There’s a lot that’s familiar with the world May inhabits. It’s debatable whether that imagined future is realistic or dystopic, but either way it’s a depressing and claustrophobic place.
Author Archives: Elisabeth Ring
‘Glory’ Asks Good Questions of Young Readers
Some Desperate Glory is an ambitious story in a lot of ways, and doesn’t have time to explore each issue fully. For the most part, Tesh knows this, and shows that her characters are only just starting to grapple with the long process of un- and re-learning.
‘Doors’ A Lovely, if Tangled, Tale
What initially seems like naivety or secondhand confessional turns out to be something far lovelier, and more than worth the time it takes to get there.
‘Fever’ a Little Known but Familiar History
In detailing this little-known series of events, Fever provides a reminder that our fraught political landscape is nothing new, nor is a swift wave that threatens to sweep society back a few decades.
‘Thornhedge’ Twists Fairy Tale Cozily
At just 128 pages long, Thornhedge is a sweet little fairy-tale snack with some substance to boot.
‘Art Thief’ a Compelling Portrait of Greed
The Art Thief is a slim book, under 200 pages. The story is riveting enough to make the pages fly by. The questions Stephane’s philosophy and crime stir up will last much longer than that.
‘Promises’ a Truly Golden Collection
Whether or not I was Olivarez’s target audience, I found myself profoundly moved by many poems in this collection.
‘Extinction’ a Multi-Layer Puzzle
The Extinction of Irena Rey is a layer cake of fascinating and thought-provoking elements, all of them strong enough to hold a story on their own but working together deliciously.
‘Liberty’s Daughter’ Balances Play with a Dark Underbelly
Liberty’s Daughter is a story about finding your way in the world—an easy message to relate to, even for those of us living on dry land.
A Dizzy Summer Recounted in a New Light in ‘Tom Lake’
Pachett draws out Lara’s pivotal summer in a haze of stretched-out days that really do feel like the kind of summer that lasts far longer than the calendar suggests.