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Seasonal Reads & Stories for Jesmyn Ward Fans
Samantha Downing's retiree thriller, Amy Rossi's debut, and more ...
BookBrowse Highlights
Hello Readers!
This week, First Impressions reviewers gush over Samantha Downing’s Too Old for This, an unpredictable thriller that charmingly casts a relatable retiree and bingo enthusiast as the story’s murderer.
Book club members discuss Amy Rossi’s novel The Cover Girl, an insightful, character-focused narrative that shows the dark side of the modeling industry.
Use our Publishing by Season feature to finish up your summer reading and browse upcoming fall releases!
In Editor’s Choice, we cover Carrie R. Moore’s Make Your Way Home, a thoughtful collection of stories that may appeal to fans of Jesmyn Ward, along with a curated reading list of more fiction collections centered on Black American life.
Plus, enjoy juicy barbs hurled by and at harsh film and theater critics in a “beyond the book” article relating to our coverage of Charlotte Runcie’s Bring the House Down.
Thanks for reading,
The BookBrowse Team
First Impressions
Each month, we share books with BookBrowse members to read and review. Here are their opinions on one recently released title.
Too Old for This by Samantha Downing
“Lottie Jones is not your typical retiree. She plays bingo, prepares stuffed chicken roll for the church potluck, and critiques bridal gowns over text. She's also a former serial killer. These days, her biggest concern should be choosing a retirement home—but unfortunately, her past isn't finished with her yet. This genre-bending book defies easy classification. Part mystery, part black comedy, part character study, it also reads like a coming-of-age novel—just one centered on someone in her seventies. Lottie isn't discovering who she is for the first time; she's deciding what she can live with, and what (or who) she needs to erase to get there.” —Dawn Z. (Canton, MI) |  |
“A smart, darkly funny thriller with razor-sharp wit and unexpected twists. Too Old for This delivers a fresh take on revenge and reinvention, proving that age is just a number when it comes to getting even. Samantha Downing is at her best—clever, wicked, and utterly addictive. As a person who feels too old for many things, this story was ageless!” —Jennifer W. (Cambridge, MA)
“I've read uncountable thrillers and mysteries, and this one was unlike any I had read before. It kept me guessing all the way up to the very end.” —Kevin H. (Littleton, CO)
Book Club Discussions
Discussions are open to all! If you’d like to participate, you can do so by creating an account here. Please note that discussions can contain spoilers.
The Cover Girl by Amy Rossi
From the Jacket Birdie Rhodes was only thirteen when legendary modeling agent Harriet Goldman discovered her in a department store and transformed her into one of Harriet's Girls. What followed felt like the start of something incredible, a chance for shy Birdie to express herself in front of the camera. But two years later, she meets a thirty-one-year-old rock star, and her teenage heart falls hard as he leads her into a new life, despite Harriet's warnings. Then, as abruptly as it began, it's over, like a lipstick-smeared fever dream. |  |
From the Discussion
“Parts were extremely hard to witness, but I really liked the book. I was initially drawn to it hoping to get some insight into the world of modeling. It turned out to be so much more. I especially liked the long timespan and how things changed over the decades.” —Kathleen_W
“I loved this book. I found the topic so timely…We only need look to today’s headlines to see it portrayed in real life.” —Maureen_R1
“It was nostalgic for me to have some of the book set in the 70s and 80s when I was around the same age as Birdie…a very good book with great insight into the characters and their lives.” —Cresta_F
Publishing by Season
Soak up what’s left of summer reading and plan for fall with our Publishing by Season feature, which allows you to see a handpicked list of noteworthy books being released during a particular time of year. We’re constantly updating our previews, so check back often to see new books for upcoming periods. Members can browse all titles, while non-members are able to view a limited selection. |  |
Editor’s Choice
Make Your Way Home by Carrie R. Moore
Make Your Way Home is a collection of eleven short stories written by Carrie R. Moore that illuminate southern settings and family bonds. It is a passionate and lyrical thesis of the deep connection black Americans have to southern land and community. And the granular details that can unravel those ties. Moore's collection reminds me of a quote by award-winning writer Jesmyn Ward, who was raised in Mississippi. "There's so much I love about home, but then there's a lot that I can acknowledge that I dislike about home. And acknowledging that to myself helps me see that place more clearly." … continued Review by Valerie Morales |  |
Curated Reading Lists
BookBrowse offers hundreds of curated reading lists as a category of our “beyond the book” articles, which expand on an aspect of a recommended book. Members have access to all articles, while non-members can read a limited number.
To supplement our recent review of Carrie R. Moore’s Make Your Way Home (above), we feature a reading list of more story collections centering Black American life, originally created for coverage of Diane Oliver’s Neighbors and Other Stories.
Books of Stories Centering Black American Life
Diane Oliver's Neighbors and Other Stories is a collection delving deep into the corners of Black American life in the 1950s and '60s that were not and are still not usually part of the public conversation. Here are some books of stories that portray Black Americans in a way that moves away from academic discussions of race and places readers inside the everyday experiences of people and communities. … continued Reading list by Lisa Ahima |  |
Beyond the Book
Famously Critical Critics
The jumping-off point for Charlotte Runcie's Bring the House Down is a one-star review of a one-woman play. Her fictional theater critic Alex Lyons claims "people like reading bad reviews." Apparently Lyons is not alone in this belief; the annals of theater history are awash in notoriously vitriolic critics. Alexander Woollcott was a theater critic for the New York Times and the New York Herald in the early twentieth century. For a time, theater owners the Shubert brothers banned Woollcott from their venues, since his negative reviews had doomed too many of their productions to failure. … continued Article by Norah Piehl |  |
From IPO Stream
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