Summer reads!

There are plenty of exciting new books coming out this summer.  Check out this list of the "29 Best Books of the Summer" compiled by the New York Post with help from Manhattan bookstores The Mysterious Bookshop and The Strand, Brooklyn's Word, and Amazon.

The list has everything from The Matchmaker--the newest from Elin Hildenbrand, the queen of the beach read--to literary heavyweight Haruki Marukami's new novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.

You may have read Jojo Moyes' wildly successful novel, Me Before You.  Her newest, One Plus One, comes out on July 1st, and is another contemporary opposites-attract love story.

Herman Koch's international bestseller, dark novel The Dinner, got people talking.  His new book, Summer House with Swimming Pool, which comes out this week, is another chilling story told by a questionable narrator.  A celebrity doctor is invited on vacation with a famous actor and his gorgeous wife, and somebody ends up dead.  This latest effort by Koch promises to be another controversial and thought-provoking novel.

Emily Giffin is known for chick lit, but her just released-novel, The One & Only, represents a departure for her as it deals with darker themes.  The plot revolves around a May-December love affair in which a 33-year-old woman begins to fall in love with her best friend's father and local football hero.

Also keep an eye out for new offerings from Charlaine Harris, Stephen King, Jo Nesbo, and Tom Rob Smith.

What books are you most excited to read this summer?

BROOKFIELD READS: THE CHAPERONE by Laura Moriarty

Our Brookfield Library fiction discussion group will be reading THE CHAPERONE, an historical fiction book by Laura Moriarty, and meeting to discuss it on Monday, May 12 at 1:00 p.m.  We have a great group of about a dozen readers who always welcome new members, so if you're looking for a book club to join, plan to attend.  We should be getting in more copies later this week, and our books for discussion are located on a cart at the checkout desk.

"A New York Times bestseller, The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in the 1920s and the summer that would change them both.

Only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star and an icon of her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study with the prestigious Denishawn School of Dancing in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone, who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle, a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip, has no idea what she’s in for. Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous black bob with blunt bangs, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will transform their lives forever.

For Cora, the city holds the promise of discovery that might answer the question at the core of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in this strange and bustling place she embarks on a mission of her own. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, she is liberated in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of Cora’s relationship with Louise, her eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.

Drawing on the rich history of the 1920s, ’30s, and beyond—from the orphan trains to Prohibition, flappers, and the onset of the Great Depression to the burgeoning movement for equal rights and new opportunities for women—Laura Moriarty’s The Chaperone illustrates how rapidly everything, from fashion and hemlines to values and attitudes, was changing at this time and what a vast difference it all made for Louise Brooks, Cora Carlisle, and others like them."

I REMEMBER YOU: A GHOST STORY by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

 Are you a fan of Scandinavian crime fiction?  If you haven't read anything from Sigurdardottir, give this a try.  One reader says this is one of the creepiest books she's ever read.

"In a departure from her series featuring lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir, Iceland’s queen of suspense combines modern crime detection with mysticism to chilling effect. The sense of foreboding starts early, as married couple Katrin and Gardar, along with Lif, the widow of Gardar’s best friend, travel from Reykjavik to isolated Hesteyri to renovate the old house they’ve bought to turn into a guesthouse. Concerns about finances and the viability of the project pale as something about the house makes the trio want to leave it. Across the fjord, psychiatrist Freyr starts working with police on the unlikely connection between an elderly suicide victim and a six-year-old boy who disappeared three years earlier and was never found. Inevitably the two plot lines collide, revealing human behavior and failings—lies, betrayals, assaults, murder—that explain only part of what has happened from a time decades earlier to the present. Sigurdardottir skillfully builds the early ominous warnings to the point that readers find themselves shouting to Katrin to cut her losses and go home, as the unexplained becomes terrifying. Nordic mystery writers can raise goosebumps as few others can, and Sigurdardottir shows she’s one of the best."  ~ Michele Leber, Booklist

ASTONISH ME: A NOVEL by Maggie Shipstead

"In this exquisitely rendered story of love, loss, betrayal, secrecy, and artistic ambition, Maggie Shipstead takes hold of the reader and doesn't let go. "Astonish Me" is a haunting, powerful novel."
--Dani Shapiro 

  "From the author of the widely acclaimed debut novel Seating Arrangements, winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize: a gorgeously written, fiercely compelling glimpse into the passionate, political world of professional ballet and its magnetic hold over two generations. Astonish Me is the irresistible story of Joan, a ballerina whose life has been shaped by her relationship with the world-famous dancer Arslan Ruskov, whom she helps defect from the Soviet Union to the U.S. While Arslan's career takes off in New York, Joan's slowly declines, ending when she becomes pregnant and decides to marry her longtime admirer, a PhD student named Jacob. As the years pass, Joan settles into her new life in California, teaching dance and watching her son, Harry, become a ballet prodigy himself. But when Harry's success brings him into close contact with Arslan, explosive secrets are revealed that shatter the delicate balance Joan has struck between her past and present. In graceful, inimitable prose, Shipstead draws us into the lives of her lovably tempestuous characters. Filled with intrigue, hilarious satire, and emotional nuance, Astonish Me is a brilliant investigation into the bonds that hold us, despite the distancing of time and geography"
         -- from the Publisher

WITHOUT WARNING by David Rosenfelt

A new standalone from David Rosenfelt, who writes the Andy Carpenter mystery series is just about to hit our new book shelf:  "Spooky. Creepy. Edgy. Shuddery. What more could anyone want?...Highly recommended for readers craving that elusive "something different.""--"Booklist"

 Years ago, Katie Sanford’s husband was convicted of the murder of Jenny Robbins, then died himself in prison. It’s a small town and memories are long, and Katie and Jenny’s husband, Chief of Police Jake Robbins, have had to work at putting the tragedy behind them. But it's all brought up again in the wake of a hurricane which has just wreaked havoc on their quiet Maine town. Since its founding, Wilton has had a quaint tradition of creating a time capsule every fifty years, and the storm unearthed the most recent capsule. As the editor of the local paper, Katie joins Chief Robbins to supervise its opening. Neither of them is prepared for the macabre set of predictions, dating back to months before Jenny’s murder, that they find inside. Someone predicted her death, as well as eleven other tragedies, which are still occurring even long after the death of Katie’s husband.

At last, after all these years, Katie has reason to hope that her husband might not have been guilty of Jenny’s murder after all. But as she and Jake race to stop the next predictions from coming true, they find themselves caught in a terrifying mind game with no rules…and life or death consequences. ~ from the Publisher 

Look for this one on our new book shelf next week.  And if you haven't read any of his other books, give them a try.  ~ Katherine

UNTIL TUEDAY: A WOUNDED WARRIOR AND THE GOLDEN RETRIEVER WHO SAVED HIM by Luis Carlos Montalván

"A heartwarming dog story like no other: Tuesday, a lovable golden retriever, changes a former soldier's life forever. A highly decorated captain in the U.S. Army, Luis Montalvan never backed down from a challenge during his two tours of duty in Iraq. After returning home from combat, however, his physical wounds and crippling post-traumatic stress disorder began to take their toll. He wondered if he would ever recover. Then Luis met Tuesday, a sensitive golden retriever trained to assist the disabled. Tuesday had lived among prisoners and at a home for troubled boys, and he found it difficult to trust in or connect with a human being--until Luis. Until Tuesday is the story of how two wounded warriors, who had given so much and suffered the consequences, found salvation in each other. It is a story about war and peace, injury and recovery, psychological wounds and spiritual restoration. But more than that, it is a story about the love between a man and dog, and how, together, they healed each other's souls."  ~ from the Publisher

Luis Montalvan and Tuesday continue to share their story at appearances across the United States, in fact, they will be at the Norwalk Public Library in a few weeks. An amazing, powerful, and heartwarming story.  ~  Katherine

Reading for the New Year

So many things in today's world get in the way of sitting down with a good book--computer time (thinking Words with Friends), television watching (catching up on that television series everyone is raving about), chores.....so this year may be the one to head back to the pleasures of reading.

Besides, we've all heard that reading can be a great stress reliever, right? And we all need that, agreed? Simply by opening a book, reading can  relax your body by lowering your heart rate and easing the tension in your muscles, by up to 68% according to a 2009 study at the University of Sussex  It works better and faster than other relaxation methods such as drinking a hot cup of tea or listening to music.  

So, no hard and fast resolutions here.  But it would definitely be lovely to read more for pleasure, and to read more books outside the usual choices (for me that would be more nonfiction).  Maybe more of a different genre, maybe some of those books that have been sitting in the TBR pile forever.  And, a good year to catalog and rate ALL the books read in 2014, either on GOODREADS or LIBRARY THING or SHELFARI.  

If one of yours is to join a book group, think about the offerings at your library.  Here at Brookfield, we have at least three a month:  Brookfield Reads Fiction, Book 'Em Mystery Group and Nonfiction Book Club.  And every few months we have a Cooking the Books get together, where we enjoy good book conversation and great food! Think about coming to one or more of our meetings--we love having new readers join us.

Do you have any reading resolutions for 2014?  

~ Katherine

Is There a Pattern Here?

I just finished reading THE SILENT WIFE by A. Harrison, and then picked up BACKSEAT SAINTS by Joshilyn Jackson, not realizing that both books were about mariticide, the killing of one's husband ( I admit to having to look that up).  Motives differ wildly, however.  THE SILENT WIFE is about revenge, and BACKSEAT SAINTS is about survival.  

THE SILENT WIFE is a psychological thriller about surviving a long term relationship in which one partner is faithful, and the other is a serial cheater.  It's about how far a woman will go maintain her lifestyle and keep what she feels is rightfully hers.  BACKSEAT SAINTS is about domestic violence, twinged with wit and humor.   I will admit my husband is a bit worried about my choice of reading.  ~ Katherine

THE SILENT WIFE by A. Harrison

"Psychotherapist Jodi Brett is content with her tidy, tranquil existence cooking for her husband, Todd Gilbert; walking the dog; seeing a few clients out of their gorgeous Chicago condo while headstrong Todd works as a professional renovator. As Jodi sees it, they complement each other, and she doesn't mind pretending to disregard Todd's indiscretions (which he clumsily attempts to cover up) in exchange. Accepting the peccadillos of her adulterous husband is one thing, but when Todd takes his infidelity to the next level and tells her that he's leaving her, the existence she's clung to so dearly is destroyed. And Jodi will do anything to take it back. And she does."  ~ Publishers Weekly 

BACKSEAT SAINTS by Joshilyn Jackson

"Rose Mae Lolley's mother disappeared when she was eight, leaving Rose with a heap of old novels and a taste for dangerous men. Now, as demure Mrs. Ro Grandee, she's living the very life her mother abandoned. She's all but forgotten the girl she used to be-teenaged spitfire, Alabama heartbreaker, and a crack shot with a pistol-until an airport gypsy warns Rose it's time to find her way back to that brave, tough girl . . . or else. Armed with only her wit, her pawpy's ancient .45, and her dog Fat Gretel, Rose Mae hightails it out of Texas, running from a man who will never let her go, on a mission to find the mother who did." ~ from the Publisher


 

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ SOMEONE ELSE'S LOVE STORY ~ Week Ending December 30, 2013

Happy New Year, and amazingly, the end of a year of weekly book blogging!

The title is the first tip off that this love story might not be the one that you expect--after all, how many love stories start with a shooting at a convenience store, between a man with Asperger's, grieving over great personal loss, and a young woman who has a charming and genius three year old son, the result of a sexual assault.  This lovely southern fiction tale reminds the reader that love is at once fragile and strong, enduring and often surprising.  ~ Katherine

"I fell in love with William Ashe at gunpoint, in a Circle K."  First line of SOMEONE ELSE'S LOVE STORY.
 
"For single mom Shandi Pierce, life is a juggling act. She's finishing college; raising her delightful three-year-old genius son, Nathan, aka Natty Bumppo; and keeping the peace between her eternally warring, long-divorced Christian mother and Jewish father. She's got enough to deal with before she gets caught in the middle of a stickup in a gas station mini-mart and falls in love with a great wall of a man named William Ashe, who steps between the armed robber and her son to shield the child from danger.

Shandi doesn't know that her blond god has his own baggage. When he looked down the barrel of the gun in the gas station he believed it was destiny: it's been exactly one year since a tragic act of physics shattered his universe. But William doesn't define destiny the way other people do. A brilliant geneticist who believes in science and numbers, destiny to him is about choice.
Now, William and Shandi are about to meet their so-called destinies head-on, making choices that will reveal unexpected truths about love, life, and the world they think they know." ~ from the publisher

A FAVORITE MYSTERY SERIES FROM SUZANNE

Something Borrowed Someone Dead Agatha Raisin, Bk 24
Author: M. C. Beaton

The 24th book in the series and I'm still hooked! The characters continue to grow and if you've followed the series from the beginning you realize how close they've become. I highly recommend this book if you're an Agatha Raisin fan.  ~ Suzanne

Gloria French was a jolly widow with dyed blond hair, a raucous laugh, and rosy cheeks. When she first moved from London to the charming Cotswolds hills, she was heartily welcomed. She seemed a do-gooder par excellence, raising funds for the church and caring for the elderly. But she had a nasty habit of borrowing things and not giving them back -- just small things, a teapot here, a set of silverware there. So it's quite a shock when she is found dead, murdered by a poisoned bottle of elderberry wine. Afraid the murder will be a blight on the small town, parish councilor Jerry Tarrant hires private detective Agatha Raisin to track down the murderer.

But the village is secretive and the residents resent Agatha's investigation. Of course, that doesn't stop the ever-persistent Agatha from sticking her nose where no one wants it -- especially as the list of suspects grows. And, as if it isn't enough that Agatha's ex has reentered the picture, the murderer is now targeting Agatha!

CLASSIC BOOKS SO SHORT YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE NOT TO READ THEM

I just ran across this post on Huff Post Books on amazing short classics.  There are quite a few that I never read, and didn't realize they were under two hundred pages--some are even under one hundred pages.  Like so many readers, it gets harder and harder to find time to read, and it's exciting to think that you can experience a classic you always meant to read in just a few hours or a day.  I've always meant to read Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein, just to name a few. Oh yes, and Oh Pioneers! and Ethan Frome. All of these are under 600 total pages, still shorter than Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch which is almost 800 pages, currently on best seller's lists and one of my favorite books of the year.

Check out the list.....do you see any you would consider reading, especially given the length?  ~ Katherine

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE HOLIDAY BOOK?

The library has had holiday books on display for the past few weeks, and heaven knows there is no shortage of them!  There are quite a few popular adult authors write books specifically about Christmas, either as a spinoff of a series or as a standalone book:  Debbie Macomber, Thomas Kinkade, Anne Perry, Richard Paul Evans, and Donna VanLiere, just to name a few.  The challenge each year is to decide which ones to buy.  This year, some of the books added to our collection included CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS and CALL ME MRS. MIRACLE by Debbie Macomber, A NANTUCKET CHRISTMAS by Nancy Thayer, and SILENT NIGHT by Robert Parker.

My favorite Christmas book remains SKIPPING CHRISTMAS by John Grisham. When it looks like Luther and Nora Krank will be alone for Christmas, they joyfully decide to skip the holiday altogether and arrange a Caribbean cruise.  No navigating crowded malls, no fruitcake, no elaborate house decorating project, no Christmas tree, and no rooftop Frosty the Snowman. But, plans often go awry, and the Kranks discover that skipping Christmas isn’t half as easy as they’d imagined, and they rediscover the joys in spending the holidays with family and friends. It's a classic tale made modern, and a funny look at the chaos that has become part of our holiday tradition. P.S.  Skip the movie, read the book!  ~ Katherine

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ TIME FLIES ~ Week Ending December 23

TIME FLIES was the perfect book for a busy time of year--light, funny and, for baby boomers, it gives the reader an opportunity to reminisce about high school memories, class reunions and music from the 70's, with a bit of seriousness thrown in--entertaining chick lit.  ~ Katherine

"Years ago, Melanie followed her husband, Kurt, from the New England beach town where their two young sons were thriving to the suburbs of Atlanta. She’s carved out a life as a successful metal sculptor, but when Kurt leaves her for another woman having the tools to cut up their marriage bed is small consolation. She’s old enough to know that high school reunions are often a big disappointment, but when her best friend makes her buy a ticket and an old flame gets in touch to see whether she’ll be going, she fantasizes that returning to her past might help her find her future…until her driving phobia resurfaces and threatens to hold her back from the adventure of a lifetime.Time Flies is an epic road trip filled with fun, heartbreak, and friendship, and explores what it takes to conquer your worst fears…so you can start living your future." ~ from the Publisher

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ THE ART OF HEARING HEARTBEATS ~ Week Ending December 16, 2013

If you’re in the mood for something to restore your faith in love, try The Art of Hearing Heartbeats.  It spans the decades between the 1950s and the present, and is set primarily in Burma. It's a fairy tale of a love story between two unlikely people who are separated for almost all of their adult lives.  It's also a testament to those who are disabled (one suffers from temporary blindness, the other from a deformity), and shows how their lives are enriched rather than limited, both by their determination to live full lives, as well as their willingness to trust each other. ~ Katherine

"When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be...until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father's past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader's belief in the power of love to move mountains." ~ from the Publisher

that is set in Burma and spans time from the 1950′s to the present. It is the gorgeous telling of a love story that will touch your heart and have you believing in true and everlasting love. - See more at: http://darlenesmoliak.booktrib.com/reviews/the-art-of-hearing-heartbeats/#sthash.WPTEt29z.dpuf

JUST FOR FUN

With all the stresses of this time of year (shopping, snow storms, cranky people), it's time for something light.  How many of these books do you recognize?

This was supposed to be one of the easiest ones, and I read it, twice, but couldn't guess the cover.  In fact, I only guessed two of them, and one I hadn't even read.

Take a look and some guesses. How many did you get? Any surprises?

Famous book covers as seen on iOS7

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE ~ Week Ending December 9, 2013

THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE was my first Neil Gaiman book, and it was a strange and often chilling journey into childhood dreams--and nightmares.  Because it is a story about children and seen through the eyes of a child, it seemed to be more of a juvenile book--but not one that you'd want to read to children. It's myth, fantasy and horror, a fairy tale.  It's the reality of the helplessness of childhood, and some very astute views of adults:

“Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. Truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.” 

 and

 "Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the spaces between fences."  

Highly recommended!  ~ Katherine

"Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what." ~ from the Publisher

WHAT DO THESE THREE BOOKS HAVE IN COMMON?

POWER FOODS FOR THE BRAIN by Neal D. Barnard, M.D.

"Could your breakfast or lunch be harming your memory? Are you missing out on the foods that could prevent Alzheimer's disease?

Everyone knows good nutrition supports your overall health, but few realize that certain foods-power foods-can protect your brain and optimize its function, and even dramatically reduce your risk of Alzheimer's Disease. Now, New York Times bestselling author, clinical researcher and health advocate Dr. Neal Barnard has gathered the most up-to-date research and created a groundbreaking program that can strengthen your memory and protect your brain's health."


HEALING IS POSSIBLE by Neil Nathan, M.D.

"... In Healing Is Possible, Dr. Nathan identifies the twelve major imbalances in the body that often contribute to chronic and/or complex illnesses, such as chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, these balances are often overlooked or ignored by mainstream medicine. By identifying and treating these imbalances-which he calls the "Big Six" and "Little Six"-symptoms often improve or resolve completely. 

THE AUTISM MOM'S SURVIVAL GUIDE (FOR DADS TOO!) by Susan Senator

"Given the daily challenges of raising a child with autism, it’s easy for parents to lose themselves and for their overall quality of life to plummet. Susan Senator interweaves the voices of autism parents, researchers, and professionals to offer guidance and encouragement on how to find happiness and fulfillment in the midst of the struggles of raising an autistic child. Topics include: how to handle feelings of despair and hopelessness; finding fun, even during turbulent times; caring for your marriage; and finding a balance between accepting your child as he or she is and seeking new treatments."

So what do these books have in common? They are part of a new health and wellness collection, generously provided by a grant from New Milford Hospital.  The collection is located on the small bookshelf by the end computer behind the reference desk.  

If you're out tonight, stop by the library at 7:00 p.m. to hear about the healing benefits of acupuncture, and about the new health database, also provided by New Milford Hospital:  Consumer Health Complete.

(Note:  Book descriptions provided by publishers) 

TIRED OF LISTS?

As much as I love lists of books (best books of the year, best mysteries...literary fiction.....nonfiction), they're not always the most fascinating reading.  It's kind of like eating vegetables, if you're not a vegetable fan, they're necessary but not your most favorite food on the plate.  NPR has been putting out some of my favorite book lists, and according their website, they have published more than 80 year-end book lists — the best book club books, the best cookbooks, the best gift books, the best guilty pleasures. And they decided it was time to change it up--do something completely different. 

Check out their website and see what you think.  It's a lot more fun--you can see the dust jackets and click to a review. You can combine lists, and if you want a "printable" list, you can get that also.  Personally, I love it!  ~ Katherine

A MYSTERY TITLE RECOMMENDATION FROM SUZANNE

Maisie Dobbs - Maisie Dobbs, Bk, 1
Author: Jacqueline Winspear

"I loved the characters, the history and the way the author drew you into Maisie's journey. For a first in the series, I found the story kept my interest as it developed the characters."  ~ Suzanne

Maisie Dobbs isn't just any young housemaid. Through her own natural intelligence -- and the patronage of her benevolent employers -- she works her way into college at Cambridge. When World War I breaks out, Maisie goes to the front as a nurse. It is there that she learns that coincidences are meaningful and the truth elusive. After the War, Maisie sets up on her own as a private investigator. But her very first assignment, seemingly an ordinary infidelity case, soon reveals a much deeper, darker web of secrets, which will force Maisie to revisit the horrors of the Great War and the love she left behind.

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ SILVER STAR ~ Week of December 2, 2013

Jeannette Walls' first two books, GLASS CASTLE, about her childhood growing up with highly dysfunctional parents, and HALF-BROKE HORSES, "real life" fiction about her grandmother, were both bestsellers,and darlings of book clubs.  Her newest book, SILVER STARS, is definitely fiction, although the subject matter is similar--children with generally more sense of than the adults around them, doing their best to make mature decisions and take the high road.  This book felt more like young adult fiction, told from the point of view of a twelve year old, on the same topic. I'd like to see Jeannette Walls write about something else!  ~ Katherine

"Being a single mother is never easy, but for Charlotte Holladay, a wannabe folk singer in 1970, raising her 15- and 12-year-old daughters, Liz and Jean (aka “Bean”), is more than she can handle. Known for dropping out when things get tough, Charlotte’s latest spell of parental abandonment attracts police attention and the girls flee California rather than face being placed in foster care. A cross-country bus trip lands them on the doorstep of their only relative, the previously unmet Uncle Tinsley, and their arrival proves to be as much of a shock for the reclusive widower as it is for the girls themselves. As the trio learns to coexist, Liz and Bean try to fit into the small southern town. With money tight, they land jobs with mill foreman Jerry Maddox, an overbearing brute who runs roughshod over the town’s residents and takes advantage of Liz’s trusting nature, with devastating results"  ~ Booklist