Honest, independent reviews from Austin's literary community.
The premise of Laurie Frankel's Enormous Wings—the title taken from an oft-anthologized Gabriel Garcia Marquez short story—is deeply intriguing. A 77-year-old woman moves to an assisted living facility after a small...
All Cordelia wants is a simple life. But when a previously unknown great aunt dies, she suddenly inherits the Chickadee Motel. It’s not as simple as a trip to Texas to sell and leave. The will has a stimulation that...
It is 1935, and Ray and Dolly, best friends, live in a small farming town in the Texas Panhandle. Things had been fine until a drought began. Now, people are losing farms and small businesses to the bank. Many people...
Lucille LeSueur shed the pain of her past when she relocated to Hollywood, became an actress, and was rechristened Joan Crawford. Her early years in Texas are marked by inconsistencies regarding her birth year and...
Martheaus Perkins' The Grace of Black Mothers is a powerful collection of verse that illuminates the resilience, sacrifice, and fierce love of Black mothers, aunties, and grandmothers. Through intimate portraits...
It’s 1999 in southern Texas, and the Evans women own and operate the only funeral parlor in town. When the dead start to rise, though, their business starts to become a bit overwhelmed. They haven’t seen anything...
Sophie Matthews is celebrating her sweet sixteen with an extravagant birthday party. Her stepmother, Dani, has made a fabulous cake, and her mother Kim, promised not to overindulge in the champagne. All of Sophie's...
Charlie Book has a strange job for the Texas Park and Wildlife Department, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He lives aboard the ship Christabel, a 19th century freighter that is half sunk off the coast of...
Willie Nelson is one of the most recognizable names on the country music scene and as a pop music icon, actor, and philanthropist. For the last seven decades, Willie has written and recorded some of the most iconic...
The Anderwalds and their descendants are The Wretched and Undone. Polish immigrants seeking a fresh start in Texas just before the start of the Civil War, Marcin and Agnieszka find only nightmares and heartache....