Dona's Book Blog

Thank you to the author Ghessan Zeinnedine, publishers Tin House, and thank you as always to NetGalley, for an advance digital copy. All views are mine. By the time I finished reading this collection, I felt as if I'd made a dozen new friends. The character work here is so rich, and the storytelling surprising and rewarding. I'm quite looking forward to my second read of this collection! 1. "The Actors of Dearborn" - Two Lebonese men, one the child of immigrants and the other living in the US on an expired work visa, use acting to help them deal with their daily pressures. 2. "Speedoman" - A stranger in strange attire arrives at the community pool and grabs everyone's attention-- and their wallets! Top 3! 3. "Money Chickens" - A small business owner finds a curious place to hide his illicit earnings. 4. "Marsaille" - coming soon! 5. "I Have Reason to Believe My Neighbor is a Terrorist" - One woman goes to extreme...

Thank you to the author Safiya Sinclair, publishers 37Ink, and TLC Book Tours, for an advance paperback copy of ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ sᴀʏ ʙᴀʙʏʟᴏɴ. Thank you also to NetGalley for an accomanying widget. All views are mine. ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ sᴀʏ ʙᴀʙʏʟᴏɴ is a stunning memoir in which the author tells of her upbringing that was all the things we should never think of when we think of family. Religious abuse.  Cruel beatings. Going hungry. And yet, Safiya kept the spark inside her alive, not just to survive her young life, but to become a creative writer-- to gain the voice she'd always been denied. It's a moving book, full of pain and meaning. Three (or more) things I loved: 1. I love all the details about the Rastafari way of life. I especially appreciate the information that "Rasta is not a religion..." [My] father always says, echoing the edict he drilled into me and my siblings growing up. “Rasta is a calling. A way of life.” There is no united doctrine, no holy book to learn th...

Thank you to the author Maria DeBlassie, publishers Kitchen Witch Press, and Henry Roi PR, for an advance digital copy of WEEP, WOMAN, WEEP. All views are mine. This novella is magical. What a fantastic piece of writing. The technique is solid and DeBlassie's voice is addictive. All she needs is a killer story, and she's got that, too. Here's an early sweet Halloween treat. Three (or more) things I loved: 1. The way DeBlassie utilizes her time element is so creative and feeds into the sort of chaotic feel of this piece. We have a narrator more than willing to say, Here we are in the story, no wait I didn't tell you about this yet, oh yeah that thing back there, I lied about that, here's what really happened. This adds so much to the shape of the narrative, and it also brings me to the next thing I love about this novella, down below. 2. Such a fresh,creative, fun execution of the unreliable narrator! It's not that the narrator is untrustworthy, or ...

Thank you to the author Trisha MacEnulty, publishers LivingstonPress, and Henry Roi PR, for an advance digital copy of ᴄɪɴɴᴀᴍᴏɴ ɢɪʀʟ. All views are mine. This is a lively tale about a girl living in the sixties and seventies.The book has a wonderful "memoir"-like feel that is so intimate and believable. Even though I found in my read, the main character, Eli, is annoying in the way of overzealous young people, I still liked her and invested in the story her life tells in this book. Three (or more) things I loved: 1. The issues of racism are being written, from the perspective of well-meaning but ignorant white girl learning about the depth of the problem for the first time. I think this perspective matters, not to teach about these issues, but as an example that the learning can and should be done. Beautiful character work. 2. The innocence of this fifteen year old on the road and out on her own for the first time is so well depicted. Oral sex must be some serio...

Thank you to the author Bettina L. Love, publishers St. Martin's Press, and as always NetGalley, for an advance digital copy of ᴘᴜɴɪsʜᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍɪɴɢ . All views are mine. Black life in America is itself a trigger, from the moment you open your eyes in the morning until you close them at night—and even then, your nightmares are White rage and violence. Loc. 3808 This is a book about education and about how racism in the US prohibits students of color from accessing the vast educational resources that belong to every child in this country as a national right, how the lack of access to proper education affects these students' entire lives, and the reparations the author proposes to begin correcting the educational deficit students of color have historically been forced to accept.  Beautifully organized and composed, ᴘᴜɴɪsʜᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍɪɴɢ is not just a source of excellent content, it's also a pleasure to read. Whether you're reading this because you're a b...

Thank you to the author Kim Coleman Foote, publishers SJP Lit, and NetGalley for an digital copy. All views are mine. Opening quote: People will go after you for combining poverty and abuse. . . . [P] eople will say there’s poverty without abuse, and you will never say anything. . . . This is a story about love, you know that. . . . Because we all love imperfectly. —Elizabeth Strout, My Name Is Lucy Barton  loc.44 Three (or more) things I loved: 1. This writing is so gorgeous, holy sh-t. The intense beat keeps the book moving even though I haven't read anything this heavy since ROOTS. I can't even pick a passage, at least not yet, because the whole thing is so moving... 2.Foote's descriptions of human state are wonderfully and terribly detailed. For example, accute addiction: You ain’t gotten off the parlor sofa in days, and you know you need to. The state’ll take away your children and the landlord’ll run you out the house if you don’t get back...

Thank you to the author 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳, publishers Thomas Nelson, and NetGalley for a digital review copy. All views are mine. This is a cute closed-door romance with a lot of miscommunication and a great deal of forgiveness and grace given. This isn't always a winning combination, but turns out to be here, despite my resistance. Please find below, my honest reactions as I read. Three things I loved: 1. Third person from two perspectives. First of all, I like the third person style choice. Also, it works here with the alternating perspectives. Alternating first person gets confusing as the narrative voice is often difficult to distinguish. 2. I love the pacing of this romance! When a couple gets together too fast in a romance, it makes me apprehensive; too slow, I get bored. This was just write! 3. Mr. Fielding and his tree and what they say about growing up in small towns and going home again. 4. I loved the unlikeable Brynn! That gal's got some growin...

Thank you to the author Vanessa Miller publishers Thomas Nelson, and TLC Book Tours for an advance paperback copy of THE LIGHT ON HALSEY STREET. Thank you also to NetGalley for an accomanying widget. All views are mine. For me, this beautiful story about grace, faith, and friendship really comes together in the second half! Three (or more) things I loved: 1. This is a really brilliant concept. A young black woman gets out of prison, starts a business, and builds herself back in from nothing. Pick me for that story!    2. I love that Dana repeatedly helps her mother, long after many people would cut her out of their lives. And it isn't about forgiveness, necessarily, or expecting more from her mother "this time." It’s about Dana being able to extend her mother grace. 3. I don't know yet where this book is going...it gets really twisty and full of wonderful conflict at the 2/3 point. 4. Not sure if the writers means this straight but she really reveals t...

Thank you to the author Margaret Meyer, publishers Scribner, and as always NetGalley, for an advance audio copy of THE WITCHING TIDE. Martha is a mute midwife in 17th century England, who uses a form of sign language to communicate with those who are close to her. She's so different and aloof, and there's her proximity to every still birth in the last ten years, not to mention every birth defect, every single pregnancy. Once Makepeace, the witch hunter, comes to town, it isn't long before the townspeople set him on her scent. I read this book twice, as the first time through, I didn't keep up well with all the narrative turns. It's definitely a twisty, suspenseful tale, and the second time through, I was hooked. This time, I was more prepared for the wild plot, so I had no trouble following the many threads. Even though this book is not written in multiple timelines or perspectives, Meyer provides abundant detail about all the secondary characters, set...

Thank you to the author Patty Lin, publisher Zibby Books, and as always NetGalley for an advance digital copy of ᴇɴᴅ ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛs. All opinions are mine What an excellent read! Both funny and touching-- I've read many Hollywood insider stories, but never one from a series writer. It was so enlightening, and it made me sympathize more with the writers on strike right now! Three (or more) things I loved: 1. I connected so much to Linn's discussion about her childhood, from having no clue about her period when it started, to craving validation from any and all adults because she wasn't getting it at home, to being a creative lost in a family of science minded people. 2. Friends is one of my favorite shows. I've watched all the seasons at least five times. I loved reading Lin's memories about writing some of its greatest jokes. My favorite bit was about Lin jumping in as an extra and working for David Schwimmer, who was directing that day: David Schwimmer, who w...