I spent the first 18 years of my life working to get out of Petoskey. After college, I returned only to discover that four years away has the ability to magically transform a town into something you simply cannot live without.
Like my inability and complete lack of desire to live elsewhere, books are like oxygen to me and have been for as long as I can recall. I may, in fact, be able to live without them, but I’d rather not take the chance...
Finally! After a seven year wait, we get another masterpiece from Khaled Hosseini! If The Kite Runner were the boys' experience and A Thousand Splendid Suns were the girls' experience in Afghanistan then, And the Mountains Echoed is the family story. Told with the same grace and eloquence as his previous works, this is a story of love, family, choices, and consequences that spans continents and generations. From Kabul to San Francisco to Tinos, a small Greek isle, Hosseini masterfully examines family and how the choices we make can make ripples through future generations, leaving scars that may fade, but never be erased. Beautifully complex and deftly woven, this is a stunning work that will leave you breathless (and hoping the wait for his next work is not seven years). A must read!
Don't be fooled by this title! While the main characters in this wonderful tale by debut novelist Helene Wecker are mythical, the novel cannot be considered sci-fi or fantasy. Rooted deeply in Arabic and Jewish folklore, you revisit New York City, circa 1899, where you meet Chava and Ahmad. Chava is a golem, a clay figure brought to life by magic, and Ahmad is a genie (or jinni, both spellings are acceptable). According to myth, a golem must have a master in order to live and not be ruled by his or her baser urges, but Chava's master passed away on her voyage to America, leaving her newly born and without a master to serve. Ahmad, a once trapped jinni, finds himself in human form again... but without any of his traditional magical skills. Chava and Ahmad find themselves taken in by a Rabbi and a tinsmith who help them navigate life in a land completely unfamiliar to them. Drawn together by chance, Ahmad and Chava become an unlikely duo who explore New York and humanity and try to discover where they fit within this new world. This is a brilliantly told tale that will leave you wanting to know where Ahmad and Chava's journey takes them next. Not to be missed!
Not since I Want My Hat Back have I been so thoroughly entertained by a children's book. Barnett and Rex's fractured fairy tale is sheer brilliance. Chloe, the main character (or is she?) finds loose change every day and walks through the forest to the carnival to ride the Ferris wheel. Chloe's story is interrupted by Barnett and Rex (who become characters in the story) as they struggle with creative differences in telling Chloe's story. As you read on, their differences play out in a dazzling comedy of errors as the story comes to it's conclusion. Chloe and the Lion is also a nominee for the Caldecott Award this year, and it is obvious why. It is the most clever, creative, and comical picture book I have read in quite some time.
Store favorite Jon Klassen returns with a follow-up to I Want My Hat Back. This time around, a little fish has stolen a hat that fits him perfectly, but is obviously too small for the larger fish. Will the little fish get away with his cunning act of thievery? Will the big fish realize he's been duped and seek out little fish? You'll have to read it to be sure. Filled with beautiful, expressive illustrations, Jon Klassen's This is Not My Hat is a funny, charming tale that is destined to become a classic.
Robert Goolrick is a master of Americana and his latest novel, Heading Out to Wonderful is nothing short of perfect - beautifully dark, thrilling and completely engrossing. Narrated by Sam Haislett as he recalls his youth in small town, rural Virginia during the mid-1900s, it tells the story of Charlie Beale, a mysterious and charming stranger. Charlie quickly lands a job in the local butcher shop and befriends the butcher, his wife and their son, Sam. The Haislett's make sure that Charlie quickly meets everyone in the small town, including the glamorous, alluring Sylvan Glass, the teenage wife of the most powerful man in town. Charlie and Sylvan begin a sultry affair that leaves its mark on Sam for life and comes to alter the town forever. It is an unforgettable story that will stay with you for years to come.
For those of us who believe our own families supremely abnormal, bordering on crazy, and definitely dysfunctional, rest assured: we are not alone. Wade Rouse's latest memoir is poignant and filled with humor, but most of all a perfectly spun tale of the modern family. Rouse reflects upon the holidays and memorable occasions shared with family and friends spanning youth to adulthood that have also come to define the American experience for many of us. Each tale is spun in the style we have come to know as uniquely Rouse - filled with wit and insight into the psyche. I highly recommend both this and his previous memoir At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream.
Absolutely wonderful. Martin's leading lady, Lacey Yeager, is one you either love to hate or hate to love. Set against the backdrop of the cutthroat New York art world, Martin's heroine aims to take the art scene by force, using her wit, charisma and drive to climb her way to the top. The attention to detail in Martin's writing could easily have become dry if you are not familiar with the world of art, but as with Shopgirl, his wit, charm and perspicacity draw you in to the story instead of making you feel like an outsider watching the scenes play out before you. Truly loved it.
This is a debut novel and it debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list. The Art of Fielding is a baseball story, but also not. It is more a coming of age novel about the human condition set against a baseball backdrop. The Art of Fielding follows the story of Henry Skrimshander, a shortstop. Henry was a successful baseball player in High School and had never set his sights upon college until he was recruited by a player from Westish College. While at Westish, Henry becomes one of the most successful baseball players in the nation, having the type of streak most players would never dream of, until it all ends one day, sending Henry into a downward spiral. In The Art of Fielding Chad Harbach explores the phenomenon that occurs with real life ball players when they can't get back in the swing of things after a streak ends. It is a fascinating look into the mind of an athlete, but also into the relationships we develop that change as we do. I loved every moment of this book and did not want it to end.
Beat the Reaper is not for the faint of heart. This debut novel tells the story of Dr. Peter Brown, an intern at Manhattans worst hospital. He has a past he'd rather keep hidden. Pietro “Bearclaw” Brnwa is a hit man for the mob with a bent for violence. To put it mildly, he's a bad dude you wouldn't want to run into in a darkened alley. He's your worst nightmare. Nicholas LaBrutto, aka Eddy Squillante, is an aging mobster and Dr. Brown's newest patient. Among other charming personality quirks, Eddy thinks that Peter Brown and Pietro Brnwa might, just might, be the same person. Narrated by Peter Brown, Beat the Reaper, is wonderfully dark and full of snark. (Yes, I rhymed that intentionally.) The pitch and tone are prefect and it is a hugely run read. Think “The Soprano's” meets Jack Donaghy from “30 Rock” and you've hit the nail on the head.
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is a beautifully written love story that will stay with me and holds a special place on my bookshelf. It is charming and lovely and I simply loved it. This is a lovely novel set in Burma that tells the story of Julia, a young woman in search of answers surrounding the disappearance of her father. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with the absence of her father Julia travels to her fathers homeland where she meets a stranger who may have the answers she seeks. What Julia discovers is that her father was a very different man than the one she knew and harbored secrets for his entire adult life. What starts out as a mystery quickly turns into a beautiful love story, an incredible romance (no, not the Danielle Steele kind). The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is filled with several wonderful twists and turns that kept me turning pages into the wee hours of night. It is at once uplifting and heartbreaking and is perfectly told.
The Kitchen Daughter tells the story of sisters Ginny and Amanda Selvaggio in the wake of their parents death. Ginny, a young woman with Asperger's syndrome and finds her comfort in the kitchen. During their parents wake, Ginny escapes to the kitchen, prepares one of her grandmother’s recipes and Nonna appears in the kitchen bearing a cryptic warning "Do no let her," before disappearing. Ginny sets upon a journey to discover the meaning behind her grandmother's warning, discovering other mysteries along the way as she struggles to put the pieces together. The Kitchen Daughter is a story of love, loss and sisterhood with a little bit of magic thrown in for good measure. Fans of Alice Hoffman or Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells will enjoy this debut novel.
For those of us who believe our own families supremely abnormal, bordering on crazy, and definitely dysfunctional, rest assured: we are not alone. Wade Rouse's latest memoir is poignant and filled with humor, but most of all a perfectly spun tale of the modern family. Rouse reflects upon the holidays and memorable occasions shared with family and friends spanning youth to adulthood that have also come to define the American experience for many of us. Each tale is spun in the style we have come to know as uniquely Rouse - filled with wit and insight into the psyche. I highly recommend both this and his previous memoir At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream.
I know, I know… another dystopian society book? That’s what I thought too as I picked up Wither. What I found was a story of change, challenge and courage. Set in the future, after the human race has been successful in genetically engineering a generation of perfect humans. Successive generations, however, have short lives with men dying at 25 and women dying at 20, from an unknown illness. Wither follows Rhine, a 16 year old kidnapped and forced into a plural marriage with one aim: bearing children that can be studied to find a cure. Rhine struggles to accept her position in this marriage as first wife, constantly seeking escape from her prison home. However, she begins to feel for her husband and her sister wives, when push comes to shove, will Rhine be able to escape and make her way back to her twin brother in the hopes of finding him still alive?
What if you were an artistic child and this was something not cherished, but punished by society? The Unwanteds follows the story of the artistic kids, or Unwanteds, from a world much like ours called Quill. In Quill, Unwanted kids are banished and sent to what they think is a death camp, while Wanteds go to University to prepare for the life ahead of them. When Alex Stowe arrives at the "death camp" he and his fellow Unwanteds learn it is so much more, it is really another realm called Artime. In Artime, Alex and his friends begin training of their own, using their artistic talents as defenses, preparing for the war with the Wanteds of Quill they know is coming soon. This book is a fun roller-coaster ride and is a great option for lovers of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.
The year: 1899. The subject: Calpurnia Virginia Tate, or Callie V as she is known to friends and family. Callie isn't like other girls her age living in Texas. She's not interested in dolls, teas, dresses or anything girly for that matter. What she does love is science, which is something of an oddity for a girl in 1899. Callie has no one to share her love of science with as her mom, dad and four brothers all want her to be like all the other girls. After a chance encounter, she discovers that her grandfather is a "naturalist" or as we call them today, scientist. This man, who she was always afraid of before, begins her true education. They have daily adventures and Callie has assignments she has to complete for her grandfather. This story is a wonderful, classic tale for girls of all ages which reminds us of how important it is to pursue what you love, no matter what anyone says.
The problem: bear has lost his hat, and he wants it back. The suspect(s): it could be any of his his forest friends. Join bear as he asks all his forest friends if they have seen his hat. Bear feels lost without his hat and he would do anything to get it back, he is just so sad. Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back is beautifully illustrated and simply told. It's hilarious and I get deep belly laughs every time I read it.
"Once in a time in the town of Messina, eight little girls took dance with Miss Lina..." begins the lovely tale Miss Lina's Ballerinas by Grace Maccarone. This a charming book, in rhyme and is a delight to read to young girls who dream of being a ballerina.
Otis is back with all of his farm friends, but this time, trouble looms on the horizon. A tornado is coming and Otis and his friends must rush to safety and weather the storm. Bull get's left behind in his pen because everyone is afraid of him. Will Otis face his fears and save Bull from the coming storm?