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Chika Gujarathi

Children's & YAPicture Book

Strut your stuff

Review by Chika Gujarathi

It’s a little ironic to judge Derrick Barnes’ Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by its cover, but this picture book is all about making a good appearance, so why not? The boy on Crown’s cover is beaming with pride—nothing can keep him down. Behold the alchemy of a good haircut on a black boy’s soul.

Inspired by his own weekly childhood haircuts by a man named Mr. Tony, Barnes tells a story of a young boy who walks into a barbershop with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and walks out looking and feeling like he can handle anything. Ace that geography exam? Sure! Impress that girl? Absolutely. Rule the world? You know it. This boy’s got it made. A fresh haircut in the barber’s chair is transformative, allowing the boy to see the world as a little less overwhelming and more as a place to belong and be happy.

Positive self-esteem is a fragile commodity among children, especially those from diverse backgrounds. With vibrant illustrations from Gordon C. James, Crown is an extraordinary and fun reminder that embracing your looks and putting your best foot forward are the first steps in tackling anything. Because when you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, the sky is the limit.

It’s a little ironic to judge Derrick Barnes’ Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by its cover, but this picture book is all about making a good appearance, so why not? The boy on Crown’s cover is beaming with pride—nothing can keep him down. Behold the alchemy of a good haircut on a black boy’s soul.

Children's & YAPicture Book

A message for all women

Review by Chika Gujarathi

With this wonderful picture book, the late Amy Krouse Rosenthal and her daughter, Paris, encourage young girls to always be bold and fearless.

An advice book of sorts, Dear Girl, is filled with lessons that remind the reader to be inquisitive, to defy gender stereotypes and to love oneself no matter what. But what makes the Rosenthals’ book slightly different from other female empowerment children’s books is that it also stresses the importance of the lesser-known virtues of being bored from time to time, listening to your gut and saying no, and even having a good cry when necessary. Girls can move mountains, but there is no shame in spending a day writing in a journal or staring out the window. Accompanying illustrations from Holly Hatam, a perfect blend of minimalism and whimsy, make this message pop.

Dear Girl, feels like the warm embrace that every parent wants to give their child when the going gets tough. With a sense of wonder, kindness and creativity, this book carries on Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s legacy of being fun and delightful while spreading a message to girls and women of all ages to believe in themselves.

With this wonderful picture book, the late Amy Krouse Rosenthal and her daughter, Paris, encourage young girls to always be bold and fearless.

FictionPopular Fiction

A new lease on life

Review by Chika Gujarathi

Nora Stuart could have lived her whole life without ever again stepping foot in her hometown, the tiny island of Scupper, Maine, where she spent her first 15 years being too chubby, too smart and too lonely. But then she gets hit by a Beantown Bug Killer van while crossing the street near the Boston hospital where she works as a gastroenterologist.

When she awakes in a hospital bed, happy to know that death has spared her, she knows it’s time to go back home and set things right. One might expect a homecoming 15 years in the making to be met with hugs, at least from one’s own mother, but that’s not the case for Nora—not that she’s surprised.

Armed with humor and an unshakable faith in happiness, Nora returns home to discover her stoic mother has a strange new side hustle, her niece is an eye-rolling, punk-rock teenager, and the rest of her high school class has all grown up. It’s clear to Nora that healing her wounds, both physical and emotional, won’t be as easy as she’d hoped.

As Nora deals with burgeoning romances, old family secrets, sad realities and hopeful new alliances, bestselling author Kristan Higgins adds humor at every opportunity to Now That You Mention It and proves that it is possible to deal with our past demons without losing our minds.

This page-turner is filled with laughs, nostalgia and the seemingly outlandish suggestion that sometimes being hit by a van is exactly what one needs to venture back home.

 

This article was originally published in the January 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Nora Stuart could have lived her whole life without ever again stepping foot in her hometown, the tiny island of Scupper, Maine, where she spent her first 15 years being too chubby, too smart and too lonely. But then she gets hit by a Beantown Bug Killer van while crossing the street near the Boston hospital where she works as a gastroenterologist.

FictionPopular Fiction

Expats in a harrowing mystery

Review by Chika Gujarathi

At some point in our life, many of us have dreamed of taking the leap and moving abroad to a new country. In Jessica Keener’s new novel, Strangers in Budapest, we meet Will and Annie Gordon, a young couple from Boston, who are brave enough to make this dream a reality.

The year is 1995, and Hungary is now rebuilding after the fall of communism. For Will, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to set up a communications business in Budapest, and tap into the unfathomable progress that is bound to follow. For Annie, supporting her husband in this endeavor is a no-brainer, but secretly she is more excited about exploring a new city void of her sad past, and bonding with her adopted infant son, Leo.

Keener starts the story when Will and Annie have already been in Budapest for eight months. The spell of a new city has long worn off, and their reality mostly includes putting up with bureaucracy and cultural differences that have yet to catch up with the changing times. A diversion comes when a mysterious fax from their old neighbor in Boston begs Will and Annie to check on a man named Edward Weiss.

Edward is old, frail and, from what Will and Annie can tell, perpetually pissed off. Will is happy to check on him this once, as requested, and move on, but Annie is oddly drawn to Edward’s rude and brutally honest temperament. She keeps going back to see him and eventually finds herself tangled up in a vendetta that the old man refuses to let go.

Keener expertly weaves together a story that not only showcases an expat life, but also shares the tragedies, memories and grudges of strangers in a beautiful city who are more connected than they have come to believe.

At some point in our life, many of us have dreamed of taking the leap and moving abroad to a new country. In Jessica Keener’s new novel, Strangers in Budapest, we meet Will and Annie Gordon, a young couple from Boston, who are brave enough to make this dream a reality.

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Building a life, one step at a time

Review by Chika Gujarathi

In David Barclay Moore’s page-turning debut novel, The Stars Beneath Our Feet, Wallace “Lolly” Rachpaul isn’t even a teenager yet, but growing up in the projects of New York City has stripped him of anything resembling a normal childhood. Every day is a battle to keep away from the neighborhood gangs and to avoid the fate of his older brother, Jermaine. Jermaine’s shooting death just a few months earlier has added a level of anger and frustration to Lolly’s life that he doesn’t quite know how to handle.

Thankfully, the adage “it takes a village” holds true on the streets of Harlem, as Lolly finds that the community he resents also provides a sort of respite from reality. Mr. Ali, the after-school counselor, provides a space for Lolly to pursue his ultimate Lego obsession with the construction of a giant make-believe city. In the process, Lolly gets stuck with Big Rose, the strangest girl in the after-school program. But the two have more in common than they think and end up being each other’s silent cheerleaders.

Despite the best intentions from family, friends and the community, Lolly ultimately must learn that the power of choice lies in his own hands and no one else’s. Will he choose wisely to pave his own path out of the projects, or will he succumb to his brother’s unfortunate destiny? Moore leaves us wondering until the very end.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In David Barclay Moore’s page-turning debut novel, The Stars Beneath Our Feet, Wallace “Lolly” Rachpaul isn’t even a teenager yet, but growing up in the projects of New York City has stripped him of anything resembling a normal childhood.

FictionDebut Fiction

Magic across generations

Review by Chika Gujarathi

The Holocaust is one of the darkest chapters in human history, and yet the stories that are born of it seem to be the most extraordinary examples of love and life. Emanuel Bergmann’s first novel, The Trick, which begins soon after the end of World War I, is no exception.

For Rabbi Laibl Goldenhirsch and his wife, Rifka, there is another reason to celebrate the return of peace to Prague—the birth of their son, Moshe. The new child briefly provides a respite from an otherwise unexciting postwar life. However, things take a turn as Rifka’s health deteriorates, leaving Moshe to deal with an abusive, depressed and drunk rabbi of a father.

Everything changes for Moshe when a neighbor takes him to a traveling circus as a cheerful distraction. So transformed is Moshe by what he sees that he wants nothing more than to become part of the troupe. With the determination of a child who is not yet unnerved by the possibility of failure, Moshe sets out in search of the circus, leaving his father, his city and his religion and changing his destiny from that of the many who stay behind.

Decades later in Los Angeles, a young boy named Max Cohn takes a similar leap of faith to keep his parents from divorcing. His answer comes in the form of an old vinyl record of love spells by the Great Zabbatini, a magician who can make anything possible.

And just like that, Bergmann expertly collides Moshe’s and Max’s universes. They may face two very different realities, but they share the tenacity to change their futures. The tragedy of the past weaves together with humor, love and a belief in the impossible in The Trick.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read a Behind the Book essay from Emanuel Bergmann on The Trick.

This article was originally published in the October 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The Holocaust is one of the darkest chapters in human history, and yet the stories that are born of it seem to be the most extraordinary examples of love and life. Emanuel Bergmann’s first novel, The Trick, which begins soon after the end of World War I, is no exception.

FictionLiterary Fiction

Back to basics

Review by Chika Gujarathi

In Robin Sloan’s latest novel, Sourdough, Lois Clary is a 20-something Michigan transplant, well on her way to being one of the rich and geeky residents of Silicon Valley. Working hard at promising start-up General Dexterity, she has joined the techie milieu with her overpriced apartment where she hardly spends any time and a meal-replacement slurry she consumes two to three times a week. But like all young people starting off, Lois is content and hasn’t yet felt the void of being the proverbial peg in the unstoppable machine.

An epiphany transpires in the most unassuming way, when Lois takes possession of a sourdough starter from the two guys who used to run her favorite neighborhood take-out joint. Lois knows nothing about being a foodie, but even she can’t deny the mysterious vibes from this starter, which seems to beckon her with its singing and talking.

And so Lois bakes. Starting in the tiny virgin oven of her apartment to a brick oven she builds herself in the backyard to the industrial kitchen of a peculiar collective called the Marrow Fair, the sourdough ends up being more consuming than the high-paying job that landed her here in the first place.

But this isn’t a story of how to give up your day job and start a neighborhood bakery. Sloan has imagined a funny and curious novel unlike anything else, a perfect combination of self-discovery through all sorts of weird passions. Like truly good sourdough, this namesake is the perfectly tangy, chewy and airy addition to anyone’s reading list—minus the gluten and calories, of course.

Sloan has imagined a funny and curious novel unlike anything else, a perfect combination of self-discovery through all sorts of weird passions. Like truly good sourdough, this namesake is the perfectly tangy, chewy and airy addition to anyone’s reading list—minus the gluten and calories, of course.

FictionHistorical FictionDebut Fiction

Life, love and art

Review by Chika Gujarathi

Margery Williams Bianco is best known as the author of the beloved children’s classic The Velveteen Rabbit. Few are likely to know that in her personal life, Margery was a mother to a rather prodigious daughter, Pamela, who at the tender age of 4 had already captivated the art scene in Europe.

While the Bianco women shared a natural creativity and both achieved much success in their respective endeavors, the similarities end at their personal dispositions. While Margery was upbeat, social and sure of herself, Pamela, perhaps due to early success facilitated by an overbearing father, spent most of her life doubting her craft and not knowing exactly where she fit in this world.

Debut author Laurel Davis Huber chronicles this mother-daughter relationship of almost 45 years and sheds light on an artist whom history seems to have mostly forgotten in the aptly titled, fascinating The Velveteen Daughter.

Based in extensive fact and research, the story takes us from Italy to New York, covering the lively art scene of the early 20th century. Many of the supporting characters include other famous celebrities of the time like Pablo Picasso, Richard Hughes and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who is personally credited for introducing the Bianco family to America.

Huber honors all aspects of Pamela’s life, as we learn not just about her artistic achievements and her family life, but also her debilitating, obsessive relationships and two peculiar marriages.

Pamela outlived both her parents and continued to live in New York until her own passing in 1994, which by all accounts seems like recent history. With a wonderful touch, Huber makes a lost artist come alive in vibrant yet melancholic colors.

Margery Williams Bianco is best known as the author of the beloved children’s classic The Velveteen Rabbit. Few are likely to know that in her personal life, Margery was a mother to a rather prodigious daughter, Pamela, who at the tender age of 4 had already captivated the art scene in Europe.

FictionDebut Fiction

Finding hope at the end of the world

Review by Chika Gujarathi

The South Pole, often talked about as that place melting quicker than the ice cubes in our summer drinks, happens to be the location of Ashley Shelby’s debut novel, South Pole Station. Filled with characters that one would expect in a place like this—scientists and researchers—it also has an unexpected menagerie of authors and artists, as well as an interpretive dancer and a climate skeptic who round out this spectacle at the southernmost tip of our planet.

The story starts miles away in Minnesota, where 30-year-old struggling artist Cooper Gosling has been offered a spot at the Amundsen-Scott research station. It’s hard to deny the unique inspiration such a place could evoke, but Cooper’s reasons to be so far from civilization have more to do with the personal trauma of her twin brother’s recent passing.

At the station, Cooper meets other “Polies” with whom she automatically shares the camaraderie of being in one of the strangest places on earth, although she still bears the weight of feeling like a lone castaway. But it’s hard to keep romance and friendships at bay, even in the most scientifically sterile place, and Cooper slowly finds the comfort she’s looking for. Throughout witty, often hilarious scenarios, Shelby expertly weaves in the legitimate political and environmental concerns of climate change faced by the worldwide scientific community today.

Shelby’s exploration of the human spirit continuously digs deeper, ever in search of answers to all of life’s important questions—scientific and otherwise.

 

This article was originally published in the July 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The South Pole, often talked about as that place melting quicker than the ice cubes in our summer drinks, happens to be the location of Ashley Shelby’s debut novel, South Pole Station. Filled with characters that one would expect in a place like this—scientists and researchers—it also has an unexpected menagerie of authors and artists, as well as an interpretive dancer and a climate skeptic who round out this spectacle at the southernmost tip of our planet.

FictionDebut FictionComic Fiction

The paradox of choice

Review by Chika Gujarathi

In Katherine Heiny’s debut novel, Standard Deviation, we meet Graham and Audra Cavanaugh, a typical New York couple with a city condo, a kid and a busy social life. Stylish, youngish and always saying outrageous things, Audra is a firecracker who delights and embarrasses all at once. Graham, her much older husband of 12 years, is quieter and more filtered. He loves Audra as she is, but he often finds himself wondering how this marriage of opposites has worked out so well over the years.

In statistics, standard deviation is defined as a measure of how far a number diverges from the group as a whole. The same can be said about Heiny’s novel, as she introduces characters and situations that make Audra and Graham’s relationship appear less and less normal. Among them is Graham’s ex-wife, Elspeth, whom Graham hasn’t talked to in years, but an unexpected run-in rekindles a relationship and leaves him questioning his marriage to Audra. There is also the parenting of Graham and Audra’s 10-year-old son, Matthew, who has Asperger’s syndrome and an obsession with origami. A slew of other interesting and peculiar acquaintances compose a veritable parade through the couple’s living room, adding perspective to their marriage with a bit of comedy mixed in.

Heiny offers a fun read about family dynamics as she sidesteps too much seriousness with quick wit and humorous dialogue.

 

This article was originally published in the June 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In Katherine Heiny’s debut novel, Standard Deviation, we meet Graham and Audra Cavanaugh, a typical New York couple with a city condo, a kid and a busy social life. Stylish, youngish and always saying outrageous things, Audra is a firecracker who delights and embarrasses all at once. Graham, her much older husband of 12 years, is quieter and more filtered. He loves Audra as she is, but he often finds himself wondering how this marriage of opposites has worked out so well over the years.

FictionLiterary FictionDebut Fiction

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Review by Chika Gujarathi

In Gail Honeyman’s captivating debut novel, we meet Eleanor Oliphant, a 30-year-old single woman working at a downtown design firm in Glasgow, Scotland. This might seem like the perfect setting for a saucy lifestyle, but Eleanor is less Carrie Bradshaw and more Sophia Petrillo of “The Golden Girls.”

From the outside, Eleanor’s regimented and lonely life—which includes sensible, black Velcro shoes and lots of vodka—might be construed as depressing and that of an outcast. But this is where Honeyman proves us wrong. For all her awkwardness and complete lack of friends, Eleanor is anything but sad or apologetic. Eleanor, in fact, is fine, and sometimes even shockingly hilarious in how she perceives the world.

A change is due, however, when two unexpected incidents force Eleanor to mingle with the rest of the population. First, a love interest, in the form of a musician named Johnnie Lomond, jump-starts her fashion and vanity sensibilities. Second, Raymond, the nerdy IT guy at work, pulls her into various social obligations, despite her best efforts to avoid them.

Hesitant at first, Eleanor eventually finds these interactions to be comforting and full of hope. But old demons are hard to shake, and Eleanor crashes hard into her old ways as she suddenly decides that joy and friendships are not things she deserves.

Honeyman includes some horrific details that make up Eleanor’s past, but somehow they never feel burdening or despairing. Ultimately, this is a feel-good story that will make readers laugh and cheer for Eleanor as she learns that the past doesn’t dictate the future, and that happiness can be hers. This is a must-read for those who love characters with quirks.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read a Q&A with Gail Honeyman, author of the 2017 breakout debut, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.

This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In Gail Honeyman’s captivating debut novel, we meet Eleanor Oliphant, a 30-year-old single woman working at a downtown design firm in Glasgow, Scotland. This might seem like the perfect setting for a saucy lifestyle, but Eleanor is less Carrie Bradshaw and more Sophia Petrillo of “The Golden Girls.” From the outside, Eleanor’s regimented and lonely […]
FictionLiterary Fiction

A breakdown and a breakthrough

Review by Chika Gujarathi

In Sara Baume’s second novel, A Line Made by Walking, we meet Frankie on the cusp of turning 26, seemingly posed for a conventional coming-of-age story—until she’s unable to swallow, hear or pull herself up off the old carpet.

Frankie, determined if nothing else, hopes to regain her footing and find some artistic inspiration by moving into her grandma’s vacant house in the Irish countryside. Solitary among the green pastures, roaming cows and plenty of dead wild things, Frankie reflects on her life and takes stock of exactly why happiness has eluded her so far.

Throughout her reverie, readers meet Frankie at different ages and phases of life, always surrounded by the loving company of family, friends and a creative community. And in each scenario, she is hopelessly incapable of dwelling in that comfort and that sense of belonging. Artists often hold a divergent view of the same world we share, and Baume takes full advantage of this ethos, using Frankie’s reflections and wavering mental health as a way to keep us guessing whether her perpetual suffering and experiments are a form of art in itself.

There is no denying that A Line Made by Walking is full of sadness and pain, but with captivating writing, a vivid rural landscape and frequent references to famous works of art, Baume creates a layered experience that leaves the reader nurtured and restored. For artists and lovers of art, this will be an extra-special treat.

 

RELATED CONTENT: Read a Q&A with Sara Baume for A Line Made by Walking.

This article was originally published in the April 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In Sara Baume’s second novel, A Line Made by Walking, we meet Frankie on the cusp of turning 26, seemingly posed for a conventional coming-of-age story—until she’s unable to swallow, hear or pull herself up off the old carpet.

FictionLiterary FictionDebut Fiction

A father and son confront the specter of home

Review by Chika Gujarathi

A lawyer by profession, Phillip Lewis has spent his life and career in North Carolina, and a keen sense of familiarity is the first thing the reader notices as his debut novel, The Barrowfields, opens in the tiny Appalachian mountain town of Old Buckram.

The year is 1939 when Henry Aster is born in this inconsequential place, and he realizes it as such as soon as he teaches himself to read at a very young age. All the books in Old Buckram aren’t enough to contain Henry’s curiosity, and he awaits the day he can leave and make himself into a great writer.

Henry does leave and Henry does write, but his vow never to return home is broken when his mother takes ill. With a pregnant wife and a law degree, Henry moves back to Old Buckram and buys the hauntingly big house on the hill where the irony of his life, his law career and most importantly his unfinished book slowly start to consume him.

Growing up in the meantime is Henry’s son, also called Henry. In awe of his father and his biggest fan, Henry grows up loving all the same things—classical music, piano, books. And just like his father, he too is unable to stray far from the demons he wants to escape.

The Barrowfields is part coming-of-age story, part homecoming and part exploration of unfulfilled dreams. The setting seems both nostalgically old-fashioned and richly immediate. Lewis writes with warmth, depth and honesty about the regrets of fathers and sons and the inexorable pull of home.

A lawyer by profession, Phillip Lewis has spent his life and career in North Carolina, and a keen sense of familiarity is the first thing the reader notices as his debut novel, The Barrowfields, opens in the tiny Appalachian mountain town of Old Buckram.

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