Don’t bury the lede! The lede is the introductory section of an article and burying it means hiding the most important part of the story by focusing on less important information. Thus, I must begin my 2024 annual book list with the fact that this reading year has been unlike any other in the fourteen years I’ve been writing this blog. My husband died in February and that fact changed what, how, and why I read in the months preceding his death and in those after it. There were days this year when I couldn’t concentrate on reading a single thing followed by days when reading buoyed me.
Never have I been more grateful for my hunger for good books in categories that fed the particular hunger I needed to fill. When I needed the comfort of entering the life of someone who was adrift and found connections, Simon Van Booy’s Sipsworth rescued me. When I needed the assurance of a woman’s strength, Martha Ballard modeled it for me in Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River. When I wanted to spit at life’s injustice, Rebecca Nagle spit on Andrew Jackson’s grave and wove the history of the Trail of Tears with a 2020 Supreme Court case that threatened the existence of native reservations in By the Fire We Carry and I was both engaged and enraged. When I was recovering from shoulder surgery and wanted a beautifully written narrative that placed me in nature and was both a page-turner and a reminder that evil doesn’t need to beget evil, Max Loskutoff delivered with Old King. When I wanted to immerse myself in exquisite language and revisit a story I thought I knew, Percival Everett gave me James. Just when I was ready for wry humor and the familiar characters I loved, Elizabeth Strout brought me Olive, Bob, and Lucy in Tell Me Everything. When I was ready for a magnificent mystery with compelling characters, Chris Whittaker introduced me to Patch and Saint in All the Colors of the Dark. Just when I needed the right book at the right time, authors, publishers, bookstores, and libraries provided them and they transported me to worlds I needed to visit.
The following is a list of the books I read in the past year that made me grateful for authors who help us escape, grieve, learn, explore, empathize, grow, and experience joy.
Whatever your hunger, may you find something to read that fills it.
Image credit: Wee Bookworms: https://weebookworms.co.uk/blogs/blog/50-inspiring-quotes-about-reading
Hungry for Good Books? Annual Book List, 2024
Copyright December 1, 2024, by Trina Hayes
Letters after each selection designate the book as CC: Chinese Carryout (page-turners, great for plane rides), D: Desserts (delightful indulgences), DC: Diet Coke and Gummi Bears (books for teens and young adults), G: Gourmet (exquisite writing, requires concentration), GPR: Grandma’s Pot Roast (books that get your attention and stick with you), GS: Grits (evocative of the American south), OC: Over Cooked (good ingredients, but overwritten), PBJ: Peanut Butter and Jelly (children’s books adults will like), PP: Pigeon Pie (historical fiction, parts or all of the novel set at least 50 years ago), R: Road Food (audio books for road trips and more), S: Sushi with Green Tea Sorbet (satire, irony, black humor, acquired taste), SBP: Sweet Bean Paste (translated and international books), SF: Soul Food (spirituality, theology, books for your soul), SN: Super Nutrition (lots of information, yet tasty as fresh blueberries), and T: Tapas (small bites including short stories, novellas, essays, and +poetry). The letters BC denote books for book clubs. Asterisks (*) depict the most outstanding titles in each designation. The plus sign (+) is for books I recommend. The number sign (#) is for books with reviews on my blog. All books listed were published in 2023 unless noted otherwise.
General Fiction and Poetry
+Andrews, Mary Kay, Summers at the Saint surprised me because I think of Andrews as a beachy romance writer despite her having penned several mysteries. In this mystery/romance set in the St. Cecelia resort off the coast of Georgia, Andrews’ captivating characters investigate a murder and the 20-year-ago drowning of a young boy. Everyone living in the resort area is considered a Saint or an Ain’t and Traci Eddings, who has been running the resort since her resort heir husband died four years previously, grew up an Ain’t. Her brother-in-law Ric hopes she’ll fail so he can take over. Her former best friend hasn’t spoken to her in years and it’s hard to know if new employees are legit. Pack this page-turner in your beach bag. CC/D/GS
+Aoyama, Michiko, What You Are Looking For is in the Library is told by five characters sharing stories tied together by their trips to a small, bookshelf-lined, one-room library in a Tokyo community center. They each visit Ms. Kamachi, the overweight librarian, who asks them all the same question, “What are you looking for?” She then gives them book recommendations that will change their lives. One character describes Ms, Komachi as reminding her of “a polar bear curled up in a cave for winter.” The library acts as a community den. This novel is kind without being cute or saccharine. It made me feel grateful and happy. D/SBP, BC (2023)
+Bacigalupi, Paolo, Navola is a novel for fans of epic, world-building tales that focus on the created realm. It’s a 576-page fantasy set in the ancient city-state of Navola, a place resembling 15th-century Florence with cruel alliances. It's The Sopranos with a touch of Game of Thrones from the renowned Hugo and Nebula Award winner. For me, the violence and length was too much. Most readers adore it and want more. OC
+Berg, Elizabeth, Never Change, Myra, a 51-year-old visiting nurse has always been single. She’s assigned new patient Chip, the golden boy she adored from afar in high school. Chip is dying of a brain tumor and has moved into his parents’ home to die. He and Myra develop a relationship in this sweet, kind novel. GPR, BC (2001)
+Boyt, Susie, Loved and Missed concisely weaves the tale of Ruth, a teacher whose heroin-addicted daughter Eleanor has a baby. When Ruth finds baby Lily in Eleanor’s apartment near a man lying unconscious, she thrusts a large amount of cash into Eleanor’s hands and walks off with baby Lily. Ruth and Lily form a beautiful relationship and we see their lives from both of their viewpoints. This very British novel is tender and kind with touches of wry humor. GPR, S, SBP, BC (2021)
+#Campbell, Bonnie Jo, The Waters is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale-like rendition of a rural noir with exquisite descriptions of the land and its people. It’s slow to build with a deep and abiding concern for taking care of our land and for making sure that we heal the earth and those it harms when our byproducts do damage. Three sisters, their mother, and her precocious 11-year-old granddaughter populate the wetlands Michigan setting. Read it to enjoy the rural southern Michigan setting, reap environmental insights, and meet Donkey, a unique, otherworldly character. Stick with it for its caring ending and the way it tells the story slant. G/SN, BC
+Center, Katherine, Hello Stranger, Artist Sadie collapses on the street and surgery leaves her with what she hopes is temporary face blindness. She’s a portrait artist facing a deadline for a big contest which is bad timing as is falling in love when nothing in her life seems right. Sometimes, a rom-com is just the medicine you need and Center delivers her usual smart, kind, clever, romantic tale. D (2023)
+Chang, Abraham, 888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers, Young firmly believes in Chinese numerology and old superstitions so he thinks that his uncle’s advice that everyone gets just seven great loves in life must be true and he’s afraid he’ll blow it with his sixth great love Elena. Packed with pop culture references, this novel shows the universality of young love replete with its insecurities. Readers who enjoyed Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow will love the mix of tenderness, vulnerability, wit, and absurdity in this debut that’s a B & N Discovery Prize finalist. S/SF, BC
+Charles, Janet Skeslien, Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade, the author of The Paris Library, showcases American women volunteering in France during WWI. Jessie, a New York Public Library children’s librarian, assists residents living near the front in northeast France, holds story hours for children, and gives them and their mothers books. In a parallel 1987 story, aspiring writer Wendy finds Jessie’s story in the NYPL archives and uncovers new information. The French and American women are fascinating, well-developed characters, and the books Jessie shares show how literacy can make a difference in this well-told novel. GPR/PP/SN, BC
+Colgan, Jenny, The Christmas Bookshop, Carmen loses her job and her home so she moves in with her perfect sister Sofia and all her perfect children in their perfect home in Edinburgh. Carmen begins working at the failing local bookstore and tries to save it while falling in love and wreaking havoc with her family. D (2021)
+Colgan, Jenny, Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop, Christmas comes early for the bookshop in this sequel when an American company begins filming a Christmas movie and rents the store. Carmen can use the cash to keep the store from being bought and turned into a cheesy souvenir shop. A witty romance. D (2023)
+Colgan, Jenny, Studies at the School by the Sea: The Final School by The Sea Novel is the fourth and final in the series I read last fall when I had a mild case of Covid.They form one book with each an installment of one school term. Read this one if you’ve read the others to see if Maggie and David’s romance lasts. It isn’t as compelling as the others, but the humor still charms. D
*De Witt, Helen, The English Understand Wool is a unicorn of a novella. A 17-year-old girl raised in Marrakesh models the perfect taste and breeding her French mother taught her. When she must fend for herself after her world explodes, she proves a match for those trying to exploit her. This 69-page novella is desert-dry, unexpected, and engrossing as it tackles publishing today. S/SBP/T (2022)
*#Enger, Leif, I Cheerfully Refuse is a hope-filled sailing adventure set in the not-so-distant future. Highlighting climate change, music, and love, Rainy sets sail on Lake Superior after his wife may have been killed and the impenetrable ruling class believes he may have something valuable they think was stolen from them. Stick with it as it builds the new world, then soar speedily under a heavy wind as Rainy tries to save himself and rescue a young girl. The Washington Post calls it “the sweetest apocalyptic novel yet” and “an alluring itinerary toward hope.” I agree. G/GPR, BC
*Erdrich, Louise, The Mighty Red illuminates the effects of pesticides in a region dependent on sugar beet production. Ojibwe Crystal’s husband disappears and is suspected of embezzling church funds while she hauls sugar beets every night so her daughter Kismet can go to college. Now, they may lose their house. Kismet feels sorry for and marries Gary whose family owns the sugar beet fields, but she longs for Hugo. Watching birds, bugs, and topsoil disappear as locals remain oblivious is believable. Erdrich poetically celebrates parental and family love. She can make descriptions of dirt sound like sonnets and that makes us care. G/GPR/SN, BC
+Espach, Alison, The Wedding People, Phoebe is depressed because IVF failed, she can't have kids, and her husband divorced her for another woman. She decides to kill herself at a fancy Newport, RI hotel. Upon arriving, she realizes that she's the only guest who isn't part of an extravagant wedding party. When she meets the bride, Phoebe tells her she's there to commit suicide. Lila, the bride, can't let Phoebe ruin her wedding and they talk. With nothing to lose, Phoebe offers Lila the friendship she needs and Lila is honest with Phoebe. Phoebe lives and Lila enlists her as her maid of honor. The humor is clever, the pace is speedy, and the book offers thoughts on being true to one’s self. A Read with Jenna pick. GPR, BC
*Everett, Percival, James, the winner of the National Book Award, should win the Pulitzer Prize; it’s that good. This reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told from Jim’s point of view is like a firecracker exploding with humor, tragedy, love, and insight. Huck and Jim escape on a raft on the Mississippi in an engrossing adventure. It’s a masterpiece that’s both fast-paced and packed with nuance and riveting dialogue. The conversation about “proleptic or dramatic irony” plays with the reader so beautifully; it makes me want to embroider it on a pillow. Everett has created a novel that’s completely accessible and at the same time ready to take its place in the canon of American literature. Reread Huck Finn after reading it. GPR/G/PP/R, BC
+Garvin, Eileen, Crow Talk has a meditative, calming, and intentionally slow start that puts the reader into the mind of Frankie, an avian biologist, who’s headed to her family cabin to recover from her father’s death and the betrayal of her thesis adviser that led to her losing her job. Anne, her husband, and 5-year-old son Aiden are at the large cottage next door belonging to Anne’s husband’s wealthy family. Anne is grieving the sudden death of her best friend and collaborating composer and Aiden no longer speaks. When Aiden sees Frankie nursing a crow, he begins to open up. Readers of Garvin’s Music of Bees will find the same hope-filled celebration of friendship here. The information about crows is fascinating and similar to the writing in Helen MacDonald’s H is for Hawk. The way the women’s friendship helps them heal will appeal to readers despite the somewhat predictable ending. GPR/SN, BC
+Graff, Andrew J., True North is the story of a floundering marriage. Sam and Swami met as white water rafting guides so when his teaching job is endangered, Sam invests his savings in his uncle’s failing, northern Wisconsin rafting business in the hope that he, Swami, their kids, and new baby will become closer. He doesn't expect the threats of a big company buying up land and a new rafting crew siphoning his customers. Will resilience and Swami’s efficiency save them? GPR
+Hannah, Kristin, The Women, The spectacular first half of this novel set in the 1960s and 70s Viet Nam, as seen through the eyes of a hard-working nurse, captures the period and the horrors and sacrifices of the war. The less enthralling second half explores the difficulties of returning to civilian life when Americans no longer supported the war or those who served in it along with the lack of support for PTSD. A supposedly unexpected twist at the novel’s end was telegraphed earlier, but this is still a powerful novel that’s perfect for book clubs. GPR/PP, BC
Hartong, Mary Liza, Love and Hot Chicken, PJ Spoon comes home to Pennywhistle, TN for her father’s funeral and can’t make herself return to her PhD program at Vanderbilt so she takes a job cooking at the Chickie Shak where she falls for Boof, a singer/songwriter in search of her birth mother. If you’re looking for humor and spice, this delivers, but some of the humor feels forced. D/GS
Henley, Linda Stewart, Katie’s War will appeal to fans of WWII novels that highlight the plight of women and children. It vividly recreates the differing circumstances of children who were sent to the countryside to escape London’s bombings. I was disappointed in the depiction of the two men in Katie’s life and didn't feel their stories were well explored. One didn't seem to be necessary to the story. The book’s ending felt rushed. PP
+Henn, Carsten, The Door-to-Door Bookstore follows Carl, a 72-year-old book lover, who delivers books to shut-in customers. When his former boss’s infirmities force him to leave the bookstore in his daughter’s hands, Carl’s job is threatened. When followed by a precocious nine-year-old girl who befriends his customers, Carl takes her under his wing. Carl’s observations about his customers and their foibles offer literary delight. A sentimental charmer GP/SBP, BC (English translation: 2023)
+Henríquez, Christina, The Great Divide, Set in 1907, this Read with Jenna choice explores the construction of the Panama Canal through the eyes of the people there. Henríquez focuses on a dozen characters including a Panamanian fisherman, a domestic worker from Barbados, and an American trying to eradicate malaria. Their stories personalize the Canal Zone’s history without taking sides yet still explain the impact of total U.S. control. Henríquez’s poetic writing makes their voices sing. She spent her childhood summers visiting her father’s family in Panama where her inability to speak Spanish made her observe and listen and it shows. GPR/SN, BC
*Hunt, Laird, Float Up, Sing Down: Stories returns to the area celebrated in Hunt’s magnificent National Book Award finalist Zorrie with fourteen stories set in a single day in 1982 in the fictional town of Bright Creek, Indiana. Having grown up just down the road, reading these stories is a return to my childhood, especially with the mention of “catfish over at Miller’s in Colfax,” a place everyone within fifty miles visited often. Hunt makes you see the people and their lives while showing “God’s country. Or God’s cousin’s country anyway. Maybe God’s nephew. No need to be grandiose. On a clear day and with sharp eyes you could see better than five miles in every direction.” That’s the Indiana I remember. Hunt explores life, love, death, and community through each character with dialogue that captures the region, and Zorrie herself returns. If you love the quiet beauty of Our Town and Willa Cather, you’ll appreciate this treasure. G, BC
+Joella, Ethan, A Little Hope is a tender debut highlighting the power of kindness as small-town residents support one another when difficulties arise. Greg, who has a “perfect” life, is facing an aggressive cancer. His wife’s boss has lost her husband and her adult son Luke is struggling with substance abuse. Luke’s successful, former girlfriend comes home briefly, and her life changes while Ahmed wonders if he’ll ever find love. This well-written page-turner is a comforting read. GPR, BC (2021)
+Joella, Ethan, A Quiet Life is a warm, compassionate look at grief through three interconnected characters. Chuck doesn’t know if he’ll be able to make his annual trip to spend the winter in Hilton Head now that his beloved wife has died. Kirsten can’t move on from the convenience store murder of her father, and Ella is trying to stay afloat financially and emotionally after her husband kidnapped and disappeared with her daughter. Winter serves as a metaphor as these fine characters connect and support one another in dark days with courage and hope. GPR, BC (2022)
+Keegan, Claire, So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men contains three tales engaged in imagining “what if.” What if a man had behaved differently—with empathy and generosity—would he have had a different life? What if the woman hadn’t granted the critical German professor access to the residency and her time? Finally, what if another woman hadn’t sought the thrill of sleeping with a man? These stories share insight into cruelty and violence and are harsher than Keegan’s earlier luminous wonders. The writing is exceptional, but I miss the kindness. G, BC (2023)
+Lattimore, Ashton, All We Were Promised focuses on three Black women in 1837 Philadelphia. Nell, a free, upper-middle-class young woman, lives with her parents in a wealthy Black enclave. Charlotte and her father escaped enslavement and he now passes as white while she acts as his servant. Evie’s evil mistress, who was James and Charlotte’s owner, takes Evie to Philadelphia where she encounters Charlotte. Nell introduces Charlotte to the abolitionist movement and they’re in danger when they try to help Evie escape. Lattimore captures the fears and yearnings of these women in this debut. It isn’t perfect but is a captivating portrait of a neglected era and the plight of Blacks in the North before the Civil War. PP/SN, BC
*Lawhon, Ariel, The Frozen River, It’s November 1789 and Maine’s Kennebec River has just frozen. Martha Ballard is a respected midwife in her fifties who keeps a journal recording everything from the daily weather to births and local incidents. When called to examine the body of a man entombed in the river’s ice, she sees that he’s been murdered, but a new, young physician declares the death accidental. She wants to talk about it with her husband. “Some men think in a straight line, like an arrow off the string. They go to logic, to the easy conclusion, and avoid the waterways of the mind. But not Ephraim. His head is all rivers and streams, and with a mind like that a thought could run anywhere. He will have an answer. He always does.” The respect Martha and Ephraim show each other is exceptional and is rare in historical fiction. Based on a real midwife’s life, this novel expertly explores misogyny and is an engrossing read with compelling characters. GPR/PP/SN, BC (2023)
+Littlewood, Fran, Amazing Grace Adams, a Read with Jenna Book Club selection, begins when 45-year-old Grace loses her job, her husband leaves her, she has hot flashes, and her 15-year-old daughter is misbehaving. When traffic threatens her getting to her daughter’s birthday party, she abandons her car. Grace isn’t easy to like, but stress, parenting, and trauma aren’t easy either. This clever book could be titled Things Fall Apart: Contemporary London Style. S/SBP
*#Loskutoff, Maxim, Old King, One of Publishers Weekly’s Best Novels of 2024 is the spectacular tale of Duane who moves to a remote Montana town in 1976 where one of his neighbors harbors a grizzly bear in a cage behind his cabin and another is an even stranger hermit named Ted Kaczynski, yes, that Ted Kaczynski whose violence threatens the area. What could have been a parody is a nuanced look at a quiet place filled with people who won’t let Kaczynski ruin them. Loskutoff’s powerful descriptions make the land feel like a living character. “The trees leaned over the road, examining Duane as he passed.” Read this wonder. G/PP, BC
+Miller, Kirsten, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books, Lula Dean is a friendless widow who seeks attention and becomes famous for removing books, including Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl, from the local library. She builds her own free library and stocks it with thrifted books including an etiquette guide. A teen substitutes banned books inside the dust jackets of Lula’s choices and the new books change readers’ lives. It's somewhat silly with its stereotypes and coincidences, but it's fun and makes a point about book banning. GPR/GS
+Morgan, Sarah, The Book Club Hotel, Sometimes, you need girlfriends and a little romance. Friends since college, Erica, Anna, and Claudia arrange a week at a gorgeous Vermont hotel in early December. Their plans get upended by an unexpected change in calm, efficient Erica’s life. Yes, it's predictable and packed with coincidences, but the people, setting, and message will cure what ails you. D (2023)
Moriarty, Liane, Here One Moment, by the author of Big Little Lies, is a too-clever tale of a flight on which a passenger visits every other passenger with a prediction of when and how that person will die. At 512 pages, the number of travelers with terrifying death sentence proclamations becomes dizzying. Moriarty concludes the book masterfully as she ties the characters together, but the minutiae of the 400-plus pages leading to that satisfying conclusion are barely worth the wait. OC 9/10/24
+Napolitano, Ann, Within Arm’s Reach, Napolitano, the author of the wonderful Hello Beautiful, embeds the reader in a chaotic Irish Catholic family that avoids anything unpleasant. It’s told from the points of view of six family members beginning with grandmother Catharine who sees ghosts including those of her dead children.
When her single granddaughter Gracie, an advice columnist who hasn’t a clue about her own life, becomes pregnant, the family tries to intervene. This is a rerelease of Napolitano’s debut novel published in 2004. While not as spectacular as her later novels, it’s a fine story featuring a carefully constructed cast of characters coping with loss, identity, and hope while brilliantly showing sibling rivalry. GPR, BC (2004)
*Neely, Joseph, Slow Rivers: Poems from My Sixties contains poems similar to those by Billy Collins in that they’re accessible and reflective of everyday life. Neely’s words and tone will particularly appeal to readers over sixty. His poem “Reasons I Go to Church “ knocks me out every time I read it—and that's almost every day. Note: I did the final copy edit on the book but wasn't involved in its content. Buy it. GPR/T
*Newman, Catherine, Sandwich illustrates the toll being the emotional center of a family can bring. Rocky loves her newly adult children, her elderly parents, and her capable, but emotionally distant husband. On their yearly Cape Cod beach vacation, she caters to each family member’s sandwich cravings while holding a long-buried secret and being torn apart by her role in the sandwich generation. Written with humor and heart, Sandwich feels real as it explores generational trauma, abortion, and depression with irony. Readers will laugh through their tears. GPR/S, BC
+Newman, Catherine, We All Want Impossible Things, How do authors make dying, caregiving, and hospice humorous? Newman does it by capturing moments when we simply have to laugh to make it through the day. She shows Ash caring for her best friend Edi while navigating her own complex marriage and life. While mired in the mess, they see the beauty. “Everyone dies, and yet it’s unendurable. There is so much love inside of us. How do we become worthy of it? And, then, where does it go?.” Having spent my recent years caretaking and grieving, I believe this book reveals the truth and the emotional chaos of that life. GPR/S, BC (2022)
*Orange, Tommy, Wandering Stars resounds with yearning. This stand-alone sequel to There There lyrically illustrates the powerful yearning of one family, via descendant Orvil Red Feather, to be themselves after their historical removal from tribal lands and the forced abandonment of their native language and culture. It shows the generational trauma of collective loss coupled with the will to survive. Beginning with the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 and the subsequent Carlisle Indian Industrial School fiasco, Wandering Stars visits the descendants of one Native family seen at the powwow in There There as they struggle with substance abuse and erasure while trying to preserve family ties and their culture. “Everyone only thinks we’re from the past, but then we're here, but they don't know we’re still here.” While this is an emotionally difficult read, it’s an essential one. Read this along with the nonfiction wonder By the Fire We Carry for historical insight. G/PP/SN, BC
+Phillips, Julia, Bear is a modern-day fable/fairy tale about two sisters living on San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest. Just as sisters Snow White and Rose Red met a bear, so do sisters Elena and Sam in this imagining. They work hard at dead-end jobs while caring for their dying mother and relying on each other for friendship, emotional support, and their sparse social life. While Elena, the capable older sister, finds the bear’s appearance entrancing, Sam is wary and shaken. As in her magnificent Disappearing Earth, Phillips’ characters and precise, spare language are spectacular. The bear itself casts both an engaging and ominous veil over the sisters and their community. Phillips’ tension building is masterful as it leads the reader brilliantly into the shattering climax. G, BC
+Quindlen, Anna, After Annie, “Bill, get me some Advil, my head is killing me,” were the last words Annie said before falling on the kitchen floor and dying of an aneurysm in this quiet portrait of a mother and those she left behind. Annie was in her early thirties. She had four children ages six to thirteen. She and her plumber husband Bill lived a packed life that allowed for little reflection which was a good fit for Bill. Annie also left her best friend Annemarie, a woman who’d had substance abuse problems and relied on Annie for more than just friendship. Bill is both bereft and clueless so when thirteen-year-old Ali makes sandwiches, wakes up her younger brothers before school, and keeps the household afloat, Bill barely notices. He adored Annie and without her as his rudder, he doesn’t seem capable of seeing what’s around him. Bill’s dreadful mother and her attacks on the kids and Annemarie signal the family’s unraveling. Quindlen is one of the queens of the quotidian and her recitation of the daily acts of survival makes this novel hope-filled rather than melancholy. Ali and Annemarie keep calling Annie’s phone to hear her voice and we’re so connected to them that we almost think she’ll answer. Yes, the ending is a touch of “happily ever after,” but it’s what Annie would have wanted. If you’re looking for a book that’s not too challenging but still offers a poignant, well-written story, this is it. GPR, BC
*Read, Shelley, Go as a River, In the 1960s, the town of Iola, Colorado was destroyed to create a reservoir. In 1948, Victoria, a 17-year-old white Iola resident, meets and falls in love with a young Native man who’s running away from a job contract in a coal mine. His death and her subsequent pregnancy force her to leave her family’s peach orchard to shelter in a hut in the nearby mountains. Her resilience in living her life as if it were a river always moving forward makes for a strong story with excellent depictions of the natural world. An unusual decision I won't divulge combined with superb language form a compelling debut, coming-of-age novel that traces Victoria’s life along with that of the river and the reservoir. GPR/PP, BC (2023)
*Reeves, Cynthia, The Last Whaler, Tor, a beluga whaler, and his wife Astrid, a botanist, are stranded through the dark winter of 1937-38 at a remote Arctic whaling station in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. They’ve left their young daughter with her grandparents expecting to make it home but a weather shift keeps them from catching the last boat out. Told through Astrid’s 1937 letters and Tor’s reflections upon returning to Svalbard in 1947, the novel brilliantly explores grief, isolation, and depression. Months with no daylight are a brilliant metaphor. G/SN, BC
+Rieger, Susan, Like Mother, Like Mother, Brilliant, resilient Lila Pereira, whose father beat her, her mother, and her siblings and whose mother was committed to a mental institution where she supposedly died when Lila was two, meets wealthy, kind, smart Joe in college. They fall in love, marry, and have three children. Lila leaves the parenting to Joe, a successful attorney, while she runs the fictional Washington Globe and brings down a corrupt U.S. President. Grace, Lila’s youngest daughter, writes a best-selling fictional account of their family that surmises that Lila’s mother didn't die. After Lila’s death, Grace follows Lila’s advice and investigates her grandmother. This is a clever, fast-paced, nuanced tale with winning, well-developed characters. Each character’s flaws and their strengths invigorate the novel’s focus on family dynamics, friendship, and love. GPR, BC
+Rishøi, Ingvild, Brightly Shining is a dark Norwegian holiday novella with a gorgeous cover that begs to be seen in December. Resilient Ronja, age 10, and Melissa, 16, sell Christmas trees to survive as their alcoholic father does little to feed or support them. Neighbors and the school caretaker help, but it never seems to be enough. “Hello, two motherless children and an alcoholic here, can you please give us two more weeks?” begs Melissa into the phone to their landlord. It’s bleak yet exquisitely written. SBP/T, BC (English translation, 2024)
+Roberts, Tara Kerr, Wild and Distant Seas begins in 1849 Nantucket when 19-year-old Evangeline marries the owner of the Try Pots Inn, makes chowder, and serves their guests. Her clairvoyant powers help her see her husband’s death at sea after which she becomes pregnant by sailor Ishmael who sails away with his companion Queequeg. Evangeline’s daughter leaves the island in search of her father and takes her own daughter on a perilous sea journey to South America. Four generations of women weave a tale filled with magic realism that Moby Dick fans will love. Roberts cleverly wraps the Hawthorne tale into her narrative. PP, BC
+Rowell, Rainbow, Attachments, Rowell’s debut novel, is the story of Lincoln, an internet security officer for a local newspaper, who monitors employees’ emails. Beth and Jennifer are friends and writers for the paper, who despite knowing that their work emails are monitored, continue their daily uninhibited email conversations. When Lincoln falls for Beth via her emails, he knows it’s wrong, unethical, and impossible. This is a delightful rom-com. D, BC 2012
*Rowell, Rainbow, Slow Dance exemplifies the best definition of a heartfelt, witty, kind, and well-written rom-com possible. If rom-com becomes an Olympic sport, Slow Dance will win gold. Shiloh, Cary, and Mikey were inseparable—best friends growing up poor in Omaha. They always wanted to leave. Cary joined the Navy and went far. Shiloh went to college but returned and married; now she’s 33 and divorced with two young kids and is living with her mother. When Cary returns for Mikey’s wedding, the impossible seems possible, but will Shiloh see it? D/GPR/SF, BC
+Rutledge, Lynda, West with Giraffes, In 1938, two giraffes survived a hurricane as they crossed the Atlantic. Based on their true story, the novel describes their journey in a custom-built truck across the U.S. to the San Diego Zoo. Teen Woodrow drives the truck and later recounts his story in a nursing home when he’s 105. I loved the giraffes but felt Woodrow’s retelling in the nursing home interrupted the narrative flow. Almost everyone in my book club adored this book. It was published by Amazon’s Lake Union and that means that many of us prefer not to buy it. GPR/SN, BC (2021)
+Ryan, Jennifer, The Underground Library follows several women living in London during WWII as they create a lending library to serve neighborhood residents who spend their nights underground in the tube. It’s both a romance and a chronicle of the power of community to overcome hardship, misogyny, and classism. It offers a glimpse of history with a happily-ever-after ending. GPR/PP/SBP/SN, BC
+Sage, Lyla, Lost and Lassoed, When the Indie Next newsletter made this its top November choice, I had to try it despite enemies-to-lovers, Western romances not being my favorite genre. The explicit and caring sex illuminated the essence of the two protagonists in this breezy escape recommended for romance fans. CC/D
+Simonson, Helen, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is a light, fluffy romance that highlights the dilemma women faced in 1919 England when men returned from the war and resumed their jobs. Despite being a stellar manager in her village, Constance must find a man to marry or become a governess. Currently caring for a widow in a seaside hotel, she meets wealthy, effervescent Poppy who operates a motorcycle delivery business. Poppy’s brother Harris, a Sopwith Camel pilot, has returned from combat minus a leg. His depressed state causes Poppy to act rashly in the hope of helping him. While it doesn’t have the brilliant sarcasm of her Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, the novel will appeal to historical fiction lovers who want a witty escape with a message. PP
*Strout, Elizabeth, Tell Me Everything encapsulates the breadth, depth, and meaning of love with a simplicity rarely explored in contemporary fiction. The novel features memorable characters from Strout’s novels reunited in Crosby, Maine. Bob Burgess is the focus of the book as he takes walks and has deep talks with Lucy Barton who also visits 90-year-old Olive Kitteridge in her senior apartment where they tell each other stories. Bob’s wife Margaret, a pastor, helps everyone. William, Lucy’s ex-husband and current partner, still bores friends with talk of his research. Bob’s sister-in-law dies and his brother is adrift. When Bob is asked to defend a man accused of killing his mother, Bob sees the man’s core and helps him find himself as Bob processes who he is and learns to appreciate his own gifts. GPR, BC
+Sullivan, J. Courtney, The Cliffs, Teenage Jane falls in love with an abandoned 1846 house she spies when working on a boat in Maine in the 1990s. Later as an adult, she returns to the house when an alcohol-related problem forces her to take a leave from her job as a highly regarded archivist and she returns to her hometown to clean out her mother’s home after her death. When the new owner of the old house hires her to investigate its history, she learns of disturbed graves, Abenaki history, and herself. Mystery, ghosts, and history enliven the narrative. GPR/PP, BC
*Tóibín, Colm, Long Island revisits Eilis of his exceptional Brooklyn in 1976 as she lives a simple life with her husband Tony and their children on a Long Island cul-de-sac next to Tony’s parents and brothers. When a man knocks on Eilis’s door and tells her his wife is pregnant with Tony’s baby and “as soon as the little bastard’s born,” he’ll leave it on her doorstep, Eilis tells Tony she won’t accept it. Tony’s mother agrees to take the child, so Eilis leaves to visit her family in Ireland after arranging for her children to join her in a few weeks. Upon returning to her hometown, Eilis encounters Jim, who she’d previously loved. She also sees her now-widowed best friend Nancy. Unbeknownst to everyone, Nancy and Jim plan to marry. Despite Jim’s love for Nancy, his attraction to Eilis is rekindled. The novel builds quietly and assuredly, making the reader care about all of them. One moment we want Jim and Nancy to elope and be happy. In another, we want Eilis and Jim to be together. We worry about Eilis’s children. Their lives become ours in this brilliantly devastating novel that will have book clubs debating what the characters should do. G/PP, BC
+Tyler, Anne, Three Days in June examines the day before, day of, and day after Gail Baines and her ex-husband Max’s daughter’s wedding. Gail’s just learned that she won't get the promotion she expected when Max unexpectedly arrives to stay at her house for the wedding weekend. They fall into old habits and enjoy being together. It's typical Tyler with Gail and Max seeming like people I've known my whole life, people who know who they are now much more than when they were younger. Tyler never disappoints. I read this in less than a day. Couldn't put it down. GPR, BC (Publication date is 2/11/25.)
*Van Booy, Simon, Sipsworth 83-year-old Helen Cartwright’s husband and son have died. Her “life is essentially finished,” so after an absence of sixty years, she returns to the English village where she grew up. Her life is tedious until one morning she spies her neighbor’s discarded fish tank on the sidewalk and brings it into her home. In it, she discovers a live mouse. After attempting to get rid of the creature, she begins caring for it and names it Sipsworth. This leads her to connect with delightful characters in the village and her backstory reveals itself. This is a charming fable, a warm, kind story. It’s heartwarming without being simplistic or saccharine. I adored it. GPR/SF, BC
+Williams, Beatriz, Husbands & Lovers illustrates how secrets influence actions. Single mom Mallory’s son suffers kidney damage after ingesting a poisonous mushroom at camp and she looks back at her relationship with her childhood best friend Monk, who’s now a famous singer. The novel moves to 1951 Cairo and a tryst between Hannah, a Hungarian refugee, and an enigmatic hotel manager. Tied together by a distinctive bracelet, the two tales blend intrigue, romance, and maternal love. This page-turner is a captivating beach read. GPR
+Wingate, Lisa, Shelterwood, Wingate, the author of Once We Were Yours, mines little-known historical incidents to uncover theft, deception, child abuse, and corruption. In the early 1900s Oklahoma, robber barons obtained custody of native children to steal their land. Wingate focuses on two parallel tales in 1909 and 1990. One is told by a girl escaping into southwest Oklahoma with her Choctaw foster sister and the other is narrated by a National Park Ranger assigned to the new park there in 1990. The manipulation and maltreatment of children and the collaboration of government at many levels are compelling, but Wingate oversells and overtells the related stories as she fails to delineate the language and actions reflective of the two periods leaving the narratives somewhat flat. Her research is stellar and fans of fiction celebrating women in history will enjoy this novel. OC/PP, BC
Mysteries, Suspense, and Thrillers
+Andrews, Mary Kay, Summers at the Saint, See General Fiction for a beachy romance and mystery. CC/D
*Cranor, Eli, Broiler is a magnificent ode to the immigrants who work horrific jobs where they suffer from cold and aren't allowed bathroom breaks. Edwin and Gabby work ten-hour days in a plant processing chicken “broilers.” After Edwin is fired, he kidnaps the plant manager's baby. Then the manager, his wife, and Edwin and Gabby meet in a tension-building climax in a novel packed with insight into poverty and postpartum depression. Southern noir at its best. GPR/GS, BC
+Dave, Laura, The Night We Lost Him, Shortly after his death from a fall (or was he pushed) at his California cliffside property, wealthy developer Liam’s son Sam convinces his stepsister Nora to fly to the property because he suspects foul play. Nora and Sam don’t trust the police investigation or the lack of information from others including their uncle and their father’s attorney. In this character-driven tale, love supersedes the intrigue, but tension and secrets make it compelling. CC, BC
+Denfeld, Rene, Sleeping Giants, Adopted Amanda learns that she had a younger brother who was taken from their alcoholic mother twenty years previously and placed in a home for troubled boys. When he was nine, he ran away and was lost at sea nearby. Larry, a recently widowed, retired police officer, meets Amanda and helps her investigate why no one will talk about her brother or the home. Only Denfeld can make abandoned children and loners so real. Evil abounds in this Gothic noir tale, but it’s the power of creating family that propels the narrative. Whodunnit is less important than why. GPR
+Hamilton, Steve, An Honorable Assassin is the third in the Nick Mason series. Mason, just out of federal prison, needs to kill a bad guy or his ex-wife and daughter will suffer the consequences. His target, Interpol’s #1 on the most wanted “Red Notice” list, escapes Mason who then must work with an Interpol agent to save his family. There’s exciting, non-stop action in this unique international thriller. CC
+Hirahara, Naomi, Evergreen, Aki Ito works as a nurse’s aide at a Japanese hospital in Los Angeles in 1946 having moved back to California after being released from the Manzanar detention center and after her sister’s murder in Chicago that was chronicled in the exceptional Clark and Division (2021). Her husband Art has returned from serving in the war in Europe and everyone is starting over. Aki learns that a beaten elderly Issei patient in her hospital is the father of Art’s best friend, and violence and crime disrupt the Japanese community. PP (2023)
*Krueger, William Kent, Spirit Crossing: Cork O’Connor #20 is one of the best in this series. Cork’s grandson Waboo has visions that lead to a missing girl while bringing unwanted attention to his gift. Native girls and young women are disappearing, but law enforcement pays no attention until the white daughter of a State Senator disappears. Cork’s daughter returns from Guatemala with a secret and disputes over a pipeline across sacred native land bring out the worst in a sadistic security officer. The caring nature of the community shines through. GPR/SN, BC
+Mizushima, Margaret, Gathering Mist: A Timber Creek Canine Mystery #9, Mattie and Cole are getting married in a week so the call for her to fly to a remote area in the Pacific Northwest with her K-9 trained search and rescue dog, Robo comes at a bad time. Still, the idea of a missing child and her boss wanting her to show Robo’s talents lead her to go. Some think the boy wandered off, but after another dog has seizures, fear of poison threatens. A great series. GPR/SN
*Moore, Graham, The Wealth Of Shadows is a fabulous espionage thriller based on the true, but barely known 1939-1944 story of American economists who waged a secret financial battle to cripple Nazi Germany. Using real people, both famous and unknown, screenwriter Moore builds a compelling tale of patriotism. Ansel is my new hero. What a movie this would make. Read the individual footnotes at the end of the book after you read each chapter, they add mind-boggling information PP/SN, BC
+Osman, Richard, We Solve Murders, Amy is a bodyguard protecting Rosie, a best-selling mystery writer, on her private South Carolina island. When an attempt is made on Amy’s life, she calls in her retired cop father-in-law Steve and bodies start piling up—all connected to Amy and her firm. Amy, Rosie, and Steve are engaging characters with Rosie having an almost “I Love Lucy” zaniness. This new series from The Thursday Murder Club creator is promising and I adore Steve. CC/S/SBP
+Page, Katherine Hall, The Body in the Casket: A Faith Fairchild Mystery, The 24th in the series doesn’t disappoint. Faith, a caterer in a small Massachusetts town where her husband is a minister, is also an amateur detective. When a famous Broadway producer hires her to cater his 70th birthday weekend at his secluded estate, he says it’s also for her “sleuthing ability.” It’s been years since I’ve devoured one of the cozy Faith tales, but it won’t be the last. She’s deservedly won the Agatha Award and been nominated for the Edgar. Her books include recipes. CC (2017)
+Pease, Amy, Northwoods, Substance abuse endangers many in this small Wisconsin lake town. Eli’s investigative job was eliminated when he came home from Afghanistan with PTSD and his drinking is worsening. He’s working for his mother who’s the Sheriff and who has to tell an addicted mother that her son has been killed. His girlfriend is missing and her disappearance may be linked to a local addiction clinic. There are too many red herrings, but the characters are well done. GPR
*Penny, Louise, The Grey Wolf, the 19th in the Inspector Gamache series, features a robbery of Gamache’s home. Jean-Guy, Isabelle, and Gamache split up to track an ominous threat that might kill thousands and reach as far as the Vatican. Using the aphorism describing whether the good or bad wolf wins, Penny shows that it’s the one you feed. Mesmerizing action and the goodness of Gamache make this another great entry in this impeccable series. CC/GPR/SF, BC
+Petrie, Nick, The Drifter: A Peter Ash Novel: #1, Haunted Peter has lived in the woods for months since returning from military service. When he learns that his best friend, Dinah’s husband Jimmy, has killed himself, Peter travels to Milwaukee to help Dinah and her young sons. After finding a large cache of cash and a threatening dog in Dinah’s crawl space, Peter is followed and attacked so he looks to another of Jimmy’s friends for help. Brilliant, hard-nosed Lewis isn't a model citizen, but that may be what’s needed to stop a horrific attack. The dog is a treat. CC/GPR/RT (2015)
+Petrie, Nick, The Price You Pay: A Peter Ash Novel: #8, Normally, I start with the first in a series, but I needed to read this and it stands well on its own. Peter’s friend Lewis’s criminal past has caught up with him via a ruthless crew out to get him. Peter and Lewis are fine characters, but Lewis’s wife Dinah, and Peter’s long-time girlfriend June are amazing. Rarely does an author capture such strong, good, smart, courageous women this well. I want more of them, and the honor code they, Lewis, and Peter share. My favorite line is Lewis’s answer to Peter about how he learned to do something: “Black man with a library card.” CC/GPR/RT
+Reay, Katherine A Shadow in Moscow is told from the alternating viewpoints of two women spies in Russia. Ingrid moves to Moscow in 1954 with her husband, who she suspects works for the KGB, and begins passing secrets to Britain, her mother’s homeland, via M16. In 1980, Anya graduates from Georgetown, leaves the man she loves, and returns to her home in Moscow as ordered. When the KGB murders her best friend, she contacts the CIA and begins passing them information. In 1985, the threat of exposure threatens both women’s lives. This is an entirely different style and genre from Reay’s previous light bookstore tales. CC/PP (2023)
*#Richard, Saralyn, Murder Outside the Box is the fourth in the Detective Parrott series. Detective Parrott responds to a call about a baby left in a cardboard box with two bottles of breast milk on the doorstep of a caretaker’s home on a sprawling estate. The plot intensifies when a woman who’d recently given birth is found dead in a remote area on a nearby estate, but DNA shows the baby and woman aren’t related. Fertility, DNA, and database technologies add to the intrigue. I love Detective Parrott and appreciate the focus on infertility issues in this compelling case. (My name is the name of a minor character and I appreciate the Easter egg honor.) CC
+Swanson, Peter, The Christmas Guest, American Ashley is spending her junior year in London. She has no family so fellow student Emma invites her to spend the Christmas holidays with her family at their Cotswold country manor. She's enamored with the picturesque village and Emma’s handsome brother Adam who the townspeople believe killed a village girl. When a white-bearded man scares Ashley in the woods as she returns from town, she doesn't know what to think. Thirty years later, her diary revisits the scene in this 93-page novella you'll gulp down in one sitting. The believable, yet unexpected twists at the end are brilliant. CC/T (2023)
*#Swierczynski, Duane, California Bear, Jack’s conviction for the revenge murder of a man implicated in Jack’s wife’s death has been overturned. He’s out of prison after serving 10 years and he wants to be with his 14-year-old daughter Matilda, who’s in the hospital after a leukemia diagnosis, but Cato who orchestrated Jack’s release expects a payback. He wants Jack to help him blackmail the California Bear, a serial killer and a character unlike any other. Matilda is brilliant and deserves her own book. The desert-dry humor, engaging characters, imaginative twists, and a clever, kind, and exceptional ending make this a spectacular book. S, BC
*Whitaker, Chris, All the Colors of the Dark is spectacular. In 1975, Patch, named for the patch covering his eye socket, intervenes to save a girl being assaulted in the woods and is himself kidnapped. During his captivity in a dark cellar, a girl named Grace visits him and offers hope. Once he escapes, he and his best friend Saint search for Grace and other victims. Saint and Patch are phenomenal characters and this tale of twists, anguish, resilience, and art is a winner. GPR/SBP, BC
+Winslow, Don, City in Ruins: The Danny Ryan Trilogy, Book 3, the final in the trilogy, features Danny in Las Vegas where he’s a multimillionaire casino owner. No longer the dock worker or mob boss he once was, he could retire and care for his son. Congress is investigating gambling which could ruin him. Colorful characters abound as Danny decides to fight to increase his holdings. Read these in order and follow Danny’s gritty, bloody life as only Winslow can tell it. CC
+Winspear, Jacqueline, The White Lady follows former spy Elinor White from age twelve in Belgium at the start of WWI through her posting in WWII and then to her current life in rural Kent, England in 1947. When a family moves in next door, Elinor tries to help them when the father’s infamous London gangster family threatens them. After Elinor seeks help from old friends, her war actions return to haunt her. The book highlights the always horrific and often necessary conflicts of war. This stand-alone historical mystery is a departure from Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs’ tales. PP (2023)
Nonfiction
+Andrés, José & World Central Kitchen with Sam Chapple-Sokol, The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Finding Hope is a book for WCK supporters. It's a stunning coffee table book and a glimpse into the work done by this amazing group. Organized by WCK values including Empathy, Hope, and Joy, it offers recipes from around the world. Braised Pork Al Pastor explains the Lebanese origins of this Mexican dish. Purple Sweet Potato Haupia Bars, Ayesha’s Chicken Parmesan, Ukrainian Borsch, and Qorma-E-Nakhod (Stewed Chickpeas with Spinach and Goat Cheese) offer endless variety. SF/SN (2023)
*Dennis, Jerry, The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Sea, Revised 20th Anniversary Edition with New Introduction, If you haven't read this wonder, prioritize reading this essential masterwork of the Great Lakes region. If, like me, you read it twenty years ago, you'll love it as much or more on your second reading, as I did. With the effects of climate change on the region, I found it both profound and prescient. At its core though, it's an adventure tale that also happened to win the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award. Rereading one of my all-time favorite books was a gift. Buy it for everyone on your holiday list. SN, BC (2004)
+Graham, Elyse, Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II employs Graham’s clever narrative techniques to describe how America without a spy network at the beginning of World War II, formed the OSS (Office of Strategic Services). Focusing on the stories of a history professor, an archivist, a student who provided more than 1,500 Paris refugees with U.S. visas, and undercover art historians, she describes how they successfully used their academic knowledge to help the war effort. Her prose feels like a 1930s detective novel which makes it sing. GPR/SN, BC
+Heuck, Lidey, Cooking in Real Life: Delicious and Doable Recipes for Every Day, Serving as Ina Garten’s assistant taught Heuck well. I love her section of quick recipes and her easy salad dressing and sauce recipes. Her recipe for Salmon with Honey & Chili Crunch is super simple and adaptable to other proteins. I'd enjoy that easy sauce/glaze with a kick on cardboard; it’s delicious. SN
*#Little, Rebecca and Long, Colleen, I’m Sorry for My Loss: An Urgent Examination of Reproductive Care in America is an intimate, fact-based exploration of the deteriorating state of reproductive care in America. The authors pack the book with facts and footnotes, yet they make you feel a part of their real, wry, irreverent, and heartfelt conversations. Both are established journalists who experienced pregnancy loss and share their journeys poignantly. Select this for your book club and you’ll talk for hours. It’s spectacular. GPR/S/SN, BC
*Nagle, Rebecca, By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land is an exceptional chronicle of the U.S. promise that the Muscogee people forced from their lands in the 1830s and marched halfway across the nation to Oklahoma would retain their new land “for as long as the grass grew and the waters ran.” Nagle tells the history of the removal including the parts played by her own direct ancestors. She then brings the story full circle to the 2020 Supreme Court decision in a murder case that threatens the reservation’s existence. With powerful language, Nagle weaves facts and personal incidents into an engrossing story that engages and enrages while bringing readers into the quest for justice. GPR/SN, BC
*Schlanger, Zoë, The Light Eater: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth is a fascinating exploration of the strides in plant science that will change the way you see plants. The chapter on hearing mesmerized me with the suggestion of a flower forming a bowl shape just as satellite dishes are concave. Seeing evidence of plant “communication” and “intelligence” explained in Schlanger’s exquisite writing entranced me. G/SN, BC
+Vaillant, John, Fire Weather: On the Front Lines of a Burning World, both a Pulitzer and National Book Award Finalist, is a detailed examination of climate change through the lens of the 2016 Canadian wildfire that caused 10 billion dollars in damage and wasn’t extinguished for more than a year. Combining science, history, and the far reach of the petroleum industry especially in the tar sands region of northern Alberta, this primer shows the cataclysmic effects of our energy usage in the past century and as it’s accelerated recently. Vaillant’s glimpses of those who lived and worked in the region offer respite from the devastation. SN, BC (2023)
Peanut Butter and Jelly
*Chainani, Soman, Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales is a retelling of twelve iconic fairy tales from the author of the beloved series The School for Good and Evil. These twisty, frightening, and enlightening stories make even adult readers think. I dare anyone to read the first page of the Hansel and Gretel tale and remain the person you were before reading it. PBJ/DC (2021) Ages 10 and older
*Greendeer, Danielle, Perry, Anthony, and Buntin, Alexis, illustrated by Garry Meeches, Sr., Keepunumuk: Weeâchmun’s Thanksgiving Story offers the story of the first Thanksgiving from the Native American perspective. It uses Native terms and shares how to pronounce them. It introduces the importance of planting the “three sisters:” corn, beans, and squash together. The illustrations complement the text beautifully. PBJ/SN, (2022) Ages 3 - 8
*Ness, Patrick, Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody begins when Principal Wombat assigns the monitor lizards to be hall monitors which isn't a popularity boost. Pelicarnassus, a pelican supervillain, bullies and misbehaves except around his mother. Kids will love the black-and-white drawings and the funny, kind take on kindness, grief, bullying, and working things out. Ages 8 - 12
*Reynolds, Jason, illustrated by Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey, There Was a *Party for Langston is a gorgeous explosion of color and words that celebrates and explores the joy in the writing of Langston Hughes. PBJ/SN, Ages 3 and older
*Shaskan, Stephen, Pizza and Taco: Wrestling Mania! is perfect for early readers who want to be themselves. Kids will love the humor, the graphic chapter book style, and the resourceful way Pizza and Taco start their own club. PBJ, Ages 5 - 8
*Warga, Jasmine, A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall. A painting was stolen from the museum where Rami’s mother works and Rami just met a floating girl who looks just like the girl in the missing painting. Rami’s classmate Veda helps him look for the painting and friendship seems possible in this sweet, kind mystery that shows how art can help us see. “Talking with Veda sometimes felt like drinking straight out of a hose—it all came at you very fast, at full blast.” PBJ, Ages 8 - 12
Diet Coke and Gummi Bears (Young Adult Books)
*Jackson, Tiffany D., Storm: Dawn of a Goddess is the origin story of Orono, a Cairo orphan with white hair and blue eyes, who’s running from an evil being trying to capture her soul. When she meets Prince T’Challa of Wakanda, she yearns for more as she continues evolving into Storm of the X-Men. Younger teens will find the Marvel tale welcoming and older fans will love this page-turner. DC, Ages 13 and older
*Treuer, Anton, Where Wolves Don’t Die, Fifteen-year-old Ezra lives in Minneapolis with his professor father. When a fire destroys the meth lab home of his nemesis he’s in danger so he goes to Canada to spend the winter working a trap line with his grandfather and completing his schoolwork remotely. Ezra’s mother has recently died and he’s mad at his father, so having time in the wilderness with his grandfather where he can learn the traditional ways and language is a gift in this adventure tale of growth, Ojibwe culture, and love. DC/SN, BC, Ages12 and older
