Anjanette Barr

In Adult Fiction she seeks captivating settings and relatable characters that highlight virtues like empathy and self-sacrifice whether the genre is historical (My Antonia, Outlander), literary/upmarket (The Snow Child, Piranesi), romance (The Winter Sea, Book Lovers) or Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Lightbringer series, Song of Albion series, The Sparrow, Project Hail Mary).

As a mother of four, Anjanette loves children's literature for all age groups. She's is especially fond of books that can be read aloud and shared with the whole family (Children of the Longhouse, Anna Hibiscus, Gregor the Overlander, Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan, Whale of the Wild, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon) which tend to be middle grade, but she loves any MG/YA/NA that empowers young people to consider their character and worth as they prepare to leave the nest (What Happened to Rachel Riley, Sabriel/The Old Kingdom series, Everything Sad is Untrue, anything by Nadine Brandes, Kelly Barnhill, Erin Entrada Kelly). She's seeking books with hopeful, informative, and/or lyrical tones. Illustrations/graphics are awesome. She prefers picture books that are winsome and pleasant to read aloud (Blueberries for Sal, Brigid's Cloak by Bryce Miligan, Miss Rumphius, Farmhouse, poetry by Joyce Sidman). Humor is great when it helps tell the story (The Book with No Pictures, Good Dog Carl).

Particular interests of Anjanette's are the exploration of culture, history, faith, myth, fine arts, and nature. She has a soft spot for gothic novels and magical realism.

In non-fiction she is looking for well-researched biography (Unbroken) written in beautiful literary prose, popular science and other disciplines titles that make lay-people enchanted and invested in topics previously over their heads (The Elements by Theodore Grey, Freakonomics), and memoir with the ability to connect diverse readers (If You Lived Here I'd Know Your Name by Heather Lende). She's also interested in books that shed light on poverty and justice in a new way (Evicted by Matthew Desmond).