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free-air-for-fish · 5 days

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[16] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: The Disenchantment

I’ve read quite a few historical fiction novels for Chapter 16, which I enjoy because it’s not a genre that I prioritize in my own TBR stack, making it a great way to force me to read outside my comfort zone. The Disenchantment is Celia Bell’s debut novel, and I am not exaggerating even a little bit when I say you cannot tell. Bell writes like a seasoned novelist. Cover of the book The…

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free-air-for-fish · 12 days

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[15] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: The New Guys

I was a little intimidated by this assignment, as Meredith Bagby’s nonfiction book on NASA’s 1978 Astronaut Class 8 is the most comprehensive piece of nonfiction I have ever read about astronauts. I’m also not huge on books about space in general. (I’ve never been a huge space fan.) However, Bagby’s is the most comprehensive, well-researched work of nonfiction I’ve read, which is partly why I was…

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free-air-for-fish · 19 days

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[14] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: Landings

Every once in a while I get to review a unique book, and Arwen Donahue’s book of 130 ink-and-watercolor drawings paired with reflective entries was a pure delight to read. It’s a form in which I don’t usually consume books, but the illustrations made me slow down and take my time absorbing every aspect of the illustrations. The feeling was like relaxing next to a quiet pond, toes wiggling in the…

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free-air-for-fish · 26 days

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[13] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: The Restless Dark

Every once in a while, I’ll read a book for Chapter 16 that turns me on to a new author, and in this case, that author is Erica Waters. Her YA horror novel The Restless Dark had me hooked once I saw the cover, and it only got better from there. Her other novels are on my TBR list, and I hope to get around to Ghost Wood Song very soon. Cover of The Restless Dark by Erica Waters The Restless Dark…

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free-air-for-fish · 1 month

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[12] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: Needlework

Occasionally, when an author has another event coming up and their book was reviewed by Chapter 16, the site will re-highlight the review to give the author further publicity. So, this week features my review of Julia Watts’s YA novel Needlework, which I originally reviewed in Feb. 2022 but was featured again in Sept. 2022. You can tell how bad I’ve been about highlighting these in the past,…

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free-air-for-fish · 1 month

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[11] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: Kin

Welcome to the tenth Throwback Thursday post highlighting my past reviews for Chapter 16‘s website. I love whenever I get the opportunity to read nonfiction work from southern writers, and this time I got to read Shawna Kay Rodenberg’s memoir Kin. Cover of Kin by Shawna Kay Rodenberg What I loved most about Rodenberg’s book is how she does not feature her experience like most memoirists.…

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free-air-for-fish · 2 months

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[10] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: The Memory Index

I still think about Julian R. Vaca’s YA novel The Memory Index, and I have it on my list to read the sequel as soon as I can. Vaca’s novel is great for those who want to experience the time period of Stranger Things combined with a dystopian world like 1984. Cover of The Memory Index As I write in the review, “Filled to the brim with nostalgic references to popular 80s entertainment — think…

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free-air-for-fish · 2 months

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[9] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: The Seamstress of New Orleans

Diane C. McPhail’s latest novel allowed me to dive back into the historical fiction genre and explore New Orleans in 1900 and the feminists making strides for women. Cover of The Seamstress of New Orleans In the review, I write, “The novel opens with a mystery. Constance Halstead waits for her husband, Benton, to depart for the train station before she disguises herself as a man and follows…

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#Abby N. Lewis #blog #book review #books #diane c mcphail #feminism #fiction #freeairforfish #historical fiction #novel #publication #Review #reviewer #seamstress #the seamstress of new orleans #writing

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free-air-for-fish · 2 months

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[8] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: Live Caught

I particularly relish the privilege of reading work from a debut author, since first novels are always exciting. This time, I go to read Cathey Daniels’s debut novel, Live Caught. Cover of Live Caught by R. Cathey Daniels In my review, I write, “As the novel opens, the protagonist, Lenny, is 14 years old and running away from home. When out fishing, his father would always discuss how easy it…

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free-air-for-fish · 2 months

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[7] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: The Silent Unseen

One of the things I love about reviewing books for Chapter 16 is that it forces me to read genres that I may otherwise ignore. Historical fiction is one of those genres, and Amanda McCrina’s young adult historical fiction novel was a delightful venture into an unknown genre. Cover image of The Silent Unseen In the review I write, “The Silent Unseen takes place in late July 1944. By that time,…

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#Abby N. Lewis #amanda mccrina #blog #book review #chapter 16 #freeairforfish #historical fiction #historical novel #News #polish #publication #Review #reviewer #ukraine #writing #ya #ya novel #young adult novel

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free-air-for-fish · 2 months

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[Book Review] Hide // Kiersten White

The challenge: Spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don’t get caught. The prize: enough money to change everything. Even though everyone is desperate to win—to seize a dream future or escape a haunting past—Mack is sure she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she’s an expert at that. It’s the reason she’s alive and her family isn’t. Cover of Hide by…

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free-air-for-fish · 2 months

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[6] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: Groundskeeping

Lee Cole’s debut southern novel Groundskeeping is a glimpse into university life from the point of view of a groundskeeping and part-time student. Cole’s presents a unique perspective on the familiar current-creative-writing-student-is-also-an-aspiring-novelist narrative. Cover of Lee Cole’s novel Groundskeeping In the review, I write, “Owen has recently returned to his hometown after failing…

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#Abby N. Lewis #blog #book review #chapter 16 #debut #debut novel #fiction #freeairforfish #groundskeeping #lee cole #News #publication #Review #reviewer #writing

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free-air-for-fish · 3 months

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[5] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: So We Meet Again

I reviewed romance novelist Suzanne Park’s novel So We Meet Again for Chapter 16‘s website. This was my first Park novel, though she has a few out, and I acquired one more of her books to read on my own time because I enjoyed So We Meet Again so much. Cover of Suzanne Park’s novel So We Meet Again In the review, I write, “Jessie Kim did everything right. She was studious in school, paid her…

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#Abby N. Lewis #blog #book review #chapter 16 #contemporary fiction #contemporary romance #freeairforfish #News #publication #Review #reviewer #romance #romance book #romance book review #so we meet again #suzanne park #writing

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free-air-for-fish · 3 months

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[3] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: As We Were Saying

Welcome to the first Throwback Thursday installment of my Chapter 16 book reviews.

Every Thursday for the next few weeks will feature a Throwback Thursday to one of my prior book reviews with Chapter 16. I have sadly been very unreliable with syndicating my reviews on here once they’re published, so this segment is designed to remedy the situation until we get caught up. I am also hoping to line up some other reviews to help give some diversity of content. First up is the…

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#Abby N. Lewis #as we were saying #blog #book review #chapter 16 #essay collection #freeairforfish #News #nonfiction #publication #Review #reviewer #sewanee #southern writing #the south #university of the south #writers conferences #writers workshop #writing

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free-air-for-fish · 3 months

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[2] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: And Dogs to Chase Them

Cover of And Dogs to Chase Them by Ray Trotter One of the most recent books I reviewed for Chapter 16‘s website is Ray Trotter’s debut short story collection And Dogs to Chase Them. Trotter has live an eclectic and exciting life, and his collection reflects this meandering lifestyle. In the review, I write, “The rambling, roundabout sentence structure encapsulates the long-winded way of talking…

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#Abby N. Lewis #and dogs to chase them #appalachian #appalachian writing #blog #book review #chapter 16 #freeairforfish #News #publication #ray trotter #Review #reviewer #short story collection #south #southern writing #the south

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free-air-for-fish · 4 months

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"Where most men were a kind of noise pollution, something akin to TV static, Michael was reserved, thoughtful, calculated. Those around me treated joy like a vocation, a task yielding material consequences they felt they were owed; I was fascinated by how easily Michael deviated from this script. Instead, he occupied an elegiac, nonarrogant register. This was what constituted sociality for our species, I reasoned. Even his grief was a lighthouse to a boy whose future had no shape to it."

- A Minor Chorus, Billy-Ray Belcourt

#reading #book quote #quotes #book quotes #a minor chorus #billy ray belcourt

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free-air-for-fish · 8 months

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" Home always shrinks in times of absence, always bleeds away some of its majesty, because what is home, after all, apart from the place one returns to when the adventure is over? Home is an end to glory, a stopping point when the tale is done."

- In an Absent Dream, Seanan McGuire

#book quotes #reading #in an absent dream #seanan mcguire

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