Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Angela McAllister ILLUSTRATOR: Zanna Goldhawk GENRE: Children's Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: October 6, 2026 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A collection of folktales connected to either the sky or a sky/space-related object. Lovely stories from across the world presented with marvellous illustrations. This author never fails to deliver memorable books for children. Definitely recommended. I have been a fan of Angela McAllister’s folktale collections ever since I read ‘A Bedtime Full of Stories’ in 2021. Her collections are always mesmerising and always have the same features: fascinating stories curated from folktales and myths from across the world, theme-based sections, and excellent full-colour illustrations that stay true to the tone of the story. This book is no exception. This time, the stories are, as the tagline indicates, taken from the ‘Skies, stars and beyond.’ The collection has six sections, each based on sky/space-related feature: ‘The Sun’, ‘The Moon...

AUTHOR: Dolly Parton GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: January 1, 1994 RATING: 4.5 stars. I read this book in honour of one of the most generous humans who ever lived: Dolly Parton. I was never much into country music, so I don’t know many of her songs, but ever since I heard of her Imagination Library Project, I became a fan of her style of philanthropy. This book was adapted from a song she wrote by the same name, so it effectively combines two of her greatest contributions to the world: music and books. The story tells us of a girl who loves the coat of many colours her mama sewed for her using rags. Though the other kids tease her in school for wearing a coat made of rags, the girl herself is never negative and doesn’t allow words to upset her because she stays strong in her belief that she is rich despite not having money. The name also alludes to Joseph’s multi-coloured coat from the Bible. This beautiful book is simple and yet impactful. It shows kids how we a...

AUTHOR: Gabrielle Meyer SERIES: Dollar Princess, #3 GENRE: Historical Romance. PUBLICATION DATE: October 6, 2026 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical romance retelling the Hollywood musical ‘The Sound of Music’ by setting it in the Gilded era. Great characters, wonderful writing, excellent research, satisfying ending. Christian in approach, but never preachy. The third book of the Dollar Princess series, and can be read as a standalone though it continues from the earlier book. Much recommended. Plot Preview: 1886. When nineteen-year-old Addie is forced to leave her wealthy New York home and work as a governess in the house of George Stafford aka the Earl of Torrington, she isn't exactly looking forward to it. But when she finds his household lacking in joy, with his five children determined to drive away every governess in the hopes of getting more time with their father who has turned reclusive after the death of his wife, Addie is determined to bring happiness to them....

AUTHOR: Erica Bauermeister GENRE: Contemporary Fiction. PUBLICATION DATE: May 2, 2023 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A contemporary composite novel. One plot comprising multiple short stories. Character-oriented. Poignant, mellow, touching. An ode to books and everything bookish. After a long time, I had a soul-satisfying read. Definitely recommended. Plot Preview: 2010. Maine. Twenty-five-year-old Alice has always wanted to be a writer. But as she is inching towards her dream, a family tragedy throws her off her charted course. Her college professor encourages her to pour her emotions into writing. The result is a book that ends up finding its way to multiple people, and in many cases, altering at least a part of their lives directly or indirectly. This is a composite novel, where each chapter comes to us from a specific character’s point of view. We thus get nine stories written in the third-person perspective of various individuals, with the epilogue coming a full circle. One of ...

AUTHOR: Vashti Harrison GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: May 2, 2023 RATING: 4.5 stars In a Nutshell: An amazing picture book about the impact of words and the importance of self-acceptance. Amazing story, outstanding message, fabulous illustrations. Simple words but extraordinary impact. Much recommended. Plot Preview: A little girl was always praised for being big, but as she grows older, she realises ‘big’ isn't always a compliment. Having the bigger built affects many things in her life, and the constant comments from others about her bigness affects her mental health. But one day, after many tears, she understands how she can tackle the hurt. I absolutely loved this book! From the cover art, I could guess that it was a story about a plus-sized little girl, but I sure didn’t expect the topic to be handled so beautifully. Her journey from confidence to reluctance to dismay to action is penned so well! My favourite part of the story is that she never considers...

AUTHOR: Ben Reeves GENRE: Literary Fiction, Magical Realism. PUBLICATION DATE: July 7, 2026 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary fiction work focusing on life and death and all in between. Everything in the book is beautiful, but also hurts. Interesting variety of characters, plenty of wisdom and quotable quotes, lyrical writing. The shifts in grammatical voice can get disconcerting at times. But the mellow, introspective narrative is great for the right mood. A commendable debut. Definitely recommended! Plot Preview: Death’s current identity is ‘Travis’. He lives as a modern young man in a small town, and does his job well: the job of offering some solace to the dying in their final hours on Earth. He always stays detached from the living humans around him so that he can do his job without being affected. But when his next-door neighbours – midwife Dalia and her daughters eight-year-old Layla and infant Neda – become more frequent in his *life*, Travis gets a taste of the bond...

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Lou Lubie GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: May 5, 2026 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An adult graphic novel about a girl coming to terms with her hair and her identity. Great plot, steady pacing, wonderful themes, powerful message. Excellent use of ‘hair’ to discuss several societal and feminine issues. The illustrations are perfect for the story. Much recommended. Plot Preview: Rose is a young mixed-race Creole girl growing up on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. She hates her excessively kinky hair and the torture of maintaining it. As soon as she is allowed to, she begins straightening it. Even after moving to mainland France for higher studies, she remains obsessed with fitting in especially where hair is concerned. But after a point, she begins questioning why only curly hair has to go through so much discrimination. The story comes to us in Rose’s first-person perspective. This graphic novel, originally published in French under the title “Ra...

AUTHOR: Gabrielle Meyer SERIES: Timeless, #7 GENRE: Historical Romance. PUBLICATION DATE: May 5, 2026 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical fiction novel set during two timelines: the Gold Rush and the Golden Age of Hollywood. The latest novel from the incomparable Timeless series, and probably the one with the most number of surprises. Excellent plot, characters, writing, and historical research. Christian without being preachy. A bit slow and repetitive in the final quarter, but the ending is worth it. Much recommended! Works as a standalone but better to read in series order. Plot Preview:  Twenty-four-year-old Ally Adams lives two simultaneous lives. ( If you've read any of the Timeless books, you know how her time-crossing works. )  In 1849, wishing to restore her family’s lost comforts, Ally intends to capitalise on the Gold Rush and travels with her sick father and young half-sister to San Francisco, where she finds herself penniless and at the mercy of an ex-c...

AUTHOR: Robert E. Barry GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: January 1, 1963 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A comically sweet Christmas picture book. Lovely story, lovely characters, lovely illustrations. A classic for a reason. Definitely recommended. Plot Preview: Mr. Willowby is quite excited that his Christmas tree delivery has finally arrived. Unfortunately, the tree is just a tad too tall for his parlour. He gets his butler to cut off the top so that it fits just right. The butler knows just the right person who would be happy to decorate the tree top in their room, so he passes it to his friend, the maid. She is very excited but the top is just a tad too tall for her room. So she snips off a bit from the top, discards it, and decorates the rest. The broken piece is found by…. Read the book to find out! I didn’t intend to read a Christmas book beyond the festive season, but c’est la vie. 😁 We all know that Christmas trees are *trimmed* with plenty of wonderful...

AUTHOR: Laura Shovan GENRE: Middle-Grade Novel-in-verse. PUBLICATION DATE: April 12, 2016 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade novel-in-verse, focussing on poems written by kids for their class time capsule. Brilliant in conception and execution, so much so that I thought it was a true-life story. Excellent characterisation visible even through poems. Much recommended. Try the audio version if possible. Plot Preview: Emerson Elementary is in its last school year. At the end of this year, it will be demolished to make way for a shopping mall. As such, one English teacher has asked her class to write poems that will go into the time capsule of their class – the last fifth grade batch at the school. The entire novel-in-verse is a compilation of these poems from the whole school year. I am not one for poetry, but when I read the blurb of this book, I couldn’t resist the concept. Novels-in-verse work better for me in audio form, so that’s what I opted for. And it worked brillian...

AUTHOR & NARRATOR: John Fugelsang GENRE: Religious Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: Jun 04 2026 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A nonfiction that does exactly what the title declares: separates the church from the despicable version sold to us by fascists and fundamentalists. Insightful, incisive, accurate, brilliant. Hard truths delivered with a good dash of humour. The book (as well as this review) might create allergic reactions in certain *Christians*, but to the fellow sane believers out there, this is a must-read. Much recommended! When I see religion-based nonfiction books ( any religion, not just Christian ones ) with titles that call out strongly to me, the first thing I do is check the credentials of the author. Any person who behaves like an extremist on their social media ( most conservative evangelicals in case of Christianity ), who spreads hate against other religions or minorities, who uses demeaning words to refer to people of other faiths, and who misinterprets scri...

AUTHOR & NARRATOR: Cory Doctorow GENRE: Tech Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 7, 2025 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An engrossing exposé on the enshittification of the internet and all its components over the last few years. Well-researched with substantial and concrete examples. Informative without getting too techy. Don’t be fooled by the cover; this is a serious and scary book. Much recommended. Canadian author Cory Doctorow has been an internet activist for more than twenty-five years. He has worked on digital rights management, file sharing, and post-scarcity economics, among other themes, and has actively lobbied for liberalising copyright laws. Doctorow coined the term ‘enshittification’ in a blog post in 2022, to indicate the process by which online products and service gradually decay in quality until they are *shit*. While the concept was already being spoken of, his term caught on and became a widespread neologism, chosen as the ‘Word of the Year’ by The American...

AUTHOR: Abby Cooper ILLUSTRATOR: Eliana Gutiérrez GENRE: Humour PUBLICATION DATE: March 10, 2026 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A clever satirical picture book speaking to babies and toddlers about how to take care of their new moms. 😉 Absolutely loved the concept and the implementation. The satire is excellent, as is the strong tone of empathy. Much recommended to all moms-to-be and new moms. The title was enough to get me to grab this book. With the twist on the usual “It’s a Boy/Girl”, “It’s a Mom” made me curious to see the content. Turns out, it is a care package for new mommies wrapped in a lot of satire. What fun! I enjoyed the concept as well as the execution. The text is directed at kiddos aged 2 to 5 ( wink, wink! ) and is a guide on how to take care of their new moms ( more exuberant winking! ). Thus it offers advice about essentials such how to help moms stay awake at night, how to ensure that moms have a wash during your bath time, how to allow her tummy time, and so ...

AUTHOR: Kelly Barnhill GENRE: Fantasy-horror. PUBLICATION DATE: February 28, 2023 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A horror-fantasy with elements of surrealism. Retelling of the Japanese folktale ‘The Crane Wife’. Set in an imagined dystopian near-future. Understated yet mindblowing. Love how it handles the characters, the folktale, and even the dark theme. Suspension of disbelief required. Much recommended, but not to those who steer clear of weird stories. Check the triggers listed below if needed. Plot Preview: A fifteen-year-old girl is forced to be the support of her family after the death of her father, taking care of the household as well as of her six-year-old brother Michael, while her mom, a talented but somewhat oblivious artist, weaves stunning tapestries to pay the bills. The mother randomly brought “guests” home, but none stayed for long. Until now. Her latest guest is a tall crane who seems to have captivated her heart even though the daughter finds him manipulative and...