That Bright Yellow Adirondack Chair

| Published May 8, 2024 |

R. Alan Clanton,
Thursday Review editor

It comes knocking for all of us, and it is the inevitable rite-of-passage, so to speak, for all humans since...(click to read more)

Reflections on the Passing of Tom Wolfe

| Published May 17, 2018 |

R. Alan Clanton,
Thursday Review editor

At the typewriter, he truly had the right stuff. Tom Wolfe, one of the 20th century’s undeniably great writers, has died at the age of 88. The late editor William F. Buckley, Jr., himself a prolific author and columnist, called Wolfe...(click to read more)

Hillbilly Elegy:
A Memoir of a Family & Culture in Crisis

| Published August 22, 2016 |

Book Review by Pamela Pitman Brown, Thursday Review contributor

J.D. Vance has been making the talk show circuit with his book, Hillbilly Elegy, as someone who has insider knowledge on why people are supporting Donald Trump for President. His book is currently...(click to read more)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan; Lisa See

| Published July 13, 2016 |

Book Review by Patricia McQuigg, Thursday Review contributor

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a book for all you women who think you have a hard life—or have already had a hard life. Believe me that upon reading Lisa See’s book you will quickly change your mind. And for all of you women who have had it pretty easy—and you know who you are—this book also...(click to read more)

Ready Player One; Ernest Cline

| Published April 24, 2016 |

By Michael Bush, Thursday Review contributor

Ready Player One is the most incredible group of 1980s pop culture references ever assembled into a sci-fi novel about video games…ok, it’s probably the only such novel out there (for the time being, at least). But all jokes aside, this book by Ernest Cline is...(click to read more)

To Have a Head, Or
Not to Have a Head

| Published March 25, 2016 |

By Keith H. Roberts,
Thursday Review contributor

William Shakespeare was a true man of mystery, not in the Austin Powers sense of the word (though one could indeed make that case too), but in the sense that...(click to read more)

Her; Christa Parravani
| Published February 23, 2016 |

By Kristy Webster,Thursday Review contributor

Once I started this memoir by Christa Parravani, I couldn’t put it down. Even though the reader knows from the beginning that one twin will be lost, the writing is so...(click to read more)

The Story of My Teeth; Valeria Luiselli
| Published February 6, 2016 |

By Kristy Webster,Thursday Review contributor

Meet Gustavo Sanchez Sanchez, a.ka. “Highway,” a traveler, an auctioneer, an enigma who wears Marilyn Monroe’s teeth and smiles at passerby.

Each piece auctioned by Highway takes on a life of its own as he... (click to read more)

cover art of A Man Came Out of the Door in the Mountain

A Man Came Out of the Door in the Mountain; Adrianne Harun
| Published December 7, 2015 |

By Kristy Webster,Thursday Review contributor

In this stunning novel, Harun masterfully blends a true crime mystery with mythical and magical elements to create a haunting and unforgettable tale. Leo and his tight knit group of friends who have managed to remain untouched by the disappearances that have occurred over... (click to read more)

Brown Girl Dreaming; Jacqueline Woodson
| Published September 21, 2015 |

Book Review by
Lisa K. Whitten
Thursday Review contributor

Delightful! This is a word rarely used in my vocabulary, but this is the only way I can describe the way I felt after completing this book. Although it is a young reader’s book, I chose to read this book because our local library is promoting Brown Girl Dreaming as a... (click to read more)

cover art of Shadow Divers & Pirate Hunters by Kurson

Shadow Divers and Pirate Hunters
| Published September 1, 2015 |

Book Reviews by
Lisa K. Whitten
Thursday Review contributor

A few years ago I was wandering through a local used book store, perusing the bookcases for other things, when I kept seeing Shadow Divers on shelves. Since I dive, I decided to pick up a copy and give it a glance. I wasn’t sold on what I read on the...(click to read more)

Art of Gift of Imaginary Girl by Kristy Webster

Writer Seeks Funding Support for Book
| Published August 13, 2015 |

By Thursday Review editors

Kristy Webster believes that art can save lives. Webster says that a social worker once told her that she would never work a full-time job again, and that her only path to success would reside in some form of disability. Webster re-....(click to read more)

Orphan Train; Christina Baker Kline
| Published July 26, 2015 |

Book review by Karen Franklin
Thursday Review contributor

I had no idea that the events on which this book is based actually happened in real life. It made me cry, truly, to think what some young children--abandoned or orphaned in large eastern United States cities--were subjected to when they were loaded on to trains, shipped to the Midwest, and "fostered" to families in need of hard laborers, or children to do housework, babysit, etc. Yes,... (click to read more)

The Enchanted; Rene Denfeld
| Published March 9, 2015 |

By Kristy Webster
Thursday Review contributor

“They can keep men in here, under lock and key, deep in the dungeon until the final moments of their lives, so that men like York and me will never taste the rain. But they cannot keep us from passing our condensation on to the sky. They cannot keep us from raining down in China.”--Rene Denfeld, The Enchanted.

I always find it the hardest to write book reviews for the books that move me the most, for the ones I fall deeply in love with. Such is the case with The Enchanted, the debut novel by author Rene Denfeld. Since finishing this book two days ago, I have found...(click to read more)

The Book of Unknown Americans book cover

The Book of Unknown Americans; Cristina Henriquez
| Published March 6, 2015 |

By Kristy Webster
Thursday Review contributor

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez, is stunning and powerful portrait of the immigrant experience during some of the most turbulent times in recent American history. Alma and Arturo have just journeyed thousands of miles, leaving behind their comfortable home and successful construction business in Mexico to live in a one bedroom, drafty ridden apartment in Delaware. They’ve left their country in hopes that Evers, a private school for children with disabilities and special needs, will help... (click to read more)

Citizen, An American Lyric
| Published February 24, 2015 |

By Kristy Webster
Thursday Review contributor

Recently I came across the Banksy quote, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” Such is the case for Citizen, An American Lyric, a brilliant work of poetry and prose by Claudia Rankine.

This book took courage, wisdom and sensitivity to write, and requires from its readers a willingness to be made uncomfortable by facing some inevitable... (click to read more)

J.R.R. Tolkien A Life Inspired; by Wyatt North
| Published January 8, 2015 |

By Lisa Whitten
Thursday Review contributor

I first learned of The Hobbit in the early 1970's. I read one and a half of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and stopped because I couldn't keep track of everyone and everything. That, and I was just beginning my adult life and was too busy for reading. With the impending release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies I obtained a copy of this short biography on J.R.R. Tolkien and read it prior to seeing the latest movie. The movie was... (click to read more)

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
| Published August 25, 2014 |

By Kristy Webster
Thursday Review contributor

Both hilarious and heartbreaking, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a fictionalized account of Sherman Alexie’s adolescence on a Spokane Indian Reservation is told with sharp wit and uninhibited clarity.

Fourteen-year-old Arnold Spirit was born with more challenges than most. Born with “water on the brain,” his oversized noggin’ and his slight build make him a target for... (click to read more)

If I Stay; Gayle Forman
| Published July 14, 2014 |

By Kristy Webster
Thursday Review contributor

The film based on the young adult novel by Gayle Forman, If I Stay is due to come out in theaters next month, on August 22nd. If the success of The Fault in Our Stars is any indication, I'm guessing those who haven't read this tear jerker yet will want to do so before they watch the movie adaptation.

Like The Fault in Our Stars, this may be a young adult novel, but it isn't light fare. This is another story about a young person dealing with a situation (mostly) out of her control, and a tragedy so...(click to read more)

Looking for Alaska; John Green
| Published July 11, 2014 |

Book Review By Kristy Webster
Thursday Review contributor

Before Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters stole our hearts, there was Miles “Pudge” Halter and Alaska Young. It is no wonder or surprise to me that John Green’s novels transcend the Young Adult genre, captivating readers of all ages. Like The Fault in Our Stars, Green’s teenage characters in Looking for Alaska are bright, complex and intriguing people facing fears and coping with regrets that are not specific to...(click to read more)

Standing Too Soon; Jeffery W. Massey;

By Lisa K. Whitten

Thursday Review Contributor

This would have been a quick, smooth read but that was not to be case--the frequent misspellings, grammatical glitches and incorrect use of words slowed me down in some places. The author, Jeffery W. Massey, could haved used an editor, or two. (A frequent problem with self-published books; an outside set of eyes always helps to cull out the errors and smooth out the wrinkles). Having said that: the storyline kept my attention and it was, in fact...[ Read more ]

Audrey Hepburn's Neck; Alan Brown;

By Kristy Webster
Thursday Review Contributor

Sometimes judging a book by its cover leads to pleasant surprises. Such was my experience with Alan Brown’s Audrey Hepburn’s Neck. The gorgeous cover, a picture of Audrey’s neck of course, from the bottom of her face to her shoulder, juxtaposed against purple blinds and bright Tokyo lights piqued my interest. Being a huge fan of Banana Yoshimoto who writes about twenty-somethings in modern Japan, while simultaneously...[ Read more ]

American Pastimes

By Earl Perkins
Thursday Review associate editor

If you love sports history or well-written prose, then drop what you're doing and go buy this book: it's called American Pastimes: The Very Best of Red Smith (The Library of America; 2013). Daniel Okrent has assembled some of Red Smith's finest columns, spanning six decades of glorious memories.

Many authors write about famous people and historic events, but no matter what Smith was writing about, he made you feel as though you...[ Read more ]

The Art of Racing in the Rain; Garth Stein

Review by Kristy Webster
Thursday Review Contributor

“I don't understand why people insist on pitting concepts of evolution and creation against each other. Why can't they see that spiritualism and science are one? That bodies evolve and souls evolve and the universe is a fluid package that marries them both in a wonderful package called a human being. What's wrong with that idea?” [ Read more ]

Two Nations, Indivisible

Thursday Review staff

The border that separates the U.S. from Mexico is a notoriously troubled stretch of soil and river, and it has only gotten worse in the last few years. That two thousand mile stretch of fence and Rio Grande has given the country south of the border a bad rep, and Mexico's new president, Enrique Pena Nieto, hopes to begin a process of reform and transformation for a nation beleagured with bad press. Last summer we reviewed in these pages the 2013 book by Jeb Bush and Clint Bolick, Immigration Wars, which—among its many...[ Continue Reading ]

I Don't Know Do You

Review by Jessica Smith
Thursday Review Contributor

In the fall of 2011 I took my first workshop of my MFA at The New School with Craig Morgan Teicher. Roberto Montes was also in that class. He turned in mostly quiet prose poems, where gypsies and shamans and youthful speakers interacted amidst...[read more]

Enjoy the Silence

Review by Kristy Webster
Thursday Review Contributor

A reflective essay on the book Quiet, by Susan Cain

My initial intention when choosing to read Quiet by Susan Cain was to better understand, and more importantly, advocate for my two sons, especially, my younger son who’s still in school. I myself test as an INFJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling & Judging) in the famous Meyers Briggs personality in spite of being described as “cheerful, outgoing and friendly” by others. While Quiet takes on the big picture dilemma of the extrovert....[read more]

"Paris is always a good idea"
Three books about the City of Light

Reviews by Sarah Herrin
Thursday Review Contributing Writer

It was Audrey Hepburn who said “Paris is always a good idea.” And no matter what kind of mood you’re in--in love, depressed, nostalgic, adventurous--there’s a Paris....[read more]

Cross Creek and the Literature of Paradise

By Earl H. Perkins,
Thursday Review
Associate Editor

"Somewhere beyond the sinkhole, past the magnolia, under the live oaks, a boy and a yearling ran side by side, and were gone forever."

--Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, from The Yearling

Home was among the thickest conglomeration of mosquitoes and deer flies in the backwoods of North Central Florida, an extremely inhospitable residence for man...[read more]

Love, Honor, Dishonor, Marry, Cherish, Perish book cover

Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish;

Book review by Kristy Webster
Thursday Review Contributing Writer

Cloaked in lyrical, iambic pentameter, Rakoff's novel embodies the rawest emotions and moral complexities in the dynamic lives of a myriad of characters whose stories intertwine in the best and worst of ways. Beginning with ...[Read more]

Debtor's Prison: The Politics of Austerity Versus Possibility book cover

A Brief History of Debt
Debtors' Prison: The Politics of Austerity Versus Possibility

By R. Alan Clanton, Thursday Review Editor

Though the economy was already wobbling badly in the nine to twelve month period prior to September 2008, the inescapable meltdown began in mid-September that year. Starting with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, spreading overnight to the insurance giant AIG, and growing....[Continue reading]