The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
(This review first appeared in March 2004) Rating: The True Story of Hansel and Gretel, by Louise Murphy. Penguin Books (2003), 306 pages. Through the trees they came, pawing at the snow to uncover the moss and leaves, eating any low-growing twigs and...
To Siberia
Rating: To Siberia, by Per Petterson. Picador (2009), 246 pages. (Originally published in Norway in 1996.) The unnamed narrator in this book dreams of moving to Siberia when she grows up. She has read all about it, has studied photographs of it, and at the...
The Zookeeper’s Wife
Rating: The Zookeeper’s Wife, by Diane Ackerman. W.W. Norton & Company (2007), 348 pages. Commemorations are underway in Poland today to mark the 70th anniversary of World War II. Coincidentally, I just finished a nonfiction book set in Warsaw during...
Dog Man
Rating: Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain, by Martha Sherrill. Penguin Press (2008), 256 pages. This is the kind of dog book that describes a particular breed—Akitas—so beautifully and with such love, I felt a sudden urgent need to go find...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.