Val Muller

This book was given to me in a box of my own works that came to me from my late uncle. I was curious as to why he had it: either he or my grandmother had purchased it on May 28, 1992 (I know because the receipt is still in the book). My uncle, as […]

This was my last YA book club read for the school year. I was intrigued by the plot. Dimple is a recent high school graduate raised by a traditional Indian family in America. Her parents have expectations that she meet the “ideal Indian husband,” but she has an independent streak and wants to follow her […]

I chose this book as one of my picks for a young adult book club I’m in. The description intrigued me since it’s about a “strong female character” growing up in a time when females were discouraged from being scientists. What also intrigued me was the dark streak inherent in the title: the book centers […]

I chose this novel as part of my young adult book club, during which we evaluate books for possible use in the classroom. It’s a national book award winner and about an underrepresented group, Native Americans. Taking place in the late 1980s, the book details the brutal rape and attempted murder of the main character’s […]

Following a sixteen-year-old named Sarah who is having a self-proclaimed existential crisis, this book is gritty and strange. This review contains spoilers. At the very beginning of the novel, I got the impression that Sarah was just an angsty teenager frustrated with life, which made the book seem like a cliché of a YA novel. […]

I read this collection of short stories for part of my young adult book club. As such, I’ll be looking at it primarily for its use in the classroom. The stories are primarily about relationships or characters seeking better lives. They span America and India (and some other locations). First, a brief overview of each […]

A member of my book club chose this as one of our reads this year. The novel is based on a true part of America’s history: Georgia Tann and the Memphis Tennessee Children’s Home Society. According to historical records, Tann coerced parents to sign away the rights to their children, sometimes having mothers sign over […]

Disclaimer: My story, “Dorsal Fin,” appears in this anthology. The anthology was published several years ago, and I thought I’d wait a while to review it to avoid an immediate conflict of interest. I receive no financial benefit regardless of how well the anthology sells. The anthology contains 75 pages of horror stories, 11 stories […]

A friend loaned me this book as a “quick summer read.” I put it on a stack that got misplaced over the summer, and I recently found it again. Quick—she wasn’t kidding! Even going to bed exhausted, I was able to finish this book in about three days, reading it before bed and while keeping […]