Recent Reviews

After their mother dies suddenly, siblings Birdie and Jack must leave home to live with their uncles.  When sweet Uncle Carl proves unreliable, gruff Uncle Patrick takes over.  A practical stranger, Patrick struggles to understand gender non-conforming Birdie and introspective Jack, and they him.  As the whole family copes with loss, Birdie and Jack somehow remember how the ordinary can be extraordinary, how relationships can be lost and found, and how they can each find a place in the world.  Delicate moments heavy with meaning are left for the reader to discover, and when they are found, they’ll stay with readers long past the last page. Recommended by Mary.

DUE IN DECEMBER: In Winter Grave, Helene Tursten  is back with the second blockbuster mystery featuring Swedish detective inspector Embla and just in time for a Christmas read. A village schoolgirl goes missing during St. Lucia celebrations, and a local teen with learning disabilities who was last to see her is unfairly accused of abducting her. Embla and her fellow investigators are drawn into a series of deaths and disappearances that, though seemingly linked, are much more complicated and dangerous than they appear. An eerie cliffhanger at the novel's conclusion show that the deeply satisfying Embla series is far from over! Recommended by Kelly

Polly Farquhar embodies the voice of Isaac, an eleven-year-old boy stricken with an unpredictable psychosomatic disorder, with genuine sweetness and heart. The sixth grade is a confusing time of change in the lives of kids and we often forget how difficult it was once we have become adults. Itch reminds us of how cruel children can be to each other and themselves while they are trying to figure out the transitional periods of their lives. Farquhar, speaking through the mouths of babes, demonstrates how much we will always have to learn from the resilience and kindness of the children in our lives. Recommended by Jack

DUE IN NOVEMBER: Shannon Pufahl's new novel, On Swift Horses, is a stunner. Set in the 1950s, its gritty yet nonetheless lyrical writing is reminiscent of the 20th century's best tales of the era. The novel's two queer narrators, Muriel and Julius, remind readers just how harrowing living their truth must have been for thousands of closeted Americans. Transplants to the new racetracks, gambling halls, and sawdust-strewn suburbs of California from rural Kansas, both walk a dangerous line of chance that threads throughout the narrative. For people in their situation, embracing moral ambiguity in both ambition and love proves the only possible way forward. Highly recommended by Kelly