Deborah Lamer

2022 – A Year of Good Reading

2022 was a diverting year of reading. The 65 books I’ve logged in Goodreads during the last twelve months run the gambit from general nonfiction to YA literature, memoir to fantasy. While I enjoyed them all to varying degrees, there were some clear stand-outs. Here they are: Historical fiction and literary adaptations are quickly becomingContinue reading “2022 – A Year of Good Reading”

Book Review: The Library: A Fragile History

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Complex and meticulously researched, Andrew Pettegrew and Arthur der Weduwen’s The Library: A Fragile History leads the reader on a tumultuous journey filled with accounts of destruction, loss, power struggles, survival, and above all resilience. From the famed, ancientContinue reading “Book Review: The Library: A Fragile History”

Sarah Blake’s “The Safety of Women”

I was deeply moved by many of the poems in Sarah Blake’s book Don’t Let Me Be Lonely. Some reminded me of similar situational or emotional experiences I’ve had as a mother, while others, like “The Starship,” provided the opportunity to consider the choices that each of us makes to either rebel against or become complicit with the atrocities of our world. For me, however,

The Journey to Build a “Voices of YA Literature” Course

About halfway through my summer, a summer which I believe most of us will agree has been nothing like past summers, I received a phone call that simultaneously made the teacher in me cry (silent, dramatic tears) and the book-a-holic in me dance a celebratory jig. My high school needed a new English elective toContinue reading “The Journey to Build a “Voices of YA Literature” Course”

Here’s Why Adults Should Read Akwaeke Emezi’s YA novel Pet

Though some might be embarrassed to admit it, I have no qualms with telling you that I usually choose the books I read by their covers. If the illustration speaks to me in some way through its use of color, tone, and type, then I’ll flip to the first page and preview the writing style. Continue reading “Here’s Why Adults Should Read Akwaeke Emezi’s YA novel Pet”