Teresa Prokopanko

Teresa ProkopankoRounded up from 4.5 stars. Originally I thought this was going to be a 3-4 star book because it didn’t grip me like Prodigal Summer did - the plot was wandering (especially in the present-day storyline) and the characters sort of unlikeable. But the final quarter or so of this book really redeemed it. I think I struggled because this is much more literary nonfiction than I’m used to reading, honestly. In the end this is worth five stars because of how it made me think and feel. Kingsolver tackles less sense of intimate place than in some of her other works, instead focusing on larger themes around shelter, hope, science, consumerism, leadership, marriage and parenthood, and petty despots. Somehow she’s drawn all these really profound threads of climate change and ambition and failures of democracy and the small-mindedness of the masses and the folks who feel left behind in a changing world - drawn it all together and presented a story that is mostly not preachy. I was left in the end feeling that small things matter more than I think and reminded that social networks (real life ones, not virtual!) are more profound than stuff.

Teresa ProkopankoReally sweet, and very gentle. Quick read for an adult of course. Wholesome with a positive message about the baggage others may carry that we can't see - but told in a way that I think a child wouldn't find it annoyingly preachy.

Teresa ProkopankoMary Stewart manages a simultaneously suspenseful mystery, cozy Mediterranean read, and some skillful writing. A higher caliber of prose than much of the more recently published mystery novels, in my experience! Where she falls down a little is in characterization - the romance is less believable than one would wish, and there’s an odd distance somehow created between the reader and really getting to know the primary characters. The protagonist is likeable but not a Mary-sue which is nice. I found it a slow build but was really into it by around page 50-75.

Teresa ProkopankoSweet, wholesome, richly written. Not a whole lot there but a cozy read.