Savvy Verse & Wit

Review: The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa (audio)

Shauna — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:02:45 +0000

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder and narrated by Traci Kato-Kiriyama, is a harrowing look at memory loss and trauma on a dystopian, unnamed island where the police ensure that the items that disappear remain forgotten. A young woman, whose father had been an ornithologist, saw the joy evaporate from his […]

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Review: Swimming With Ghosts by Michelle Brafman (audio)

Shauna — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 14:02:01 +0000

Swimming With Ghosts by Michelle Brafman, narrated by Hillary Huber, Scott Brick, Sophie Amoss, and Pete Cross, is a insider look at summer swim leagues and the families that run them and are consumed by them. River Run swim club is Gillian Cloud’s legacy and where her father became famous for swan dive, but there’s […]

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From Book Review Blog to Author Website: Where the Echoes Gather

Shauna — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:01:40 +0000

My old domain, Savvy Verse & Wit, has a new look. What started out as a blog on blogger and a place where I talked about poems I was reading in magazines (not even reviewing books yet) is now my author website. With the forthcoming publication of Echoes Carry from Beltway Editions, I had begun […]

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Review: The Mall by Megan McCafferty (audio)

Shauna — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:06 +0000

The Mall by Megan McCafferty, narrated by Caitlin Kelly, features a big-brained socially inept teen, Cassie Worthy, in 1990s New Jersey. Cassie has a post-high school plan, and part of that plan is landing a prime job at the Parkway Center mall, a move to New York City for college with her boyfriend, and living […]

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Review: Rules for Aging and Larceny by Julia London (audio)

Shauna — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 14:01:55 +0000

Rules for Aging and Larceny by Julia London, narrated by Christina Moore, is a tongue-in-cheek Ocean’s Eleven. Frances Deluca isn’t your typical 70-year-old retiree looking for a life of leisure. In fact, she goes full tilt in everything she does, which is probably why her competitive nature gets her booted from the pickle-ball team. She’s […]

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Review: The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

Shauna — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:02:18 +0000

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig is the second book in this series of books about taking wrong turns or right turns in life, exploring what regret means and whether those regrets are even worthwhile. While Nora Seed from The Midnight Library appears in this story, it is not a sequel. Wilbur Budd, by all […]

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Review: A Suit or a Suitcase by Maggie Smith

Shauna — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:02:54 +0000

A Suit or a Suitcase by Maggie Smith is a collection of poems that I’ve eagerly awaited after following Maggie’s Substack. The existential question posed by the collection is “Do I wear it or does it carry me? Is the body a suit or a suitcase?” It’s from her title poem “A Suit or a […]

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Review: Tourist Season by Brynne Weaver (audio)

Shauna — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 14:02:50 +0000

Tourist Season by Brynne Weaver, narrated by Samantha Brentmoor and Robert Hatchet, is set in the seaside town of Cape Carnage, a town in which murder has become a theme that attracts tourists. It helps that one of the most famous families in the town, the Lancasters, are at the center of a murder mystery. […]

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Image + Poetry = Fireworks

Serena — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 17:02:05 +0000

Yes, the United States is 250 years old. It should be celebrated, despite the darkness and social/political fractures we see on display on a daily basis. One of my favorite poems has always been The New Colossus: Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published The New Colossus By Emma Lazarus Not […]

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Review: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (audio)

Serena — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 14:02:17 +0000

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, narrated by Clare Corbett, Daphne Kouma, Julia Winwood, Sope Dirisu, Sofia Zervudachi, and Charlie Anson, is considered a locked door mystery, but don’t be fooled because people do leave these apartments. Jess is on her way to visit her half-brother Ben in Paris after enduring the unwanted advances of […]

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