Susan Petrone

http://www.Susanpetrone.com

Susan Petrone is the author of The Heebie-Jeebie Girl (2020,) The Super Ladies (2018), Throw Like a Woman (2015), and A Body at Rest (2009). Her work has appeared in such diverse venues as Glimmer Train, Belt, ESPN.com, and CoolCleveland. She is also one of the co-founders and former president of Literary Cleveland (litcleveland.org) and was a recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for FY 2020.

Books by Susan Petrone

Image of The Heebie-Jeebie Girl: A Novel
Image of The Super Ladies
Image of Throw Like a Woman
Image of A Body at Rest

Book Reviews by Susan Petrone

Image of The Material: A Novel
Author(s):
Camille Bordas
Genre(s):
Humor, Satire, Dark Humor

The Material: A Novel

September 22, 2024
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

Novels about academia almost always veer toward satire (see Richard Russo’s Straight Man, Jane Smiley’s Moo, or Zadie Smith’s On Beauty) because the egos, trappings, and

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Image of Anna
Author(s):
Mia Oberländer
Genre(s):
Literary, Graphic Novels & Comics, Humor, Literary Fiction

Anna

March 25, 2024
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

“Oberländer’s underlying message of female bodies striving to conform to spaces too narrow to contain them is powerful . . .”

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Image of Piglet: A Novel
Author(s):
Lottie Hazell
Genre(s):
Women’s Fiction, Self Realization, Relationships & Marriages, Genre Fiction, International Locales

Piglet: A Novel

February 28, 2024
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

“As a debut novel, Piglet is ambitious, sitting somewhere in the middle of the Venn diagram where comic women’s fiction, literary fiction, and absurdism meet.”

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Image of The Librarianist: A Novel
Author(s):
Patrick deWitt
Genre(s):
Fiction, Literary Fiction

The Librarianist: A Novel

July 25, 2023
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

At first glance, Patrick DeWitt’s latest novel, The Librarianist, seems like yet another heart-warming curmudgeon-rediscovers-his-humanity story (see A Man Called Ove or The S

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Image of Yellowface: A Novel
Author(s):
R. F Kuang
Genre(s):
Fiction, Asian American, Literary Fiction

Yellowface: A Novel

June 12, 2023
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

“This is strong satire, and many parts are, if not laugh-out loud funny, at least genuinely chuckle-funny.”

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Image of Stone Blind: A Novel
Author(s):
Natalie Haynes
Genre(s):
Ancient Civilizations & Prehistory, Historical Fiction, Historical, Literary Fiction

Stone Blind: A Novel

February 6, 2023
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

“Haynes is a perceptive writer, and you’ll likely find yourself agreeing with her interpretation of the Medusa myth.”

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Image of Dog Biscuits
Author(s):
Alex Graham
Genre(s):
Contemporary, Graphic Novels & Comics

Dog Biscuits

May 23, 2022
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

We’re far enough into the limbo stage of the Covid-19 pandemic (it’s over, it’s not over, it’s over, it’s not over) to have started welcoming the first wave of pandemic-inspired literature, such as

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Image of How to Be Eaten: A Novel
Author(s):
Maria Adelmann
Genre(s):
Women’s Fiction, Literary Fiction

How to Be Eaten: A Novel

May 16, 2022
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

Maria Adelman’s How to Be Eaten has a fabulous premise—in modern day New York, five women gather for a trauma support group, each of them a modern reimagining of a fairy tale heroine.

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Image of The Sentence
Author(s):
Louise Erdrich
Genre(s):
Literary Fiction, Native American

The Sentence

November 14, 2021
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

“The Sentence is a love letter to the written word, to books, and to those who sell them.”

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Image of Our Country Friends: A Novel
Author(s):
Gary Shteyngart
Genre(s):
Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Satire

Our Country Friends: A Novel

November 3, 2021
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

Gary Shteyngart’s latest novel, Our Country Friends, is billed as “The Big Chill meets Chekhov.” Whether this potential mash-up intrigues you depends on your love of ’80s movies a

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Image of Talk to Me: A Novel
Author(s):
T.C. Boyle
Genre(s):
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

Talk to Me: A Novel

September 27, 2021
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

“Talk to Me is an engrossing, thought-provoking read.”

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Image of How to Mars
Author(s):
David Ebenbach
Genre(s):
Science Fiction & Fantasy, Space Exploration, Debut

How to Mars

May 24, 2021
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

What would happen if the first manned (and womanned) mission to Mars was chosen through a Survivor-style competition and the mission itself was a reality show?

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Image of Body of Stars: A Novel
Author(s):
Laura Maylene Walter
Genre(s):
Dystopian, Debut Fiction, Debut

Body of Stars: A Novel

March 15, 2021
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

“an incredibly strong debut that hits a number of sweet spots—feminist literature, dystopian/speculative fiction, and young adult literature. It’s well worth your time.”

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Image of The Charmed Wife
Author(s):
Olga Grushin
Genre(s):
Literary Fiction, Debut Fiction, Myths & Legends

The Charmed Wife

January 11, 2021
Reviewed by: 
Susan Petrone

“Grushin’s facility with language . . . is a marvel. It’s the kind of prose that demands you submerge yourself.”

What comes after “Happily ever after?”

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