Black text on white background that reads "Discovery Lists." On the image, there is a black film reel in the upper left-hand corner. On the bottom right hand corner, there is a music staff with music notes on it. Between the words "Discovery" and "Lists" there is a black and white sketch of an opened book with flowers growing out of it.

Celebrating National Poetry Month: A Discovery List

National Poetry Month was launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996 to celebrate the integral role of poets and poetry in our culture. One of the ways we are celebrating National Poetry Month at the Peabody Institute Library of Danvers is through this discovery list of our favorite poetry collections and poems.…

Alissa’s Favorite Reads of 2022

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine NewmanAs Edith, her best friend of forty-two years who is dying of ovarian cancer, spends her last days at a hospice near her, Ashley, stumbling around into heartbreak, helps Edith celebrate her life as they reminisce, hold on, and try to let go. We Are The Light by…

Alissa Reviews: City of Likes – Jenny Mollen

In this novel, Meg moves to New York City with her husband and two young children. They have moved from Los Angeles into a borrowed Tribeca loft when Meg’s husband, Iliya, gets a promotion as the head of global membership of a private club. Meg is a copywriter, and she is feeling unmoored as she…

Alissa Reviews: Counterfeit – Kirstin Chen

Counterfeit, a fictional fraud-novel by Kirstin Chen, is a fast-paced story that delves deeper than you might expect. The novel is initially narrated by Ava Wong, a Chinese-American Stanford graduate who is taking time away from her corporate law career. At first glance, her life seems perfect, and then Ava reveals that her husband works…

Alissa Reviews: The Family – Naomi Krupitsky

Naomi Krupitsky’s novel The Family is an engaging, engrossing story about two young girls who grow up together in Brooklyn in the 1940s. Sofia and Antonia are neighbors and best friends whose immigrant fathers work in “The Family.” Sofia and Antonia do not understand what “The Family” is, exactly, but they do sense that people…

Alissa Reviews: The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner

The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner The Summer Place is Jennifer Weiner’s newest book, a family drama in which EVERYONE seems to have a secret. And each of these secrets has the potential to greatly alter, if not ruin, someone else’s life. This book tells the story of three generations of a family, and is…

Alissa Reviews: The Truth About Melody Browne by Lisa Jewell

The Truth About Melody Browne by Lisa Jewell Single-mom Melody Browne cannot remember anything that happened in her life before her ninth birthday. When she turned nine, her house burned down and destroyed both her possessions and her memories. Melody is in her early thirties and lives with her seventeen-year–old son, Jack,  in a subsidized…

Alissa Reviews: Cover Story by Susan Rigetti

While Susan Rigetti’s crime fiction novel Cover Story is not the best book I’ve read recently, it was engrossing and I couldn’t put it down. It has strong  Inventing Anna vibes, and if you are enjoying all the con artist shows that are currently streaming as much as I am, I confidently recommend this book.…

Alissa Reviews: Smile and Look Pretty by Amanda Pellegrino

Amanda Pellegrino’s novel Smile and Look Pretty exposes the precariousness of industries which rely on the exploitation of assistants to maintain status quo. Cate, Lauren, Max and Olivia are four close friends who are all assistants to powerful figures in various entertainment industries. These twenty-something women all had big dreams when starting their careers, and…

Alissa Reviews: The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

Julie Otsuka’s new book, The Swimmers, is a little bit of a puzzle. It is beautifully written, and heartbreaking in its clarity. Is it a novel? Is it essays? Is it a collection of three novellas? Maybe it does not matter what it is, but it is a little jarring when the first “novella” or…

Alissa Reviews: True Biz by Sara Nović

True Biz is Sara Nović’s latest novel, and takes the reader on an amazing journey. The story is told from the perspective of three narrators. One is February Waters, the headmistress at an Ohio boarding school for Deaf students. February is a hearing ally to the Deaf community, who grew up with a Deaf mother.…

Alissa Reviews: The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth.

Sally Hepworth’s latest novel, The Younger Wife, is an engaging domestic suspense story that will appeal to everyone who loves Sally’s writing as much as I do. The book begins at the wedding of Stephen Aston and Heather Wisher, and the narrator is an unnamed wedding guest. Stephen’s adult daughters Tully and Rachel are bridesmaids,…

Alissa Reviews: The Henna Artist – Alka Joshi

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi, is the first book in the Jaipur Trilogy, and is currently being adapted for a TV series. The novel tells the story of Lakshmi, who escaped an abusive marriage at age seventeen and fled to the city of Jaipur. She establishes herself as a henna artist to the women…

Alissa Reviews: The Sisters Sweet – Elizabeth Weiss

The Sisters Sweet by Elizabeth Weiss. The Sisters Sweet is the debut novel of author Elizabeth Weiss. The story is set in Chicago in the 1920s and 1930s, and narrated by Harriet. Harriet and her twin sister Josie are the daughters of Maud and Lenny. Maude is a former Vaudeville performer, whose rise to fame…

Alissa Reviews: A Little Hope – Ethan Joella

A Little Hope by Ethan Joella A Little Hope is a beautifully written novel, with an unusual balance of joy and heartbreak. The book begins with a young family, Greg and his wife Freddie, and their young daughter Addie. Greg and Freddie are reeling from Greg’s recent diagnosis of multiple myeloma, and trying to keep…