msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

A heart-warming story filled with gorgeous chiaroscuro illustrations that I read in one sitting, Peter Brown's debut middle-grade book is ultimately about making friends and creating family wherever you find yourself. Robot Roz wakes up on a remote island after the cargo ship she was on sinks at sea, and finds that she is anything but alone. A delightful cast of animal inhabitants make themselves known as Roz slowly becomes a contributing part of their community, adopting an orphaned gosling, teaching the creatures how to build lodges, and even protecting them from would-be predators. This is the perfect match for anyone who loves cozy stories with animals that aren't overly saccharine. Buy this one for all of your young reader friends, or relish it yourself! Grade 4+

The playlist concept was the best part of the book. Although I enjoyed Sam as a character, his reaction (and the response of the entire community) to his best friend's suicide was completely unbelievable. Add an ending that is overly complicated, throw in a new character a few chapters from said ending, and you have a book that tries hard but misses its mark. Read Jennifer Niven's spectacular All The Bright Places or Nina LaCoeur's unforgettable Hold Still instead. View all my reviews

Marrow Island by Alexis M. Smith My rating: 3 of 5 stars Twenty years after her father dies in an earthquake related disaster, journalist Lucie Bowen heads back to the island where it all happened. Although she is there to investigate the Marrow Colony, a group of environmentalists trying to remediate the damage done two decades prior, she ends up revisiting the past and rekindling a friendship with her childhood friend and sometimes girlfriend, Kate, who is still living on the island as a member of the colony. Part mystery, part romance, and part eco-thriller, this book is perfect if you are a PNW native or afficionado: it's set in Seattle, the San Juans, and other parts of Washington State. If you loved Station Eleven and are wanting more realistic post-fill-in-the-blank-disaster-pandemic-apocalypse fiction, you will find much to appreciate in MI: a lifelong love-friendship examined, a natural disaster paired with a man-made result, and a quiet calmness juxtaposed with chaos....

Seattle poet, essayist, and activist Emily Johnston's unforgettable book of environmental verse is meant to be read Puget Sound-side, which is exactly how I took it in: one section at a time each morning on the beach at Vashon with eagles flying overhead and ducks paddling a stone's throw away. Her Animals begins with an apology and ends with a plea, and in that way, it's a love letter to the planet, full of adoration, regret, and the quiet resonance of resignation that often comes when you know that it's likely too little too late. The book itself is lovely, all soft edges and chiaroscuro; if you are lucky enough to find one, avail yourself of one of the 99 specially bound and signed editions. The perfect holiday gift for fans of poetry, the quiet reader who has read everything, or the environmentalists in your life, Her Animals would also make a refreshing addition to the reading list for any Environmental Science course.Thank you, Peter and Joy, for bringing Ms. ...

Richard Siken's first collection, Crush, was a transformative read for me: the exact book at the exact time during a rather exacting year. When I read Scheherazade for the first time (I am eternally grateful to Ms. Sara Kelly for putting it in my poetry-addicted hands) I got goosebumps, and they didn't go away until I finished the rest of his gorgeous, unforgettable, razor-sharp work. Maybe that is why I found this new collection a little underwhelming. How does one follow up on exquisite undeniable perfection? Are you catching my drift? READ CRUSH . 

Jon Mosher and Ray Cappicciano are unlikely friends. Jon is the square and silent son of Jewish immigrants who barely survived the Holocaust; Ray is the town delinquent who lives alone with his violent war-veteran father. Together, along with Ray's newly-arrived girlfriend Karen, they struggle to escape the bleak landscape of small town Brewster and survive the quiet desperation that occurs when the people who should love you the most abuse you. A devastating, haunting, meticulously crafted coming-of-age story set in 1968 small-town America from award-winning author Mark Slouka that will stay with you long after the last page is turned. Click here for a full review.

A gorgeous, heart-wrenching, unforgettable read from award-winning Canadian author Miriam Toews, All My Puny Sorrows tells the story of two sisters, Elf and Frieda, living in the aftermath of their Mennonite upbringing and their father's suicide, and the love between them. Ms. Toews' tale masterfully blends dark and funny: just when the heaviness becomes too much, she adds a bit of lightness to keep you turning the pages. A stunningly spot-on portrayal of depression and the aching aftermath of suicide, not to be missed by fans of sad yet funny modern fiction. Click here for a full review.