Tag Archives: POC

The Meaning of Consuelo, by Judith Ortiz Cofer

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Thistle

Set in the 1950s in rapidly-modernizing Puerto Rico, this is a coming of age story similar to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Consuelo Signe is growing up in a four-person home, with parents who cannot get along and a younger … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang

Posted on March 19, 2009 by Thistle

This is one of the most bizarre books I’ve read in a long time. I’m not quite sure what to say about it. It’s a graphic novel that intertwines three separate stories in a way I never would have guessed … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Visual, Young Adult | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Habibi, by Naomi Shihab Nye

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Thistle

Did people who committed acts of violence think their victims and their victims’ relatives would just forget? Didn’t people see? How violence went on and on like a terrible wheel? Could you stand in front of a wheel to make … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Extras, by Scott Westerfeld

Posted on March 3, 2009 by Thistle

Extras is the fourth book in the Uglies trilogy. Yes, I did mean that. The dedication for Extras says, “To everyone who wrote me to reveal the secret definition of the word ‘trilogy.’” In other words, Westerfeld wrote this book … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Shadows on the Grass, by Isak Dinesen

Posted on February 21, 2009 by Thistle

I read Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (pen name for Baroness Karen Blixen) about a year ago. It was an interesting book, a memoir about Blixen’s experiences in Africa. She lived there nearly two decades, and had much interaction … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini

Posted on February 17, 2009 by Thistle

This book is about two women, Miriam and Laila, who are married to the same abusive man, Rasheed, in Kabul. The two women are about twenty years apart in age, and the book explores their lives prior to, during, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sky Burial, by Xinran

Posted on February 16, 2009 by Thistle

This book was surprisingly captivating, interesting, and fast. I began to read it last night, and within an hour, I’d gone through the first quarter. The book is sort of a memoir-in-proxy. Xinran is a journalist, and in 1994 met … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Thistle

Minor spoilers. Rather than post a plot summary of this book, I’d rather take you through my thoughts about the story as I went along. This book blew all my expectations out of the water, simply put. I expected to … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden

Posted on November 16, 2008 by Thistle

All I can say is – wow. This book is utterly amazing. Considering it came out in the last decade or so, that’s really extravagant praise from me. Nearly every word was perfect (though I thought the “translater’s note” at … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

In the Land of Invisible Women, by Qanta A. Ahmed

Posted on October 23, 2008 by Thistle

I hardly know what to say about this book. I’ve been trying to read it for the last two weeks, and though it’s only 437 pages long, I struggled to get through it. I don’t want to say it’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment