Jess's Reviews

Grammar has never been so fun! This book is both a sensational resource for all your questions about the idiosyncratic laws of the English language, as well as a playful acknowledgement of the fact that these laws are often absurd. You’ll laugh, you’ll learn, and you’ll impress your friends with your new ability to define a comma splice. - Jess

A guest at a dinner party disappears and locks himself - indefinitely - in the guest room, kicking off a media frenzy that brings together a bunch of lovable outcasts. Smith writes from a place of deep empathy, infusing each page with electric energy and witty wordplay. Reading this book rekindled my fondness for humanity. - Jess

Set in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles, Milkman confronts the absurdity of political strife and arbitrary borders, never ignoring the extreme violence and heartbreak that can arise from such divisions. Burns’ voice is dryly humorous, even as her narrator struggles with a stalker, harassment, and a war-torn home. - Jess

Zadie Smith understands people the way Dostoevsky understood people: the ways in which where they come from and who they come from influence where and how they end up. Reading this book is like joining another family, and though every member is flawed - to say the least - each character feels like a real person. A nearly perfect book. - Jess

It takes a certain kind of person - animal-lover, star-gazer, adventure seeker - to thrive while living at 9,000 feet. Pam Houston’s full heart and indomitable spirit are on full display in this memoir, which contains all the meditative and hopeful vignettes fans of Houston have come to expect. A great choice for fans of Cheryl Strayed and Terry Tempest Williams! - Jess

If you’ve heard Beyonce’s song “Flawless,” you’ve already been exposed to a sampling of this incredible treatise. Adichie explains feminism in a straightforward way that makes it easy for everyone to claim it. Set this one out in a prominent place in your home and use it as a litmus test for anyone you’re newly dating. If they nod along to it while they’re reading, they’re a keeper! - Jess

Another charming, inventive, and bizarre short story from a master of the form, Fox 8 will pinch your heart and make you cackle with laughter. With gorgeous illustrations by Chelsea Cardinal, this is an Aesop’s fable for the modern era. As with all of George Saunders’s other work, Fox 8 will leave you feeling like you’ve ridden a roller coaster through the entire range of human emotions—and isn’t that what literature is for? - Jessica

The trick of this book is that it stars a character so unlovable, so driven by greed and self-image, that you can’t help but loathe him… and yet! Somehow, you’ll find yourself falling for Barry, a hedge fund manager whose obsession with his past begins to unravel his present. Lake Success is set at the height of American turmoil—pre-election, 2016 ­—and it reveals the beating heart of our country with unflinching satire. - Jessica

Full of poems for the bold feminist princess you never knew you were, Fierce Fairytales is the perfect collection for fans of Rupi Kuar and Amanda Lovelace. Nikita Gill turns fairytale tropes on their head and invites new readings of their protagonists, turning helpless maidens into warriors with agency. The women in these poems don’t wait for the prince to come and rescue them - they’ll do it themselves, thank you very much! - Jessica

If “Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down” is your battle cry, read this book. A Handmaid’s Tale for 2018, Red Clocks follows five women as they navigate private burdens and desires regarding pregnancy, fertility, and motherhood. Set in a world that’s like ours but with even more misogynistic laws, Red Clocks is a book for anyone who worries for the future of this country. - Jessica