book reviews

Reviews of books that explore the complexities of family throughout history and across cultures.

Moonlit Shuffles
The house felt like a hollowed-out skull. Too big, too quiet, every creak of the floorboards a question Lena didn’t have an answer for. Her father had been gone six weeks. Six weeks, and the air still smelled faintly of his pipe tobacco and the old spice cologne he’d worn since before she was born. Her mother, Clara, moved through the rooms like a ghost, tidying things already neat, dusting surfaces that shone. Lena watched her, a knot of frustration tightening in her gut. She’d driven three hours to be here, to help, to *be* with her mother, but Clara just kept… busy.
By HAADIabout a month ago in Families
Shards of a Sunk Heart
Elias tasted the salt on his tongue before his eyes even opened, a permanent fixture in the air of their small, leaning shack on the cliffs. The pre-dawn chill seeped through the cracks in the walls, raising gooseflesh on his arms. Beside him, Lena, twelve years old and too thin, breathed a shallow, rhythmic gasp that always settled his gut, for a moment anyway. He shifted, joints popping like old timber, and the lumpy mattress groaned. Another day. Another dive into the deep, into the silence, into the shimmering ghost of what was once. The Sunken Glass City.
By HAADIabout a month ago in Families
Moonlit Reckoning
The house groaned around Elena at eleven-thirty, a familiar protest of settling wood and old pipes. She sat at the kitchen table, the last of her herbal tea cooling, a film like grief on its surface. Lila should've been home an hour ago. No text, naturally. Not a peep. Elena tapped her fingers on the worn Formica, the sound too loud in the quiet. This was their rhythm now, a silent, syncopated beat of expectation and disappointment, a constant, low thrum beneath everything.
By HAADI2 months ago in Families
The Hidden Gospels:
What if the Bible we know is only half the story? What if Jesus spoke in secret code because humanity wasn’t ready to hear the truth — that the real enemy isn’t sin, but illusion itself? The banned Gospels tried to tell us this centuries ago, before power rewrote the script.
By Aja Truth2 months ago in Families
Three Pizzerias Worth Traveling For (and How to Order Without Looking Lost)
I’m not interested in declaring “the best pizza in the world.” Italy doesn’t really think that way. Italian’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
By Andrea Zanon2 months ago in Families
When you fall in love, you lose an average of two close friends. AI-Generated.
The Lonely Side of Love: Why Falling in Love Costs You an Average of Two Close Friends Picture this. You meet someone special. Your days fill with texts, dates, and endless talks. Then, poof—your phone goes quiet with old friends. That group chat? It fades. Why? New love grabs your full attention. You might not notice at first.
By Story silver book 2 months ago in Families
From Poverty to Prosperity: Evan’s Unexpected Journey. AI-Generated.
Evan lived with his mother in a small village just outside a noisy, fast-growing city. Their home was a tiny room built from old bricks and a patched metal roof that rattled every time the wind blew. Money was never enough. Some nights, Evan went to sleep hungry, pretending he was full so his mother wouldn’t worry.
By StoryVerse3 months ago in Families
Review: Jillian Jiggs
I'm an INFP living with bipolar. I also have some ADHD tendencies. At any given hour, I boil down to a strange dichotomy of fantastical effervescence and organized chaos before alternating to melancholy so severe it would make Edgar Allen Poe resemble Mr. Rogers.
By Call Me Les3 months ago in Families
The Sacred Bond: A Journey Through Marriage in Islam
The Beginning: The Foundation of Love and Purpose Marriage — a word that holds the essence of life, love, responsibility, and completion. In the world’s eyes, marriage is merely a contract between two people. But in Islam, it is far more than that — it is an act of worship, a Sunnah of the beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and a sacred bond designed by Allah Himself.
By Anees Khan3 months ago in Families
The Blood-Dimmed Tide. AI-Generated.
The Hannigan family didn't have a history. They had a bloodline. It was a thing discussed in hushed tones at funerals, a dark, coiling root system buried deep beneath the respectable surface of their lives. They were doctors, lawyers, and architects now, but the family crest—unofficial and unspoken—was a closed fist.
By HAADI3 months ago in Families
Where the River Meets the Stars
The river had always served as their place. When they were kids Mira and Rowan spent every summer evening sitting at the old wooden dock of her grandparents countryside home. They'd put their feet in the cool water and toss pebbles and pretend the fireflies dancing above them were tiny fallen stars.
By Nusuki3 months ago in Families
When Freedom Learns Responsibility: A Father’s Journey from Single Life to Sacred Duty.
When Freedom Learns Responsibility: A Father’s Journey from Single Life to Sacred Duty The single life often feels like an open road with no traffic lights. You choose your destination, your speed, and even when to stop and start. Your time is yours, your money is yours, and your thoughts belong entirely to you. You can change your plans in an instant, sleep whenever you like, and travel whenever you wish, without anyone asking why you are late or where you are going. It feels like freedom in its purest form. But is freedom simply the ability to do whatever you want, or is it understanding what truly matters?
By Sayed Zewayed3 months ago in Families