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UnderratedReads is devoted to discovering underrated books and under-represented authors. We highlight hidden gems from around the world–honest reviews only, never pay-to-play.
Category Archives: Modern Literary Fiction
Finding Dorothy – Elizabeth Letts
(Review and poem by Betty Jo Tucker) #CommissionsEarned This review poem about the novel Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts is dedicated to the late JoAnne Pulcino, my dear cousin who loved watching The Wizard of Oz movie based on the … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged modern literary fiction, Wizard of Oz
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Beware the Mermaids – Carrie Talick
(Reviewed by Don Jung) What happens when you are content with your current life, but circumstances force you to make unexpected changes? Fifty-seven-year-old grandmother, Nancy, thought she was happy, but then caught her husband with another woman on their yacht. … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged boats, divorce, friendship, infidelity, sea, women's fiction
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Cenotaphs – Rich Marcello
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “If you live long enough, most people leave, a few by staying true to themselves, more by death, indifference, or being driven away. “ Seventy-five-year-old retiree Ben Sanna realizes that no one has stayed with him … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged death, grief, loss, love, redemption, relationships
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Antiman: A Hybrid Memoir – Rajiv Mohabir
(reviewed by JD Jung) “I wanted to stop hiding. I wanted to tell them that I was queer. Queer sexually, queer religiously, queer by caste, and queer countried.” Rajiv Mohabir never felt that he belonged. As a resident of Central … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Immigration, Modern Literary Fiction, World Issues
Tagged class, culture, Guyanese, immigration, India, LGBTQ, multiculture, political activism, race, sexuality
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The Broken – J.J. Hernandez
(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) There are quite a few novels that chronicle the struggle of formerly incarcerated individuals returning to civilian life, but none that I have read that are as good as The Broken by JJ Hernandez … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged fiction, incarceration, social justice
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Broken Pieces of God – David B Seaburn
(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) Broken Pieces of God is a fictional name about a couple and their struggles with cancer, unemployment, financial hardship, and religious reliance. Eddy works for a cable company and loses his job. Gayle is a tax … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged cancer, faith, God, health
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Dangerous Conjectures – Brian Finney
(reviewed by JD Jung) “She couldn’t decide which was deteriorating faster—her life or the country. They were all in the hands of a president who was spreading misinformation as fast as the virus was spreading infection across the world.” “Even … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Political fiction, Romance
Tagged adultery, COVID-19, disinformation, drug addiction, emotion, facts, family, misinformation, QAnon, San Francisco
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We Are Bridges: A Memoir – Cassandra Lane
(reviewed by Ann Onymous ) “We are bridges made of blood and water, soil and skin.” Yes, we are bridges: connecting our present to our past and to our future. Cassandra Lane’s great-grandfather was named Burt Bridges. He was lynched … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged book reviews, family, police brutality, racism, social justice
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The People of Ostrich Mountain- Ndirangu Githaiga
(reviewed by Ann Onymous ) This book takes its title from the view of Mt. Kilimanjaro from a distance. To some there appear to be ostriches up at the top but when we look closer, we each see different things. … Continue reading
Posted in Immigration, Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged family, friendship, gender, immigration, Kenya, race
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