comingofage | The Bossy Bookworm

Nov 23

Review of True Biz by Sara Nović

True Biz is a coming-of-age story, a beginner's primer on Deaf culture, and a captivating novel about romance, disappointment, fury, and...

Nov 22

Review of Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson

Kevin Wilson's wonderfully odd 1990s coming-of-age novel centers around teens Frankie and Zeke, their mysterious artistic creation, and...

Jul 26

Review of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

A book about childhood friends making a video game is an unexpected, captivating setup for this wonderfully deep, epic dive into...

Jun 1

Review of Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

Young Mungo offers a striking story of disappointment, abuse, Protestant-Catholic conflict, and a young, gay love forged in the intensely...

Mar 24

Review of Tess of the Road (Tess of the Road #1) by Rachel Hartman

Rachel Hartman's young adult story follows irresistible, hardheaded, wonderfully faulted Tess as she breaks from rigid medieval gender...

Feb 18

Review of Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi

This peek into a childhood in Kabul and a lifetime of searching and yearning is luminous and vivid in Hashimi's hands. What will this...

Feb 8

Review of My Heart Went Walking by Sally Hanan

Hanan's 1980s Irish coming-of-age story is full of angst, secrets, life-and-death danger, youthful determination--and the feeling that...

Jan 26

Review of Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School by Kendra James

In Admissions, Kendra James explores race, friendship, ambition, and the absurdities and rhythm of daily life during her time at a New...

Jan 12

Review of Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

Betty is based on the author's family stories of difficulties, abuse, tragedies, and a hardscrabble life in the Appalachian foothills of...

Nov 23, 2021

Review of Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

In Blau's gleefully 1970s-set novel, Mary Jane doesn't merely shift from emotional innocence to young adulthood, she comes into her own,...

Sep 28, 2021

Review of Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford

In this memoir, Ford shares how she navigated an unforgiving childhood and complicated relationships with her volatile mother and her...

Aug 31, 2021

August Wrap-Up: My Favorite Reads of the Month

My very favorite books from August! These are the books I most loved reading during the past month. The list skews toward light fiction,...

Jul 28, 2021

Three Books I'm Reading Now, 7/28/21 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading The People We Keep, Allison Larkin's upcoming novel about a young protagonist shaping her life...

Jul 1, 2021

Review of Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

ICYMI: thirteen-year-old Frank Dunn experiences crises of faith during the unforgettably complicated and tragic summer of 1961 in his...

May 18, 2021

Three Books I'm Reading Now, 5/18/21 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading a brand-new romance-and-music book that's gotten lots of buzz; a beautiful modern classic from a...

Apr 15, 2021

Review of Normal People by Sally Rooney

The connection between Marianne and Connell is the beautiful, haunting, swirling source of misery, heartache, and joy and fulfillment in...

Apr 14, 2021

Three Books I'm Reading Now, 4/14/21 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading (actually listening to, which I recommend in this case) an offbeat, captivating celebrity memoir by...

Feb 25, 2021

Review of I Was Told It Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman

Waxman offers a nice dose of feminism, realistically fraught mother-daughter interactions, and laugh-out-loud funny moments. Jessica is a...

Jan 21, 2021

Review of Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

A book I loved, in case you missed it! I loved this post-World War II book about bravery and rural life for middle-grade readers....

Jan 13, 2021

Review of City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Young Vivian's carousing in 1940s New York City is entertaining, sexy, and an interesting burst of feminism and freedom in the era. In...

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