book review
Though Unfinished, Richard Wagamese’s Starlight Deserves a Read
May 5, 2019By: Gabrielle McLaren, Editor-in-Chief The titular character of Richard Wagamese’s swan song Starlight, Frank Starlight, is a quiet rancher living on the land where he was raised, which he knows like the back of his hand. With him is his farmhand turned best friend, Eugene Roth. Their shared lives are flipped when they take in Emmy Strong and her daughter Winnie, who are on the run from an abusive ex and his henchman. This might sound like a fairly simple story — and in some ways it is. However, as with all of Richard Wagamese’s work, it’s not so much…
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Annihilation is a beautiful ordeal
January 28, 2019By: Alex Bloom Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation is the first book in the Southern Reach Trilogy, and it will pull you in immediately with its rich and insidious atmosphere. Lovers of science fiction and horror are sure to find themselves gripped…
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All Night Gas Bar illuminates the hardships of a working Vancouver class
October 9, 2018By: Jill Mandrake, SFU Alumni The collection of memoirs called All Night Gas Bar began its its journey in the mid-1970s: author Ernest Hekkanen sent it around to dozens of publishers, only to receive just as many rejections. Then…
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The Hanging Girl is a gripping story that will keep you on your toes
September 16, 2018By: Michelle Chiang The Hanging Girl follows seventeen-year-old Skye Thorn, who often gave tarot readings for her classmates throughout her life. And when their small town’s golden girl Paige Bonnet goes missing, Skye decides to use…
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100 Days in Uranium City is a quiet, calm read that’ll leave you empathizing with the life of a 70s miner
September 15, 2018By: Amal Javed Abdullah If you’re looking for a short yet meaningful read, 100 Days in Uranium City by Canadian illustrator Ariane Dénommé is the perfect graphic novel to pick up. Best to read on a rainy day by a…
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Little Fires Everywhere is the perfect, albeit unconventional, summer read
July 31, 2018Written by:Samantha Manalac With summer winding down, there’s only a little bit of time left to get the last of your summer reading done. If you’re still looking for a book to fill that void, this might be the one…
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Eric Lindstrom’s Not If I See You First features a relatable and rule-driven protagonist
July 30, 2018Written by: Louise Ho From the cover to its writing, the intriguing book Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom takes a spin on how we read and see people, both figuratively and literally. This contemporary young adult…
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Looking at John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars six years later
July 26, 2018Written by: Geron Malbas If you’re curious as to why I am reviewing John Green’s incredibly popular young adult book from 2012, The Fault in Our Stars (TFIOS), you can chalk that up to my curiosity on how well it…
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True to his name, Karemaker weaves empathy throughout Feast of Fields
July 15, 2018Written by: Kate Olivares At the most basic level, Feast of Fields is graphic novelist Sean Karemaker’s love letter to the protagonist’s mother, Hanne. After a bad day at school, timid and lonely Sean finds comfort in listening to his…
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The Moment is a beautifully written, heart-wrenching woman-loving-woman novel
July 4, 2018Written by: Courtney Miller Don’t let the cover fool you; if you’re expecting a cliché young adult romance, look elsewhere. The Moment is one book that I return to year after year because the way T. C. Anderson weaves words…
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