August 2.0

A House With No Windows by Nadia Hashimi 
Back with her third adult book, Nadia Hashimi never disappoints me.  Her first book, The Pearl That Broke its Shell, was the winner of the Goodreads debut novel in 2014 and was one of my favorite books of the year.  Her second, The Moon Hangs Low, was a powerful story of Afghan refugees, as they tried to make their way to Western Europe.  Her latest novel focuses on the 'crimes' of women in Afghanistan, typically involving accusations of immorality and sex.  The main character, Zeba, after being found holding her husband's bloody body, is accused of murder and locked up in a women's prison.  Her lawyer Yusef, a young idealistic Afghan-American, returns to her village, going through the past history of Zeba and Kamal's marriage, as well as the traditions of their community.  As Zeba acquaints herself with the other women prisoners, we also see the honesty, the frustration, the dignity, and the ultimate inequities in the supposed legal system of this decimated country.  This is a powerful novel that tells a heart-wrenching tale of redemption and honor.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
It's hard to know where to start with this book...finalist for huge awards, loooooong (as in 814 pages), weird cover.  All these things combined negatively so it sat on my bedside stand for months.  Finally, a couple friends encouraged me to pick it up, saying it would be worth it.  That is an understatement, and I do not say the following lightly:  this is one of the BEST books I have read in my adult life.  Over the span of thirty years, this novel follows four young men who meet as college roommates and begin their adult life.  Boring, right?  Yep, that's what I thought, but by page 10 I was completely unable to put this book down.  Read in four days, early mornings and late nights, the story is so compelling, so intense, so raw, and so rich that it pulls you into their lives in a way I have rarely felt. Yanagihara is an incredible storyteller and beautiful writer, but she doesn't get caught up in the poetry of her words; she truly stays focused on the four friends, in particular Jude, the most tortured of the boys.  I have not wept this many tears over a book in I don't know when, and yes, it was worth every tear.  This will be a book I never forget; I cannot recommend it highly enough.


The Trespasser by Tana French

If you haven't read any of Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad mysteries, and you like a well-written Irish story, you really need to pick one up. They do not need to be read in any order, as each book picks on a different detective and a new murder,  I have loved all but one (The Likeness - not her best), and her latest trip back to Dublin is one of the best in the series.  This time around, the two main detectives are some complex characters with unique issues. Antoinette is the only female detective in a sexist, bullying environment - she is tough, feisty, assertive, and brings the fight first. Her partner, Stephen, is a pretty boy who likes to be liked, but only on the surface; he is smart, manipulative, and loyal to the core.  As the two detectives investigate what should be an open-and-shut domestic homicide, they learn the dark side of the Murder Squad and those people who will do anything to protect their turf.  Great read!



The Light in Paris by Eleanor Brown
I loved Brown's first book The Weird Sisters; it was quirky, well-written, different.  I was excited to see a new book out from her after five years, figuring she took the time to write another winner.  However, I was underwhelmed by her latest effort.  The premise wasn't bad with two parallel stories: Madeline, a woman in the 1990's, unhappy in her marriage, tied to a 'conventional' life that she did not want, and Margie, her grandmother who spends a season in Paris in 1924, looking for that unconventional life denied her by a well-to-do family.  It had great potential, but was wasted in a predictable story line, and poorly drawn characters that were hard to root for.  I frequently just wanted to slap Madeline, tell her to quit whining, and MOVE ON; Margie was slightly more heroic, as she tries to make a go of living without her family's money and breaking out of all of life's rules to live the life of a French writer.  Alas, Eleanor Brown devolves into the convention that her characters tried so valiantly to escape in their own literary lives and writes an inevitable end that leaves no room for an 'ah-ha' moment, pleasure in the unforeseeable, nor any true feelings other than disappointment.

The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore

One part legal thriller, one part historical fiction, and one part love story, this new novel by Graham Moore (The Sherlockian, screenwriter of The Imitation Game) is a page turner.  Young attorney Paul Cravath (yes, you can find him on Wikipedia), is inexplicably hired by George Westinghouse for the patent battle against Thomas Edison.  Thus, the story of the beginning of the era of electricity, invention, and modern industrial age plays out and it is a fascinating look into the lives of these famous historical characters.  J.P Morgan and Alexander Graham Bell even have a cameo, as well as Nikola Tesla, who plays a bigger part in the invention of electrical current than I ever knew.   Reminiscent of the race between Gates and Job to invent the first personal computer, this was an intriguing novel that shows how creativity, concentration, passion, and greed shaped a new age for America.


Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne
I've only had about a million people ask me if I've read the new
Harry Potter; it's a logical question considering my obsession with Hogwarts, Muggles, and anything HP-related.  So now the answer is "Yes," I took a morning and read the script of the play currently on the London stage.  And "No," J.K. Rowling did not write this book, but merely acted as a consultant with the playwright to bring the world of Harry Potter back to life.  Here's my conclusions:  1) it was an absolute delight to find myself once more in this world, to be reading about characters I consider old friends - it warmed my heart 2) it's not a book - of course there's not deep character or plot development - it's a script of a play so put that into perspective 3) you need to be a fan of alternative-reality scenarios - there's a lot of them 4) is it worth it? Absolutely!  Jack Thorne gets this world, and he understands the lives of children - their anxieties, their friendships, their troubles with parents, etc.  He does a worthy job of weaving all the important pieces into a new tale of Hogwarts and its students; I thoroughly enjoyed it.

August Books

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (September 2016)

A brilliant new historical fiction, touched with surrealism, Whitehead has written what many of us booksellers feel is an award-winner.  He takes the context of the underground railroad, a system of houses and other hideaways, manned by abolitionists, and imbues it with magical fantasy, creating a 'real' locomotive that speeds runaway slaves away on their journey to freedom.  Cora, a young woman who lives a hellish life on a Georgian cotton plantation, ostracized by the other slaves, motherless and alone, is chosen by Caesar, a fellow slave, to catch the train to freedom.  Thus begins Cora's adventures, with allusions to Gulliver's travels as well as the travails of Odysseus.  The strangers who both assist and impede the slaves are complex, showing great violence at times, as well as great compassion.  It is a tale well told, that will leave thought provoking ideas behind in its wake.

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

Rich, handsome, ambitious man meets beautiful woman with a big heart, a heart so generous she chooses to be guardian to her sister with Down's syndrome.  Man woos her, proposes, has perfect wedding...except the broken leg of the sister...oops.  Then Jack and Grace live happily ever after, right? Not a chance.  What happens behind the steel shutters and locked doors of their English country home makes for a tense, psychological thriller.  Can Grace save her sister, much less herself, or will Jack convince the world that she is insane?  As the thread of madness spools out and the past is revealed, you will obsessively turn pages to see the true fabric of this marriage.  Already a huge hit in the UK and movie plans in the works, this book should take America by storm.

Daisy in Chains by Sharon Bolton

Maggie Rose is a true-crime writer, yet also a renowned defense attorney in England.  In fact, she's a pro at getting murderers out of prison, after being convicted of heinous crimes.  So who better for Hamish Wolfe to hire, the handsome surgeon convicted of some fairly nasty murders?  This is a premise with some guaranteed twists and turns, as Maggie continuously questions his innocence or guilt.  Bolton takes us back in time to see the history of some of the victims, throwing in numerous red herrings to throw the reader off track.  This book will keep you up late at night, frantically turning pages, to see if you guessed right...guilty or innocent?

The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood
I loved Marwood's first two books (The Wicked Girls and The Killer Next Door), and this deliciously British mystery writer does not disappoint with her third novel.  Based loosely on the true story of Madeline McCann, the three year old English child who disappeared years ago while on vacation with her family, in this fictitious version, the young child is a twin who mysteriously vanishes one night while in a vacation home in Bournemouth.  The players of the story are what makes this book so fascinating:  her father, a rich nasty man who is a serial monogamist, ruining every marriage he touches; teenage siblings with a huge trough of bitterness inside; an absentee mother more concerned with her nails than who's watching the children; and a host of rich, self-centered, narcissistic friends who all have different stories of the night that Chloe vanishes.  It is a rich story, with complex characters and various nuances of plot twists that made my mouth hang open literally in the last few pages.  Loved this book!

Modern Lovers by Emma Straub

A small neighborhood in Brooklyn, two mixed up teenagers, four adults with an 'interesting' history, and two marriages struggling to find happiness after years together, Straub (The Vacationers) has written another intriguing story of 'normal' people in America.  Zoe and Jane have been married for years, raising a rebellious daughter named Ruby, running a small restaurant, and forgetting the romance of how they found each other.  Elizabeth is the neighborhood realtor and uptight mom, married to uber-wealthy and privileged Andrew, who has never really found his 'thing' in life.  Yet, long ago, Zoe, Andrew and Elizabeth were in a college band that had that one big hit, the one-hit wonder sung by the long-dead heroin addict who deserted the band first.  Oh my, the complications of a simple life.  Straub does a masterful job of stringing out all the plot lines, and of making us care about each character; this is a great vacation read.

The Trespassers by Tana French
In her Dublin murder squad series, Tana French has written some fabulous books and some 'meh.'  Her latest, however, is by far the best of the lot.  I love that this series does not have to be read in any order; each book stands on its own, focusing on a member of the Murder Squad and a new mystery, usually involving a dead body, family ties, complex relationships, and deeply developed characters.  In The Trespassers, Detectives Antoinette Conway and Steve Moran are the 'newbies' to the Squad, and must deal with harassment and non-stop dirty tricks to try and solve the murder of a beautiful young woman.  Extremely well-written, with numerous twists and turns, this is a fantastic new addition to the series.

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
The author of Big Little Lies, The Husband's Secret, and What Alice Forget is back with her latest novel of Australian mom, relationships, and a little mystery thrown in.  I am always excited to pick up a Moriarty book, always good brain candy, always a bit of a page turner, always entertaining.  Unfortunately this time around, not so much.  Perhaps she rushed it after such huge hits?  Perhaps she's running out of material?  Or perhaps she forgot that amidst the stupidity of humanity, we also like to see a little heroism, character, or intelligence? Involving an 'incident' at a neighborhood barbecue, it takes forever to find out what happened, and quite frankly, to care about it, or the people involved.  Sorry, but I would take a pass on this one.

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi
Remember your childhood favorite stories, the ones filled with magic and adventure, the ones that talked to you like you were a grown up, the ones that made your brain tick and your heart surge?  Tahereh Mafi's latest book is the perfect blend of all our old favorites - Phantom Tollbooth, the Oz stories, Narnia, The Wind in the Willows, the Secret Garden, Kipling's Just So stories.  This was a delightful romp through an enchanted land that should be a newfound classic.  The main protagonist is Alice (yes, some illusions to Lewis Carroll's heroine) whose father disappeared three years ago, and flunked her magical test into adulthood, choosing to go off on a hunt to find not only her father, but her true magical talent.  The beginning was a bit saccharine for me - I was concerned at first - but then Alice shows her sassy, feisty, independent side and never lets up.  Her sidekick in crime, Oliver, is a perfect partner with issues of his own.  This is a magical new tale for any reader ten years and up, and would be a wonderful gift for either a boy or a girl.

July

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (July 2016)

If you read the NPR book of the year (2015), In the Dark Dark Wood, then you read Ware's first novel.  The movie rights have been purchased and the paperback is still selling like hotcakes.  This is her second book, and it is another taut psychological thriller.  Instead of a hen party outside of London, the setting for this novel is on a yacht, a luxury liner on its maiden voyage into the dark north of Scandinavia and the Northern Lights.  Lo Blackwood, a London reporter placed on the ship to write about this new cruising idea for rich folks, has just experienced a horrific break-in at her flat, suffering post-traumatic stress.  As she begins her journey, she encounters a young woman in the cabin across the hall (yep, Cabin 10), yet never sees her again on the boat filled with a scant dozen guests.  Ware sprinkles her story with some strange, twisted characters, leading us down paths of "ah-ha" moments that then twist themselves around again.  As Lo ventures further into the mystery, we are dragged with her, turning page after page to see which passenger really is a psychopath.  Great vacation read for the mystery lover!


LaRose by Louise Erdrich
If you are a fan of Erdrich, her latest novel does not disappoint; if you have never read this award-winning author, she is worth an outing.  Part German and part Ojibwa, Erdrich writes of the indigenous people of her own youth, imbuing her stories with grief, tragedy, spirituality, and hope.  Her previous book, The Roundhouse (National Book Award winner) focused on revenge, while LaRose focuses on redemption.  Two families, related by blood and close in proximity, are visited by death - in a hunting accident, one father shoots and kills the son of the other family.  In an act of contrition, he then gives his own five year old son to this family to raise as their own.  Erdrich examines closely each family member:  the mothers, who deal with grief from two different directions; the siblings who miss their brother, and the grieving sister who gains a new one; and the father whose actions started it all.  It is a powerful story that would bring provocative conversation to any book club.



Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
On the Pacific Northwest bestseller list for the last month, this is the Fargo television writer's first foray into the world of novel-writing.  It is a unique story with a taut plot line that pulled me in from the start.  Struggling artist Scott Burroughs is offered a free plane ride with an eclectic wealthy crowd, to New York City from Martha's vineyard.  However, just a few short minutes after take off, the plane dives into the sea, and Scott and the young son of the family are left broken and alone in the ocean.  The ensuing publicity of Scott's unprecedented swim over eight miles of ocean drives Scott into hiding, and we see the past and present pieces of this plot line begin to knit together.  The over-riding question is how did this plane go down?  Was it an accident?  Was it domestic terrorism?  As Hawley explores each character that was on this fated airplane, numerous theories are floated as to the cause.  Trust me, you will read late into the night to discover each person's secrets and the ultimate reason for this tragic accident.

The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly
Having read Franklin's huge hit, Crooked Letter Crooked Letter, I am a fan of this southern writer.  This time out, Franklin teams up with his wife to create a fascinating story of the infamous 1927 Mississippi delta flood that changed not only the landscape of the south, but the history of the black migration.  The flood is the backdrop for the marriage of Dixie Clay, a poor southern girl mourning the loss of her first child, and her scumbag of a husband who is the top criminal in their small southern town of Hobnob.  Add in a couple of intriguing revenue agents looking for the backwoods moonshiner supplying that part of the state with whiskey, an abandoned infant, a flapper with a drug problem, and an unlikely love story, and the ingredients for a humdinger of a story are mixed together for a solid tale of history, mystery, and disaster.






H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
This book was a departure for me.  Found in the 'Nature' section of our bookstore, it is the story of a young British woman who raises and trains a goshawk in an attempt to assuage her grief over her father's death.  Full of descriptive details of both falconry and the English countryside, it is not my normal genre.  While not what you would call a page-turner, it was a welcome respite from the thrillers, fantasy, and tragic tales that typically rest on my bookshelf.  Macdonald delves far into the past, detailing her own obsession with hawks that began as a child, leading to the time when she chooses a goshawk, the most difficult to train of the hawks.  She intersperses her tale with the stories of D.H. White, author of The Once and Future King and the other tales of Camelot.  As Macdonald learns what not to do with goshawks from White's travails with his lost hawk, we begin to see the development of the relationship between Helen and Mabel, her aptly named hawk.  It is a beautiful story, one of grief spliced into the wildness and beauty of the natural world.

Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes (July 2016)
If you are an elementary teacher or parent of a middle-reader, this is a book for you.  In other writing, Rhodes has taken pivotal moments in recent U.S. history and turned them into thoughtful books for young readers; she does this in Towers Falling  for the events that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001 and it is powerful.  She follows a young girl whose family has hit a bad patch; dad is unable to work, young children are at home, and they currently reside in a family shelter in Brooklyn.  Deja has never been outside of Brooklyn so when her teacher assigns a history project to learn about the towers, she is completely clueless.  The story follows Deja and her two friends, Ben and Sabeen, as they gather information on how the World Trade center's destruction impacted individuals and their families.  Rhodes does a spectacular job of looking at this in a holistic, multi-generational, and multi-cultural manner; it is a thoughtful, well-written story where kids will learn and be provoked to think about international events and the impact on their lives.

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley

So often in the fantasy books written for elementary to middle school, violence and fearful creatures tend to take the lead.  In Circus Mirandus, however, debut author Cassie Beasley has created a magical tale of beauty and mystery.  Young Micah is heartbroken, as he watches his beloved grandfather wasting away and his overbearing great-aunt comes to take care of him.  Micah has been told the magical tales of the Circus Mirandus by his grandfather for his whole life and he believes that if he can find this circus, they will grant his grandfather the miracle he was once promised.  As Micah and his friend Jenny discover this magical world, they meet extraordinary creatures and put together the history of not only the circus, but his grandfather's past.  It is a beautiful story of love, family, and loyalty.  If you have a child in your life who needs a little magic, I highly recommend this book.

June Books

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (June 7, 2016)
Stunning.  Jaw-dropping. Brilliant. Those are the first words that come to mind with this debut novel of twenty-six year old Yaa Gyasi.  Homegoing has been the talk of the publishing world for months, and should garner all the awards in 2016, and yes, the praise is well-deserved.  The unique subject, plot-line, and writing style contribute to a novel that I will not soon forget.  It begins in the late 1700's, in Ghana, when two sisters who do not know the other exists, have life choices thrust upon them.  Effia marries a white British man who runs the Castle, the coastal prison where the Fante tribe members bring the slaves they purchased from the Asante tribe.  In the dungeon below, bodies piled upon bodies, lies Esi, soon to be shipped to America and a life far different than her sister's. Each chapter follows the bloodline of the two sisters, changing each generation.  We see the wars in Ghana, the colonization by the British, the tribal fighting, and the steps towards modernization.  In America, we see the utter degradation of slavery, the effects of the Fugitive Act, the outcome of the Great Migration, the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, and the struggles of the new century.  In each descendant's story, Gyasi creates complex characters, heart-wrenching situations, and deep love for family.  This book is truly a masterpiece.  

Ink and Bone by Lisa Junger (June 2016)
You know those books that call to you throughout the day, and the ones that you say "just one more chapter" laaaate into the night? Yep, this is that kind of book.  From the very first page, I found this story and its characters quite compelling.  Finley Montgomery has come back home to the Hollows, a small hill town outside of New York.  Her grandmother, Eloise, is a world renowned psychic and needs to teach Finley how to control the ghosts she has seen since childhood.  Up until now, Finley has merely inked all these faces onto her body, reminding her of the spirits that need her help. Now it is a young family from NYC, whose daughter disappeared ten months ago and is crying out to Finley for help - it is Finley's turn to work with the private detective to find some answers.  In the negative vortex of the Hollows, ancestors call out to their family everywhere and strange forces unite; this is a spine-tingling mystery that will raise the hair on the back of your neck and yes, keep you reading well past midnight.


So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
Considering what is happening currently in the international news, with the shaming of the parents of the little boy who crawled into the gorilla enclosure, this is a very topical cultural criticism book.  Jon Ronson explores the idea of shaming by society through Twitter, Facebook, 24/7 news shows, and newspapers, not only the rags but established news sources.  He gives examples of stories you will recognize, and shows how one poorly thought out comment completely ruins their lives.  Ronson also examines shaming that is used in the justice system, as well as how people who feel no remorse avoid the public shaming that destroys most people.  I found this to be a fascinating look at the practice of lightening speed condemnation and judgement, thanks to a globally connected world.  This would be a fascinating discussion for any book club.




Heat and Light by Jennifer Haigh
I am, admittedly, a huge Jennifer Haigh fan; I have read all of her books (Mrs. Kimble, Bakerton Towers, Faith, The Condition, and News from Heaven).  Critically acclaimed and winner of the Pen/Hemingway award, this author has a gift for creating and sustaining complex characters amid the minutia of their lives.  In her latest novel, Haigh goes back to the town of Bakerton, a small Pennsylvania community, dying as the coal business has disappeared and the young people have fled.  The latest 'savior' of their town is the newest energy industry, the one that drills deep, shoots millions of gallons of water into rock, and extracts gas and oil from the shale.  We know it as fracking.  Haigh looks at all sides of this issue:  the impact on the farmers, the economic plusses and minuses, the environment, and the geologists involved with both the testing and the industry itself.  It is a fascinating look at what occurs in a town that just wants to sustain its way of life.  This is not a page-turning thriller, but it is a darn good book that taught me a lot about an industry I hear about, but did not really understand.


Redemption Road by John Hart
Another one of my favorite authors (yep, read all of his books also), John Hart is a master of combining family drama, mystery, bad cops in the South, and even a little bit of love into a page-turner of a book.  This time around the main protagonists are Adrian, an ex-cop recently released from prison after serving thirteen years for murder, and Elizabeth, a veteran detective who was the only cop who believed in Adrian years ago.  Young women are once again being murdered and put on display at the old country church, and again, Adrian is the suspect.  Add in a few crooked prison guards and their warden, an old, wily country lawyer, a motherless boy who wants revenge, and a preacher estranged from his daughter and you've got a humdinger of a story.  This is a great vacation read that will leave you very satisfied.




The Midnight Watch: A Novel of the Titanic and the California by David Dyer
We all know how the Titanic ended up...at the bottom of the ocean.  However, did it really have to happen?  I don't mean the iceberg; it was freezing temperatures in the North Atlantic - icebergs happen.  Yet, when the ship first struck the ice, why did no one come to its rescue?  That is the question author David Dyer attempts to answer, as he looks closely at the sailors on the California, a British steamer that was just five miles away from the accident.  While this is historical fiction, Dyer does a masterful job of research, using transcripts from the actual Senate hearings, as well as the trial in England.  We meet the Second Watch on the California, as well as the captain, the reporter who seeks out the hidden story of the botched rescue, as well as the heartfelt story of an entire family of ten, wiped out by the tragedy.  It is a very different perspective from the norm; if you are a fan of Titanic stories, this would be a good one to add to your mix.

Spring 4.0

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
Do you remember trying to slog through Jane Eyre?  Yes, I was one of those people who just couldn't get past the depressing life of the orphan girl and her hateful relatives...and I tried three times.  This new 'take' on the old story, however, turns Jane into a witty, smart, self-reliant, young woman who just happens to also be a serial killer.  Oh yes, this is one dark story that I thoroughly loved.  If you listen to books, I highly recommend this one; it is read in a deliciously crisp British accent that fits the Victorian language to perfection.  Faye writes this book as if it does take place back in the 19th century and narrates the story from Jane's point of view.  We see Jane's childhood and her insufferable, creepy cousin who of course gets his due.  As she makes her way through a deadly boarding school where the girls are starved as punishment, we see Jane's lies and manipulations come to full fruition.  As dead bodies start to pile up in Jane's past, she finally meets her 'Rochester' in the form of a mysterious man who lives as a Sikh in her old childhood manor.  Mystery abounds, as does some highly compelling characters and brilliant writing.  This was a truly fantastic read.

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
On the bestseller list for many weeks, I had been eyeing this book for awhile.  This debut novel by Cynthia Sweeney was outstanding, rife with excellent writing and some complex characters.  Four siblings live in New York City, all with varying degrees of disaster lurking in their lives.  Leo, the oldest, is an overblown narcissist who, after a successful career, finds himself in hot water after an incident with drugs, a car, and a willing waitress.  His remaining siblings discover that mom (who is a piece of work) has bailed Leo out of his trouble by decimating the 'nest' egg that dad left the four of them, due to be disbursed upon the youngest's birthday.  Jack needs to money to hide the second mortgage from his partner, who never trusted the 'nest' in the first place, Melody also overspends on her children in anticipation of the coming inheritance, and youngest sibling Bea lives in a world of perpetual failure after shining bright as a twenty-year old hot new writer.  Sweeney does a masterful job of moving back and forth amongst these dynamic characters, showing us sides we dislike, pieces we pity, and yes, even parts of them we admire.  I had a hard time convincing myself each night to turn off the bedside lamp; this is a compelling story of a dysfunctional family, broken dreams, and ties that perhaps go deeper than first imagined.

City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin
For all you fans of the Passage trilogy, Cronin has FINALLY completed the story.  It only took six years and yes, I almost squealed with delight when I saw the advanced-reader copy sitting in the bookstore lunchroom.  For all you neophytes who never read The Passage, or its sequel The Twelve, you have missed out.  His books have been runaway hits since 2010, and they are obsessively good reads.  Here's the premise in a nutshell: scientists discover 'fountain of youth' creatures in Brazilian rainforest, government steals blood to create super-human killing machine known as virals (think bad-ass vampires), virals of course escape and decimate the world.  However, one small girl, Amy, who was an lab experiment herself, is tasked with the saving of the world.  I know - it reads like a bad disaster film, but Cronin can write, he builds this post-disaster world with great finesse, and his heroes are admirable while his enemies are vicious, as well as complex. The finale of the series shows a world reborn post-virals, but also goes back in time to Zero, the first test subject.  We see his past life and how the scientists found themselves in Brazil in the first place, as Zero plots his revenge against the people who destroyed his twelve compadres.  It's another long one (600 pages) but so worth the days of not cooking dinner, walking the dog, cleaning the house, etc. as I obsessively read every word to find out if Amy could save the world.  The finale is satisfying and oh so worth it.

Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica (May 2016)
Mary Kubica (The Good Girl, Pretty Baby) has become a go-to author for me when I just need a good old-fashioned thriller.  I loved her first two books and found myself up late at night, turning page after page, constantly promising myself 'just one more chapter.'  Her latest will keep you up late as well.  Two parallel stories go on here.  First is Quinn's story; her roommate, Esther, has disappeared from their Chicago apartment, leaving Quinn mystified, scared, and seeking help from the law student she's had a crush on for years.  As Quinn (who's a bit of a disaster herself) delves into Esther's life, she discovers that there's not much to discover - Esther has left no footprint of who she is, except when Quinn finds a storage unit that begins to give her some clues.  The second narrator is young Alex, who works in a small town, taking care of his alcoholic mother as well as the town agoraphobic, who needs Alex to bring her food, books, and company.  The way in which Kubica draws these two perspectives together, tying each string with care, is actually quite fabulous.  If you're looking for a great vacation read that will keep you turning pages, look no further.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo (May 2016)
After reading the non-fiction book Becoming Nicole:  The Transformation of an American Family, this is a perfect companion book for a young adult, particularly one who wants to learn about gender identity and/or is dealing with their own feelings of confusion.  Author Meredith Russo herself is transgender, finally able to live her true identity as an adult, so she definitely imbues her fiction story with truth and honesty.  The main character is Amanda, a high school senior who had been bullied, harassed, and beaten for years at her old school. Taking the previous year off to complete her therapy and surgery, Amanda has now come to live with her father and complete high school as a young woman.  We see her struggles to make friends, navigate high school romance and flirtation, and rebuild a relationship with a father that she thought had been irrevocably damaged.  There were times when I might think the author was being a bit more positive than perhaps real life might be down South, yet I also believe that teens struggling with both sexuality and gender issues need hope, and Russo definitely gives them hope that yes, life will get better.  This would be a fabulous book to give any high schooler, boy or girl, to help them see life through another viewpoint.


The Muse by Jessie Burton (May 2016)

Last year, Burton's debut novel The Miniaturist was an international best-seller. (Loved it - great story about 17th century Amsterdam).  Her latest effort does not disappoint and once again turns to a unique time period, this time about the ex-pats caught in the beginning of the Spanish Civil war of the 1930's.  The first narrator is Olive, a nineteen year old girl living with her parents near Malaga, Spain.  Father is an Austrian art dealer who travels the continent buying and selling art for rich patrons.  Mom is a beautiful, self-absorbed woman with some mental issues.  Enter two young Spanish rebels and the story takes off with love, betrayal, and violence.  The second narrator is Odell, a Caribbean transplant to London, employed by a mysterious art institute that has ties to the past.  As Burton ties the stories together of these two time periods, characters, and their many secrets, we are pulled into a long-held secret of the art world.  It is a worthy second novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell (May 2016)
Perennial best-selling author, Lisa Jewell (The House We Grew Up In) has written another tense psychological thriller.  The main setting involves a private park in London, where an entire neighborhood lives its private lives, and hides its ugly secrets.  Claire is the newest resident, fleeing a husband who, in a psychotic break, burned their family home to the ground.  Their pre-teen girls, Pip and Grace, are then pulled into the small clique of neighbors that dominate the park:  Tyler, child of the neighborhood alcoholic; Adele and Leo, the 'perfect' hippie couple and their three home-schooled, quirky girls; Dylan, the mixed-race boy with a wealthy background; and Gordon, the creepy grandfather who always seems to be lurking nearby.  A mysterious death from thirty years ago comes back to haunt the park when another girl is found unconscious.  Jewell is the master at throwing out clues, hints, and numerous red herrings as you try to figure out 'who-dunnit.'  This is a tautly written thriller that will keep you turning pages.

Spring 3.0

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson
The latest book by the author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, I have been waiting anxiously to get my hands on this one.  On the PNW bestseller list since hitting the stores, it was well worth the wait. If you combined Pride and Prejudice with the PBS hit show Downton Abbey  you would understand the beauty of this book.  Simonson's main character is Beatrice Nash, a young independent woman who, after the death of her professorial father who she had helped in his research and writing, now has to strike out on her own and earn a living.  Beatrice finds herself in a small, picturesque English town in Sussex, redolent with all the very classic English characters you can imagine:  the busybody untitled but well-to-do Agatha, with no children of her own but a hand in every charity in town; Agatha's nephew Hugh, the stolid, practical soon-to-be-surgeon who has certain expectations of his life; Agatha's other nephew, a romantic would-be poet; a beautiful Belgium refugee who invades Beatrice's life; the titled family of the town with all the power, but a daughter married to a German; and most importantly, the war.  Because yes, the onset of WWI changes the lives of this small town like a whirlwind, upsetting the social order and rearranging the characters' life goals.  While at times I felt it was a touch too long, Simonson is a beautiful writer.  She also puts in a few plot twists that are unexpected, some deliciously English romance, and heartbreaking tragedy that will tug at your sense of right and wrong.  This was a delightful book.

This Was Not the Plan by Cristina Alger
Alger's debut novel, The Darlings, was a favorite of mine last year and I thoroughly enjoyed this second novel.  Set in the world of New York City big law, it was a heartwarming story at times, but also riotously funny as we see a single dad come to grips with what is truly important in life.  At the onset, we meet big-time attorney Charlie Goldwyn, a young widower who spends most of his nights sleeping on his office couch while trying to do his partner's bidding while his five year old son is raised by his kooky twin sister, Zady.  At a summer office function, Charlie gets a tad inebriated and tells the entire firm what he really thinks about the law, and some of his demanding clients.  It is hilarious and spot-on, but obviously causes huge employment issues with Charlie.  As the story unfolds, we see back into Charlie's past with his wife, his dysfunctional family, his struggles with parenthood, and we watch him try to piece together a life of his own choosing.  After some creepy murder mysteries, my heart loved this one - it spoke to what I believe about life and why we live it.


The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

I do love listening to a good, dense non-fiction; it makes me feel like I've taken a good history course at college again, and let's be real - no one does it better than David McCullough.  His latest (and some say possibly his last) foray into American history covers the famous Wright brothers and the beginning of the aeronautical age.  Admittedly, all I ever knew about these boys was the name of Kitty Hawk; McCullough made their story come alive in so many ways.  We learn about the family, the support of their father and especially their sister, the years and years of trials and errors, the building of an empire, their relationship with France and the American government, and most importantly, the inner workings of both the brothers, Wilbur and Orville.  I was fascinated with the story, and a bit heartbroken at the end.  If you or someone you know is interested in flight, this book is a treasure trove of factual information, as well as just a darn good story.

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
Admittedly, I first picked up this YA books because it takes place in Amsterdam, a city I have visited three times now as my daughter is a resident there.  However, I also love a good Holocaust story with a different twist, and this one is it.  The main character, Hanneke, is a Dutch girl whose sole purpose in life is to work the black-market system to keep her parents alive.  Hanneke has no intention on getting drawn into the horror of what is happening to her Jewish friends, nor the resistance movement of the young college crowd.  However, a missing Jewish girl from her hiding spot changes Hanneke's mind, and we see the various characters that played a role in saving the Dutch Jews. Hesse does a fine job of telling what could have been a 'typical' story but turning it into something unexpected.  This book has already hit the PNW bestseller list - it's a good story.




The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

This book will keep you awake at night, with goose bumps crawling up the back of your neck.  After escaping the rumors of the scientific community in Victorian England, the Reverend Sunderly and his family move to a small island off the coast, where a dig for fossils has begun.  As Faith battles her father for recognition of her genius, he takes her into his confidence by sharing his latest specimen. This special plant, kept in a dark cave, grows exponentially when fed lie after lie, producing fruit that helps the liar to see the ‘truth’ of his or her life.  When Faith’s father mysteriously dies, throwing the family into the chaos of a suicide inquiry and an unburied body, Faith must seek out her own truth to find the murderer.  The host of supporting characters is at times sexist, cruel, demeaning, and mysterious, giving us a list of many suspects.  If you like dark, twisted, gothic tales, this one is definitely for you.

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Okay, this is a "kid's" book but so many of my adult friends have read it and raved over it, I had to dive in.  A Newberry Honor book, it was well worth the one day it took me to read.  Another WWII book, this one is about Ada, a nine year old girl of the London slums, whose mother is a nightmare.  Ada has an untreated clubfoot, and has never been allowed out of her apartment.  However, when the children are shipped off to the countryside when the London Blitz begins, Ada finds new freedom and a new home.  This is a wonderfully heartwarming story, that also has scenes of great tragedy and heartbreak; excellent story for anyone ages ten through eighty.

Spring Books 2.0

The Heart by Maylis de Kerangal
A breakthrough hit in France by a debut author, this book is provocative, thoughtful, and written in a such a unique writing style that it is at first disconcerting.  Translated in an authentic manner from the author's style, the reader is faced with second-person point of view.  As in, the writer speaks directly to us, placing us in the room during highly charged, emotional moments, almost as if the 'fly on the wall.'  The book begins with 19 year old Simon Limbres as he and his friends leave his home at dawn in order to catch the perfect wave at the nearby shore in France.  Just hours later, after a horrific car accident, we are personally entangled in all the decisions that come with a child who is brain dead: the devastated parents, the responsibilities of the medical team members, Simon's friends, and the recipient of Simon's precious heart.  Over the space of just 24 hours, this author is able to ensnare our emotions like nothing I have ever experienced.  I read frantically, voraciously, feeling each character's emotions as if I was there.  Not an easy book to experience; if you're looking for redemption in the end, this one is complicated.  But it is definitely a book I will not forget easily and would be an incredible book club choice with a plethora of hotly charged topics to discuss.

Evicted:  Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
Round two in unforgettable books, this was one of the more disheartening books I have read in quite some time. Brilliantly written and deeply researched, Matthew Desmond spends years with eight families in the heart of Milwaukee's poverty stricken neighborhoods, as they struggle with eviction, shady landlords, literal slum lords, drug addiction, job searches, and the type of devastating poverty that most people like to pretend does not exist in America.  Desmond, with brutal honestly, shows us a side of Milwaukee and humanity that is often difficult to understand, but he does so with compassion and truth.  He was able to tape many conversations and be a part of a world often denied to researchers; it is an impressive thesis on the state of housing in America for the disenfranchised.  Desmond pulls no punches and chooses to show his subjects in all their fallibility, not romanticizing their life choices (which at times are beyond questionable), yet also not condemning them.  It is admirable.  Desmond shows us the toll eviction takes, the unbearably high cost of housing in the slums, and the vicious cycle that is nearly impossible to break, generation after generation.  Not an uplifting book, to be sure, but one that will provide you with an education that is well worth the depression.

Take Me With You by Catherine Ryan Hyde
This was the heartwarming, feel-good book I had to pick up after finishing Evicted; it did not disappoint.  August Schroeder is a high school science teacher, who is increasingly burnt out on his job, surviving each school year by dreaming of his summer road trip in his motor home.  Yet this summer begins with a devastating dilemma - pay out all of his savings to fix his broken engine and punt on the trip to Yellowstone OR take the mechanic's offer of a free repair, that of course comes with strings.  The 'strings' being his two young sons, seven year old Henry and eleven year old Seth, who need a home for the summer while dad spends a few months as the guest of the county jail.  And since this is a 'heartwarming' story, of course August takes the boys along for the tour of a lifetime, seeing Yosemite, Bryce Canyon, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and ultimately the final destination of Yellowstone.  As the trip unfolds, we see the urgency of August's quest, the way nature can heal wounds, and the burgeoning relationship August forms with two small, utterly delightful young boys.  Yep, this warmed by heart, kept me turning pages, and ended with a smile. Well worth it:)

The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin
This book is getting a lot of buzz out in the book-blogging world, and it is well-deserved.  Guskin takes what could have been an 'ordinary' story - that of one mother whose son disappeared years ago, another mother whose son has psychological issues that cause alienation - and twists it around to help us see that perhaps there are other forces at work here.  Janie's son Noah refuses baths, sobs for his other mother to come save him, and has horrifying nightmares about drowning.  Diagnosed at age four with schizophrenia, Janie instead turns to a psychologist who rejected a promising Harvard career as a psychiatrist and instead began to research past lives of children.  A laughing stock in the medical world, this doctor is looking for an American child to validate his research.  Guskin brings up the many questions as she intersperses the fictional story with scholarly accounts of young children, mainly in Asia, who have been reunited with their previous families.  Questions such as...does religious have a place in medicine, does reincarnation exist, do young children have a special window into their past lives, and if so, how does one meld this belief with other religious beliefs?  As the two mothers try to make their way through grief, they must also attempt to find answers to these questions.  It is a fascinatingly different take on a mystery, as well as what a parent would do to heal a child.

Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon
If you read The Wife, the Maid, and The Mistress (great book on a true-life 1920's era murder), this is Lawhon's second outing in the world of historical mystery.  This time around, she takes the world-famous story of the zeppelin, the Hindenburg (who hasn't seen the famous 1938 video of it burning to the ground in just 34 seconds?), and semi-fictionalizes the crossing from Berlin to New Jersey.  I say 'semi' as the author actually did extensive research on the real passenger list and uses these facts to people her story.  The names have not changed, nor their reason for being on the airship, nor their eventual fate - some lived, some died.  However, Lawhon obviously creates the relationships, the dialogue, the rivalries, the espionage, and the eventual reason for the explosion.  Told through the eyes of the "reporter," the "navigator," the "flight attendant,"  the mysterious "American," and the "cabin boy," we readers see the strings that ultimately leave to the final devastation.  It is a fascinating look at history, as well as just a darn good story.

The Nine:  Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin
With everything going on today in the world of SCOTUS, I figured this would be a good book to become a more educated person on how the United Stated Supreme Court actually works, as well as the complex humans who inhabit that world.  I was right - I infinitely know more about the workings of the court, the nomination process, and of course all the dirty little secrets, relationships, maneuvering, etc. that I ever wanted to know.  Toobin's book was published in 2008, so it does not have the Obama court choices in the book, but it does a stellar job of setting up the previous 25 years to see how the direction of the court was orchestrated.  Starting with the selection of Sanda Day O'Connor, we see her slow walk to the left, as she became disheartened by the Bush presidency as well as how politicized the court became.  Toobin outlines the selection of Ginsburg, Breyer, Kennedy, as well as the newer spots filled by Roberts and Alioto. He also goes into great detail about cases I knew little of, and I came to realize how much these cases affect our lives today as well as the current political atmosphere today.  Admittedly, I find the legal world fascinating, as well as many of the justices so this book is right in my wheelhouse.  If you're a legal junkie, like history, want to become better informed, this is a well-written, intriguing book.