Book Reviews-2026

Tea With Elephants by Robin Jones Gunn, Fiction, 2024

Robin Jones Gunn has been a popular fiction writer among teenage and young adult girls.   Now those readers have grown up, and Jones' stories have, too.  This book is the first in a series called “Suitcase Sisters.”  When two friends take advantage of a relative’s prepaid trip to Nairobi, Africa, they pack light but carry emotional baggage.  As they enjoy giraffes, lions, zebras, and elephant sightings, life issues surface. Each has wisdom for the other that reminds us all; facing hard truths all the way to livable lessons brings just as much amazement as a trip to Africa and lasts longer.

​​

James by Percival Everett, Pulitzer Prize Fiction, 2024

This reimagining of Mark Twain’s story of the Huckleberry Finn-Jim relationship is remarkable, disturbing, plausible, and compelling.  In this story, Jim is no longer a sidekick to Huckleberry.  He becomes James, a fully developed character we cheer for and empathize with.  Everett dovetails the raft story that took Huckleberry away from his cruel father and Jim away from being sold and separated from his wife and daughter.  Jim emerges as a man of wisdom and intelligence to survive these disastrous times.  With surprising plot twists and good writing, Percival Everett has won his place in literary fiction.

​