Book review: Long Bright River — by Liz Moore

(Riverhead Books) Two sisters were born to a mother who died young, a victim of the opioid addiction crisis, and their paths diverged. One excelled in school, then became a police officer, patrolling the decaying Philadelphia neighborhood where the girls grew up. The other succumbed early to addiction, worked those same streets for money, and nearly lost her life multiple times. Now those streets are even more dangerous. Girls, just like officer Mickey’s sister Kacey, are turning up dead, and Kacey is missi … (read more)

(Harper) Peggy Orenstein, bestselling author of “Girls & Sex,” returns with a companion book, subtitled “Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity.” She spent over two years talking to young men between the ages of 16 a … (read more)

(Tin House Books) A memoir penned by a poet is pure delight to read, and this particular poet has penned an astonishing memoir. First the structure is unique: Koh translated letters, composed in Korean, that her mother sent to her over the course of the y … (read more)

(Flatiron Books) Hailed in the book world as the most anticipated book of 2020, “American Dirt” has already won accolades from multiple esteemed writers and critics: Stephen King, Tara Conklin, and more. Hannah Beckerman of The Guardian says “it is hard t … (read more)

(Grove Press) In a thoroughly readable, engaging and informative book, author Ada Calhoun delineates many of the extenuating factors — not excuses — for why middle-aged women are plagued with unmanageable insecurities. She interviewed women across the cou … (read more)

G. P. Putnam’s Sons It’s refreshing to start the new year with a new perspective. And it’s refreshing to start reading a fun, contemporary new novel and find at the end that you’ve walked a mile in someone else’s shoes. Caught between two important people … (read more)

(Trinity University Press) When Vermont writer Leath Tonino headed out west for college, a friend predicted, “the west will swallow you.” Luckily for us, Tonino hasn’t forgotten his Vermont roots, and in his writing, his strong sense of self and place has … (read more)

(Islandport Press) Vermont writer and wilderness professional Sam Brakeley (he’s an EMT, former ski patroller, search and rescue team member, trail builder, etc.) doesn’t actually ski with Henry Knox. In fact, it’s been almost 250 years since General Knox … (read more)

(Grove Press)   Albert Woodfox, who spent 43 years and 10 months in solitary confinement, and Robert King,  who spent 29 years in solitary, two of the Angola Three housed at the notorious Angola Penitentiary, spoke at Harvard Law School on March 8, 2017. … (read more)

(Candlewick Press) The winter solstice, as many readers know, is a day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. It’s also the first official day of winter. This year it falls on Saturday, Dec. 21. Also called midwinter, Yule … (read more)

(Houghton Mifflin) Maurice Isserman is a virtual encyclopedia of skiing and mountaineering lore and history, and to the reader’s benefit, it is on full display in this fascinating look at the 10th Mountain Division, or as Isserman describes them, “America … (read more)

(Riverhead Books) Much of what has been taught in schools, and propagated through popular culture about the role of Indians (the term used by the author throughout this book) in America’s early colonies and westward expansion, are myths. For instance, whe … (read more)

(Doubleday Books) Critically acclaimed Newfoundland author Michael Crummey’s new novel transports the reader to another time, another place. What begins as a story of survival — a sister and brother orphaned at young ages, odds already stacked against the … (read more)

(Houghton Mifflin) There are a multitude of YouTube stars these days, I know, but bear with me, I believe Andrew Rea, best known for creating the “Binging with Babish” channel, is the real deal. As Andrew writes in his introduction (which is moving, raw a … (read more)

(Atria Books) When we meet Jacob Marley in Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” and yes, this is the selfsame man in Jon Clinch’s delectable new novel, he is a haggard specter, weighted down with heavy chains. It is his desire to save Scrooge from a similar fate … (read more)