The Book Thief
(This review first appeared in February 2007) Rating: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. Knopf (2006), 552 pages. This is the story of a German girl living in a foster family in a working-class town in Germany during World War II. Such a setting encompasses,...
Little House Series
HarperCollins has made a horrendous, unfathomable decision that will surely be studied in future college marketing courses in the same chapter as the “New Coke” blunder of 1985. In a woefully misguided attempt to keep the Little House series “relevant and vibrant” to...
The People’s Act of Love
(This review first appeared in February of 2007) Rating: The People’s Act of Love, by James Meek. Canongate (2005), 391 pages. This is a very strange story with a particularly tangled and complicated plot. It takes place in a small village in Siberia...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.