Book Review: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

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Mad Mabel  by Sally Hepworth  is a domestic thriller about the youngest person convicted of murder in Australia, Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick. Now 81 years old, Elsie is living on Kenny Lane and has been for the past sixty years. When a mother named Roxanne moves into Mabel's neighborhood with her seven year old daughter, an unlikely friendship forms between Elsie and the seven year old child named Persephone. As Elsie's secrets come to light, her world comes crashing down.  Having read quite a few novels by Sally Hepworth, I requested an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Mad Mabel  without reading the synopsis of the story. I was thrilled when NetGalley and St. Martin's Press approved my request. The expected publication date of the book is April 21, 2026. Not knowing anything about the storyline before I started reading Mad Mabel  made the story much more interesting to me as I had no preconceived ideas. The tale was told from Mabel's perspective in alternating timeli...
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Book Review: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

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Science Fiction Book Review of Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler is the first science fiction novel written by a Black woman. It's part memoir, part fantasy, and part historical fiction. The book opens with Dana, an African American woman in 1976 Los Angeles, California, who is transported back to 1815 Maryland and saves a drowning white boy.  However, she finds herself fearing for her life when the boys father, a slave owner, is pointing his shotgun at her.

I discovered Kindred through my book club, which selected it for our September meeting. Although I had heard of the novel, I wasn’t familiar with its plot. Science fiction isn’t usually my go-to, but I was captivated from the first page. The story is compelling, well-written, and utterly immersive.

Octavia E. Butler’s writing is engaging, vivid, and unputdownable. The characters feel real, and I found myself thinking about them long after finishing the book. Butler expertly portrays the horrors of slavery and imagines what it might be like if a Black person from modern times were thrust into that era. Though fictional, the novel resonates with historical accuracy, making its events feel hauntingly real. Key themes include racism, slavery, trauma, rape, and suicide, all explored with depth and nuance.

More than 43 years after its publication, Kindred has truly stood the test of time. It remains a powerful, thought-provoking story that deserves every bit of its acclaim. I rate it five out of five stars and look forward to reading more of Octavia E. Butler’s extraordinary work.

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