A running tally of my "Best Books of 2023", updated each time I finish a book throughout the year.

★★★★★ It's long, but it's also a brilliant tour de force, presenting a multi-generational character study spanning nearly 80 years in India.

★★★★★ A masterful book, Lehane's best since Mystic River, set against the racial tensions of Boston school busing during the summer of '74.

★★★★★ A beautifully written character study of a cast of memorable souls that spans 30 years from the end of World War II until the mid-70s.

★★★★★ Harrow returns to top form with a genre-blending story of a young woman trying to scrape by in a town haunted by its past and secrets.

★★★★☆ A decent but unremarkable debut about a young girl's disappearance, its impact on her family, and ultimately their path to reuniting.

★★★★☆ Set in the 1930s, an expansive cast from the Black and Jewish section of Pottstown, PA come together to rally around a common cause.

★★★☆☆ The semi-autobiographical account of the author's childhood, focused on him leaving the reservation to attend a white high school.

★★★☆☆ A character study of two neighboring families on the outskirts of New York City. I hoped for spellbinding; what I got was milquetoast.

★★★☆☆ A mostly tragic decades-spanning debut about a young woman dealing with adversity while growing up in rural Colorado circa 1950.

★★★☆☆ Inflated expectations probably diminished my enjoyment of this river odyssey tale. It's an okay story, but Ordinary Grace it is not.

★★★★☆ Hart's tale of women finding their power through witchcraft is diluted by her one-dimensional portrayal of universally horrible men.

★★★☆☆ A rushed sophomore slump of a novel that fails to live up to Boulley's first book, Firekeeper's Daughter, in almost every way.

★★★★☆ Societal commentary abounds in this story of a white author stealing the final manuscript of an Asian American author after her death.

★★★★☆ The 2nd book in the Danny Ryan Trilogy fails to live up to the 1st, but it's a quick read if you want more time with the Dogtown crew.

★★★☆☆ Audrain once again examines the trials of parenting, but this time fails to balance character flaws with anything remotely redeemable.

★★☆☆☆ A disjointed mess of a novel about a young woman growing up during Prohibition in rural Virginia. I wanted this to be so much better.

★★★★☆ Napolitano once again tugs at heartstrings by creating memorable characters who share moments of happiness amid plenty of tragedy.

★★★★★ A 1961 coming-of-age story about a boy in rural Minnesota, who is forced to deal with tragedy as he navigates his path to manhood.

★★★☆☆ It's primarily a character study, but for all the time spent developing the characters, I unfortunately didn't especially like them.