Citrus County
Citrus County, by John Brandon. McSweeney’s (2011), 216 pages. Reviewed by Donna I happened to read this...
The Snow Child
The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey. Little, Brown and Company (2012), 386 pages. Easily the best book I’ve read...
The Vanishing of Ka...
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, by Helen Grant. Penguin (2009), 304 pages. Back-cover reviews describe...
The Invisible Mount...
The Invisible Mountain, by Carolina De Robertis. Vintage Books (2009), 424 pages. This is a book that will...
The Family Fang
The Family Fang, by Kevin Wilson. Ecco (2011), 309 pages. I normally go out of my way to avoid books...
Broken Glass Park
Broken Glass Park, by Alina Bronsky. Translated from German by Tim Mohr. Europa Editions (2010), 211...
Formerly Favorite A...
What a disheartening year it’s been for those of us who want to believe that an author’s subsequent book...
The Angel’s G...
The Angel’s Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Anchor Books (2010), 531 pages. Blech. What a relief to be done...
Freedom
Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2010), 562 pages. Much like my favorite...
The God of Animals
The God of Animals, by Aryn Kyle. Scribner (2007), 305 pages. This was another one of those serendipitously...
Beauty
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast, by Robin McKinley. Harper Trophy (1978), 245...
The Namesake
The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri. Houghton Mifflin Company (2004), 291 pages. This is a very well-written book...
The Hole We’r...
The Hole We’re In, by Gabrielle Zevin. Black Cat (2010), 283 pages. This is one of those novels that...
About a Boy
About a Boy, by Nick Hornby. Riverhead Books (1998), 307 pages. This cover is the worst, most misleading...
The Blue Orchard
The Blue Orchard, by Jackson Taylor. Touchstone (2010), 416 pages. Taylor’s novel about abortion in...
The Shadow of the W...
The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Penguin Books (2005), 487 pages. This is a book for people who...
Little Bee
Little Bee, by Chris Cleave. Simon Schuster (2009), 288 pages. Little Bee is a fourteen-year-old girl from...
What Was She Thinki...
What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal, by Zoe Heller. Henry Holt and Co (2003), 272 pages. Barbara...
The Book Thief
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. Knopf (2006), 552 pages. This is the story of a German girl living in a...
The Miraculous Jour...
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,by Kate DiCamillo.Candlewick Press (2006), 198 pages. This is the...
The Darkest Child
The Darkest Child, by Delores Phillips. Soho Press (2004), 387 pages. This is a very well-written and...
The Story of Edgar ...
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski. Ecco (2008), 576 pages. I heard about The Story of Edgar...
The Glass of Time
The Glass of Time: The Secret Life of Miss Esperanza Gorst, Narrated by Herself, by Michael Cox. W.W. Norton...
Digging to America
Digging to America, by Anne Tyler. Ballantine Books (2007), 288 pages. Two families arrive at the Baltimore...
Bone China
Bone China, by Roma Tearne. Europa Editions (2009), 378 pages. It was strange reading this just two months...
As Hot As It Was Yo...
As Hot As It Was You Ought to Thank Me, by Nanci Kincaid. Back Bay Books (2005), 384 pages. Many literary...
The True Story of H...
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel, by Louise Murphy. Penguin Books (2003), 306 pages. “Through the trees...
The Help
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. Amy Einhorn Books (2009), 451 pages. Set in 1960’s Jackson,...
Lavinia
Lavinia, by Ursula K. Le Guin. Mariner Books (2009), 284 pages. Rome has not yet been founded; it doesn’t...
Zel
Zel, by Donna Jo Napoli. Puffin Books (1996), 234 pages. This young adult retelling of the classic fairy tale...
People of the Book
People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks. Penguin Books (2008), 386 pages. Geraldine Brooks is an exceptional...
To Siberia
To Siberia, by Per Petterson. Picador (2009), 246 pages. (Originally published in Norway in 1996.) The...
The Curious Inciden...
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon. Doubleday (2002), 240 pages. This book...
Coraline
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman. Harper Trophy (2003), 162 pages. Gaiman, in his young adult novel Coraline, has...
Pharmakon
Pharmakon…or the Story of a Happy Family, by Dirk Wittenborn. Penguin Books (2008), 404 pages. The father...
The Cry of the Slot...
The Cry of the Sloth, by Sam Savage. Coffee House Press (2009), 224 pages. Andrew Whittaker is an...
A Reliable Wife
A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick. Algonquin (2009), 291 pages. Goolrick’s novel is set in rural...
The Book of Lost Th...
The Book of Lost Things, by John Connelly. Washington Square Press (2007), 480 pages. This book is actually...
Middlesex
Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2002), 530 pages. Middlesex is an original and...
The Rapture of Cana...
The Rapture of Canaan, by Sheri Reynolds. Berkley Books (1995), 320 pages. Who doesn’t love a good story...
Strawberry Fields
Strawberry Fields, by Marina Lewycka. Penguin Books (2008), 294 pages I loved this book. But before I...
The People’s ...
The People’s Act of Love, by James Meek. Canongate (2005), 391 pages. This is a very strange story...
Loving Frank
Loving Frank, by Nancy Horan. Random House (2007), 377 pages With minimal interest in Frank Lloyd...
The Way the Crow Fl...
The Way the Crow Flies, by Ann-Marie MacDonald. HarperCollins (2003), 820 pages. This book perfectly...
Firmin
Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife, by Sam Savage. Coffee House Press (2006), 148 pages. This...
City of Thieves
City of Thieves, by David Benioff. Viking (2008), 272 pages. In September of 1941, just two and a half...
The Glimmer Palace
The Glimmer Palace, by Beatrice Colin. Riverhead Books (2008), 414 pages. This novel takes place in...
A Million Little Li...
A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey. Random House (2004), 448 pages. A memoir is one person’s...
The Elegance of the...
The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, translated by Alison Anderson. Europa Editions (2008), 325...
The Crimson Petal a...
The Crimson Petal and the White, by Michel Faber. Harvest Books (2003), 944 pages. It is a theory...
About Us
The Book Shark began as an independent book review website created by Cindy Blackett and Donna Long in 2002.
From the beginning our goal was not only to write great reviews, but also to recognize the most well-written books we read each year with an award...
Gustine Awards
The Gustine Awards were named in honor of the main character in one of our favorite books—The Dress Lodger, by Sheri Holman. Awards have been given out yearly since 2002 in three categories: fiction, nonfiction, and memoir...
Cover Art
A book’s cover is as important as the writing within it. Yes, I really just said that. I am aware that this is a highly offensive statement to many authors who have toiled for years on their books and believe their words are the only thing that matters...
Reader Reviews
We want to know your choice for best fiction of 2011! Send us your review and if we choose it, it will be posted here through the month of March.
Fiction»
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Citrus County
20 Apr 2012
Citrus County, by John Brandon. McSweeney’s (2011), 216 pages.
More in Fiction
Reviewed by Donna
I happened to read this book immediately ....
Nonfiction»
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The Wave
15 Feb 2011
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean, by Susan Casey. Doubleday ....
More in Nonfiction
Memoir»
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Mukiwa: A Whit...
11 May 2012
Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa, by Peter Godwin. Grove Press (1996), 418 pages.
More in Memoir
“I think I first ....
Angry Rants»
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Three Cups of ...
12 Oct 2011
Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way, by Jon Krakauer. Anchor (2011) ....
More in Angry Rants
Graphic Novels»
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Stitches
28 Dec 2009
Stitches: A Memoir, by David Small. W.W. Norton & Company (2009), 329 pages.
More in Graphic Novels
This memoir is the biggest ....
Bad Books»
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The Story of E...
17 Jan 2010
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski. Ecco (2008), 576 pages.
More in Bad Books
I heard about The Story of ....