Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Wilfrid Lupano ILLUSTRATOR: Stéphane Fert GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: February 11, 2025 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A graphic novel about the first Black girls’ school in the USA. Great historical insights, but too short to do justice to the storyline. Still, worth a pick for the light it shines on a relatively unknown part of history. Better suited to older teens and adults as it is quite dark and upsetting. Plot Preview: 1832. Canterbury, Connecticut. When young Sarah has questions about the oddities she sees in nature, she goes to Prudence Crandall, a young white woman who runs a boarding school, for clarifications. Seeing Sarah’s curiosity sparks an idea in Prudence and she takes Sarah as her first Black student. She is motivated enough to advertise for more Black students to join them. Thus, thirty years before the abolition of slavery, in a place where Blacks were legally free but practically without civil rights, fifteen girls become a happy part of the...

AUTHOR: Allen Eskens GENRE: Contemporary Mystery PUBLICATION DATE: February 18, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A dual-timeline mystery. Interesting lead character, good story, great historical content. Quite gruesome in the war-related bits. A tad too convenient at times, and the romance subplot track annoyed me (as expected). But on the whole, a worthwhile read. Plot Preview: Minnesota. Hana is a reserved forty-seven-year old librarian who keeps her personal life guarded. When a detective comes to her with the news that her best friend Amina has been murdered, Hana knows that her past has finally caught up with her. But as no one else knows who she was or what she did, Hana has to rely on her instincts and her old training to protect herself and also Amina’s eight-year-old grandson who has been left in Hana’s care. The story comes to us in two timelines, both written in third person. One is the contemporary track from Hana’s point of view. The other is from 1995, set during the ...

AUTHOR: Jeyamohan TRANSLATOR: Priyamvada Ramkumar GENRE: Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: August 12, 2025 RATING: 2.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A collection of stories all based on real-life people. The first ever translation of Tamil writer Jeyamohan’s work to English. Slice-of-life writing, which rarely works for me. Not sure if this will easily find an audience among non-Indians in the USA as the content is quite parochial. Better suited to readers who enjoy non-linear, meandering narratives and preferably have some familiarity with the (South) India of historical and recent times. Jeyamohan is a prolific Tamil writer, currently based in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. He has won many prestigious awards for his writing. This is his first work to be translated to English. It was initially published in Tamil in 2011 as "Aram - Unmai Manithargalin Kathai". The first English translation was published in India in 2022. This US edition of the English version is due for release in Aug...

AUTHOR: Julie Clark GENRE: Suspense-Drama. PUBLICATION DATE: June 3, 2025 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A contemporary suspense-drama about a dysfunctional family and its secrets. (So what’s new, right?) Interesting characters and plot, but somehow, this doesn’t deliver on the ‘wow’ factor. I wasn’t bored, but I also wasn’t too invested. Recommended, but not a must-read. Plot Preview: Forty-four-year-old Olivia Dumont had a successful career as a ghostwriter until one day, she put her foot in her mouth and sabotaged her future. So when her agent calls her for a ghostwriting assignment for the famous horror author Vincent Taylor, Olivia knows she has no choice but to accept the job. Everyone knows that Vincent is infamous for being the prime suspect in the murder of his two siblings Danny and Poppy fifty years ago. But what no one, including Olivia’s agent, knows is that Vincent is Olivia’s estranged father. Now that he has summoned Olivia to ghostwrite his final book, is he finall...

AUTHOR: R.R. Davis ILLUSTRATOR: Francesco Dabbicco GENRE: Fantasy-Drama. PUBLICATION DATE: August 12, 2025 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary fiction about a young boy and his monsters: real and imagined. Arctic setting, introspective lead character, and good overall plot. Too melancholic and dark at times, dense in writing style, gruesome, and slow paced. Strictly for adults despite the young protagonist. Not my cup of tea due to some of the writing choices. Recommended to certain lit fic fans. Plot Preview: 1995, Labrador Island, Newfoundland, Canada. Twelve-year-old Robert, half Scot and half Innu, stays on the rocky island with his father and his younger brother. As Robert physically resembles his Scottish father, it is not easy for him to fit on the island. His overbearing dad adds to his travails by not allowing to leave their yard anytime or to interact with the locals. The most important rule for both brothers is: Never touch the floor at night. However, as the outside ...

AUTHOR: Lupita Nyong'o ILLUSTRATOR: Vashti Harrison GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: October 15, 2019 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book focussing on colorism and self-acceptance. Poetic writing that might be a tad tricky for little readers. The storyline could have done better for me. But the outstanding illustrations saved the overall rating. Plot Preview: Little Sulwe was born "the colour of midnight". None of her other family members have the exact same skin tone as she does. After facing bullying and ostracism in school, Sulwe tries everything she can think of to lighten her skin, whether using the eraser on her skin or praying to God to be as bright and beautiful as her mother and her sister. But nothing works. One night, a special visitor comes to visit Sulwe after bedtime and takes her on a magical journey across the night sky. I am not a big fan of the new trend of celebrities writing picture books, but some celebrities are spec...

AUTHOR & NARRATOR: Trevor Noah ILLUSTRATOR: Sabina Hahn GENRE: Illustrated Novel PUBLICATION DATE: October 8, 2024 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A illustrated chapter book with two interesting characters and a fable-style narrative. A nice mix of realism and fantasy. Loved the writing and the characters. Adored the thought-provoking bits of wisdom. I wish the ending had extended at least a couple of pages further, but even as is, this is a beautiful book for all, especially but not only for a joint parent-child reading session. Plot Preview: A young boy is tired of the routine chores his mom forces him to do everyday. So when he wakes up one bright Saturday morning, he makes a special plan ‘before chores ruin this special day.’ He takes his best friend – Walter, his teddy bear – and decides to run away from home into the uncut grass beyond his house yard. Walter tries his best to dissuade the boy, but the boy is determined to ‘be free’. What happens next? Most of you would cer...

AUTHOR: Megan Bannen SERIES: Hart and Mercy, #3 GENRE: Romantasy PUBLICATION DATE: July 8, 2025 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A romantasy with an opposites-attract trope. Okay characters, okay plot, good ending. The third book in the Hart and Mercy trilogy. Can work as a standalone but better read in series order. This is my least favourite of the series. The 2025 series-finale jinx strikes again! 😢 Plot Preview: Rosie, an immortal demigod, has long served as a Tanrian Marshall, but after more than a century of service, she is frustrated with the repetitiveness of her work and the regular losses of those around her. While on her latest assignment, she discovers a sinister-looking shadowy haze inside the portal leading to Tanria. Unfortunately, the shadows are visible only to her. Because of her meddling, the portal is now defunct, and the inventor of the magical doorway, Dr. Adam Lee, has to be summoned. It is soon clear that the damage goes far beyond the single portal, so when ...

AUTHOR: Se-ah Jang TRANSLATOR: S.L. Park GENRE: Psychological Suspense. PUBLICATION DATE: July 29, 2025 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A Korean suspense thriller about two women whose lives change after one encounter. The first half is good enough, the final quarter goes bonkers. Morally ambiguous characters, regular twists, dysfunctional family, decent pacing, too much repetitive rambling, soap-opera feels. Reads a bit YA. Not sure if the negatives are because of the translation, but they certainly aren’t *only* because of the translation. Better to read after suspending disbelief. Plot Preview: Jae-young is on the run. Not just from her dead-end job and her cramped apartment, but also from a possible murder allegation. While on the train to Seoul trying to decide where to go, she meets a talkative young woman carrying her infant son. The mother seems to also be running from her past, as her husband left her for another woman. She is now on her way to the in-laws she has never met...

AUTHOR: P.D. Eastman GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: June 12, 1960 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A cute little picture book about a little birdie looking for his mother. Lovely story, many funny interactions, okay illustrations. (Perhaps they haven’t aged well?) I can see why this is a classic. Plot Preview: When a mother bird senses that her baby is about to hatch, she flies off to search food for him. Unfortunately, Baby Bird hatches when she is away. He knows that he has a mother but he can't see her anywhere nearby. Thus begins his adventurous quest to find his mother. A task made very difficult by the fact that he has no idea what she looks like! Just a few days ago, I read a picture book about a mother bird who lost her babies . Thanks to my GR friend Shelley’s comment on its review, here I am, reading a picture book about a baby bird who lost his mother. 😅 This classic picture book, first published in 1960, was an offering from Dr. Seuss’ publishing ...

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Li Chen SERIES: Detective Beans, #2 GENRE: Children's Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: September 9, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A children’s graphic novel about a young cat detective and his (mis)adventures in Cat Town. Anecdotal in style, with multiple adventures: some short, some long. Adorable illustrations. Silly and fun all the way! Recommended to the right age group: beginner independent readers. Almost as impossible to resist a cat book titled “Detective Beans” as to resist cat toe beans, right? When I saw the title, I expected a fun-filled graphic novel full of confuddling cases and clever detective work. Well, I did get most of this. What I didn’t expect was for the lead character to be a cat of school-going age! 😹 This graphic novel is the second in the Detective Beans series. Sadly, my library doesn’t yet have a copy of the first book, so I had to jump directly into this. But as this is just a children’s book, there is no major hurdle i...

AUTHOR: Wendi Nunnery GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: January 21, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A character-driven contemporary fiction with a touch of magical realism. (I would have considered this a spoiler but the blurb mentions it right at the start.) Interesting characters, emotional themes, medium pace. A bit too much telling in the writing. Takes a wildly complicated turn in the final third that is both clever and confuddling. Has a couple of teeny plot holes, but a good option for those looking for unusual and heartwarming storylines. Plot Preview: Hawthorn, Georgia. Despite what others say, twelve-year-old Eleanor knows that her mother is not dead. Vera Black disappeared six years ago, but Eleanor, who now helps her father James run their family bookshop, believes that Vera just abandoned them. When she finds the draft of an old novel hidden in a secret desk compartment at the bookshop, Eleanor discovers a mystery that causes her to question many thing...

AUTHOR: Talya Tate Boerner GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: May 20, 2025 RATING: 2.3 stars. In a Nutshell: A contemporary fiction about an old man and a little girl thrown together by circumstances. Good characters but the girl is overly precocious and somewhat annoying. Okayish found-family vibes but the ending is too convenient. Decent plot but way too preachy on a multitude of unrelated topics. Too much telling rather than showing. A heartwarming option for those unbothered by the above-mentioned issues. Content warning: Covid pandemic and lockdown used actively in the plot. Plot Preview: Arkansas. 2020. Seventy-year-old Theo is a retired botanist who spends his days preserving plant specimens for university research. Living alone after his wife died several years ago, Theo appreciates his solitude and his fixed routine. So when a precocious eight-year-old named Penelope comes barging into his life to escape from the rain outside, Theo is taken aback. He assumes that th...