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Book Review: Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
I work part time in a small, independent bookstore, and when we kept selling out of a book called “Theo of Golden” Naturally, I grew curious, because I’m always interested in what book clubs are reading. I heard through the grapevine that the author had originally self-published the novel in 2023 and it sold so many copies through grassroots marketing that eventually it was picked up by Simon and Schuster in the fall of 2025. Knowing how hard it is to publish a novel and get people to read it, never mind attracting the attention of a Big 5 publisher, I requested the book from my library. After a seven-week-long wait, it arrived…
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Book Review: As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back by Alle C. Hall
Nominated for The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Book Award, Alle C. Hall’s debut literary novel, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back is a-girl-and-her-backpack story with a #MeToo influence: Carlie is not merely traveling. A child sexual abuse survivor, as a teen she steals ten thousand dollars from her parents and runs away to Asia. There, the Lonely Planet path of hookups, heat, alcohol, and drugs takes on a terrifying reality. Landing in Tokyo in the late 1980s, Carlie falls in with an international crew of tai chi-practicing backpackers. With their help, Carlie has the chance at a journey she didn’t plan for: one to find the self-respect ripped from her…