The Reader's Room

Booker Longlist: Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

Book 6 – reviewed by panelists Book Worm, Nicole, Tracy, Lisa, and Susie.

Leila Mottley was born in 2003 in Oakland, California, where she still lives and works.

Synopsis from Booker Prize website:

At once agonising and mesmerising, Nightcrawling presents a haunting vision of marginalised young people navigating the darkest corners of an adult world.

‘When there is no choice, all you have left to do is walk.’

Determined to survive in a world that refuses to protect her, a 17-year-old girl finds herself walking the mean streets of Oakland after dark. When she is picked up by the police, the gruesome deal they offer in exchange for her freedom lands her at the centre of a media storm – and facing a terrible choice.

If she agrees to testify, she could help expose the corruption of a police department. But honesty comes at a price – one that could leave her family vulnerable to retaliation, and endanger everyone she loves.

This book has been getting glowing reviews but what did our panel think? Keep reading to find out.

The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid

The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid
UK Publication: August 2022
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★]

This ARC was provided by Penguin General UK (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Is the world ever truly black or white…

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Booker Longlist: The Trees by Percival Everett

Book 4 – reviewed by panelists Book Worm, Anita, and Jen. Rated by Tracy and Susie

Percival Everett is the author of over 30 books since his debut, Suder, was released in 1983.

Synopsis from Booker Prize website:

A violent history refuses to be buried in Percival Everett’s striking novel, which combines an unnerving murder mystery with a powerful condemnation of racism and police violence.

Something strange is afoot in Money, Mississippi. A series of brutal murders are eerily linked by the presence at each crime scene of a second dead body: that of a man who resembles Emmett Till, a young black boy lynched in the same town 65 years before.

The investigating detectives soon discover that uncannily similar murders are taking place all over the country. As the bodies pile up, the detectives seek answers from a local root doctor, who has been documenting every lynching in the country for years…

Published by Influx.

So what does our panel think? Keep reading to found out where The Trees ranks for our panel.

Booker Longlist: Booth – Karen Joy Fowler

Booker Longlist – The Colony by Audrey Magee

Read Around the World July 2022 – China

Map link

In July we vicariously visited China what did we read and what did we learn?

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1001 Books Round-Up – July 2022

This months winners and losers….

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The Longlist is Here, and We’re Not Mad at It

Here’s the list

Ginger and Me by Elissa Soave

Ginger and Me by Elissa Soave
UK Publication: July 2022
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★★]

This ARC was provided by HQ (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

One word review – Disquieting

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