REVIEW: An Infinite Love Story by Chanel Cleeton

 

Synopsis

When an astronaut is lost in space, his wife relives their epic love as she attempts to unravel what truly happened to him, in this sweeping love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s Space Race, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes.

When Joe Mitchell launches into space, the world is watching. It’s 1968, and the country waits with anticipation and excitement for another successful mission, another celebration as America sets its sights on the Moon. And then comes the knock at the door.

Joe Mitchell’s spacecraft has lost contact. He and his fellow astronauts onboard are feared to be dead. It’s his wife Vivian’s worst nightmare come to life, her grief suddenly taking center stage as the nation waits and mourns. In her quiet moments, Vivian relives their memorable story, unable to accept that this is the end to a love that felt as though it was written in the stars.

As the investigation surrounding Joe’s lost spacecraft intensifies and the mishap is written off as an operator error, Vivian is determined to clear her husband’s name and uncover the mystery of what happened in space. When someone starts sending Vivian messages—messages she believes only Joe could send—she begins to wonder if their love is stronger than space and time, and she’ll do whatever it takes to bring her husband back to her.

Format 352 pages, Paperback

Expected publication July 7, 2026 by Berkley

ISBN 9780593816936 (ISBN10: 0593816935)

About the Author

Chanel Cleeton is the Cuban American New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many novels, including Reese's Book Club pick Next Year in Havana. Originally from Florida, Chanel studied in London where she earned degrees in international relations and global politics. In law school, Chanel discovered her passion writing novels and embarked on a new adventure following her lifelong love of books. 

Learn more on the author's website

My Thoughts

"Come back to me," she whispered to the sky.

Vivian is practical, with no patience for egos or nonsense — a woman carving out her place in the male-dominated world of 1960s television news. A few months after Viv begins sharing an apartment with Polly in Arlington, VA, the two women meet Joe and Frank, fighter jet pilots with astronaut ambitions. Joe is romantic and impassioned, focused and driven — an adrenaline junkie who loves motorcycles and jets and burns with the dream of reaching space.

"I've never felt more at peace, more in awe of the world around me, of life, than when I'm in the air. There's a poetry about it, a simplicity and beauty to how very small you feel when confronted with the vastness of the universe and your place inside it. It humbles you, I suppose. Or makes you feel like anything is possible. Maybe that's the humbling part. I can never decide."

Polly and Frank fall in love quickly and marry. Viv and Joe are more deliberate — the sparks are immediate, but complications keep them at arm's length for a time. Eventually they find their way to each other. Joe achieves his dream of becoming an astronaut, while Viv quietly sets aside her own dream of becoming a news anchor to support his. Then comes that fateful day when mission control loses contact with Joe's spacecraft, and Viv is left suspended in time, reliving their life together.

"She'd known when he went up that the chance of him coming back to her alive was as good as a coin toss. Now those odds seemed decidedly worse and stacked against her.

How could they lose a spacecraft?"

The portrayal of astronaut families and the politics of space exploration feels richly familiar — very much in the spirit of The Right Stuff, which the author apparently read in preparation.

"Astronaut wives had long been subjected to public fascination and consumption, and considering the army of reporters camped out on her front lawn waiting for a glimpse of her, they didn't care that this was one of the absolute worst moments of her life."

Around 70% in, the story takes a turn that carries a distinct Interstellar quality — though told from a wife's perspective rather than a daughter's. It's a clever blend of romance, sci-fi, and emotional depth that keeps the story feeling fresh: Interstellar meets The Time Traveler's Wife.

But at its heart, this is a love story — many love stories, really. There is love between people, love for dreams, love for life itself. Yet threading through all of it is Viv's story, and it is hers above all else.

Five words: sentimental, mind-bending, slow ride, romantic, murky

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My final thoughts: This is ultimately about Viv and Joe — a love that transcends time, a meditation on loss and the quiet rebirth of love. The story moves slowly and tenderly, and while the sci-fi elements raise questions that remain unresolved, I still found myself deeply absorbed in their journey. For fans of emotionally resonant sci-fi like The Time Traveler's Wife, I'd recommend this one if you're looking for a gentle read that stirs your heart, nudges you to contemplate the vastness of the universe, and leaves you comfortable sitting with more questions than you started with.

My Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through BookBrowse in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. 

QUICK REVIEW: Upward Bound by Woody Brown

 

Synopsis

Upward Bound is not a place anyone dreams of spending their days. The dreary adult daycare center for Los Angeles's disabled community is, for many of its clients and staff, a place of last resort. This includes Carlos, a young aide who lost his mother as a boy and now works there alongside his beloved sister Mariana; Jorge, the gentle nonspeaking giant whom Carlos seeks to befriend (and prevent from escaping); Tom, a beautiful young man with cerebral palsy, who pines for Ann, the summer lifeguard at the center's pool who feels out of her depth; then there's Dave, Upward Bound’s director who came to L.A. to pursue an acting career but now channels his passion into staging an overly ambitious holiday show starring the center's irrepressible clients. Framing these intertwined narratives—and connecting them in surprising, shattering ways—is the riveting and sometimes ironic testimony of Walter, a recent community college graduate who, after a family tragedy, must return to the company of his disabled peers.

In Upward Bound, Woody Brown has created an indelible, authentic, and profoundly moving group portrait of autism and other disabilities, all illuminated by his empathy, sly sense of humor, and enormous gifts as a novelist. With remarkable sophistication, insight, and creativity, Brown depicts a community too-often invisible in literature and society. Filled with characters you won't soon forget, Upward Bound will inspire and touch you, teaching you as much about yourself as the tender, miraculous world behind the center's doors.

Format 208 pages, Hardcover
Published March 31, 2026 by Hogarth
ISBN 9780593979976 (ISBN10: 0593979974)

My Thoughts

The story unfolds through the first-person perspectives of both patients and workers at an adult day care center — a world that doesn't often find its way into fiction, and one that turns out to be quietly rich with humanity.

What makes it work is the angle. Rather than observing these characters from the outside, you're dropped directly into their inner lives — their small victories, their frustrations, their moments of unexpected connection. It feels fresh in a literary landscape where the same settings and storylines seem to recycle endlessly.

That said, don't go in expecting a page-turner. Upward Bound is not a story that grabs you by the collar. It's more of a gentle companion — the kind of listen you settle into rather than race through. As an audiobook it worked particularly well for that reason, fitting naturally into quieter moments of the day.

My final word: Upward Bound took me by surprise with its setting and approach. It won't be the most thrilling thing you listen to this year, but it's a genuinely pleasant diversion with more substance than you might expect. Sometimes that's exactly what you need.

My Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

REVIEW: Wait for Me by Amy Jo Burns

 

Synopsis

From the author of Mercury and Shiner comes a novel about the bond between two female folk singers, the love stories that haunt them, and the music that brings them together to burn bright.

Young folk singer Elle Harlow reaches the height of her prowess in 1973, with two wildly beloved albums to her name and a hidden history of impossible heartbreak. When she sets foot on the famed Grand Ole Opry stage, a far cry from the mountain that raised her, Elle gives the biggest performance of her life. Then, to the dismay of shocked fans, her producer, and the man who still loves her, she vanishes.

Almost two decades later, eighteen-year-old Marijohn Shaw is spending her summer pumping gas, writing songs on her broken mandolin, and longing for a mother. Her father, Abe, has always sworn he was the last person to see Elle Harlow alive, but when a meteor strikes the woods of their sleepy Pennsylvania town and a piece of Elle’s past emerges from the wreckage, the truth of her disappearance sets fire to everything Marijohn believes about herself, her music, and her ability to love with abandon.

Wait for Me exalts the lush hills of Appalachia and the bright lights of Nashville as it reveals the legacy of Elle Harlow, the bold voice that defined her, the intimate betrayal that undid her, and the unexpected faith of another young woman determined to resurrect her.

Format 336 pages, Hardcover
Published March 3, 2026 by Celadon Books
ISBN 9781250399304 (ISBN10: 1250399300)

About the Author

Amy Jo’s new novel, Wait for Me, is the Today Show Read With Jenna pick for March 2026. She is the author of three other books, including Cinderland, Shiner, and Mercury, which was a Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick, a People Magazine Book of the Week, and an Editor’s Choice selection in The New York Times. A western Pennsylvania native, she lives in New Jersey with her family.

You can find her on Instagram at @burnsamyjo.

Find her website at Amy Jo Burns

My Thoughts

Wait for Me by Amy Jo Burns is a little dreamy and strange, but mostly enjoyable. 

"People passed through her like water through a sieve"

Elle Harlow is a woman forged by hardship. Raised by a father who grieved the healthy son he never had, she became the next best thing — hunting, providing, holding the family together when he left for war, and tending to a sickly brother with the hands of a healer. 

But Elle's truest language was music, and it was through bluegrass and the music of her small mountain community where she said what she couldn't otherwise.

Wait for Me winds through the decades, tracing the arc of a woman who briefly captured the attention of the music industry before vanishing just as suddenly as she appeared. Decades later, her story becomes entangled with that of Mary John — an aspiring musician and songwriter living motherless in the world.

Burns offers up a unique storyline that has an almost magical quality to it — moments that feel suspended just slightly outside of ordinary reality, as if the characters exist in a world where the rules are just a bit more elastic than our own. This dreamlike atmosphere is one of the book's strongest assets, and it carries you through the slower stretches with a kind of gentle momentum.

That said, the plot does occasionally veer into territory that strains credibility. There are a handful of moments that require a fairly generous suspension of disbelief — situations that felt too convenient or too far-fetched, even by the novel's own internal logic. It doesn't derail the experience entirely, but it does make it difficult to fully lose yourself in the story at times.

If you're listening to the audiobook — and honestly, that might be the best way to experience this one — you're in for a treat on the production front. The narrators do a commendable job bringing the characters to life, finding distinct voices that make it easy to track who's who. What really sets this audiobook apart, though, is the inclusion of actual musical snippets: songs written and performed by the characters are woven right into the listening experience. It's a really nice touch that adds texture to the story and makes the music feel real rather than imagined. It's the kind of detail that elevates the format beyond simply "someone reading a book aloud."

Five words: dreamlike, wistful, unique, incredulous, gentle

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My final word: Overall, Wait for Me is a pleasant and mostly satisfying read — or listen. It won't necessarily blow your mind, but it's a worthwhile journey if you're in the mood for something with a bit of magic, a unique premise, and the willingness to go along for the ride even when things get a little hard to believe.

My Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

REVIEW: The Lilac People by Milo Todd

Synopsis

For readers of All the Light We Cannot See and In Memoriam, a moving and deeply humane story about a trans man who must relinquish the freedoms of prewar Berlin to survive first the Nazis then the Allies while protecting the ones he loves.

In 1932 Berlin, Bertie, a trans man, and his friends spend carefree nights at the Eldorado Club, the epicenter of Berlin's thriving queer community. An employee of the renowned Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science, Bertie works to improve queer rights in Germany and beyond, but everything changes when Hitler rises to power. The institute is raided, the Eldorado is shuttered, and queer people are rounded up. Bertie barely escapes with his girlfriend, Sofie, to a nearby farm. There they take on the identities of an elderly couple and live for more than a decade in isolation.

In the final days of the war, with their freedom in sight, Bertie and Sofie find a young trans man collapsed on their property, still dressed in Holocaust prison clothes. They vow to protect him—not from the Nazis, but from the Allied forces who are arresting queer prisoners while liberating the rest of the country. Ironically, as the Allies' vise grip closes on Bertie and his family, their only salvation becomes fleeing to the United States.

Brimming with hope, resilience, and the enduring power of community, The Lilac People tells an extraordinary story inspired by real events and recovers an occluded moment of trans history.

Format 303 pages, Hardcover
Published April 29, 2025 by Counterpoint
ISBN 9781640097032 (ISBN10: 1640097031)


About the Author

Milo Todd is a Massachusetts Cultural Council grantee and a Lambda Literary Fellow. His work has appeared in Slice Magazine and elsewhere. He is co-editor in chief of Foglifter Journal and teaches creative writing to queer and trans adults.

Learn more about the author


My Thoughts

The Lilac People is a powerful, haunting novel based on real events, offering a fictionalized account of the persecution of the LGBTQ community during the rise of the Nazi regime in 1930s Germany. After roughly fifteen years of unprecedented freedom—following centuries of oppression—the community once again finds itself in grave danger as fascism tightens its grip.

At the heart of the story is Bertie, a trans man working at Berlin’s famed Institute of Sexual Science under Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a pioneering sexologist and advocate. When he isn’t assisting at the Institute, Bertie spends his nights at the Eldorado Club—dancing, drinking, and commiserating with friends in a space where the LGBTQ community can finally breathe. But as the Nazis gain power, those safe spaces dissolve, and the people who once lived openly and vibrantly become direct targets of hatred and violence.

Though the author adjusts the real-world timeline, the narrative centers on Bertie and his girlfriend Sofie as they flee following a brutal attack on the Institute during the Night of the Long Knives. The chaos and terror of that event—during which as many as a thousand were murdered and many more arrested or sent to Dachau—is vividly rendered. The pair take refuge on a rural farm, eventually adopting the identities of its former residents in a desperate bid for survival.

The novel also confronts a lesser-known and devastating truth: liberation from the concentration camps did not bring freedom for everyone. American forces, too, sought out and arrested gay and trans individuals, continuing the persecution long after the camps were liberated. It is a sobering reminder of how deeply rooted these injustices are—and how shamefully they were perpetuated by even the liberators.

Todd writes with empathy and nuance, crafting characters who feel real, vulnerable, and deeply human. Through Bertie, Sofie, and later Karl, readers gain a clearer understanding of the pain, fear, resilience, and hope experienced by many in the LGBTQ community during this era.

Five words: shameful, heartbreaking, haunting, illuminating, tender

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My final word: I found The Lilac People both enlightening and emotionally gripping. It illuminated a part of Nazi history I had not previously known, and it left me reflecting on humanity’s capacity for cruelty—and our responsibility to do better. The story lingers long after the final page, leaving me hopeful that we can still pull ourselves out of the moral tailspin we so often seem caught in, even as I worry about whether we will.

Warnings/Triggers:

Violence, depictions of sexual assault and exploitation, smoking, drinking, genocide

My Rating: 

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through BookBrowse in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. 

TLC BOOK TOURS AND REVIEW: The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by Barbara O'Neal

Synopsis

Two women overcoming past traumas embark on a healing journey across continents in a novel about friendship, family, and rediscovery by the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.

Recently and abruptly divorced Veronica Barrington is anxious for a new direction when she answers a listing for a travel companion. It’s from Mariah Ellsworth, a young woman adjusting to an injury that ended her Olympic career. She’s also grieving her mother, Rachel, a lauded food writer, and Mariah aims to trace the steps of her mother’s final, unfinished project so she can heal and also honor the woman she misses.

Veronica seizes on the opportunity to experience with Mariah the culture, traditions, and intoxicating aromas of Parsi cafés throughout London, Paris, Morocco, and India. Accompanied by a former war photographer who has a wounded history of his own, and with just Rachel’s letters to guide them, the quest is a chance to not only close a chapter in life but also begin a new one.

Following the letters one by one—each a clue to an illuminating mystery—Veronica and Mariah must face the painful and beautiful challenges of freeing themselves from the dark shadows of the past. Together, far from home, they can find the light.

Format 377 pages, Paperback
Published July 29, 2025 by Lake Union Publishing
ISBN 9781662514937 (ISBN10: 166251493X)

About the Author

Barbara O’Neal is the author of more than a dozen award-winning, bestselling novels, including the runaway bestseller, When We Believed in Mermaids, which has been published in 21 countries and spent many months on both the most sold and most read Amazon Charts, as well as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller lists. Barbara is an avid traveler and passionate cook, and discovered the Oregon coast on a pandemic-era trip with her husband. She now lives on that rocky, moody coast in a quirky beach house and writes her books from a room overlooking the sea. She lives with her British husband, who has promised to never lose his accent, and their cats and dogs.

Learn more about the author


My Thoughts

The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth was my introduction to Barbara O’Neal’s writing, and I was immediately swept away by the story she crafted. This beautifully layered novel follows two women at very different phases of their lives—each with her own ambitions, wounds, and desires—who find themselves unexpectedly intertwined as they work to rebuild the broken pieces of their worlds.

Veronica is reeling after a painful divorce that cost her nearly everything she cherished. With her grown children busy forging their own paths, she is left searching for purpose and a sense of direction. In this vulnerable moment, she stumbles across a wanted ad seeking a travel companion and assistant. Answering it leads her to Mariah, a young former Olympic champion skier trying to outrun trauma of her own.

Mariah, still grieving the loss of both her mother and her athletic career in the same devastating moment, feels unmoored and unsure of how to begin again. She chooses to start by finishing her mother’s book on Parisian cafes across Europe. When a family emergency prevents her aunt from accompanying her, Mariah needs someone who can help with both the physical demands of travel and the day-to-day tasks of organizing notes and keeping the project moving forward.

Joining them is Henry, a longtime family friend who has been a steady father figure in Mariah’s life—and who carries his own emotional scars. Sparks soon begin to fly between him and Veronica. As they journey together, Mariah’s aunt sends Veronica a series of letters written by Mariah’s mother, Rachel, during her youthful travels across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. These letters become a trail of clues, drawing the trio along Rachel’s footsteps and deepening the mystery of what happened all those years ago.

Their travels through London, Paris, Morocco, and India strengthen their bonds and begin to heal long-held wounds. Mariah and Veronica both slowly reclaim parts of themselves they feared were lost forever—Mariah finding comfort in Veronica’s nurturing presence, and Veronica rediscovering her own vitality in the bustle of unfamiliar cities, new flavors, and the sensory richness of Parisian cafes.

Five words: stimulating, vulnerable, mysterious, heartfelt, layered

Buy Now:
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My final word: I truly loved this book! O’Neal’s writing moves me in a way few authors do. Her descriptions of Morocco and India—rich with color, scent, and texture—made me want to cook alongside the characters. Bun maska, fragrant lassis and biryanis, quiche, chai, even fruits less common in the U.S. like tamarind—I wanted to taste everything right along with them. The characters felt real and well developed (even if Mariah could be abrasive at times), and their emotional arcs were satisfying and heartfelt.

I’m already eager to dive into more of Barbara O’Neal’s work. This book was a delight from beginning to end.

Warnings and Triggers:

Depicts a shooting and minor sexual situations

My Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through TLC Book Tours and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.

REVIEW: House on Fire by D. Liebhart

Synopsis

Bernadette Rogers swore she’d never put her father in a nursing home. Does that include euthanizing him to keep her word? Her mother thinks it does. Bernadette isn’t so sure. And even if she were, it’s not like you can walk into a drug store and buy Nembutal.

As an ICU nurse she’s no stranger to the blunt realities of death, but her mother’s request to help her father—who’s disappearing into the abyss of dementia—go “peacefully” blindsides her. Her mother thinks it’s assisted suicide. Bernadette knows better. Even if they do it for all the right reasons, it would still be murder.

Surrounded by conflicting voices, Bernadette doesn't know which way to turn. Her self-righteous sister insists it's a sin. Her magnanimous ex thinks her mother will try it alone. Then her best friend offers to help. What was supposed to be a relaxing two-week break becomes an emotional rollercoaster as Bernadette is forced to make an agonizing decision about her beloved father and figure out just how far she’s willing to go for love.

For fans of Jodi Picoult and Lisa Genova, House on Fire is an unforgettable story of family, friendship, and the promises we aren’t sure anyone should honor.

Format 282 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2023 by 9:25 Books
ISBN 9798987461518

About the Author

D. Liebhart is a nurse and writer. She writes (and sometimes lives) stories about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, where they learn that life is rarely predictable and answers to the most complex questions are almost never black and white.

House on Fire, her first novel, won the 2023 Page Turner Award for both fiction and debut. It was long-listed for the 2022 Petrichor Prize and received an honorable mention from Writer’s Digest. Her essay Thalassophobia (a true account of a very out-of-the-ordinary honeymoon) won the 2021 Linda Julian Creative Nonfiction Prize from Emrys Journal.

Learn more about the author

My Thoughts

My mother asked me to kill my father on Christmas.

D. Liebhart’s House on Fire is a deeply affecting novel that offers a raw, unflinching look into the emotional landscape of a family navigating life with a parent suffering from dementia. With tender prose and piercing honesty, Liebhart brings readers into the daily struggle—balancing love and exhaustion, duty and resentment, memory and loss, and the struggle to determine when to let go.

I don't want to disappear in little pieces, like God is crushing stars between his fingers until the whole sky is dark.

Personal note: My mother suffered sudden onset dementia after a terminal cancer diagnosis and went within a few months from someone fully capable of caring for herself and maintaining a household to needing someone with her nearly 24 hours a day. It was both a blessing and a curse that it hit Mom so fast and hard that we didn't have to watch her slowly fade, and since she was terminal, we only suffered through 18 months of mental decline.

Through intimate storytelling and alternating timelines, Liebhart captures the small moments of disorientation and fear that characterize dementia’s slow progression-- not just in the afflicted, but in those left to witness it. The reader is placed in the shoes of adult children trying to make impossible decisions, second-guessing themselves at every turn, as they juggle careers, relationships, and guilt.

Dementia had given him an obstinate streak, like a two-year-old practicing "no" at every opportunity.

This book struck me in an unexpected way. It became something akin to therapy for me, like talking to a friend who's been through the same thing. I felt a kinship with the main character as she navigated the rocky path of dementia watching a parent slowly degrade and debating over how the story will end.

The fervency in his actions was new. Everything was turned up a notch.

What sets House on Fire apart is its refusal to simplify the emotional toll. There is no neat resolution, no sanitized version of caregiving. Instead, we are offered insight into the helplessness that comes when a once-strong parent becomes someone unrecognizable, and the heartbreak of watching that transformation. The novel excels in showing how dementia doesn’t happen in isolation; it happens to a family. Liebhart gives voice to the internal conflict so many caregivers face—the desire to do the right thing against the quiet rage of watching someone slip away. Her characters are flawed, tender, overwhelmed, and real, and they speak clearly to someone who has traversed this hell themselves.

Liebhart’s writing is lyrical without being sentimental, and the story is grounded in an authenticity that suggests lived experience. House on Fire will resonate with anyone who has felt the sting of watching a loved one fade, and it offers a compassionate, cathartic lens for those in the throes of similar trials.

Five words: honest, heartbreaking, human, cathartic, intimate

Buy Now:

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

IndieBound

My final word: This novel doesn't just tell a story—it feels like a lived experience, and in doing so, affirms the resilience of the human spirit, even when it seems on the brink of collapse. It’s a beautifully written, empathetic novel that offers both comfort and clarity to anyone touched by dementia. A valuable perspective for those who haven’t yet had to walk that road, House on Fire is a testament to resilience, and to the emotional complexities of loving someone through the most difficult of goodbyes.

Warnings:

Marijuana use and alcohol, casual references to sex, dementia (can be a trigger for anyone who has had a loved one diagnosed with it)

My Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review from the author in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.   

REVIEW: The Words That Made Us by Andrea Busfield

 

Synopsis

After fleeing their home in Romania, Mala and her family travel to the South of France to make an offering to Sara e Kali – patron saint of the Roma whose statue rests in a small church in Saintes Maries de la Mer. Once the family’s pilgrimage is complete, they seek refuge among their own to consider their future during a time when anti-Roma sentiment is running high.

As the government begins to expel hundreds of foreign-born ‘gypsies’, a local man arrives at the travellers’ camp eager to learn their history, and it falls to Mala to speak to him.

Beginning in India she recounts the fall of Kanauj and the relocation of tens of thousands of Indians to Ghazna as prisoners of war. Mala then speaks of the Roma’s flowering in Constantinople, before the plague forced them westwards – into 300 years of slavery. After recounting the horrors of the Second World War, Mala ends with her own story – of her life in present-day Romania, and the tragedy that stole the smile from her young daughter’s face.

Five stories covering one thousand years, The Words That Made Us chronicles the mistrust, misunderstandings and monstrous cruelty that has followed a scattered nation whose only crime was that of being different.

Format 371 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 18, 2024

About the Author

The author only humbly and simply states on Goodreads that she's a "journalist and writer". I will add that she's a bit of a nomad who's lived in numerous places, she loves cultural diversity, she's a vegetarian, and a momma to horses, dogs, cats, and literally has the birds eating from her palm. She currently resides in Ireland.

My Thoughts

I have a name though it's unlikely you've heard of it. Instead, you'll recognise and claim to know me through words of your own making such as gitano, ijito, gjupci, sipsiwn, and yiftos. In England - the birthplace of Shakespeare and Dickens - I'm known as gypsy, my people as gypsies. In other places, at other times, there have been other names, most of them stemming from a medieval belief that we were Egyptian. Sometime later, when this was clipped to 'gypcian, we lost not only the truth, but also entitlement to a capital letter - something the rest of the world's nations appear to enjoy.

I was introduced to author Andrea Busfield through her book Born Under a Million Shadows, and thus began my love affair with her. So, this time I decided to explore her lesser-known book The Words That Made Us.

This book is essentially a series of short stories within a story as Mala, a keeper of Roma history, shares their stories with a couple of outsiders referred to as gadje (essentially "peasants" in Romani). 

I am just as familiar with anti-Romani propaganda as the next person. We've been taught that they are all thieves and con artists; they abuse, sexualize and exploit their children, and are unclean. They're "gypsies".

This book has helped to open my eyes to my own bias, to the larger picture explaining why many Romani in America seem to skirt around the fringes of society, and even why those we see in grocery store parking lots pulling things like the violin-playing scam may have to resort to such things just to survive in a world where they have repeatedly been victimized, persecuted, hunted and run out of towns-- for a thousand years. A proud people who are dedicated to their culture, who have had to evolve to adapt to the environments they've found themselves in as they have spread across the globe seeking safety, peace, and a place to call home.

While some Romani still live as outsiders as a nomadic people seeking labor in the housing and metalworks industries, or running violin scams in parking lots and selling flowers at streetlights, others have become well-assimilated into American culture. Here in America, we have had renowned Romani like Rita Hayworth and Tracey Ullman who have succeeded in Hollywood, and others have succeeded in public service and politics. Bill Clinton is even said to have the blood of the Romani running in his veins.

Romani Americans have served as experts on official delegations to meetings and conferences in the U.S. held by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). At an OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Roma issues in November 2013, Nathan Mick, who is Romani American, delivered the U.S. delegation's intervention and participated in working sessions on improving respect for the rights of Romani people. Another American Roma Dr. Ethel Brooks served as a moderator at this same event; she also spoke at the UN Holocaust Commemoration in New York in 2013 in commemora- International Efforts to Promote Roma Rights 79tion of the Romani genocide during World War II. In January 2016, former President Barack Obama named Dr. Ethel Brooks to serve on the Holocaust Memorial Council, making her the only Romani American on the council since President Bill Clinton appointed Ian Hancock in 1997.  (Wikipedia)

All this to say that the Romani are a complicated people, just like the rest of us. They have suffered hardships and persecution, they are proud of their heritage, and they want peace and safety for their children just like everyone else. 

The author takes the reader through the origins of the Romani, a thousand years of distrust, hatred, misunderstanding, enslavement, abuse, and slaughter. But through it all they have persevered and never lost sight of who they are or where they came from. The author does an admirable job of bringing humanity to an oft-reviled people, of portraying them as a prideful people without making them feel cold, of explaining why so many Romani still hold themselves apart from general society, and shares with the reader a history that has helped form who the Romani are today as they have been continually chased out of towns through the generations, or worse.

Five words: Insightful, humane, heartbreaking, determined, inspirational

Buy Now:

Amazon

My final word: Andrea Busfield's The Words That Made Us is a thought-provoking exploration of the power of words and the persecution of the Romani people. Busfield masterfully takes the reader through the historical and cultural impact of bias and bigotry against a race of people who refused to bow to societal expectations and have held fast to their culture and history. Andrea always knows how to stir me, to reach a place that not many can touch. Her writing is well-researched; nothing is ever shallow or without depth. There's always a feeling of reading someone's private diary, being privy to their deepest hopes and fears and suffering. If you want a story within a story, an inspiring journey through history, well-researched and well-crafted, pick up this one! And then afterwards, grab her book Born Under a Million Shadows. You'll thank me and will quickly find yourself a Busfield fan, too!

Warnings:

Cruelty and violence

My Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

REVIEW: The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

Synopsis

Cyril Avery is not a real Avery or at least that’s what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn’t a real Avery, then who is he?

Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead.

At the mercy of fortune and coincidence, he will spend a lifetime coming to know himself and where he came from – and over his three score years and ten, will struggle to discover an identity, a home, a country and much more.

In this, Boyne's most transcendent work to date, we are shown the story of Ireland from the 1940s to today through the eyes of one ordinary man. The Heart's Invisible Furies is a novel to make you laugh and cry while reminding us all of the redemptive power of the human spirit.

Format 582 pages, Hardcover
Published August 22, 2017 by Hogarth Press

About the Author

John Boyne is one of the most successful and critically acclaimed novelists of his generation. In a career spanning more than 30 years, he has published 17 novels for adults, 6 novels for younger readers, a short story collection, and a picture book.

His most famous book, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, was a New York Times No.1 Bestseller, and adapted for film, theatre, opera, and ballet, selling more than 11 million copies worldwide. It is used in schools on every continent to introduce young readers to their study of the Holocaust.

Among his many international bestsellers are The Heart’s Invisible Furies, A Ladder to the Sky, and All the Broken Places.

His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Observer, The Times Literary Supplement, The Irish Times, and in dozens of international newspapers and magazines.

He has won 4 Irish Book Awards, the Hennessy Literary ‘Hall of Fame’ Award, and many international literary prizes, including the Qué Leer Award for Novel of the Year in Spain and the Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany for his work on Holocaust Education. In 2015, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of East Anglia.

His novels are published in 60 languages.

In November 2023, John published the first of a four novella sequence, Water, which was followed by Earth and Fire. Air will be published in May 2025. The sequence will be published in September 2025 in one volume, titled The Elements.

Learn more about the author on his website.

Setting and Location

The bulk of this book takes place in Ireland.

National Library of Ireland on The Commons, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

John Boyne’s The Heart's Invisible Furies is a triumph of storytelling — a powerful, sweeping novel that traces the life of Cyril Avery from his illegitimate birth in 1940s Ireland to his later years, exploring his journey to find acceptance, identity, and love.

Let me preface this by saying that this review has been a long time in the making. I started this book at the end of 2017 and was happily declaring it to be one of the best books I'd ever read when I had to make a surprise trip to Michigan to stay by my dying father's bedside in January/February 2018. I put the book down and barely touched another book for years after. I'm glad to say that I finally felt ready to pick it up again, backtracked to refresh my memory on where I'd left off, and finally completed it. 

The story follows Cyril Avery, born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out by her small Irish village, and adopted by eccentric, distant parents. From his earliest days, Cyril knows he’s different — not just because he’s "not a real Avery," as his adoptive parents frequently remind him, but because he’s hiding a truth about himself that 1950s Ireland would never accept. His lifelong journey of self-discovery — marked by heartbreak, longing, and resilience — is both intensely personal and universally resonant.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is how it examines Ireland’s evolving social and political landscape alongside Cyril’s own growth. It’s a story that confronts the cruelty of prejudice, yet it never loses sight of hope — hope for change, for acceptance, and for the quiet, powerful force of human kindness.

The characters are richly drawn, each one leaving an indelible mark on Cyril’s life. From his eccentric adoptive parents to his lifelong (and unrequited) love for his friend Julian, every relationship feels authentic and layered. Boyne’s ability to weave historical events into Cyril’s personal journey adds an extra layer of depth, making the book not only an emotional odyssey but also a poignant commentary on societal change.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies is, at its core, a deeply compassionate novel — one that embraces the flaws, mistakes, and regrets that make us human. Cyril’s journey is heartbreaking and uplifting all at once, and Boyne’s ability to weave humor into even the darkest moments is nothing short of brilliant.

Five words: heartfelt, witty, original, nostalgic, absorbing

Buy Now:

Purchase through the publisher

IndieBound

My final word: John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies is nothing short of extraordinary — a sweeping, emotionally rich novel that captures the complexities of identity, love, and belonging with unforgettable tenderness and humor. If you’re looking for a novel that will make you laugh, cry, and reflect on what it means to belong, The Heart's Invisible Furies is an absolute must-read. By the final page, the novel leaves you feeling both heartbroken and hopeful — a testament to Boyne’s extraordinary ability to capture the messy, beautiful complexity of life. It’s a book that lingers in your mind long after you’ve finished it, reminding you of the invisible forces — love, regret, hope — that shape us all. 

Warnings:

Some sexual situations, references to drug use and prostitution, physical assault

Cover: 3.5

Writing Style: 5

Characters: 5

Storyline/Plot: 5

Interest/Uniqueness: 5

My Rating: 

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

REVIEW: Bear by Julia Phillips

Synopsis

A mesmerising novel of two sisters on a Pacific Northwest island whose lives are upended by an unexpected visitor — a tale of family, obsession, and a mysterious creature in the woods, by the celebrated, bestselling author of Disappearing Earth.

They were sisters and they would last past the end of time.

Sam and her sister, Elena, dream of another life. On the island off the coast of Washington where they were born and raised, they and their mother struggle to survive. Sam works long days on the ferry that delivers wealthy mainlanders to their vacation homes while Elena bartends at the local golf club, but even together they can’t earn enough to get by, stirring their frustration about the limits that shape their existence.

Then one night on the boat, Sam spots a bear swimming the dark waters of the channel. Where is it going? What does it want? When the bear turns up by their home, Sam, terrified, is more convinced than ever that it’s time to leave the island. But Elena responds differently to the massive beast. Enchanted by its presence, she throws into doubt the plan to escape and puts their long-held dream in danger.

A story about the bonds of sisterhood and the mysteries of the animals that live among us — and within us — Bear is a propulsive, mythical, rich novel from one of the most acclaimed young writers in America.

Format 304 pages, Hardcover
Published June 25, 2024 by Hogarth
ISBN 9780525520436 (ISBN10: 0525520430) 

About the Author

Julia Phillips is the author of the bestselling novels Bear and Disappearing Earth, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year. A 2024 Guggenheim fellow, she lives with her family in Brooklyn.

Julia's work has been translated into twenty-six languages. She has written for The New York Times, ​The Atlantic, and The Paris Review and teaches at the Randolph College MFA program. She is also on the board of the Crime Victims Treatment Center, a nonprofit that helps people heal from violence.

Learn more about the author

My Thoughts

The ferry from Friday Harbor left fourteen times a day-- fifteen on weekends-- to loop around San Juan Channel's scattered islands.

I lived for a time near the islands where this story takes place, and it is an area near and dear to my heart. 

Patos Green Algae, San Juan Islands, Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Therefore, I was really looking forward to this story. Unfortunately, I was left wanting.

Julia Phillips' Bear undoubtedly showcases her talent for vivid, atmospheric writing. The descriptions of both the wilderness and the internal struggles of the characters are evocative and compelling. Phillips has a knack for painting a scene and giving life to the landscape.

However, despite her skill with prose, Bear often feels like it's trying a little too hard. The plot, which revolves around an unusual and darkly symbolic premise, veers into territory that feels more absurd than poignant. The see-saw between the emotional depth of the characters and the increasingly outlandish events they find themselves caught in makes for a jarring and at times frustrating reading experience. The more the book tries to build depth, the more it risks turning into an over-wrought melodrama.

While Phillips' writing can be beautiful at times, the story itself doesn't always match the ambition behind it. The narrator's motivations are at times unclear or exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness, making it difficult to connect with their journey and creating a convoluted plot.

Five words: melodramatic, overdone, vivid, unusual, convoluted

My final word: In short, Bear is a book that could have been more if it didn’t stretch so far. I was left feeling that this was one long and drawn-out story in what should have been part of a short story collection. Phillips' talent is evident, but the book's execution ends up feeling overly dramatic and weighty, leaving the reader caught between admiration for the writing and eyerolls at the story as it falls short of its mark.

Buy Now:

Find your purchase options on the author's website.

Warnings:
Minor sexual situations, minor violence

Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release.  

REVIEW: Burn by Peter Heller

 

Synopsis

From the best-selling author of The Dog Stars, a novel about two men—friends since boyhood—who emerge from the woods of rural Maine to a dystopian country racked by bewildering violence

Every year, Jess and Storey have made an annual pilgrimage to the most remote corners of the country, where they camp, hunt, and hike, leaving much from their long friendship unspoken. Although the state of Maine has convulsed all summer with secession mania—a mania that has simultaneously spread across other states—Jess and Storey figure it’s a fight reserved for legislators or, worst-case scenario, folks in the capital.

But after weeks hunting off the grid, the men reach a small town and are shocked by what they find: a bridge blown apart, buildings burned to the ground, and bombed-out cars abandoned on the road. Trying to make sense of the sudden destruction all around them, they set their sights on finding their way home, dragging a wagon across bumpy dirt roads, scavenging from boats left in lakes, and dodging armed men—secessionists or U.S. military, they cannot tell—as they seek a path to safety. Then, a startling discovery drastically alters their path and the stakes of their escape.

Drenched in the beauty of the natural world and attuned to the specific cadences of male friendship, even here at the edge of doom, Burn is both a blistering warning about a divided country’s political strife and an ode to the salvation found in our chosen families.

• Format 291 pages, Hardcover
• Published August 13, 2024 by Knopf
• ISBN 9780593801628 (ISBN10: 0593801628)

About the Author

Peter Heller is a longtime contributor to NPR, and a former contributing editor at Outside Magazine, Men’s Journal, and National Geographic Adventure. He is an award winning adventure writer and the author of four books of literary nonfiction. He lives in Denver. Heller was born and raised in New York. He attended high school in Vermont and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire where he became an outdoorsman and whitewater kayaker. He traveled the world as an expedition kayaker, writing about challenging descents in the Pamirs, the Tien Shan mountains, the Caucuses, Central America and Peru. He was the first man, with a Kiwi paddler named Roy Bailey, to kayak the Muk Su River in the High Pamirs of Tadjikistan. The river was known as the Everest of Rivers in the Soviet Union, and the last team that had attempted it lost five of their eleven men. The run was 17 days of massive whitewater through a canyon inhabited by wolves and snow leopards.

Learn more about the author on their website.

My Thoughts

Two men go on their annual hunting trip and emerge from the Maine woods to find destruction and a barren land amid political upheaval. The story follows their journey through ghostly quiet fishing towns as they attempt to safely make their way home.

Edmund L. Mitchell, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

He let the fire burn down to embers, let the dark envelop him, and stood.

Peter Heller, the author of The Dog Stars which was one of my favorite books of 2012, releases a new page-turner that blends suspense, action, and emotion into a gripping narrative. The book combines elements of mystery, survival, and deep emotional exploration, creating a complex but engaging experience.

Set in the rugged wilderness, Burn introduces us to Jess and Storey, two hunters emerging from a hunting trip into a changed world, caught in a life-or-death situation that will test their resilience, morals, and the very core of their bond.

Heller has a rather choppy writing style that I think can be a bit off-putting for some, but his descriptions of the wild landscapes and towns are so vivid that you can practically feel the cold air and hear the crackling of the fire. The writing is poetic yet sharp, with Heller’s signature style of blending intense action with reflective moments. The pacing is perfect—just when you think you have a grip on the story, another twist or revelation keeps you on your toes. The relationship between Jess and Storey is profound and the kind you only find among those who have grown up together and seen one another through all of life's hills and valleys.

Five words: introspective, patient, gripping, immersive, mysterious

Buy Now:

Check out the author's website for purchasing options

My final word: From the very first page, Heller pulls you in with a story that’s equal parts gritty and thought-provoking. His writing is vivid and immersive, with an almost cinematic quality that keeps you on the edge of your seat. While I didn't love Burn as much as The Dog Stars, Heller delivers a gripping, reflective narrative that’s as heart-wrenching as it is thrilling. Highly recommended for anyone who likes their dystopian to have a bit more depth and meat to it!

Warnings:

Mild language, sexual situations, violence

 

Cover:  4.5 stars
Writing Style:  4 stars
Characters:  4 stars
Storyline/Plot: 4.5 stars
Interest/Uniqueness: 4 stars

Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through Netgalley and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release.