book review Archives - Cambridge | Somerville Independent

Reviewed: ‘I See You’ve Called in Dead,’ the wry resurrection of an obit writer who’s over it

by Gwen Ruta September 22, 2026

His friends are mostly glad to find out he’s not dead, but his boss has mixed feelings. “Called in Dead” treats the subject of death with respect.

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Reviewed: ‘Triage’ brings an Army nurse home from combat, but her fight isn’t over

by Gwen Ruta September 15, 2026

A combat nurse on the front lines in North Africa and Italy returns home scared and scarred, forgetting anguish through drink and other ill-advised coping mechanisms.

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Reviewed: A powerful ‘Veiled Prophet: Secret Societies, White Supremacy, and the Struggle for St. Louis’

by Josh Cook September 8, 2026

Modeled after the KKK, the Veiled Prophet shows up in the roots of the Cold War, opposition to civil rights, support for the Vietnam War and maybe violence in Ferguson, Missouri.

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Reviewed: ‘This Book Made Me Think of You’ is a sad romance that’s in love with books

by Kaliisha Cole September 1, 2026

Matilda “Tilly” Nightingale has lost her love for reading. Her husband, Joe, dies from cancer only a few months after they are married. Tilly is faced with navigating life without him sooner than she...

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Reviewed: Freed by grief to be a private detective and on an Alice B. Toklas hunt in ‘Bone Horn’

by Josh Cook August 25, 2026

“Bone Horn” maintains its precarious balance between absurdity and grief, work and childcare, bodies and books.

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Reviewed: ‘Night Night Fawn’ has a repellent narrator and a twist that will shake you

by Josh Cook August 18, 2026

You probably won’t like Barbara, the narrator of Jordy Rosenberg’s incandescent new novel, but you'll have to consider what justice means for such people.

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Reviewed: The essays of ‘To See Beyond’ offer a guide past and around our fear, anger and despair

by Elizabeth Gonzalez James August 11, 2026

Making art in difficult times will not necessarily save the world, but it may save you and the ones around you.

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Reviewed: ‘Designated Stranger’ is a poetry road trip that isn’t trying to escape

by Josh Cook August 4, 2026

Gion Davis repairs that myth of the open road by helping it grow into a more mature celebration of the joys of fearless living, not messiness.

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Reviewed: ‘On the Other Side is March’ is a clear-eyed look at caring for a fading parent

by Josh Cook July 28, 2026

Sólrún Michelsen tries to give caregivers language and images that make it easier to bear a burden, hold on when adrift or see in the fog.

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Reviewed: ‘When You’re Brave Enough’ doesn’t simplify middle-school hurt

by Fin Leary July 21, 2026

“When You’re Brave Enough,” about coming out as a lesbian in middle school, is sure to be beloved by young people figuring out what bravery means to them.