It’s July 1895, and brothers Robert and Nattie Coombes are having the perfect summer. With their father away earning a paycheck and their mother visiting relatives in Liverpool, the boys take all their meals at coffee houses, visit the seaside and theatre, and attend local day-long cricket matches. When their aunt — suspicious that the…
Category: Review
Review: Dear Abigail
John and Abigail’s letters to each other are famous; less known are the letters between Abigail and her sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. They were separated by geography, family life, and in some cases ideology, but throughout their lifetimes relied on each other for knowledge, comfort, and humor. In Dear Abigail: The Intimate Lives and Revolutionary…
Review: Gunn’s Golden Rules
Tim Gunn is best known for his work on Project Runway, where his “Make it work” anthem rings repeatedly in the ears of designers and viewers alike. It’s been Gunn’s mantra for at least a decade, so of course it had to be the title of his book. Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for…
Review: Seven Deadlies
14 year-old Perry Gonzales is what her teachers would call “precocious.” She’s the smartest student at the prestigious Mark Frost Academy, and is often called on to tutor students older than herself. In a series of college admissions essays (yes, she’s only 14, but there’s no time like the present), Perry writes about seven of…
Review: Croak
Lex Bartleby is 16 and a complete nightmare. Her grades are in the toilet, she’s constantly fighting with classmates and her family, and she’s this close to getting expelled. So she’s mad, but not surprised, when her parents drop her on a bus to the middle of nowhere to stay with her Uncle Mort for…