The San Francisco Chronicle and the Paris Review have each released "Best of 2015" lists, both featuring BOA collections!
The San Francisco Chronicle chose only five poetry collections for its list, among them Nickole Brown's Fanny Says. "Brown's interest in Kentucky speech sounds, and the many speeds in her free verse--from rapid fire to syrupy-slow--fit the unfolding of her grandmother Fanny's life."
The Paris Review asked contributors to pick their top books of 2015. Writer Chris Bachelder selected Robin McLean's short story collection, Reptile House.
He writes: "There is no shortage of mayhem and menace in these stories, but they achieve a thrilling and disorienting power by refusing to pay commensurate attention to the life-and-death troubles of people. McLean does not shrink the world down to interpersonal conflict, but instead opens it up to achieve a cosmic perspective that somehow feels both dispassionate and compassionate (Chekhov’s trick). This opening up is wild, surprising, and not a little frightening. I suppose you could call these stories dark, but in their dazzling perspective I find them full of vitality and wonder."