Reviews

Gold and Silver EVVY winner! First Place in Religion and Spirituality and Second Place winner in Humor. Bronze winner of an Illumination Award in Catholic books (Pope Francis won the Gold!). Now a Foreword Review finalist.A girl, roiled by emergent sexuality, conflicting emotions toward parents, an extended family of abusive men and unhappy women: the protagonist in this playful but gripping tale draws on a hilarious mishmash of Catholic popular culture, creating outrageous cosmic narratives to make sense of it all. Catholics will recognize it; those who didn't have access to the Catholic Imagination while growing up will be jealous. Michael P. Carroll, Madonnas that Maim; Catholic Cults and Devotions; The Cult of the Virgin Mary A coming of age feminist consciousness story that navigates gender in the contexts of domestic and celestial hierarchies. In Bridget's world, frightening and glorious relationships exist between phosphorous and holiness, virgins and bicycles, crucifixes and spices, exorcism and mascara. Zamboni-McCormick renders scenes that run the gamut from laugh-out-loud Catholic brainwashing of children, to heart-wrenched witnessing of domestic violence, to riveting teenage excursions toward sex. Annie Rachele Lanzillotto, L is for Lion: an italian bronx butch freedom memoirTender and ruthlessly honest, Kathleen McCormick's beautiful first novel draws us into the world of Italian Irish Catholicism as experienced by its unforgettably wise and desperately innocent girl narrator. There's magic in this world--and while we are charmed by its glow, we are also unsettled again and again by the darkness behind that glow. We follow Bridget with trepidation, captivated by her vulnerability and her fierceness, trusting there's much to learn from her journey. Edvige Giunta, Writing with an Accent; Personal Effects