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CARITA GARDINER

What to Read When You're Avoiding School Work

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“Why”…Wednesdays

NetGalley Review of In the Case of Heartbreak

Posted on March 30, 2023March 28, 2023 by caritagardiner

title: In the Case of Heartbreak author: Courtney Kae publisher: Kensington publication date: July 25, 2023 pages: 320 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: childhood trauma talked about a lot, drug use summary: narrator Ben runs a bakery that is competing, using a cinnamon roll recipe that mom adapted from absent/neglectful father’s recipe, on a baking…

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222. Why Enter

Posted on March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 by caritagardiner

If you’ve never read anything by Jennifer Weiner, you’re missing out. In fact, I’m a little embarrassed that with all the posts I’ve written about the magnificence of romance novels, I haven’t mentioned her until now. Her 2002 novel, Good in Bed, was one of the first rom-coms I read that convinced me I’d found my…

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Book Review of While We Were Dating

Posted on March 26, 2023March 26, 2023 by caritagardiner

title: While We Were Dating author: Jasmine Guillory publisher: Berkley publication date: July 13, 2021 pages: 384 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: discussions of and on-page anxiety summary: Ben Stephens has to give the campaign pitch for his ad agency because the higher-level executives are stuck at LAX. Everyone in the room is surprised when…

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NetGalley Review of The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen

Posted on March 24, 2023March 22, 2023 by caritagardiner

title: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen author: KJ Charles publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca publication date: March 7, 2023 pages: 352 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: violence, death summary: When Gareth’s mother died, years before the opening of the novel, his father sends him away from their Baroncy in Kent to live with an unkind uncle…

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NetGalley Review of The Matchmaker

Posted on March 23, 2023March 21, 2023 by caritagardiner

title: The Matchmaker author: Catherine Walsh publisher: Bookouture/Kindle publication date: April 18, 2023 pages: 281 peppers: 2 (on this scale) warnings: parents die in a car crash years before the book takes place summary: Katie loves her tiny town in Ireland and her job as a bartender at the only pub in town, so she’s…

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221. Why You’re Not Who You Think You Are

Posted on March 22, 2023March 21, 2023 by caritagardiner

[I found the photo above on Nystrom and Associates’ Facebook page.] In my new job as a class dean, I’ve met with many students who’ve done things they’re not proud of. Some of them lie to me, saying they didn’t do whatever it is I’m asking them about. Some seem to believe that “I wish…

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Book Review of Two Wrongs Make a Right

Posted on March 20, 2023March 19, 2023 by caritagardiner

title: Two Wrongs Make a Right author: Chloe Liese publisher: Berkley Romance (of Penguin Random House LLC) publication date: November 22, 2022 pages:320 peppers: 2 (on this scale) warnings: abusive relationship summary: Bea and Jamie meet at a party where everything goes wrong for them. Still, her twin sister and his roommate, who are newly…

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Review of Georgie All Along

Posted on March 19, 2023March 18, 2023 by caritagardiner

title: Georgie All Along author: Kate Clayborn publisher: Kensington publication date: January 24, 2023 pages: 335 peppers: 2 warnings: vomit, birth summary: Georgie heads home to her small town after losing her job as a personal assistant to a Hollywood powerhouse. She has no idea what to do with her life except that she wants to…

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NetGalley Review of Tilly in Technicolor

Posted on March 18, 2023March 17, 2023 by caritagardiner

title: Tilly in Technicolor author: Mazey Eddings publisher: Wednesday Books publication date: August 15, 2023 pages: 320 peppers: 2 warnings: puke summary: After her high school graduation, Tilly’s parents send her on a European trip as intern to her successful sister, who’s starting an environmentally friendly nail polish line. While her parents want Tilly to…

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NetGalley Review of Plot Twist

Posted on March 17, 2023March 16, 2023 by caritagardiner

title: Plot Twist author: Erin La Rosa publisher: Canary Street Press publication date: November 14, 2023 pages: 336 peppers: 3 on this scale warnings: alcoholism, vomit summary: Sophie is a romance author who hasn’t ever been in love and is stuck trying to figure out a happy ending for her second novel. Her landlord and…

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WHAT I DO

I teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I read AP English Literature and Composition exams and serve as a teacher mentor for the University of Pennsylvania Teaching Fellows program. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU

Teach                    Tutor

Revise                   Edit

Entertain             Enlighten

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Contact Me

  • cgardine@hotchkiss.org

Read my recent “Why” Wednesday Blog Posts

  • NetGalley Review of In the Case of Heartbreak
  • 222. Why Enter
  • Book Review of While We Were Dating
  • NetGalley Review of The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen
  • NetGalley Review of The Matchmaker
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