The Empress of Salt and Fortune (Singing Hills Cycle #1)

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo is a story of epic proportions in a tiny package. This is the first novella in the Singing Hills Cycle.

Cleric Chih and their companion Almost Brilliant are taking a detour on their way to the capital to chronicle the coming eclipse. Land that has been closed off for years, most of the reign of the previous empress, is now open. They want to catalog the place where a young royal spent most of her marriage to the emperor - in exile. 

Chih is surprised to find an old woman at the cabin where the emperor's wife-in-exile lived. While they catalog the home, the old woman Rabbit tells them stories of her life as handmaiden to the emperor's wife. 

This is storytelling at its best. A complete fantasy novel in 120 pages! Vo is a wonderful writer. Buy a copy today.

Vo, Nghi. (2020). The Empress of Salt and Fortune. NY: Tom Doherty Associates Books.

Diamond Doris: The True Story of the World's Most Notorious Jewel Thief

Diamond Doris: The World's Most Notorious Jewel Thief by Doris Payne and Zelda Lockhart is a fun, fast read about a very successful thief.

Doris grew up in West Virginia in a coal mining town. At eight years old, she decided she had to protect her mother from her abusive father. That was also when she decided she would never get married.

Not long after, Doris realized that it was easy to distract the shop person she was talking to, to the point of them losing track of their merchandise. Thus began a seven decade long career that spanned the globe. 

This is a great memoir. Super fun read about a bad ass woman who told a psychologist when asked why she did it, that the jewelers wanted her to take the diamonds to absolve them of thier guilt for selling African diamonds. 

Payne, Doris & Zelda Lockhart. (2019). Diamond Doris: The True Story of the World's Most Notorious Jewel Thief. NY: Amistad. 

The Sentence

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich is about a bookstore being haunted by their most annoying customer. But it is so much more than that.

On All Souls Day, Flora dies. Tookie is convinced that since then she has been haunting the bookstore - traveling the same isles that Flora did most days, her bangles gently jingling. The independent bookstore in Minneapolis is based on the author's own store.

Tookie got the job at the bookstore after spending years in prison. Her love of books grew during her incarceration. A former teacher would drop off books when she could. Not she must solve what Flrora wants. 

Beginning in November 2019, the characters live through our changing world - Covid, police shootings, continued prejudice against Black and brown people. Tookie explores what the living owe to the dead in this moving, loving look at one of the strangest years of our lives.

Erdrich is a wonderful writer. She is the only author I can think of whose work somehow already has the prospective to write about event so recent with such care and insight.

Erdrich, Louise. (2021). The Sentence. New York: Harper. 

The Gilda Stories

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez is a different kind of vampire tale. Written in segments, the first being published in the Village Voice, this tale follows a young Black woman from escaping enslavement through the year 2050.

In the 1950s, outside of New Orleans, Gilda finds a young woman hiding in her cellar. The Girl has escaped and fled from Mississippi. Gilda takes her in, moves her to town to help at her brothel. 

After a few years, when Gilda is ready to move on, she turns the girl - giving her the chance to live until she decides otherwise. All she asks is that the girl use the name Gilda.

The chapters that follow lead Gilda to San Francisco, Boston, New York and more. While telling the story of a gentler vampire archetype, one who gives as she takes, Gilda travel through generations of changes in civil rights.

Gomez is a classic lesbian novel. She explores Blackness, radical ecology, redefinitions of family, and the fluidity of the vampire in human society.

Gomez, Jewelle. (1991). The Gilda Stories. San Francisco: City Light Books.

The Sweetness of Water

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris, set at the end of the US Civil War is a tale of hope, heartbreak, friendship and endurance.

The war has ended, Union soldiers are in the South making sure that the formerly enslaved people know that they are free to leave if they wish. Tensions are still high as white land owners face the change, Black workers try to understand their options, and town folks adjust to a new reality.

George Walker and his wife Isabelle live on a property outside of the town of Old Ox, Georgia. Being from a family that moved South from Nantucket, George has never had enslaved workers on their land. They never needed workers as George inherited enough from his father to never have to work. He does enjoy wandering his property.

As George wanders, thinking of the news of his son who when to fight in the war, he comes across two brothers camping in his woods. Prentiss and Landry were born on the neighboring farm. When they were told of their freedom, they left. 

George and Prentiss develop a kind of friendship. Isabelle has taken to Landry - a calm, large man who does not talk much due to an injury (read: beating) when he was younger. 

When George hires Prentiss and Landry to help him start a small peanut farm - paying them the wage he would pay any man - some of the people in town do not agree with his ideas.

Harris has written a beautiful book. It is set in a hard time in US history, but he shows the positives and negatives of people at the time. My dread of reading of the time period were unfounded. Though there are hard parts of the book, he does not dwell on them, but gives his characters room to grow and have hope. Read this book.

Harris, Nathan. (2021). The Sweetness of Water. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Red Hood

Red Hood by Elana K Arnold is a retelling of Little Red Ridinghood. In this version, the wolves are the ones in danger.

Bisou lives with her grandmother in the woods near Seattle. She has lived there since her grandmother came and got her in Canada after her mother was killed.

As Bisou is walking home after a school dance, a wolf attacks her. It is the biggest wolf she has ever heard of. But it does not harm her. She manages to evade and then kill the wolf. 

When her grandmother figures out what happened, she has a story to tell Bisou. One about boys and how they can become wolves, endangering the young women around them.

Arnold has written a very readable, important book for all teen girls. 

Arnold, Elana. (2021). Red Hood. New York: Balzer and Bray.

The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean

The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey is a nonfiction trill as she follows the possibility of massive waves around the globe with surfers, scientists, insurance agents and wreck salvagers.

Think of the wave at the end of Point Break - so big it is impossible to ride or even survive. Now consider that as larger waves were discovered by surfers, they adapted to the greater speed. Big wave surfers are towed to the wave crest by jet skis. 

What causes these waves? And the waves that are said to have eaten ships in the part of the map that used to say, "There be monsters?" And how can they be predicted for ships' safety?

Casey tells us the answers and current theories in this wonderful book. From Hawaii with Laird Hamilton to South Africa with a man who salvages ships in the most likely place for them to sink on the planet, she breaks down what is known and what it still to discover about the ocean and its waves, moods and forces.

If you are looking for an engaging, heart-pumping read in nonfiction, I wholly recommend this book.

Casey, Susan. (2010). The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean. New York: Doubleday.

Light from Uncommon Stars

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki is a breathtakingly beautiful story and a special treat for musicians.

Shizuka Satomi is a violin teacher with a reputation of training masterful musicians who die young. That is because she has made a deal with a demon - she has to deliver the souls of seven violists in exchange for her own life.

Katrina Nguyen is a teen runaway staying with an acquaintance in the San Gabriel Valley, California. She is a mostly self-taught violinist who prefers to play gaming music. 

Shizuka meets Katrina in the park. Katrina is playing and Shizuka has returned home after many decades away. The neighborhood has changed a lot. One thing that Shizuka is pleased to see is that the giant donut still exists. 

Lan Tran and her family run Starrgate Donut. Captain Tran and her family traveled through galaxies to find Earth. Now they are setting up a stargate using the giant donut.

These three characters, plus a brilliant luthier, come together in interesting ways in this beautiful story. This is one of the best books I have read this year (a year of wonderful books)! Buy one for yourself of any musicians in your life.

Aoki, Ryka. (2021). Light from Uncommon Stars. New York: Tor.

The Body: A Guide for Occupants

The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson is an informative, humorous look at what makes a human.

Going part by part (or system by system) Bryson uses his famous humor to impart the fun, interesting, and strange facts about the human body and the people who study us.

This is a great introduction for those of us who did not take a lot of physiology classes in school. You will also be better at trivia games once you read it!

Bryson, Bill. (2019). The Body: A Guide for Occupants. New York: Doubleday.

The Last Graduate (Scholomance #2).

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik is the second book in her Scholomance series - a fantasy book about a high school where more students are killed by mals than graduate. 

El and her classmates are seniors. This is the year that alliances are cemented and seniors practice for the battle of the graduation hall. But this year is a little different. Is the school saving up to attack them later, or are there fewer mals trying to kill everyone?

Read everything by Naomi Novik! This series is no exception. El is a great character surrounded by creative classmates. I love this series.

Novik, Naomi. (2021). The Last Graduate. New York: DelRey.

Scavenge the Stars (Scavenge the Stars #1)

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim is the first book in her young adult fantasy series reimagining The Count of Monte Cristo. 

Amaya has been on a work ship for years. It is common for children to work off their parents' debts in this manner. The captain of this ship is as likely to add years to their service as he is to beat them. 

Amaya is counting the days until she can leave the ship and find her mother in the city of Moray. When she saves a man from drowning, he seems to be her ticket off of the ship.

Becoming part of a plot for someone else's revenge (presented to her as her own) Amaya has to get close to the son of the man who owns the ship she spent so long on. 

Sim has set up a great tale of fantasy, revenge and extravagance. Fun series.

Sim, Tara. (2021). Scavenge the Stars. New York: Disney Books.

Becoming

Becoming by Michelle Obama is a memoir of a Southside Chicago girl who grew up to become a bad ass woman. I listened to this on audiobook, read by the author.

Born into a loving, supportive family, Michelle Robinson demanded excellence of herself from a young age. From going ahead of the assigned piano assignments, to excelling at school, to becoming a lawyer she pushed herself. It may have come from her family lovingly pushing her to do her best. Or her mother and a couple of other moms pulling their kids out a class with a teacher who was too overwhelmed to encourage. Whatever the case, Michelle Robinson was an awesome young woman before she met Barack Obama.

This is a beautifully told tale of growing up, meeting the love of her life, supporting a partner in politics even when she herself never liked politics, becoming the first Black family in the White House, raising two strong, independent daughters, and more. 

Michelle Obama is a powerhouse. This audiobook was a delight to listen to. Once you read/listen, check her out on the Netflix show Waffles and Mochi! 

Obama, Michelle. (2018). Becoming. New York: Crown Publishing.

The Missing Hours

The Missing Hours by Julia Dahl is about a sexual assault of a college freshman and her process of trying to find out what happened to her.

Claudia Castro is known as a rich, party girl. She is a freshman at NYU who has decided to stay in the dorms over Spring break. 

When Claudia wakes up the morning after going to a campus adjacent bar, she does not know what happened to her. She is missing some of her clothing and smells like she has been sick. But she has no memory past ordering a drink.

What follows is the harrowing tale of knowing something terrible happened, having no idea what or who. With the help of a dorm neighbor, she tries to piece things together while staying away from her family until her face heals.

Dahl, a crime reporter herself, has written a hard-hitting story that is all too real in our society. 

Dahl, Julia. (2021). The Missing Hours. New York: Minotaur.

Not Here to Be Liked

Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach is a high school struggle to balance being yourself and still get what you want.

Eliza Quan is the managing editor of her high school paper. Each year there is a staff election to pick the Editor in Chief. Eliza is sure she is going to be chosen as she is the most qualified and the only one running.

But when she gets to the election, Len a boy who usually sits in the corner and does not get involved other than to turn in articles about sports, announces he is running too. 

It turns out that while the staff respects Eliza, they like Len better. 

When Eliza writes an op ed about her loss, feminism, and why he was the wrong choice - an article that was never meant to be published but someone finds and post it - a wave of protests spread through the school.

Quach has written a compelling story that contains many important issued not often covered in YA. Great read.

Quach, Michelle. (2021). Not Here to Be Liked. New York: Katherine Tegen Books.

The Guide (Sequel to The River)

The Guide by Peter Heller is a fishing murder mystery where the guide might be in deep water. Heller fans will recognize Jack from The River. 

Kingfisher Lodge, located on the a mile and a half of the best fly fishing in the world, plays host to the wealthiest of clients. And now, during the latest of a series of world-wide pandemics, it is one of the last places to get away.

Jack has been hired to finish out the season when a river guide quits with no notice. He will be in charge of one to two clients at a time. And he is about to be thrown in as his first client is arriving in the morning.

Alison K is a well-known singer, taking a break from touring to recover. She is a seasoned fisherperson, having grown up in the Carolinas in a fishing family. She arrives with a security guard who assesses the lodge before he signs off on her week of rest.

But something strange is going on here. Each edge of the property is very clearly marked - one with a Don't Get Shot sign, and the other with a Beware Dogs will eat you vibe. 

What follow is Peter Heller at his best (which he is at in each of his books!). A suspenseful ride that will keep readers up until the last page. If you have not yet read Peter Heller, start today with any of his novels. You will quickly consume them all!

Heller, Peter.(2021). The Guide. New York: Alfred A Knopf.

Hot Dog Girl

Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan is the story of an epic summer spent working at an amusement park. 

Elouise "Lou" Parker is hopeful for an amazing summer. It is her second summer working at Magic Castle Playland with her best friend Seeley - a place that is also nostalgic because it is where her parent met.

Lou is hoping for a good costume this year, not the hot dog she had to wear last year. If she is really lucky, it will be something that puts her near the diving pirates - Nick in particular. 

Seeley is an artist who is happy this is her last summer in town before leaving for college. She is usually up for anything, but trying to help Lou get together with Nick is not on her list. Nor is Lou trying to set her up with someone when she is still getting over her ex-girlfriend.

Dugan has written a fun, summer read. It is sweet, humorous and heartfelt. 

Dugan, Jennifer. (2019). Hot Dog Girl. New York: Putnam. 

Cloud Cuckoo Land

Cloud Cukoo Land by Anthony Doerr is a masterpiece of storytelling. Combing historical fiction, contemporary politics and environmental concerns, and space flight Doerr has woven together three eras using one story of ancient Greek philosophy. 

In current day, small town Idaho Zeno is translating a set of folios by Diogenes - trying to save a story that is personally meaningful for others to enjoy. He is about to turn it into a play for a group of fifth graders to perform at the local public library.

In the fifteen century in Constantinople, a young orphan Anna, who lives a convnet-style life, is arguing with a stranger to teach her to read. While a shepherd, Omeir, is about to be recruited with his two oxen to mount a siege of a far off city.

And in the future, in a ship called the Argos hurling through space, Konstance is using the virtual library to explore the Earth where her parents were born. 

Doerr is an amazing writer who grabs readers on the first page and does not let go. This is an epic tale of humanity, the power of story, the importance of libraries, and more. I LOVE THIS BOOK! Buy a copy and start it today. 

Doerr, Anthony. (2021). Cloud Cuckoo Land. New York: Scribner. 

Some Girls Do

Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan is a young adult romance where opposites attract.

Morgan is changing high schools. Kicked out of her private school for being lesbian, she is suing her former school to make it easier for others to come out. 

Ruby has been in the same town her whole life. She is a beauty pageant contestant who wants to become a mechanic. Really the pageant thing is her mother's dream.

Morgan and Ruby meet when Ruby almost runs over Morgan as she sprints across the parking lot to catch her brother before he drives off with her backpack. 

Dugan has written a sweet tale of falling in love with someone who seems like your opposite. This is a great YA romance.

Dugan, Jennifer. (2021). Some Girls Do. New York: Putnam.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a wonderful story of a Hollywood starlet.

The Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo, one of the biggest stars in the history of tinsel town, has been out of the limelight for years. Now she is donating some of her most iconic dresses to auction.

Monique Grant is a writer / journalist working at Vivant magazine. Her editor is shocked when Monique is requested to interview Hugo. No one has interviewed her since her starlet days. Now in her eighties she is considered a recluse. 

What follows is the story of Evelyn Hugo's life - in more detail than any other source has ever had access to. Told in chapters of her life - based on the time with seven different husbands - this is the glamourous life all fans crave.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has written a wonderful tale of a very full life. There are twists and turns, love and scandal. I absolutely love this book. Read it today!

Reid, Taylor Jenkins. (2017). The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. New York: Atria. 

The Cellist (Gabriel Allon #21)

The Cellist by Daniel Silva is the twenty-first book in his Gabriel Allon series. Allon is an Israeli spy who is now the head of Mossad.

Victor Orlov, a Russia oligarch fled to UK years ago. Not that the Kremlin ever forgot about him. Case in point, he was just poisoned, apparently by an envelope dropped off by the journalist Nina Antonova.

Filled with all of the characters you have loved in previous books, Allon heads to London to help solve this mystery whose path will lead all over Russia and North America. 

Silva is a beautiful writer. His words are always well chosen and his plot twists impeccable. His is one of the best writers around. If you don't know about him and like political intrigue, espionage and a fast pace, get started today.

Silva, Daniel. (2021). The Cellist. New York: Harper.

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe (Salvagers #1)

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White is the first book in his science fiction / fantasy series Salvagers. A tale in outer space but fueled by magic!

Nilah is a racecar driver, but not like the cars you can watch on Earth. Her car runs not on gas but on her own magic. She is a mechanist, and as such she can talk to any machine. She is also up for racer of the year - or she was until she found herself frozen in a spell and then transported away.

She wakes up in the city next to the racetrack. The news reports are looking for her, wanted for murder of the driver who was frozen with her at the track. The only clue she has is the conversation between what looked like the grim reaper and her track mate - find Boots.

Boots is an ex-celebrity treasure hunter. Now she sells somewhat dubious maps to suckers willing to pay. Which seems to be connected to what just happened to Nilah. At the same time, Boots is running from her old ship captain who has come looking for her.

The Capricious is going hunting - for the same treasure that caused all of these problems. The rumor of an extremely large ship called the Harrow. 

White has created a fascinating universe combining science fiction and magic. His characters are wonderful and I will be following them onto their future adventures. 

White, Alex. (2018). A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe. New York: Orbit.

While Justice Sleeps

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams is a thrill ride through the Supreme Court. 

When Justice Howard Wynn slips into a coma, his clerk Avery Keene is as shocked as everyone else that she is his power of attorney. Not his son or his estranged wife, but a law clerk with whom he has only a working relationship.

Justice Wynn is often the swing vote on and otherwise 4-4 court. Nearing the end of the session, there are still some big cases to decide. And it is starting to seem that one of them is related to what happened to the Justice.

Keene has a mystery to solve and little time to do it. Not helping her deadline is the fact that the NSA and FBI think it is fishy that she was named his executor. 

Abrams is a brilliant legal and political mind. She has the knowledge and has had the access to create a story that goes deeper into D.C. politics than most. 

If you are looking for a completely engrossing thrill ride, this is the book you are looking for. 

Abrams, Stacey. (2021). While Justice Sleeps. New York: Doubleday.

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the story of a pirate and an aristocrat falling in love in the midst of a kidnapping.

Lady Evelyn Hasegawa has been betrothed to a man across the sea. It is not uncommon for the upper classes to marry off daughters to secure their fortune. It is, however, so far away that she is unlikely to ever see her family or her city again. But the only person she is likely to miss is her maid.

Evelyn is taking a passenger ship across the sea to meet her husband. As is tradition in these cases, she has packed her belongings into a coffin for transport, signifying her pledge to remain there for her lifetime.

What Evelyn and the other passengers do not know if that their passenger ship is really a pirate ship in disguise. They are all likely to be sold at the end of the voyage.

The pirate Florian does what it takes to survive - including changing their gender presentation to get by on a male only ship. But due to this, they have been assigned to guard the Lady Evelyn to keep her from harm (so her price is higher). 

Tokuda-Hall has written a great fantasy adventure with wonderful, fantastical creatures, budding young love, and pirates! What more could you need. 

Tokuda-Hall, Maggie. (2020). The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea. New York: Candlewick Press.

Recursion

Recursion by Blake Crouch has been described as a science fiction puzzle box. 

Barry Sutton is an NYPD detective. He is currently investigating a False Memory death. Recently some people have been plagued with what feels like real memories of their lives that never happened - years of other lives suddenly in their brains.

Helena Smith is a neuroscientist studying the brain to try and solve Alzheimer's, a disease affecting her mother. She is working on a chair that can save memories that could be re-loaded into people's brains when their originals ones are not accessible. 

But her memory chair does more than that. Using a described memory, a person can be sent back to that moment. But everyone else effected - anyone in the room with you or who you met after that point - goes too. The chair tests our ideas about how time itself works.

Crouch is a great thriller and science writer. His books have been turned into movies and tv shows. This one is very thought provoking. Not since Replay by Ken Grimwood have I read a book that stays in my head for so long. Get this book from you library today!

Crouch, Blake. (2019). Recursion. New York: Crown.

Crying in H Mart

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner is a memoir of losing a parent and how that leads to her teaching her self to cook Korean food as a cultural pathway to her mother.

Growing up Michelle visited her mother's family in Seoul every other year. They stayed with her grandmother, two aunts and cousins. 

Michelle is most well known as the singer of the band Japanese Breakfast. Which, being Korean American, creates questions each time she is interviewed.

When she looked at her life with her mother she noticed that food was used not just as sustenance but as love. Her mom got sick quickly and did not have time to teach Michelle to cook Korean food. 

Michelle took it upon herself to learn. Using the blog Maangchi, she describes delicious food as she processes her loss and her band's growing popularity. 

Zauner has written a memoir that does not shy away from looking at herself and her family truthfully. She tells the good and bad without glossing over. This is a beautiful book of love, food and grief. 

Zauner, Michelle. (2021). Crying in H Mart. New York: Knopf.

Tell Me How You Really Feel

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi is the tale of school enemies being forced together and realizing they may have been wrong about each other.

Sana Khan is a Persian/Indian high school student in Los Angeles who lives with her mom, a production designer for movies. She is going to be a doctor, is currently a cheerleader and loves movies. 

Rachel Recht is a film student at the same high school. She creates and directs movies and is running out of time to finish her senior project - which could undue her acceptance to NYU is she doesn't work fast.

When they were both freshmen, Sana asked Rachel on a date. Rachel thought it was a prank by a snooty cheerleader and has hated Sana since that day. 

When an literal run in (to each other) happens and a camera gets damaged, the film teacher tells them they will have to work together to finish the project or pay for the damaged camera. 

Safi has set Sana and Rachel up for a bumpy start to the next phase of their relationship. This is fun young adult book. Great summer read. 

Safi, Aminah Mae. (2019). Tell Me How You Really Feel. New York: Feiwel and Friends.

The Galaxy and the Ground Within (Wayfarers #4)

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers is the final book of her Wayfarers science fiction series - one of my favorite book series of any genre!

The planet of Gora has not water or life. However, it is perfectly situated at the crossroads of five wormholes that see huge numbers of ships each standard. Since people often have a wait to transmit to the next gate, inns and entertainment venues have been built on the stark planet.

Once such place is the Five-Hop One-Stop. An eclectic inn that tries to cater to all forms of life that may visit. 

With a satellite system malfunction, the three strangers who have landed will be staying for longer that they thought. The two hosts, one exiled artist, one cargo runner and a mysterious person whose species is rarely seen will all have time to get to know each other better. 

Chambers is a wonderful story teller. Her characters and species of sentient beings are well thought out and fully formed. This is one of two complete series I own. I plan on rereading it about once per year! The entire series won a Hugo Award. Get started reading it today!

Chambers, Becky. (2021). The Galaxy and the Ground Within. New York: Harper Voyager. 

Grrrls on the Side

Grrrls on the Side by Carrie Pack is a young adult punk rock tales set in 1994.

Tabitha Denton is sixteen years old. She does not fit in at her school. She needs to find new friends. 

At a punk concert she is handed a zine and invited to a Riot Grrrl meeting. 

At the meeting she finds her people. They are all different but accepting of those differences. It is also the first time meeting other queer women - including the out and proud Jackie.

Pack has captured both the Riot Grrrl scene and the feelings of being a new queer woman in our society. 

Pack, Carrie. (2017). Grrrls on the Side. New York: Interlude Press.

The Rose Code

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn is about the women who broke codes for England during World War II and the person who betrayed them.

Bletchley Park recruited from anyone who might be able to help break codes - mathematicians, puzzle aficionados, men and women.

Three code breakers who were inseparable during the war are brought back together in 1947 when one of them receives a coded message in the mail - using a cypher they used to pass notes during the war. 

Osla, a German speaker is a debutante who dated Prince Phillip. Mab is from Shoreditch and took a secretarial course to get out and help her family. Beth is a master at crosswords and seeing patterns.

They are called to crack one more code - one that will save the lives of two of them. 

Quinn is a storytelling mage. Her historical fiction puts the reader right in the thick of it. Choose any of her books and you will be up well past your bedtime thoroughly engrossed.

Quinn, Kate. (2021). The Rose Code. New York: William Morrow.  

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (A Monk and Robot Book #1)

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers is the first book in the Monk and Robot series. 

Sibling Dex is a monk who is changing their job and planning to go on the road to offer tea service. After declining the optional training session, Dex is on the road with this Oxbike and trailer.

Tea Service is a ceremony where the monk parks, sets up a seating area and anyone can come and talk about their problems or ideas. At the end of the talk, the monk makes them a tea appropriate to the discussion / feelings expressed.

This is a part of Panga human culture centuries after the split between humans and robot. The land was divided fifty percent for humans and fifty percent for robots. 

When Sibling Dex decides that even the small villages are not as remote as they were hoping, they decide to try a pilgrimage to a former temple in the wilds.

Not too far off of the paved human road, Sibling Dex meets a robot! This is the first conversation between human and robot since the split. 

Chambers is a wonderful writer who brings humanity to her characters - regardless of species. This discussion between two very different beings illustrates what humans think of themselves versus what others might see. A beautiful book for all humans!

Chambers, Becky. (2021). A Psalm for the Wild-Built. New York: Tor.

Magic for Liars

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey is the story of Ivy Gamble being hired to solve a death at a high school for magic students - the same high school in which her sister teaches.

Ivy and her twin sister kinda went their separate ways when Tabitha started doing magic. You are either born with magic or you are not. Now Tabitha is a teacher at a prestigious magic school and Ivy is a hard-drinking private detective.

Ivy will have to investigate in a setting she does not understand. Her knowledge of magic is better than most, in that she knows it exists. But that is where her knowledge stops. She will have to decide who to trust to teach her as she interviews teachers and students to discover what happened to the woman who was divided in two in the library.

Gailey is a creative storyteller. Their books never go quite where you expect. If you need a book Sarah Gailey is always a great author to pick up.

Gailey, Sarah. (2019). Magic for Lairs. New York: Tor. 

The Forest of Vanishing Stars

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel is the story of survival in the greatest of odds. 

Stolen from a wealthy German couple, Yona is raised in the forest by an old woman. Jerusza teaches her how to survive on what the land provides, how to avoid other people, and how to kill if necessary.

In 941, Jerusza dies, leaving Yona alone. While she stay away from the villages on the edges of the forest, she is starting to encounter more people in the woods. After a while she decides to intervene to help a family of three who will not make it without some guidance on how to live in the forest. 

They tell her of the Nazis and their abhorrent attempt to kill all Jewish people. Yona decides to help the Jews refugees who escape from the ghettos and make it to her forest.  

Harmel is a master of historical fiction story telling. This is an amazing book with a strong lead character whom we could all learn something from. 

Harmel, Kristin. (2021). The Forest of Vanishing Stars. New York: Gallery Books.

A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan #2)

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine is the second book in the Teixcalaan empire science fiction series. 

Mahit Dzmare is the ambassador to Teixcalaan from the small Lsel Station, a nation floating in space untied to any planet. She is home after an emotional start to her job in the capital city planet of Teixcalaan. She is hoping to take a small break from the intensity of politics - only to find herself in danger from one of her counselors. 

Back in Teixcalaan, Three Seagrass has been promoted. When she gets a request from their starships at the front of a new war - a request for someone to try and understand the alien language - she assigns herself to the job. She plans to pick up Mahit Dzmare on her way, as the fighting is just outside Lsel space's jumpgate.

This second book is every bit as good as the first. Martine's series has quickly become one of my top three science fiction series of all time! Can't wait for more...

Martine, Arkady. (2021). A Desolation Called Peace. New York: Tor. 

The Sun is a Compass: My 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds

The Sun is a Compass: My 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds by Caroline Van Hemert is the story of two people traveling from Bellingham, Washington to the Arctic Circle, ending in Kotzebue wholly under their own power - rowing, skiing, paddling, hiking.

After finishing a degree in biology, that kept her in the lab so long that she needed a trip to remind her of her love of birds and nature. Joined by her husband, Pat, a builder who designed and built his first cabin in Alaska at nineteen, they came up with an ambitious route that they tackled in 2012.

Traveling through the Inside Passage, Coast Mountains, Yukon River, Yukon, Mackenzie Delta, Artic Coast, Brooks Range and Noatak River this was an incredible jouney.

Van Hemert includes information on the birds they see along the way, including the Roufus Hummingbird who has the longest documented migration, there is so much in this adventure for bird lovers. 

Van Hemert, Caroline. (2019). The Sun is a Compass. New York: Little, Brown Sparks. 

A Chain Across the Dawn (Universe After #2)

A Chain Across the Dawn by Drew Williams is the second book in the science fiction series Universe After. 

Jane and Esa, a girl she rescued who has joined her mission, travel the stars in search of children with a gift - running into trouble occasionally. 

Jane and Esa are headed to a planet that should have little higher technology. The pulse wiped out most of it. They arrive in the middle of a war - the three sects always battling each other. 

They are looking for a young Wulf pup who controls, maybe even produces electricity. Arriving in the middle of the fighting will reduce the time they have to get him and get out safely.

Williams has written some great characters in this series. Their story continues here, with some more hints to the overall universe and what may come next. Great science fiction, fast reading.

Williams, Drew. (2019). A Chain Across the Dawn. New York: Tor.

The Hidden Place (Golem and Jinni #2)

The Hidden Place by Helene Wecker is the second historical fiction book featuring the Golem and the Jinni. This second book is every bit as wonderful as the first!

In the early 1900s Manhattan, there live (at least) two creatures passing themselves off as human - a golem who goes by Chava and works as a baker. And a jinni who works with metal in Little Syria, Ahmad. 

Both Chava and Ahmad have changed the lives of the humans around the for the better. Now it is time for their lives to change a bit, too. 

Sophia Winston lives on the upper edges of Central Park with her family. She has an illness that makes her very cold. She has told her parent that she is to travel to Europe to get better. They have hired two companions to accompany her - and report back to her parents. 

Wecker is an amazing writer. You will be captured on the first page and long for more when you complete both books. If you are only going to read one thing this year, start here. 

Wecker, Helene. (2021). The Hidden Place. New York: Harper.

With the Fire on High

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo is the story of

Emoni Santiago is a high school senior, mother of a three year old, who loves to cook and lives with her grandmother. She loves to cook. Her family and friends say they can feel the emotion she puts into her meals. 

While juggling all of responsibilities Emoni has to figure out what is next for her when she graduates. What is the best plan for her and her daughter.

When an unexpected elective offers her the chance to study under a real chef, she cannot pass it up. How she will raise the money for the end of the year trip to Italy is another question.

Acevedo has piled responsibility on this character. And Emoni is plenty smart and tough enough to handle it. She has decision to make that remind us that while you may not be able to have it all right now, there is more than one path to get to your dreams.

Acevedo, Elizabeth. (2019). With the Fire on High. New York: Quill Tree Books.

The Stars Now Unclaimed (Universe After #1)

The Stars Now Unclaimed by Drew Williams is the first book in the Universe After series, a fast-paced race through the galaxies. 

About 100 years ago, a pulse traveled across known space, knocking out technology as it went. No all planets were hit at the same level. Some sent back to pre-combustion engine and some left virtually untouched. The one positive side-effect is that the intergalactic wars came to a halt.

Another side effect, seems to be some children being both with a skill, or power, to do what the ordinary human cannot.

Jane Kamali is a pilot, soldier and agent for the Justified. Her role is to rescue children with special gifts - children who are often look upon with suspicion on the backwards planets. 

Jane has just arrived on a planet that has about old West technology. She is looking for a child, she doesn't yet know who. Her first stop is the local church - always a good place to pick up town gossip. 

Williams has created a fun series filled with different types of sentient being, in the feel of Becky Chambers, but set in a time of unease. The wars would not have stopped if the pulse had not stranded most spaceships where they were. This is a great, fast read with some wonderful characters. 

Williams, Drew. (2018). The Stars Now Unclaimed. New York: Tor. 

The Secret to Superhuman Strength

The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel is an illustrated memoir of her life using exercise as the viewpoint.

After a book on her father and one on her mother, Bechdel tells of her relationship to exercise as both a way of being in shape, following the latest fads, and breaking the gender norms of her childhood.

She looks for enlightenment and the exercise for her in her usual light but poignant way. 

Bechdel is the master of the graphic novel form. It is a high art to be able to convey so much in each panel - limited by space that leads to such succinct dialog.  

Bechdel, Alison. (2021). The Secret to Superhuman Strength. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The Best We Could Do

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui is a beautifully told story of her family history.

This is the story of a Vietnamese family from generations before the American war, to living in the United States to raise the next generation. 

Beginning with the birth of her first child - the first drawing is a very pregnant belly - Thi looks back at her family and their history as she takes on the role of teacher for the next generation. 

The history of Vietnam from colonization, war, politics to her family in a refugee camp and emigrating to the US, this is a beautifully told story of hardship and choices for a better life. 

This is an example of why immigration is beneficial to both the people leaving to start again, and the nation that receives their knowledge and different way of looking at things. Immigration makes a country stronger.

Bui, Thi. (2017). The Best We Could Do. New York: Abrams.

A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1)

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine is the first book in the Teixcalaan science fiction series. 

Mahit Dzmare is being sent from Lsel Station, a nation that exists in outer space on mining vessels, to the hungry empire of Teixcalaan - a political entity known for subsuming anyone who lives too close. 

Mahit was called with no notice to be ambassador. She doesn't know what happened to the previous ambassador Yskandr. She does have what is common in Lsel - an implant in her brain stem that allows her to access his knowledge. This is how whey pass knowledge on to the next generation. Unfortunately, Yskandr has not been back to update the information so she has no way of knowing the situation she is walking into.

When she arrives at the city-planet at the center of Emperor Six Direction's rule, she finds that Yskandr is dead. Her assigned liaison has trained her whole life to serve an ambassador, but Mahit is not sure who to trust. Three Seagrass has no idea what happened before her promotion but is willing to join Mahit in finding out - even if that means risking her life to do so.

This first book in the series is engaging, filled with political intrigue, confusion of the new ambassador, rumblings of a revolt against the emperor - everything a space opera should be and more. If you are a science fiction fan, read this!  

Martine, Arkady. (2019). A Memory Called Empire. New York: Tor.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo is the story of a Chinese American young woman coming of as in 1950s San Francisco and balancing her budding lesbianism with her family culture. 

Seventeen year old Lily Hu lives in China town with her family. When at a friend's restaurant one evening, she sees in the paper an ad for a male impersonator. Her curiosity is piqued. Lily dreams of leaving the neighborhood where everyone knows her to explore other ways of life.

At classmate she has shared classes with but not often spoken to, Kathleen Miller, sees the newspaper clipping when Lily drops her book. Kath has seen that same ad, and the show it references.

Through shy hints and slowly opening up to each other, Lily and Kath find they have something in common. Their discovery is both exciting and dangerous - in the midst of the McCarthy era.

Lo is a wonderful writer, one of my favorites. She is a master as historical fiction. Read this book for a glimpse into our past. 

Lo, Malinda. (2021). Last Night at the Telegraph Club. New York: Dutton Books.

The Seed Keeper

The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson is the story of one woman's journey from foster care back to her Native American roots. 

Rosalie Iron Wing was twelve when her father died. Instead of looking for relatives, the state removed her from her tribe and placed her with a foster family hours from home. In her case, the foster family was only in it for the money and free labor, not to help a girl who lost her parent.

As Rosalie grows up, she has few encounters with other Lakota. One friend at school reminds her of a home that is fading from memory.

When Rosalie takes a job working in a corn field her senior year - in the hopes of saving money to move away on her eighteenth birthday - she recalls her father teaching her about plants near their cabin. This fertilizes a long dormant seed in her about her family and being Lakota.

I will admit I am biased in favor of any book about plants or animals, but The Seed Keeper is also an important look at the history of how the US and state governments treat Native Americans. 

Read-A-Like for plant lovers / gardeners The Overstory.

Wilson, Diane. (2021). The Seed Keeper. Canada: Milkweed Editions. 

The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree

The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar is a beautiful tale of one family's difficult time during the Islamic revolution in Iran. Translated from Persian.

Narrated by Bahar, a thirteen year old ghost, we follow her family as they flee from Tehran for a small village in the forest. They build a house in the woods where they can continue to enjoy the now illegal music, books and intellectual freedom they had before the revolution.

In the chaos of the time they are only trying to go on living. While the violence of the time intrudes, the writing of this family tale is more folktale than horror story. Infused with magical realism, this based on real life tale, is poignant in our unstable times.

Azar and her translator have created a story that will quickly become a classic. Read this book for the beauty of an ancient culture trying to survive in the midst of political oppression.  

Azar, Shokoofeh. (2017). The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree. NY: Europa Editions. 

The Disaster Tourist

The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-Eun, translated to English by Lizzie Buehler, is the story of a specialty travel agent.

Yona Ko works for a travel agency specializing in trips to disaster struck areas. Her job is to travel to places where an earthquake, tsunami, shooting, etc...happen. Then she creates a travel package for people wanting to visit them - either to feel like they are helping rebuild, or to tangentially experience a tragedy from safely after the fact.

When Yona needs a break from work, at a company where people don't take time off, her boss tells her to choose a travel package out of the lesser purchased ones; she can relax and evaluate the trip for contract renewal/cancellation.

The island nation of Mui, off of the coast of Vietnam, is famous only for the giant sink hole that has since filled with water and just looks like a lake. 

Yona's vacation is extended when she get separated from the group, her passport is stolen, and she cannot contact her agency to help. She ends up back on Mui in what seems to be a plan to bring more tourists.

The Disaster Tourist is a very unique story that will not end up where reader expect. This is Yun Ko-Eun's first book translated into English.

Ko-Eun, Yun. (2020). The Disaster Tourist. Berkley, CA: Counterpoint.

The Old Drift

The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell is both a family saga and the fictionalized history of Zambia. This genreblend combines historical fiction, magical realism, science fiction and more. 

In 1904 on the Zambezi River, an incident involving three families sets off a series of events/results that will effect five generations of offspring.

A British explorer, Percy has been in Africa for a few years and is suffering from delirium when he attends an evening at the new hotel on the River.

Giovanna is the daughter of the Italian hotel owner. Her actions that night cause a hex on her family.

N'gulube is injured that night and caught up in the fates.

This is an amazing book, both in scope and creativity. It has been hailed as the Heart of Darkness from the point of view of those invaded instead of from the colonizers. Serpell is a wonderful writer whose characters are endearing and wonderfully flawed. This book is sure to become a classic.

Serpell, Namwali, (2019). The Old Drift. New York: Hogarth.

The Consequences of Fear (Maisie Dobbs #16)

The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear is her sixteenth book featuring the amazing Maisie Dobbs, private detective and psychologist. London, October 1941.

Freddie Hackett, a boy who runs messages through the blackout, witnesses a murder during a bombing raid. He then delivers his message to the same man he saw stab someone.

When the police do not believe him, Freddie goes to Maisie Dobb's office. He has run messages for her for her war work and knows she solves crimes. 

Winspear is a masterful writer whose research (including within her family history) makes for scenes in which you can feel the bombs drop. If you like mystery, historical fiction or just damn well written books, read this series. 

Winspear, Jacqueline. (2021). The Consequences of Fear. New York: Harper. 

Recipe for Love

Recipe for Love: A Farm to Table Romance by Aurora Rey is what happens when a New York City chef takes a job in the Finger Lakes region.

Drew Davis has accepted a job hours upstate to advance her career. Being head chef in the city is years off, but this job can jump her ahead. Even if she has to live in the middle of nowhere.

As part of her interview Drew is being sent to the farm to choose ingredients to make the restaurant owner dinner. 

Hannah Little is a farmer and the owner of 3 Willows Farms. Her product is beautiful and she loves farming. Though it doesn't leave her much time to date. 

Rey now has four books that take place in the upstate Finger Lakes area. I have enjoyed each one, though this might be the hottest one yet.

Rey, Aurora. (2019). Recipe for Love. Valley Falls, NY: Bold Strokes Books.

Infinite Country

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel is a book everyone should read. 

Talia, who is sixteen, has a week to get across Colombia back to Bogota to catch a plane to the United States. Her mother is finally sending for her to join her siblings in New Jersey.

Unfortunately, in order to get there, Talia has to break out of a school/prison and, with no money, get about one hundred miles.

Talia born in the US, but raised in Bogota by her grandmother and father. Her parents had traveled to the US for work and stayed past their visas - living in fear, taking underpaying and dangerous jobs with no protection from their employers. 

When her father was deported back to Columbia, there was no way for him to return to the US. Two of his three children born in a country he cannot visit, the third of who cannot come see him in Colombia.

Engel has written a family epic in a small book with a giant punch. This is a beautiful, heart-wrenching story of many families. Buy a copy today.

Engel, Patricia. (2021). Infinite Country. New York: Avid Reader Press.

The Vanishing Half

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is the tale of twin sisters and their diverging lives. 

Stella and Desiree Vignes were born in Mallard, Louisiana in the 1950s. Most people born there stay their whole lives. 

At sixteen, their mother takes them out of school so they can help support the family. That is when they leave and move to New Orleans. From there they separate, creating very different lives for themselves.

Ten years later, Desiree moves back home, bringing her daughter Jude. She has not seen or herd from Stella in years. Desiree hires someone to track Stella to find out what happened to her.

Spanning forty years and the width of the United States, Bennett explores the history of passing, racism and identity in this beautiful family epic. 

Bennett, Brit (2020). The Vanishing Half. New York: Riverhead Books.