10 January 2024

He / She / They: How We Talk About Gender and Why it Matters

He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why it Matters by Schuyler Bailar is a very readable nonfiction book about gender in our society. 

Bailar never set out to be an activist, but name the news as a member of the Yale swim team - the first out transgender athlete in NCAA D1 sports. This stage gave Schuyler the job of being the first trans person many people would meet, and the platform to help education on trans inclusion.

With the rash of anti-trans legislation and discussion, this important book will give readers a foundation and the language to help pave the way for understanding why people's pronouns are important.

Filled with facts, science, history and personal stories, this is a great book for anyone living in our times. 

Bailar, Schuyler. (2023). He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why it Matters. New York: Hachette.

08 January 2024

We Deserve Monuments

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds.

Mama Letty is very ill in the late stages of cancer. Though Zora left the second she was old enough, and has an unspoken of, decades old, conflict with her mother, she and her family are moving to Bardell, Georgia to help.

Avery know little of her grandmother. She and her mom visited once when she was five, but all she remembers of the visit is yelling. Now, at the beginning of her senior year of high school, she is leaving D.C. and her two best friends, moving to a town that looks tiny and run-down. 

Luckily, right away Avery meets Simone and them Jade. Finding two new friends is a blessing. But what Avery doesn't know is the history between their three families. The layers of secrets, racism and town history will slowly be revealed.

As friendships grow closer and time is spent in Bardell, stories are revealed that will both bring Avery closer to her mother and grandmother as well as reveal how racial violence can ripple through generations. 

Hammonds has written a story about family relationships set in a small town with big secrets. This is a beautifully written novel of our history as well as current day country. 

Hammonds, Jas. (2022). We Deserve Monuments. New York: Roaring Brook Press.

31 December 2023

Sea of Tranquility

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel is a story with a mystery that spans 489 years.

Edwin St. Andrew is a second son in England at the beginning of the 20th century. As he is not going to inherit his father's house and wealth, he is sent to Canada to make a life for himself. In 1912 he has made it across the continent to Vancouver island. Walking in the forest toward a maple tree he experiences disorientation - seeing a terminal with a man playing the violin.

Olive Llewellyn is on a world tour for her pandemic novel as it is about to become a movie. In 2203 while walking through an airship terminal, passing a man playing the violin, she suddenly sees trees in a forest. 

In 2401 in a colony on the moon, Gaspery Roberts is hired by the Time Institute to investigate an anomaly in North America. He will travel back in time to interview four people in different times, all connected to an airship terminal in Oklahoma City.

Mandel has created a compelling puzzle of a story. This is a fun book. Read it now!

Mandel, Emily St. John. (2022). Sea of Tranquility. New York: Alfred A Knopf. 

27 December 2023

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Story by James McBride is one of the best books I read this year, or any year. Set in the 1920s and 30s in Pottstown, Pennsylvania's neighborhood of Chicken Hill, a mixed Black and Jewish part of town. 

Chona is the daughter of a store owner. She has a limp from Polio as a child. She married Moshe, a Romanian Jewish immigrant who owns a dance hall. As Chona was raised in Chicken Hill she convinces Moshe to bring Black musicians and bands along with the Yiddish he has already planned.

Though they don't need the money, and actually lose money on it, Chona keeps running the grocery. She allows anyone to shop there and extends credit to her Black neighbors. 

When a young boy is in need of hiding from the state agent who wants to take him to a home because he is deaf, Chona takes him in. 

McBride is one of the great writers of our time. Read all of his books, but start here!

McBride, James. (2023). The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. New York: Riverhead Books. 

15 December 2023

How the Sea Came to Be: And All the Creatures In It

How the Sea Came to Be: And All the Creatures In It by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Amanda Hall, is a gorgeous nonfiction picture book about how the Earth and life began.

Information and illustrations from before the Earth cooled to our current ocean dwellers, the science book is a delight. 

How the Sea Came to Be is the perfect introduction to Earth Science. Plus you will want to recreate the drawings as wallpaper!

Berne, Jennifer. (2023). How the Sea Came to Be: And All the Creatures in It. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.


13 December 2023

Bunny & Tree

Bunny & Rabbit by Balint Zsako is a stunning wordless picture book. As soon as Bunny and Tree meet they are destined to become family. 

This is gorgeous. Put it at the top of your list for gifts for children, artists or gardeners in your life. 

Amazing!

Zsako, Balint. (2023). Bunny & Rabbit. New York: Enchanted Lion Books.

10 December 2023

Iron Flame (Empyrean #2)

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros is the second book in the Empyrean fantasy series. 

Violet has made it through year one at Basgaith War College - most people would not have bet on that outcome. What the final test revealed to her is that the college (including her mother) are lying about the state of things. Still, she needs the training provided by Basgaith.

Year two is where the real training begins. Now that she is in fighting shape and bonded to not one, but two, dragons. She will need all of her smarts to survive the new teacher who seems to have it out for her. 

Yarros has created a well-crafted fantasy world filled with dragons, magic and more. Great series for all fantasy fans and particularly fans of writers like Sarah Maas. 

Yarros, Rebecca. (2023). Iron Flame. New York: Red Tower Books.

22 November 2023

The Future

The Future by Naomi Alderman is a science fiction book that takes place a few years from now technology-wise. 

Martha Einkorn was raised on a compound in Oregon. She now works for a social media mogul who wants to control everything. 

Lai Zhen, raised in Hong Kong, is an internet-famous survivalist. She writes articles, interviews and posts videos that have millions of followers. 

Both Martha and Lai have a role to play in a chain of events set into motion to change the course of the world, to hopefully save humanity. If something happens to make people willing to restructure their lives to help the Earth repair itself. One or both of them are unaware of their roles.

Alderman is a masterful storyteller. The twists and turns in this thriller will keep you up late reading. 

Alderman, Naomi. (2023). The Future. New York: Simon and Schuster. 



08 November 2023

Cleat Cute

Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner is a lesbian sports romance set mostly in New Orleans.

Phoebe Matthews is going to be a professional soccer player. She has been drafted to the New Orleans Krewe of the NWSL. She has a couple of weeks before she is due at practice when she is called to camp for potential US national team players.

Grace Henderson is a national soccer star, playing professionally for ten years even though she is only 26 years old. She is the captain of the Krewe and the National Team. Grace thinks players should be serious, not like this new kid, 22 years old, but full of energy and making jokes.

Grace is Phoebe's idol. She actually has Grace's poster on her wall in her childhood bedroom. Now she has to follow Grace-the-captain while not making a fool of herself - an not stare or drool!

Wilsner has created a steamy romance for soccer fans. Fun read. 

Wilsner, Meryl. (2023). Cleat Cute. New York: St. Martin's Griffin.


02 November 2023

The Kingdom of the Gods (Inheritance #3)

The Kingdom of the Gods by N.K. Jemisin is the third book in the Inheritance fantasy series. 

Sieh, the child god, is lonely and bored. He finds himself going back to Sky, where he was imprisoned for centuries. Going back for the nostalgia of living with his favorite siblings who have scattered to the worlds. 

When Sieh arrives at an unused stairway at the bottom levels of the palace that is Sky, he finds to lost Arameri children - Shahar and Deka. They are twins, about eight or ten. They have been exploring, but have gotten lost in an abandoned level. 

Sieh, also the trickster gods, plays a game with them. He is just as likely to reward as kill at the end of a game, but the smart children convince him to come back in one year to continue the game. 

Jemisin is an amazing world-builder. The layers and complexities she must have in her head to write with such seamlessness in her own created world! It is no wonder she is the best of the amazing fantasy writers of our day! Read all of her books. Each series is wonderful and different and will make you think differently about some aspect of your life. 

Jemisin, N.K. (2011). The Kingdom of the Gods. New York: Orbit

30 October 2023

A Shot in the Dark

A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee is a steamy queer romance. 

Elisheva Cohen left New York eight years ago when she was kicked out of her Orthodox Jewish community. She has just moved from LA to NYC for an art school program with her favorite mix media artist. She just got off of the plane and is going to meet her new roommates. She is not sure how it will feel to be back in NYC, but feels unlikely to ever visit Brooklyn again.

Luckily, her roommates turn out to be great. Though she starts class in the morning, they insist on taking her to a queer club tonight to celebrate. 

Wyatt Cole is from a North Carolina military family. He is an artist who is gaining fame, but most people don't know what he looks like. He is very private. He has been invited to teach a course on mixed media art at a prestigious NY art school. 

Lee has written a romance story with two very real-feeling characters. Both Elisheva and Wyatt have things in their past they have not completely made peace with. And both are in recovery. And when they meet at a queer dance club, they will have no idea they are about to become teacher and student...

Lee, Victoria. (2023). A Shot in the Dark. New York: Dell.

21 October 2023

The Broken Kingdoms (Inheritance #2)

The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin is the second book in the Inheritance fantasy series. 

Oree Shoth is a blind woman who moved to the city of Shadow, located under what was formerly known as the city of Sky. Many things have changed since the chained gods have returned to power. 

While Oree cannot see even shadows, she can see magic. And in a city filled with lesser gods, this is perhaps a good skill to have. She spends her day selling things in the markets. And she is an artist. She can somehow enter a trance-like focus and paint amazing scenes. 

One day Oree finds a man in her garbage. He is alive, but barely. She takes him in. 

This second book is from a different point of view, as is the third. This view gives readers a more in-depth look at the world Jemisin has created. This series is brilliant!

Jemisin, N.K. (2010). The Broken Kingdoms. New York: Orbit.

12 October 2023

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance #1)

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin is the first book in the Inheritance series. 

Yeine Darr who grew up in a small land in the north has been summoned to Sky by her mother's father. Her grandfather is going to recognize her as an heir to the Arameri throne. 

The city of Sky is contained in a super tall tower. Anyone with Arameri blood can live in the tower, but most work as servants. Only those of the central bloodline are treated as royalty. 

The Arameri gained power generations ago when one of the three gods made a deal with the head of the family. It was at the end of the gods' war when Itempas won. He chained his brother and the lesser gods into service of the Arameri. 

Yeine, not having grown up in the midst of this, has few skills to find her way in the political battles of Sky. But after she arrives, one of the lesser gods, Sieh, the child god, befreiends her. It is not clear is this is an advantage or disadvantage for her survival.

Jemisin is possibly my very favorite writer - or at least tied for the first spot with Becky Chambers. This is her first series but does not read as such. Her ideas are completely fleshed out, her writing captivating. 

Jemisin, N.K. (2010). The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. New York: Orbit. 

10 October 2023

Chinese Menu: The History, Myths and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods

Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods by Grace Lin is a feast for your eyes and will have you craving Chinese food as you read.

Tea, Eggrolls, Rice, General Tso's Chicken, Peking Duck, Chopsticks and more, all have a story of how they were developed or refined. With folk tales and family stories, Grace Lin walks us through centuries of Chinese history in this beautiful book. 

This books should be part of each library collection, to be enjoyed by children and adults alike. 

Lin, Grace. (2023). Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

06 October 2023

Bathe the Cat

Bathe the Cat by Alice McGinty is a hilarious tale of a family getting ready for a visit from grandma. 

While two dads and their kids run in circles trying to get the house presentable for a visit from grandma, the cat keeps rearranging the list - created out of refrigerator magnets.

This is a great book that should be at the top of your list for picture book gifts! All of the books by Alice McGinty are wonderful. 

McGinty, Alice. (2023). Bathe the Cat. New York: Chronicle Books.

04 October 2023

Julian is a Mermaid

Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love is a beautiful picture book. 

This book about a boy and his grandmother is the tale of letting someone grow and shine in their own way. About seeing people for who they are. 

Read this beautiful book or buy it for a small loved one in your life. 

Love, Jessica. (2018). Julian is a Mermaid. New York: Candlewick Press.

02 October 2023

Starter Villain

 

Starter Villain by John Scalzi is a wonderful read! 

Charlie, the youngest of four siblings, lives in his father's house with his cat Hera. It was part of his father's will that Charlie could live there as long as necessary, then split the sale with his siblings. 

Charlie was a journalist but was laid off with most of the magazine industry. He has been substitute teaching and working at a pub to pay bills. 

Then a woman shows up on his doorstep and tells him that his uncle has died. He has not seen his uncle since he graduated from college, but if he is willing to stand for him at the funeral he will receive his inheritance. 

What Charlie doesn't know is that by standing for his uncle he is announcing that he is the heir apparent to his uncle's business. As far as Charlie knows his uncle owned parking garages. He doesn't know his uncle was a super villain and that every rival will now try to kill Charlie.

Scalzi has written a fun, quick read that will have you laughing out loud. Fans of cats will be delighted by this book.

Scalzi, John. (2023). Starter Villain. New York: Tor. 

28 September 2023

The Vaster Wilds

 

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff is a look at life for women in the American colonies.

A servant girl has escaped from a starving colony. The colony is so destitute that there is no wood left to burn or food to eat. She thinks she has a better chance of surviving in the wilds that in a place that where people will do anything to make it through winter.

She has planned ahead and stolen a knife, an ax, books, a cup, a flint and two covers and wears all of the clothing she could fit on her body. 

She will try to make it in the wilderness - living off of the land and hiding from those sent to find her while avoiding the nations of the land and dangerous animals. 

Lauren Groff is one of the great writers of our time. She captures the feelings and harshness of the land while making readers root for a likely doomed young woman. This is a masterpiece of evocative writing. 

Groff, Lauren. (2023). The Vaster Wilds. New York: Riverhead Books. 

26 September 2023

Mammoths at the Gate (Singing Hills Cycle #4)

Mammoths at the Gate by Nghi Vo is the fourth book of the Singing Hills Cycle - a collection of novellas that read like folk tales. 

Cleric Chih is going back to the Singing Hills monastery after four years of traveling and collecting stories. They are excited to see their neixin, Almost Brilliant, after she left to hatch eggs. 

When Chih arrives, there are two royal mammoths guarding the gate. Two sisters who want to reclaim their grandfather's body for their family, something that is not done once someone becomes a cleric. 

Chih talks his way past the giant mammoths with a promise to help talks between the sisters and the monks. They find that most of the monks are away collecting stories and that their classmate Ru has been left in charge. 

Vo's series is a collection of beautiful storytelling. These small books pack a lot in. Read these books!

Vo, Nghi. (2023). Mammoths at the Gate. New York: TOR.  

22 September 2023

The Collector (Gabriel Allon #23)

The Collector by Daniel Silva is the 23rd book in the Gabriel Allon series - a Mossad agent who wanted to be a painter. 

Gabriel is now retired and living in Venice with his wife and children. He and Chiara have opened an art restoration company. 

When General Ferrari of the art crime squad show up asking Gabriel to evaluate a painting, Gabriel knows there will be more to it than a simple appraisal. 

What he finds in the home a recently murdered shipping tycoon in Almalfi is a painting that has been missing for decades. A painting stolen from the Isabella Gardener Museum in 1990. 

What follows is classic Allon. Daniel Silva is a master of storytelling, weaving in current events, historical fact and enough suspense to keep you up all night reading. 

Silva, Daniel. (2023). The Collector. New York: Harper. 

19 September 2023

That Flag

That Flag by Tameka Fryer Brown, illustrated by Nikkolas Smith, is the story of two school friends whose parents feel very differently about the flag outside of one of their homes. 

While Bianca and Keira are best friends at school, Keira's parents will not allow her to go to Bianca's house because of the confederate flag in the front yard. 

When the school takes a field trip to the local museum for an exhibit called Stars and Bars, Keira's father follows her through the exhibit while she absorbs the meaning and history of that flag. 

Brown has created an age-appropriate story of what the confederate flag stands for in our history and today.

Brown, Tameka Fryer. (2023). That Flag. New York: Harper.

Stickler

Stickler by Lane Smith is a beautiful picture book about someone who loves the world around himself. Stickler goes through his day enjoying everything he see and sharing it with his best friend. 

Smith, Lane. (2023). Stickler. New York: Random House. 

18 September 2023

All the Dead Shall Weep (Gunnie Rose #5)

All the Dead Shall Weep by Charlaine Harris is the fifth book in her alternate history western series featuring Gunnie Rose and her sister Felicia.

Felicia is traveling with her best friend Peter to visit her sister Lizbeth in Texoma. Felicia is in magic school in San Diego, of the Holy Russian Empire. 

Lizbeth and her husband Eli have visited Felicia in San Deigo, but this is Felicia's first trip to Segundo Mexia, Texoma - a much more rural place than the big city she lives in. 

When an army of unknown origin comes through Segundo Mexia, Peter and Eli follow them. Felicia and Lizbeth stay and try to protect the people in town. 

Could all of this be a move by someone to take over Texoma? Or is it related to the wizard's ball coming up - where the magical families make betrothals to strengthen their lines? A ball where the very powerful Felicia will be presented for the first time.

Harris has a wonderful gift for world-building. The Gunnie Rose series is both highly entertaining and a fast read. I highly recommend reading this series. 

Harris, Charlaine. (2023). All the Dead Shall Weep. New York: Saga Press.