This Boy’s Life
Rating: This Boy’s Life: A Memoir, by Tobias Wolff. Grove Press (2000), 304 pages. In This Boy’s Life, Wolff writes about growing up in the 1950s, moving from state to state with his mother as she tries to escape a violent boyfriend. His...
When Skateboards Will Be Free
Rating: When Skateboards Will Be Free: A Memoir of a Political Childhood, by Said Sayrafiezadeh. The Dial Press (2009), 287 pages. There was a time when I couldn’t get enough of tragic childhood memoirs. I would be appalled and heartbroken on behalf...
A Wolf at the Table
Rating: A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father, by Augusten Burroughs. St. Martin’s Press (2008), 256 pages. I was wrong about Augusten. He has proven beyond a doubt that he did have another award-winning book in him after all. I had declared him...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.