so-soI didn‘t love it…which honestly, comes as a surprise because everything else I‘ve read by Russell I really enjoyed. It has the right ingredients—interesting setting (Dust Bowl), a witch, a sentient scarecrow, a mystery, but…BUT, it‘s ponderous & slow moving, told in multiple POVs which aren‘t all that distinctive, & somehow (impossibly) devoid of emotional depth. I really should have cared about these characters & I just didn‘t. Just a so-so read.
bailedI was glad to have seen some of the somewhat ambivalent reviews of this from other Littens, because it made it easier to bail when it wasn‘t working for me. I gave the audio about an hour and a half and I was just so bored.
pickThe beauty of the Alaskan wilderness is on full display here in this modern take on the Beauty and the Beast fairytale. Although Birdie has community support raising her daughter she feels stifled by their always watching eyes. When Arthur offers her an opportunity to live in solitude, nature and maybe even love, it seems like the answer she‘s needed to make a positive change for her and Emaleen. 3.5🌟
Thank you #NetGalley!
pickHistorical fiction steeped in magical realism unfolds here in a pre-technicolor Oz of Uz, NE. Beautifully written with multiple perspectives, the story comes from the titular Antidote, a Prairie Witch practiced in banking memories away from their experiencer, Asphodel, a fearless orphan obsessed with basketball & new love , her uncle, a farmer who finds sudden fortune after Black Sunday, Cleo, a New Deal photographer, a scarecrow & a cat!
pickOhh, this was so good and atmospheric. Nine times out of ten if I‘m going call a book atmospheric it‘s going to be set in the PNW and you can‘t get more north than Alaska. I loved how this one ended. Werebears anyone 🐻
pickIn 90's Edmonton, Molly MacGregor dreams of a life worthy of her adored Penguin Classics and of writing The Great Canadian/Edmontonian Novel. But summers selling shoes at West Edmonton Mall and semesters with pretentious English Lit profs don't seem to be cutting it. But this year, she just might find truth and beauty in the place she finds herself.
Charming, witty, and thoroughly delightful. I loved spending time with Molly. Highly recommend!
"Last night, I found myself perusing the shelves in our family library the way one might gaze reflectively into the refrigerator looking for that perfect bedtime snack."
