Carrie Soto is Back

 Carrie Soto is Back 

by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Ballantine Books, 2022. 384 pages. Fiction 

By the time Carrie Soto retired from professional tennis at the age of thirty-one, she was undeniably the best. She had shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. Which is why it is infuriating when Nicki Chan arrives on the scene six years later and ties Carrie with twenty Slams. Just like that, Carrie's championship record is slipping through her hands. So at thirty-seven years old, Carrie Soto is coming out of retirement to defend her title, her dad – a former champion tennis player himself – by her side as coach. 

I loved Carrie Soto is Back, and the main character’s obsessive journey to reclaim her title (and eventually to grow as a person) kept me reading just as compulsively. Carrie is brash, intense, and a curious mix of lovable and intentionally off-putting, admirable and broken, arrogant and deeply insecure. Her loving but complicated relationship with her father added a lot of heart to the story, and I found the descriptions of training and tennis matches surprisingly captivating. With plenty to discuss, this engaging, character-driven novel would be a great pick for book clubs. 

If you like Carrie Soto is Back, you might also like: 

Apples Never Fall 

By Liane Moriarty 

Henry Holt and Co, 2021. 480 pages. Fiction 

After fifty years of marriage, Stan and Joy Delaney have finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. Their four children were tennis stars in their own right, yet as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. But that's okay, now that they're all successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon. 

One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy's door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. Later, when Joy goes missing, and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure--but as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light. 

Furia

by Yamile Saied Mendez 

Algonquin Young Readers, 2020. 368 pages. Young Adult Fiction 

In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan leads a double life. At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother's narrow expectations, in the shadow of her soccer-star brother, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father. On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. But the path ahead isn't easy. Her parents would never allow a girl to play fútbol, and she needs their permission to go any farther. And the boy she once loved is back in town. Since he left, Diego has become an international fútbol celebrity, but things have changed for Camila, too: she has her own passions and ambitions, and Furia cannot be denied. 

As her life becomes more complicated, Camila is forced to face her secrets and make her way in a world unprepared for the dreams of a girl like her. Furia is an achingly real and powerfully told story about family, identity, first love, and--of course--fútbol. It will resonate with anyone who has been told she can't have it all--especially those who have gone out to get it anyway.

SGR

Forging Silver Into Stars

Forging Silver Into Stars

By Brigid Kemmerer

Bloomsbury, 2022. 545 pages. Young Adult Fiction

When the King's Courier, Lord Tycho, stops in the small town of Briarlock he is quick to befriend Jax and Callyn, but the town has long been an outpost for the anti-magic Truthbringers, and soon they find themselves embroiled in a world of shifting alliances and ancient magic.

I thoroughly enjoyed the worldbuilding in this novel, and that we get a great non-heteronormative romance!  While this book does take place in the same world that Kemmerer introduced to us with her Cursebreaker series (mentioned below), it isn't required reading for you to enjoy this new series.  Court intrigue abounds and the use of multiple perspectives allows the reader to get into the heads of various characters so that you can hash out their motivations outside of their actions which always makes a story feel more complete to me. Of note is that this is a romance best suited for more mature YA and Adult audiences.   

If you like Forging Silver Into Stars, you might also like:

A Curse so Dark and Lonely

By Brigid Kemmerer

Bloomsbury, 2019. 484 pages. Young Adult Fiction

This is the precursor to Forging Silver Into Stars. A modern girl is pulled into a fantasy world in this series of fairy tale retellings. Harper finds herself at the center of a kingdom at war where a prince must fight for his right to rule and an evil sorceress uses her enchantments to control him. Detailed worldbuilding and characters, romance, and secrets add to the suspense.

This Woven Kingdom

By Tahereh Mafi

Harper, 2022. 495 pages. Young Adult Fiction

The long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight, servant girl Alizeh waits in the shadows to uproot the kingdom of the crown prince—and the world.

RBL

Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
By Robin Wall Kimmerer
Milkweed Editions, 2013. 382 pages. Nonfiction

Abstract: “As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise.

Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.”

With lyrical prose and extensive knowledge of plants, Kimmerer brings you into her present and teaches you the blessings of the earth and indigenous ways of knowing. This book opened my eyes to the world around me. I pay more attention to the plants along the road, the farms and mountains that form the landscape around my home. I care more about current environmental crisis such as global warming, the shrinking Salt Lake, and the disastrous plan to dredge and build residential and commercial islands on Utah Lake.

Braiding Sweetgrass teaches about reciprocity—not taking more than you give to the earth—and restraint. Kimmerer explains how to vote with your dollar by purchasing from earth-friendly companies instead of those whose production hurts the land. It has taught me to be grateful for the food and water I have readily available, but also made me curious about their source and production. Needless to say, this book has changed the way I live, eat, and interact with the world.

JJC

If you like Braiding Sweetgrass you might also like:

To Speak for the Trees
By Diana Beresford-Kroeger
Random House Canada, 2019. 295 pages. Nonfiction

Abstract: "Canadian botanist, biochemist, and visionary—Diana Beresford-Kroeger's startling insights into the hidden life of trees have already sparked a quiet revolution in how we understand our relationship to forests. Now, in a captivating account of how her life led her to these illuminating and crucial ideas, she shows us how forests can not only heal us but save the planet. This book is not only the story of a remarkable scientist and her ideas, it harvests all of her powerful knowledge about why trees matter, and why trees are a viable, achievable solution to climate change. Diana eloquently shows us that if we can understand the intricate ways in which the health and welfare of every living creature is connected to the global forest, and strengthen those connections, we will still have time to mend the self-destructive ways that are leading to drastic fires, droughts and floods.

Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World
By Katharine Hayhoe
One Signal Publishers, 2021. 307 pages. Nonfiction

Abstract: Called "one of the nation's most effective communicators on climate change" by The New York Times, Katharine Hayhoe knows how to navigate all sides of the conversation on our changing planet. A Canadian climate scientist living in Texas, she negotiates distrust of data, indifference to imminent threats, and resistance to proposed solutions with ease. Over the past fifteen years, Hayhoe has found that the most important thing we can do to address climate change is talk about it—and she wants to teach you how. In Saving Us, Hayhoe argues that when it comes to changing hearts and minds, facts are only one part of the equation. We need to find shared values in order to connect our unique identities to collective action. This is not another doomsday narrative about a planet on fire. It is a multilayered look at science, faith, and human psychology, from an icon in her field—recently named chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy. Drawing on interdisciplinary research and personal stories, Hayhoe shows that small conversations can have astonishing results. Saving Us leaves us with the tools to open a dialogue with your loved ones about how we all can play a role in pushing forward for change.

Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants
By Jane Goodall
Grand Central Publishing, 2014. 420 pages. Nonfiction

Abstract: From world-renowned scientist Jane Goodall, as seen in the new National Geographic documentary Jane, comes a fascinating examination of the critical role that trees and plants play in our world. Seeds of Hope takes us from Goodall's home in England to her home-away-from-home in Africa, deep inside the Gombe forest, where she and the chimpanzees are enchanted by the fig and plum trees they encounter. She introduces us to botanists around the world, as well as places where hope for plants can be found, such as The Millennium Seed Bank. She shows us the secret world of plants with all their mysteries and potential for healing our bodies as well as Planet Earth.

World of Wonders
By Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Milkweed Editions, 2020. 165 pages. Nonfiction

Abstract: From beloved, award-winning poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil comes a debut work of nonfiction—a collection of essays about the natural world, and the way its inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us.

As a child, Nezhukumatathil called many places home: the grounds of a Kansas mental institution, where her Filipina mother was a doctor; the open skies and tall mountains of Arizona, where she hiked with her Indian father; and the chillier climes of western New York and Ohio. But no matter where she was transplanted—no matter how awkward the fit or forbidding the landscape—she was able to turn to our world’s fierce and funny creatures for guidance.

“What the peacock can do,” she tells us, “is remind you of a home you will run away from and run back to all your life.” The axolotl teaches us to smile, even in the face of unkindness; the touch-me-not plant shows us how to shake off unwanted advances; the narwhal demonstrates how to survive in hostile environments. Even in the strange and the unlovely, Nezhukumatathil finds beauty and kinship. For it is this way with wonder: it requires that we are curious enough to look past the distractions in order to fully appreciate the world’s gifts.

Warm, lyrical, and gorgeously illustrated by Fumi Nakamura, World of Wonders is a book of sustenance and joy.

The Harper's Quine

The Harper's Quine

By Pat McIntosh

Soho Constable, 2008. 300 pages. Mystery

McIntosh's mystery is a meticulously researched and convincing whodunit set in 15th-century Glasgow. Lawyer Gilbert Cunningham, a progressive and empathic young man, is letting entropy propel him toward a life in the priesthood. His natural intelligence, curiosity and logic serve him in good stead when he stumbles across the corpse of a young woman on the grounds of Glasgow Cathedral. The victim proves to be the estranged wife of a nobleman who had left him for a harper . Assisted by the forward and independent daughter of a local mason, Cunningham carefully examines forensic clues as well as the mysteries of the human heart to uncover the twisted soul responsible for a number of deaths. Impressively, the author manages to avoid false or anachronistic notes in depicting Scottish life in 1492.

This is the first in a very compelling series set in 15th-century Glasgow. The details of time and place are really wonderful. The sense of life in a late medieval city is very tangible, with wonderful elements of Scottish and Gaelic culture. The characters are realistic, interesting and stay with you long after reading the story. Gilbert Cunningham is a very sympathetic protagonist, and you start rooting for him from the very start of his story, and how he gets mixed up both with a murder investigation, and with Alys, the stonemason's daughter. I highly recommend this detailed mystery story. 

If you liked The Harper's Quine, you might also like: 

Plague Land

By S.D. Sykes

Pegasus Crime, 2015. 336 pages. Mystery

When Oswald de Lacy returns from a monastery to become the Lord of Somerhill Manor after a plague, he is confronted by the shocking death of a young woman whom the villagers claim was killed by a band of demonic dog-headed men.

The Miracle Thief

By Iris Antony 

Sourcebooks, 2014. 378 pages. Fiction

Three women seek answers to their prayers at Rochemont Abbey, in this appealing novel set in the Dark Ages. In a well-paced and interwoven story, Anthony's main characters relate their tales as they each face challenges of faith and hope for miracles . Sister Juliana left her lover and young daughter years ago and found refuge caring for Saint Catherine's chapel and protecting the saint's relic, which lies in a small casket. Disturbed by a promise she made to her dying mentor to assume leadership of the abbey, she's racked with unresolved guilt about her past and doubts her ability to honor her promise. So she remains silent as another usurps control and plunders the pilgrims' offerings and the chapel's modest treasures. Anna is a young girl who has rarely ventured beyond her home due to her physical deformities. But now her mother's death has left her homeless and destitute, and she desperately yearns to be healed. With no other possessions save her mother's pendant and the clothes on her back, Anna begins her journey to Saint Catherine's chapel. Abandoned by a group of pilgrims, she wanders into danger, and Godric, a sympathetic Saxon traveling with a group of Danes, becomes her protector. When Gisele learns her father, King Charles, has agreed to marry her off to a barbaric chieftain of the Danes to fulfill the terms of a treaty, the princess begs to travel to Saint Catherine's relic to ascertain that the marriage is God's will. Although her father decides to let her go, her plans are thwarted. She tries to enlist help from others, including the valiant knight who safeguards her, but she encounters unexpected problems, including wild animals and an uncooperative horse. The three women's stories converge into a logical, though not necessarily happily-ever-after, closure, as Anthony creates a narrative that subtly educates, poses stimulating questions and entertains.

Pillars of the Earth

By Ken Follett 

Signet, 1990. 973 pages. Fiction

Set in twelfth-century England, this epic of kings and peasants juxtaposes the building of a magnificent church with the violence and treachery that often characterized the Middle Ages.

MGB

Live, Laugh, Kidnap

Live, Laugh, Kidnap

By Gabby Noone

Razorbill, 2022. 330 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Three teen girls get caught up in a real estate battle between a commune and an exploitative megachurch in their small Montana town, and they devise a plot to exact revenge and make a profit by kidnapping the pastor's son and demanding ransom money.

What do a girl who is illegally buying Adderall to help her keep her scholarship (and then got caught and promptly had to forfeit it), a girl born into a cult but has converted to Christianity due to local influencer Ree Reaps, and a girl who has stopped going to church (partly because her mom has been buying in to Ree Reaps’ pyramid schemes, partly because she’s receiving backlash for being openly lesbian) do when they get together?  “Kidnap” Ree Reaps’ son and split the money that’s bound to be offered for his safe return, of course!  This book started out hilarious and ended with a heart-warming message, and each of the characters’ personalities was very well-developed and relatable.  I would definitely recommend this to teens from all sorts of backgrounds who are trying to find where they fit in the world!

If you liked Live, Laugh, Kidnap you may also like:

The Fall of Butterflies

By Andrea Portes

HarperTeen, 2016. 386 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Willa Parker, 646th and least popular resident of What Cheer, Iowa, is headed east to start a new life. Did she choose this new life? No, because that would be too easy--and nothing in Willa's life is easy. It's her famous genius mother's idea to send her to ultra-expensive, ultra-exclusive Pembroke Prep, and it's only the strength of her name that got Willa accepted in the first place. But Willa has no intentions of fitting in at Pembroke. She's not staying long, she decides. Not at this school--and not on this planet. But when she meets peculiar, glittering Remy Taft, the richest, most mysterious girl on campus, she starts to see a foothold in this foreign world--a place where she could maybe, possibly, sort of fit. When Willa looks at Remy, she sees a girl who has everything. But for Remy, having everything comes at a price. And as she spirals out of control, Willa can feel her spinning right out of her grasp. In Willa's secret heart, all she's ever wanted is to belong. But if Remy, the girl who gave her this world, is slip-sliding away, is Willa meant to follow her down?

Girl Against the Universe

By Paula Stokes

HarperTeen, 2016. 379 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Maguire is bad luck. No matter how many charms she buys or good luck rituals she performs, horrible things happen. She spends a lot of time in her room to avoid causing damage. But then she meets Jordy, a talented, lucky, aspiring tennis star. He's convinced he can help Maguire break her unlucky streak; she is convinced the best thing she can do for Jordy is stay away. But it turns out that staying away is harder than she thought.

ERB

A Flicker in the Dark

A Flicker in the Dark

By Stacy Willingham

Minotaur Books, 2022. 357 pages. Fiction.

When Chloe Davis was 12, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, her own father had confessed to the crimes and was put away for life. Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. While she finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she's worked so hard to achieve, she sometimes feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. When a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, seeing parallels from her past that aren't there, or for the second time in her life, is Chloe about to unmask a killer? 

This book posed the question; how well can you really know anyone? Stacy Willingham created a complex and relatable character in Chloe who is grappling with the trust issues of having a serial killer as a father. The alternating timeline between the summer when her father was caught and the present helped pace this thriller and kept me guessing until the very end! It’s one of those mysteries that you think you have figured out early on, but it’s more than you could have ever guessed. The last third of the book is a study in misdirection leading up to an explosive and satisfying finale. I recommend A Flicker in the Dark for anyone who enjoys dark and twisty thrillers with an unreliable narrator. 

If you liked A Flicker in the Dark, you might also like: 

The Collective

By Alison Gaylin

William Morrow, 2021. 338 pages. Mystery.

Camille Gardener is a grieving and angry mother who, five years after her daughter's death, is still obsessed with the privileged young man she believes to be responsible. When her rash actions draw the attention of a secret group of women known as the collective, Camille is drawn into a dark web where these mothers share their wildly different stories of loss as well as their desire for justice in a world where privilege denies accountability. Fueled by mutual rage, the collective members devise and act out retribution fantasies via precise, anonymous, highly coordinated revenge killings.

The Golden Couple

By Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

St. Martin’s Press, 2022. 329 pages. Fiction.

If Avery Chambers can't fix you in 10 sessions, she won't take you on as a client. Her successes are phenomenal and almost absorb the emptiness she sometimes feels since her husband's death. Marissa and Mathew Bishop seem like the golden couple...until Marissa cheats. She wants to repair things, both because she loves her husband and for the sake of their eight-year-old son. After a friend forwards an article about Avery, Marissa takes a chance on this maverick therapist, who lost her license due to controversial methods. When the Bishops glide through Avery's door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it's no longer simply a marriage that's in danger.

BW

Bad Mormon

Bad Mormon

By Heather Gay

First Gallery Books, 2023. 287 pages. Biography

Born and bred to be devout, Heather Gay based her life around her faith. She attended Brigham Young University, served a mission in France, and married into Mormon royalty in the temple. But her life as a good Mormon abruptly ended when she lost the marriage and faith that she had once believed would last forever. With writing that is beautiful, sad, funny, and true, Heather recounts the difficult discovery of the darkness and damage that often exists behind a picture-perfect life, while examining the nuanced relationship between duty to self and duty to God. Exposing secrets she once held sacred, Bad Mormon is an unfiltered look at the religion that broke her heart. 

This is an open and honest take on one woman's struggle to live her life authentically. I liked how Heather's cheeky tone (something I enjoyed about her on the RHOSLC show) comes through. This book is an excellent choice for anyone who is looking for a memoir about coming to terms with who you are as a person, even if that means leaving behind what you once held dear. 

If you like Bad Mormon, you might also like:

Enough Already

By Valerie Bertinelli

Mariner Books, 2022. 243 pages. Biography

Behind the curtain of her happy on-screen persona, Valerie Bertinelli's life has been no easy ride, especially when it comes to her own self-worth. Valerie shares personal stories: hitting her fifties, taking care of her dying mother, the evolving relationship with her husband, a career change, her relationship with food, and the battle to believe in herself as she is. 

Heretic

By Jeanna Kadlec

Harper, 2022. 259 pages. Biography

Jeanna Kadlec knew what it meant to be faithful--in her marriage to a pastor's son, in the comfortable life ahead of her, in her God--but there was no denying the truth that lived under that conviction: she was queer and, if she wanted to survive, she would need to leave behind the church and every foundational building block she knew. Heretic is a memoir of rebirth. 

Leaving the Saints

By Martha Nibley Beck

Crown Publishers, 2005. 306 pages. Biography

As "Mormon royalty," Beck was raised in a home frequented by her church's high elders, and her existence was framed by their strict code of conduct. In this thoughtful examination of faith, Beck chronicles her difficult decision to leave the Mormon church, and her struggle to overcome a dark secret buried in her childhood. 

Untamed

By Glennon Doyle

The Dial Press, 2020. 333 pages. Biography

In her most revealing and powerful memoir yet, Glennon Doyle explores the joy and peace when women stop striving to meet others' expectations and start trusting the voice deep within them. 

sr

The Lost Ticket

The Lost Ticket

by Freya Sampson

Berkley, 2022. 368 pages. Fiction

Arriving in London after a breakup, brokenhearted Libby Nichols meets elderly Frank, who has been riding the 88 bus for 60 years, hoping to find a girl he met in 1962. Touched by his story, Libby decides to help Frank search, and finds her tightly controlled world expanding as she opens her heart to new friendships and romance.

I picked this book up when I heard it described as a hug in book form, and that's exactly what this book is. Although this book does contain a central mystery (will Frank ever find his girl on the bus?), the main point of the book is the relationships that the characters build along the way. If you like books about found families, or light, upbeat fiction, this is the book for you.

If you like The Lost Ticket you might also like:

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

by Clare Pooley

Viking, 2022. 342 pages. Fiction

Every day Iona, a larger-than-life magazine advice columnist, travels the ten stops from Hampton Court to Waterloo Station by train, accompanied by her dog, Lulu. Every day she sees the same people, but of course, they never speak. Seasoned commuters never do. Then one morning, a man chokes on a grape right in front of her. He'd have died were it not for the timely intervention of Sanjay, a nurse, who gives him the Heimlich maneuver. This single event starts a chain reaction, and an eclectic group of people with almost nothing in common except their commute discover that a chance encounter can blossom into much more.

Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club

by Roselle Lim 

Berkley, 2022. 336 pages. Fiction

Newly minted professional matchmaker Sophie Go has returned to Toronto, her hometown, after spending three years in Shanghai. Her job is made difficult when she is revealed as a fraud: she never actually graduated from matchmaking school. In dire search of clients, Sophie stumbles upon a secret club within her condo complex: the Old Ducks, seven septuagenarian Chinese bachelors who never found love. Somehow, she convinces them to hire her, but her matchmaking skills are put to the test as she learns the depths of loneliness, heartbreak, and love by attempting to make the hardest matches of her life.

Remarkably Bright Creatures

by Shelby Van Pelt

Ecco, 2022. 360 pages. Fiction

When 70-year-old Tova Sullivan's husband dies, Tova knows that the best way to cope is to keep busy. She's been doing this since her 18-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat on the Puget Sound over 30 years ago. Tova takes a job cleaning the local aquarium at nights, where she meets Marcellus, a rescued giant Pacific octopus who likes to escape from his tank to eat his neighbors and explore. As Tova faces the reality of her ever-shrinking circle of friends and acquaintances, she comes to appreciate her time with Marcellus and finds new connections to the outside world through his interference.

MB

Good Inside

Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be

By Becky Kennedy

Harper Wave, 2022. 315 pgs. Nonfiction

Dr. Becky Kennedy provides a groundbreaking guide for parents that offers a new approach to interacting with our children. It focuses more on our connections and the premise that we are all good inside, just sometimes we are a good person, having a hard time. 

This book is AMAZING! Let’s be honest, parenting is tough and we all mess up, a lot! The author talks about how important it is to realize we are all “good inside” (us and our children). We need to learn to look past the bad behaviors to what feelings are really going on when someone acts out. We also need to use this with ourselves and stop living in shame and regret. This book focuses on parents, but it works for all relationships. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy self-help, have been raised by parents, are a parent, or have any kind of relationship with another human being. 

If you like Good Inside, you might also like:

The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed

By Jessica Lahey

Harper, 2015. 272 pgs. Nonfiction

Parents have a natural and understandable desire to help and guide their children past the difficulties of growing up. But Lahey is convinced that these instincts need to be reined in to allow kids to learn about consequences. They need to learn that success comes from hard work and taking chances. Children should never lose their desire to try new things and stretch themselves to the point that they may fail. But that failure can lead them to rising back up with confidence and without fear.

The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Capable Kids

By Jessica Joelle Alexander & Iben Dissing Sandahl

TarcherPerigee, 2016. 208 pgs. Nonfiction

This practical book teaches six essential principles to raise happy, successful kids. The principles spell out P-A-R-E-N-T. They are Play, Authenticity, Reframing, Empanthy, No Ultimatums, and Togetherness. This book is not available as a physical book at the library but you can accessan eBook or eAudiobook through Overdrive. 

AL

You, Me, and Our Heartstrings

You, Me, and Our Heartstrings

by Melissa See

Scholastic Press, 2022. 303 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Seventeen-year-olds Daisy, a talented violinist with cerebral palsy, and Noah, a great cellist with severe anxiety, plan to use the holiday concert to land a Julliard audition, but when they are chosen to play a duet, they worry their differences will sink their chances.

What on the surface appears to be a sweet love story is actually a compelling story of two artists who must deal with major obstacles to make the art they love so much. Daisy and Noah both deal with hard things. Daisy must face a world of ableism because of her cerebral palsy, and Noah must get help for his anxiety before it crushes him. This character driven story is fast paced, easy to read, but not easy to stop thinking about. Each chapter is either from Daisy’s or Noah’s perspective. I loved having multiple perspectives because it created a series of cliff hangers throughout the story that kept me reading until well into the night.

If you like You, Me, and Our Heartstrings, you might also like:

Sick Kids in Love

by Hannah Moskowitz

Entangled Teen, 2019. 317 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Isabel has one rule: no dating. She's got issues. She's got secrets. She's got rheumatoid arthritis. But then she meets another sick kid. He's got a chronic illness Isabel's never heard of, something she can't even pronounce. He understands what it means to be sick. He understands her more than her healthy friends. He understands her more than her own father who's a doctor. He's gorgeous, fun, and foul-mouthed. And totally into her.

 

Five Feet Apart

by Rachel Lippincot

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018. 281 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Seventeen-year-olds Stella and Will, both suffering from cystic fibrosis, realize the only way to stay alive is to stay apart, but their love for each other is slowly pushing the boundaries of physical and emotional safety.

AG

Americana

Americana

by Luke Healy

Nobrow, 2019. 332 pages. Graphic Novel

The Pacific Crest Trail runs 2660 miles, from California's border with Mexico to Washington's border with Canada. To walk it is to undertake a grueling test of body and spirit ... challenge accepted. This intimate, engaging autobiographical work recounts the author's own attempt to walk the length of the USA's west coast. Healy's life-changing journey weaves in and out of reflections on his experiences in America and his development as an artist, navigating both the trail itself and the unique culture of the people who attempt to complete it.

This was such a fun book to read! I personally love travel and hiking, so for me, reading this book allowed me to vicariously live through the author and have my own experiences on a trail I'll probably never get to hike in my lifetime. Americana is full of humor is relatable to just about anyone.

If you like Americana, you might also like: 

I Was Their American Dream

Clarkston Potter/Publishers, 2019. 156 pages. Graphic Novel

From explaining why positive reinforcement is a more effective (and less damaging) way to control dogs' behavior than punishment to demonstrating the importance of weighing a dog's unique personality against stereotypes about its breed, Bradshaw offers extraordinary insight into the question of how we really ought to treat our dogs.

The American dream?

by Shing Yin Khor

Zest Books, 2019. 160 pages. Graphic Novel

An illustrated comic travelogue about an American immigrant driving alone through all that's left of "The Mother Road," Route 66

NS

Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood

Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood

By Cari Beauchamp 

University of California Press, 1998. 475 pages. Nonfiction 

Cari Beauchamp masterfully combines biography with social and cultural history to examine the lives of Frances Marion and her many female colleagues who shaped filmmaking from 1912 through the 1940s. Frances Marion was Hollywood's highest paid screenwriter--male or female--or almost three decades, wrote almost 200 produced films and won Academy Awards for writing The Big House and The Champ.

This book begins with a quote by Frances Marion: "I spent my life searching for a man to look up to without lying down." This history/ biography is a meticulously researched story of the very early days of Hollywood, a fascinating, rough era of how silent films changed the world. The focus is on Frances Marion, her long friendship with Mary Pickford, her marriages, her films, how she fought for herself and her undeniable talent. Her life is full of triumph and tragedy. She worked hard and had an amazing life. She associated with many famous silent film notables, such as Rudolph Valentino (who, despite his depiction on film was modest and shy!), Hedda Hopper and Marion Davies. I love this little-known era in Hollywood history, and I loved learning about these smart, amazing women. 

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MGB