Every reader has experience with debut novels. In my journey, I’ve learned to be aware when I’m reading a debut novel. The six following range from okay to excellent. Some foreshadow the greatness of the writer; others are debuts that surmounted the challenge of publication but left me feeling my time could be better spent.
Everyone needs to learn the ropes. Writers are no different. First books don’t always display the gifts that emerge as writers develop over the years. They tweak our interest with promises of what is coming. Not so with Kate Atkinson. This is her first published novel, and it is brilliant.
Atkinson’s future books often feature generational time shifts. This plot features the fictional autobiography of Ruby Lennox from birth in 1952 to 1992. Tales of two previous generations are told through “Footnotes” following the chapters. These are episodic biographies of her mother and grandmother. Life was hard for any of these women living in Yorkshire, England. Recommended.
I wasn’t ready for the ending of this well-crafted YA mystery by Fukuda. We read it as a group in our senior book club. The discussion will be interesting. Speaks a lot to the need for guidance counse...