My top-ten books for 2023 with my 10-word summaries and 6-word reviews of each:
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?10-word summary: Three sisters reconnect facing the unresolved loss of their sibling.
?6-word review: Compelling unraveling of familial emotional trauma.
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?10-word summary: Dark short stories exploring poverty, addiction, motherhood and social justice.
?6-word review: Exceptional storytelling. Mercifully, no Hollywood endings.
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?10-word summary: Mother basks in time with her daughters, sharing her past.
?6-word review: Unfathomable beauty in delectable word morsels.
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?10-word summary: An at-times grueling, at-times poignant, and at-times triumphant coming-of-age story.
?6-word review: Sublime sentences, towering turns of phrases.
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?10-word summary: A watershed year in the life of an uncompromising 25-year-old.
?6-word review: Wonderful voice. Strong characterizations. Just lovely.
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?10-word summary: Finn Hemingway’s negotiation of life in her famous father’s shadow.
?6-word review: An excellent instantiation of historical fiction.
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?10-word summary: Group of non-hostage hostages learn about each other and life.
?6-word review: I literally laughed out loud throughout.
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?10-word summary: Ivy Hart is the next family candidate for state-mandated sterilization.
?6-word review: Compelling fictional account of nonfictional measures.
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?10-word summary: Fascinating peek into one person’s journey through the COVID-19 pandemic.
?6-word review: Keenly observed. Amazingly understated. Highly relatable.
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?10-word summary: Harrowing journey from Ghana to the “Land of the Whites.”
?6-word review: Unspeakable situations penned without distressing details.
The entire list of the 50 books I read in 2023, each with 10-word summaries and 6-word reviews and a paragraph of my thoughts on them, can be found on my 2023 books read web page.