Grown Women by Sarai Johnson

Rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Pages: 320 pages
Published: May 2024

Grown Women by Sarai Johnson was the monthly author chat selection for the Modern Mrs. Darcy online Book Club, and it immediately pulled me into the lives of four generations of women all bound by tender yet tumultuous mother-daughter relationships. The novel spans several decades, beginning with Charlotte, who is on the cusp of becoming a new mother while facing a difficult situation. From there, we follow a coming-of-age arc as Charlotte raises Corinna and later Corinna raises her daughter, Camille. Each woman navigates traumatic situations, familial secrets, and the complicated work of trying to love one another in a family where silence often speaks louder than words. Midway through the story we meet Charlotte's mother, Evelyn, who adds another complicated layer to the story. With so many intertwined storylines, and three characters whose names begin with the same letter, I occasionally found myself needing to pause and reorient myself. 

This is Johnson's debut novel, and I think she handled the weight of these layered themes with care. She writes the bonds between the women with honesty and nuance. I didn't walk away from the book loving every character, but I did walk away believing them. Each woman is written in a realistic and imperfect way. Both the mother's and daughters' unresolved pain shapes their choices and their relationships, leading to truly heartbreaking moments that felt so real. 

Though the book explores a great deal of darkness, there is a bit of light. There are moments of connection, clarity, and hope that help break up the heaviness. This quiet strand of hope woven throughout the novel reminds us that healing and maturing is rarely linear. And because of each character's resilience, I did find myself rooting for a peaceful ending for each of them. 

Overall, I appreciated the journey of getting to sit with these characters and watch their stories unfold. I believe Johnson did an excellent job of developing them, giving each one's story care and depth. Having said that, after investing the time in reading the book, the ending felt a bit abrupt, almost like a door slamming shut just as I was stepping through. Upon reflection, I realized I had anticipated more closure and more space to breathe after such immersive storytelling. 

Recommendation: Grown Women is a powerful, emotionally resonant novel that explores the complexities of mother-daughter relationships with honesty and heart. I would recommend this title to fans of literary fiction, multigenerational sagas, and stories that include both the darkness and the light. 

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

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The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Rating: 5 of 5 stars 

Pages: 448 pages
Published: February 2015

I’ve heard great things about Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale for years. From friends to colleagues to book club reviews, I’ve known this is a book that should be on my radar. I asked for a hard copy for Christmas 2024, and my lovely mother-in-law gifted me this book. You would think nearly 10 years post publication, I would have cracked open the beautiful blue paperback right away. No, when I procrastinate, I go all the way. I started reading this book in September 2025, and I fought sleep nearly every evening of the month to put the book down. The Nightingale is my second Hannah read. I first fell in love with her prose when I devoured The Four Winds.

The Nightingale is a sweeping and emotional novel that centers around two sisters in Nazi-occupied France. These primary fictional characters, Vianne and Isabelle, are illustrations of the very real heroic acts that were carried out by women during World War II. This is a story of resistance, survival, and the cost of courage. The author’s writing is captivating and cinematic, and it’s no surprise that the story is being made into a motion picture. Hannah doesn’t simply tell a story, she immerses the reader in the experience with her descriptive passages and thoughtful presentation. Through Vianne’s lens, we watch a mother endure the most horrific aspects of the war at home, and with Isabelle we learn of a young woman who fiercely and proactively opposes the war. The novel shows that the war wasn’t just fought on the battlefield, but in homes, in the mountains, in quiet conversations, and hidden acts of defiance.

I enjoy reading novels during the holocaust period; not because they are enjoyable reads, but they broaden my perspective and invite larger questions. Like what does it mean to fight for freedom abroad while suppressing it at home? In this novel, like many others set during WWII, we find people from the United States stepping up in the name of humanity. The country that touts itself as a global defender of democracy, rallying against fascism and genocide also is home to Black Americans who were barred from voting, segregated in schools and neighborhoods, and denied equality and justice. Simply put, the same country that condemned Hitler’s racism upheld Jim Crow laws and turned a blind eye to lynching. 

If we are honest, a lot of those same injustices occur in 2025 just as they did in the 1940s. It makes me question, where have we come from and where are we going. I don’t know the answer to the latter, but I do believe women will continue making an impact. I find storytelling to be a form of resistance because where the truth stands, the lie must bend and break. And this is how we remember accurately, how we reckon with oppression, and how we reimagine a better future for our daughters and nieces. 

Recommendation: Needless to say, Hannah’s book gave me all the feels and moved me in many ways - physically and mentally. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to celebrate acts of heroism and honor freedom … for everyone. 

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

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The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

Rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Pages: 299 pages
Published: May 2024

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean had been sitting on my physical TBR (to be read) pile for several months, and for no other pressing reason than I needed a new book to read, I decided to crack open one of my last purchased books from Book of the Month in late January. 

This suspense-filled novel is about a young teenaged girl - the titular character - who disappeared from a party, and she mysteriously returns, seemingly from the dead, two years later throwing everyone in her community into a tailspin. Detective Chelsey Calhoun was the lead detective when Ellie Black first went missing, and, naturally, she is put back on the case upon her return. Not only has this unsolved case haunted her but also the unsolved case of Calhoun's adoptive sister more than 20 years ago. Upon the return of the victim in the latter case, Chelsey is thrown right back into the midst of the Black family and trying to glean information from them to resolve the case. Like a dog with a bone, the detective is tenacious in trying to figure out where Ellie has been, what happened to her during those two years, and why she has shown up after such a long time. 

I enjoyed this debut thriller novel that was relatively short and moved quickly. The mysterious nature of the plot propels the reader to continue turning pages until a resolution is presented. Like most of the books I've read so far in 2025, this one featured strong female characters at the forefront and provided entertaining value. 

Recommendation: A dark and twisty thriller, fans of TV shows like Law & Order: SVU and Found are sure to enjoy this page-turner! 

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars 

Pages: 380 pages
Published: August 2023

It took me a bit to get into The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. The story begins with the discovery of a skeleton at the bottom of a well. The reader is then transported back a couple of decades where an amalgamation of diverse characters living in a small community called Chicken Hill in Pennsylvania are featured. In Chicken Hill, where Black and Jewish people appear to co-exist peacefully during a time of extreme racial tension, we learn about an orphaned boy who needs protection bringing the two ethnic communities, as well as other unlikely allies, together to provide a safe haven for the boy. 

There are a lot of characters in this book with just as many subplots, and while this story can be difficult to follow, if you close read it, the details are interwoven methodically to create a well-rounded story. McBride peppers the plot with are a myriad of nuggets that pull on your heart strings and sometimes make you laugh. I appreciated the emotional aspects of the story. Once I got acclimated to McBride's writing style I found my rhythm and really enjoyed how he told this slowly-unfolding story. I did find the ending to be a bit rushed, and I think the story could have been written without the abuse of a child and still been just as powerful. 

Recommendation: Overall, I enjoyed the plot, prose, and especially the protagonist. I can definitely see why this book is Barnes & Noble's Book of the Year (2023) and on so many other favorited lists. It's a slow build, but I do feel the payoff in the end is worth it. Highly recommend! 

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

Read More