Samantha Leigh Miller

writer, reader, teacher

The Passage, by Justin Cronin

Yes, ok vampires, but these “virals” surprisingly take a back seat to Cronin’s apocalyptic (and forever timely, it seems) tale that ultimately pumps more human heart than human blood.  If you’re a writer, read the opening of the novel as a near-perfect example of character/plot introduction.  Read the rest of the novel for a story […]

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

This book made me feel cold and achy and in need of VERY fuzzy socks from page one. Almost too bleak to read, but every time I tried to put it down, his little boy drew me back in.  Some of my favorite lines: “scavenged bowl of the countryside” (p. 19) A giant’s view, or […]