🌟 Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

 

Interesting paragraph from NYTimes review:

This novel is at once about the transfiguration of life into art — it is O’Farrell’s extended speculation on how Hamnet’s death might have fueled the creation of one of his father’s greatest plays — and at the same time, it is a master class in how she, herself, does it.

This is a remarkable work of fiction. The last 20 pages are so beautifully written and so powerful.  Highly recommended! 

All Adults Here by Emma Straub

This book reminded me of an Anne Tyler novel - not a specific one, but the "feeling" of the novel itself was reminiscent of that author. And it's interesting because I think this has to do with Emma Straub's maturity as a novelist.  I used to think of her as a novelist for younger adults (Not YA, but maybe millennials?) Anyway, the characters are older in this book and more drawn, I thought. And I enjoyed it!

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare

 

Loved this book! Such a powerful story.

A powerful, emotional debut novel told in the unforgettable voice of a young Nigerian woman who is trapped in a life of servitude but determined to fight for her dreams and choose her own future.

Adunni is a fourteen-year-old Nigerian girl who knows what she wants: an education. This, her mother has told her, is the only way to get a “louding voice”—the ability to speak for herself and decide her own future. But instead, Adunni's father sells her to be the third wife of a local man who is eager for her to bear him a son and heir.