The Darkest Child
(This review first appeared in November 2006) Rating: The Darkest Child, by Delores Phillips. Soho Press (2004), 387 pages. This is a very well-written and disturbing (in a good way) novel that does not deserve its ugly cover. The boring stock photo of a...
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
(This review first appeared in July 2008) Rating: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski. Ecco (2008), 576 pages. I heard about The Story of Edgar Sawtelle long before it was published, due to early rave reviews billing it as “An American...
The Glass of Time
Rating: The Glass of Time: The Secret Life of Miss Esperanza Gorst, Narrated by Herself, by Michael Cox. W.W. Norton & Company (2008), 575 pages. In Victorian England, young Esperanza Gorst, a twenty-year-old orphan, applies for a position as personal...
Infidel
Rating: Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Free Press (2007), 353 pages. In order for me to love a memoir the author must cover the following basics: a great memory for not just the concrete details of life as a small child (if the memoirist has omitted the...About Us
The Book Shark began as an independent book review website created by Cindy Pinto 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. We are aware that this may offend some authors who have toiled for years on their books and believe their words are the only thing that matters...
Reader Reviews
What’s the best or worst book you’ve ever read? What’s the most recent book that you’ve had a strong reaction to? Send us your thoughts, and we’ll post them in this spot.