppo
THE PLOT: An illegitimate child of a wealthy man, Mariam is forced to marry and move to Kabul from Herat. She lives a hard life with her much older husband throughout the late 70’s and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. … Continue reading Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns
THE PLOT: Where the Crawdads Sing is the story of Kya aka the Marsh Girl. Growing up in poverty in 40’s North Carolina, she’s abandoned by her family and lives alone in a Marshland shack. Fending for herself, she comes … Continue reading Review: Where the Crawdads Sing
THE PLOT: On Christmas Eve in 1617, a storm ravaged the Norwegian Island of Vardø. Most of the men drowned while fishing at sea, leaving a community of women behind. This novel is inspired by those real-life events, focusing on … Continue reading Review: The Mercies
THE PLOT: Tidelands is set in 1648 during the English Civil War. The protagonist is a poor fisherwife, Alinor Reekie, who has been abandoned by her husband. Alinor lives on an impoverished island off the Sussex Coast and supports her … Continue reading Review: Tidelands
THE PLOT: Black Tea is a memoir that recounts an Englishman’s love affair with Russia. In the 70’s, Stephen Morris grows up with a map of the USSR on his wall. He’s fascinated by the country and makes his first … Continue reading Review: Black Tea
Book review of The Hate You Give, a young adult novel by Angie Thomas Continue reading Review: The Hate You Give
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