Fiction
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
Annie Hartnett’s Rabbit Cake is a darkly funny novel about Elvis Babbitt, a 12-year-old girl who learns how to deal with grief following her mother’s sleep-drowning accident. When her sister Lizzie starts sleep-eating and her father starts wearing her mother’s lipstick, Elvis finds comfort in zoo animals and rabbit cakes as she’s guided through a therapist-recommend 18-month grief chart.
This is a book for people who love animals, or Elvis, or for anyone who needs a little laugh in the face of tragedy.
All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg
Single and child-free, Andrea Bern tries to navigate adulthood. What does having your life together look like? Is it her brother, well-off despite a harsh upbringing, her sister-in-law anticipating childbirth, or her best friend getting married?
Startup by Doree Shafrir
In the age of startups and tech savvy new grads, Startup by Doree Shafrir is about just that—startup culture. In this satirical novel, Shafrir follows the lives of tech-obsessed characters as they begin a mindfulness app called TakeOff. Mack McAllister, founder of TakeOff, is nervous about securing funding, while social media manager and mother of two Sabrina Chloe Blum tries to decipher what TWF and LOL mean. When a secret goes public, each character has to deal with their newfound internet fame.
Startup is a hilarious and entertaining story about youth, money and technology and all the consequences that often accompany those embarking in the tech world.
Nonfiction
My Soul Looks Back by Jessica B. Harris
Maya Angelou cooking in the kitchen while James Baldwin reads a draft of If Beale Street Could Talk with Toni Morrison relaxing beside them in Provence are some of the moments Harris reveals in her memoir My Soul Looks Back.
Harris writes about her life in the ’70s, dancing in the jazz clubs of Manhattan, living out her youth in the Village, and debating with some of the greatest minds of the era—including Angelou, Baldwin, and Morrison.
Idiot Brain—What Your Head Is Really Up To by Dean Burnett
Ever wonder what’s happening to your brain when you walk into the kitchen, look at your iPhone, or turn on your laptop—confident, purposeful and ready to take action—but then, out of nowhere and almost instantly, you forget what you were doing and why? Idiot Brain is here to answer that. Neuroscientist Burnett, using equal parts expert research, humor and insight, explains what is happening when your brain is spacing.
Poetry
There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé by Morgan Parker
There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé is a poetry collection for anyone who likes Michelle Obama, Queen Latifah or Beyonce. It’s for anyone who wants to understand how pop culture and racial politics verge to create a complex vision of black womanhood.
I’m currently attending the MFA creative writing program with an emphasis in nonfiction at Portland State and hold a master’s in English with a concentration in book publishing. Managing content across different platforms, I incorporate creativity and honesty to connect and engage with our audience.
