Book #215 of 2021: While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams A hokey but entertaining legal-political thriller, sort of halfway between John Grisham and Dan Brown. You have to really not think too hard about some of the developments here, beginning with the initial premise of a Supreme Court justice putting himself into a medical coma …
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Book #214 of 2021: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Aristotle and Dante #1) With its sequel due this fall, I figured I should finally check out this acclaimed 2012 Young Adult title about two Mexican-American best friends. I’d seen it described as a queer coming-of-age story, which …
Book #213 of 2021: The Atlas of the Land by Karen Wynn Fonstad This reference book is a true labor of love for the first six volumes in Stephen R. Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant fantasy series. (It was published in 1985, well before the final quartet arrived. And it’s been out of print ever …
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TV #60 of 2021: Justified, season 6 There are elements in Justified that have kept me from ever wholly embracing the show, but it goes out on perhaps its finest run yet, an operatic movement that delivers poetic justice to most of our major players. True to its roots in the fiction of Elmore Leonard, …
Book #212 of 2021: Lux: A Texas Reckoners Novel by Brandon Sanderson and Steven Michael Bohls Although not a complete misfire, this YA spinoff prequel — currently only available on audio, with print and ebook editions eventually to follow — comes up decidedly short when weighed against the original Reckoners trilogy and author Brandon Sanderson’s …
Book #211 of 2021: The Forgotten by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #11) In the first half of this story, the Animorphs are investigating a spaceship crash site, eventually embarking on a plan to steal the vessel and fly it to the White House. It’s one of those tossed-off elements that the series never really thinks …
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Book #210 of 2021: Lost Light by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch #9) This Harry Bosch title is told in first-person narration, which is a slight but noticeable deviation from the third-person-limited perspective of the last eight novels. It’s not immediately clear why the new POV has been adopted, although it may have to do with …
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Book #209 of 2021: Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm by Robin DiAngelo This new release from racial sensitivity trainer Robin DiAngelo is an excellent follow-up to her earlier book White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. (And they do appear to form a single curriculum; …
Book #208 of 2021: Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams The Jamaican-British heroine of this contemporary novel has an engaging character voice, and her foibles with casual sex during a “break” from her boyfriend play out like a bleaker Bridget Jones’s Diary, a tone underscored by debut author Candice Carty-Williams layering in a variety of #ownvoices experiences …
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Book #207 of 2021: The Double Life of Danny Day by Mike Thayer This middle-grade novel goes far on the strength of its high-concept premise, which is that the ten-year-old protagonist lives every day twice. He treats the original go-round as a bit of a practice session, either goofing off or scribbling notes on quiz …
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