Coming-of-Age
The Sinking of the Angie Piper, by Chris Riley
The Sinking of the Angie Piper (240 pages), is Chris Riley’s debut novel. The audiobook was produced by Blackstone Audio. A commercial fisherman learns about compassion and courage from his slow-witted best friend as the two men fight for their lives during a major storm at sea. 5 Stars: “Gripping! I read that this is Riley’s…
Read MoreUncle Anton’s Atomic Bomb, by Ian Woollen
Uncle Anton’s Atomic Bomb (406 pages), a work of literary fiction by Ian Woollen, takes place in the latter half of the 20th century, when Cold War paranoia led just about every American family of means to build a bomb shelter in the backyard. Shorted-listed for the Balcones Prize. Mary weds Ward Jr., heir to…
Read MoreThe Last of the Blacksmiths, by Claire Gebben
In The Last Of The Blacksmiths (352 pages), Claire Gebben brings to life the moving story of Michael Harm, a nineteenth century blacksmith from the Bavarian Rhinelands who dares to follow his dreams of freedom and prosperity and travels from Germany to Cleveland, OH, to pursue an artisan way of life. Like many generations before…
Read MoreSirocco, by Danielle A. Dahl
Sirocco: A French Girl Comes of Age in War-Torn Algeria (274 pages), is a memoir by Danielle A. Dahl about her adventures growing up under threat of terrorism. Sirocco is a finalist in two categories of the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Memoirs (Historical/Legacy/Career) and Historical Nonfiction. “Sirocco is the riveting account of the…
Read MoreThe Book of Changes, by Jack Remick
The Book of Changes (306 pages) by Jack Remick, is a work of literary fiction that covers a tumultuous year in the life of an idealistic first-year male student enrolled at UC Berkeley in 1971. It is Book Three of The California Quartet, a series of standalone novels about young men coming of age in…
Read MoreGabriela and the Widow, by Jack Remick
Gabriela and The Widow (280 pages), a work of literary fiction by Seattle author Jack Remick, tells the story of a dying aristocrat and the Mixteca caregiver who helps her assemble the jumbled pieces of her past, a process that gives them both love, closure, and the courage to move on. Gabriela and The Widow…
Read MoreThe Turtle-Girl from East Pukapuka, by Cole Alpaugh
The Turtle-Girl from East Pukapuka (288 pages), is the second work of fiction by author, photographer and journalist Cole Alpaugh. The Turtle-Girl was a finalist in both the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the 2013 Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Awards. Alpaugh’s first book, The Bear in a Muddy Tutu, set in…
Read MoreValley Boy, by Jack Remick
Valley Boy (254 pages), by Jack Remick, covers a year in the life of a third-generation Okie teenager who is struggling with the stigma of his heritage. “Valley Boy is the story of every kid who wandered out of the Valley into Baghdad by the Bay with dreams, imagination, curiosity and a mind that admitted…
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