This debut novel is a powerhouse of a time and place that shows very little mercy to anyone. The frozen land is just as much of a character as is 11 year old Caleb, who has to grow up much too quickly in absolutely horrible circumstances. He heard and/or watched the murder of his father and his four siblings, surviving by hiding in the barn. He gets a glimpse of the three men who did this, and he knows it is up to him to find them and get frontier justice for their horrible deeds. While trying to figure out what to do, he hears someone crunching through the snow. As the door opens, once gentle Caleb shoots the intruder. Unfortunately, it was no stranger. It was his mother, coming back from an extended midwife trip. Nursing her as much as possible, plus dealing with the bodies of the rest of his family, he becomes a man with a mission. Soon, his mother is (barely) able to travel, and both begin to track the killers. Everyone in this book has some sort of secret, even the dead. And slowly, as the hidden comes to light, the action and tension increase throughout this book until the very last standoff. It is hard to believe that this is a first novel--the writing is absolutely stunning. James Scott is truly a new voice to pay attention to.

This book starts with events in 2012 and ends up in 2082. Women are mostly in charge since roughly 2055 and things are a bit different than they were in 2012. A new United Nations has been created, and the world seems more connected (helped with major advances in technology). However, not all is well. Patria, a hate group focused on women, are beginning to ramp up their presence as the U.N. makes plans to honor The Circle of Thirteen, 13 women who died as martyrs and were the impetus to the major changes in world. The book bounces around in time, blending past and present very nicely to move the tale along quickly. It's just enough "sci-fi" to keep the whole things fresh, enough feminism to make me fascinated (and wishful), and fast enough in it's storytelling to keep me reading to the wee hours. This is an impressive debut novel that I urge any lover of mysteries to read.

This is a whole new version of the wild west, or at least new to me. It involves a runaway prostitute, a very young and green Texas policeman, two jaded rangers with an obsession for one specific criminal, and buried treasure. There are plenty of twists and turns in this book, and it paces well. This would be a great book for fans of Deadwood and its like.

This book is one of the most beautiful I've ever read. While it's set in the time of the Holocaust, there is love, joy, compassion and profound bravery. This is a novel, but it is based on real people, a woman and her daughter, who saved 15 people from death despite the many difficulties and sorrows of their own. This will make you remember how good people can be, how amazingly resilient they are, and what even just a couple of people can do to truly change the world. This book renewed my faith in humanity, and I will put this book in as many hands as I possibly can.

I spent 3+ years a decade and a half ago taking care of my dying mother. I wasn't sure I wanted to read this book--it was a difficult time that I'm generally happy to keep in the closet. However, I took the plunge into Katy Butler's book, and found out that what I felt and went through was not unique and it was wonderful to hear echoes of what I experienced in her story. She is very open with her feelings, and her frustrations, with her family, the tremendously mysterious and maddening medical army you must take on in the process of helping someone in decline and death (though Butler finds ways around it as time goes by), and the modern version of dying that has taken all the sacred away and piled up too many procedures, patches, and invasive entrances to our bodies and our lives. Butler, a Buddhist, believes that things can be different, and she shows us what is so wrong, and what can be righted, if we are willing to stand up for a better death. This is a book that most people need to read, for their family and for themselves.

I do love debut authors--it's fun to be among the first to find a truly wonderful writer. I had my doubts about this book--a woman waiting on execution in 1828 Iceland really didn't seem like my cup of tea. However, the book had already started generating some buzz, so I gave it a go...and had a terrible time putting it down. This is a very atmospheric and dark book, with guilt, innocence, class and women's issues as well as draconian punishment/"justice". I felt the cold of the land and the people, with every page turned. This is based on a true story, and the historical facts have been very carefully curated to move the story along. This is an impressive debut of a marvelous storyteller and an author to keep your eye out for in the future.

This is poet Jason Mott's first step into fiction, and what a debut it is! The premise of the book is the returning of long dead people, now alive again and the same age as when they died. They appear, at times, very far from where they came from. Governments around the world begin to organize getting them back to their families, but as more and more people return, things get crazier and crowded as tensions rise. There are so many issues that come up in this situation, regarding morality, religion, humanity (on several levels), civil rights, martial law, family dynamics and so very, very much more. This is a fascinating book, and it seems that this will be a series of sorts, and is already optioned for television in 2014. I can't imagine a better book for book clubs--there is sooooooo much to think about and discuss in this very impressive book.

T. Greenwood has created a heart-breaking love story that will resonate in my mind for a very, very long time. Her characters are vibrant and believable in both their love and their cruelty. While it's set in the late 50s and early 60s, there are so many issues that still, sadly, stand today. This is not a typical love story, and it will make you angry, sad, joyous, confused, afraid, misty-eyed and disgusted no matter what side of the issues you identify with. I don't want to tell you more, I want you to read this book and experience the careful reveals that this author writes so very, very well. T. Greenwood just gets better and better with every book.

Wow oh wow oh wow oh wow. This book takes a hold of you and doesn't really ever let you go...not even when you finish it. Brilliant is really the best word for it. And with all the extras--photos, newspaper clippings, files, as well as all the online content you can easily find for the book (movie posters, testimonies, the best book trailer I've ever seen, and I've seen quite a lot of them), this is a full on multi-media production of cinematic stature. It's creepy, with some gore (though not much, though the shadows of this book makes it seem like more might jump out at you at any time), dark and atmospheric. There are endless (literally) mysteries to this book that make a mosaic of psychological terror that will keep you tightfisted on the book until the wee hours of the morning.

I thought that this was far more of a "foodie" book than it turned out to be. She talks about food pretty often, and has included some recipes in the book, but this is really just a memoir of her childhood into early adulthood. And oh, boy, did she have one heck of a childhood. Her mother was something of an intellectual hippie who later became a psychotherapist , her father was a player pretty much, with a very violent streak and not much interest in his three daughters. There was a precession of stepfathers that really didn't work out. The family drifted from home to home, trying to be a regular family, but always ending up together in a very bonded family walking a tightrope day after day. Yet many amazing, and some rather crazy, opportunities came to them, and they got through the years. Christensen lays it all out, and doesn't hide anything it seems. She throws open all the doors and windows and walks you through it all. She has lived a very unique and full life so far, and her stories are amazing, though sometimes uncomfortable. This is a very unique "autobiography", and I would recommend this to anyone enjoys learning about different family styles and choices.

"Kind of Cruel" is a fitting title to my way of looking at things. Sophie Hannah has been messing with my mind for years now. That's why I was so excited to meet her in person recently (she is absolutely charming and has wonderful stories about how or why she chose various things in her books). She's a sneaky one--sometimes leaving clues out to help you or distract you, sometimes she pops in with a game changing new twist, and she always keeps you guessing until the very last sentence in the book (she said "well, that's rather my job, isn't it?"). Kind of cruel, right? While this book is #7 in a series, all the books stand pretty well on their own. If you haven't read her before, get started. If you are already a fan, you'll be very happy with this new book.

The remarkable Rebecca Lee manages to bring seven short stories into this slim volume. That does not mean that the narrative is rushed or confusing--I've never read an author who can drop me into a story so easily and with such detail. I entered into scenarios already in full bloom, yet I was able to grasp the what was going on, and how the drama was unfolding . In some ways, it seemed like eavesdropping, yet I still felt like a part of every story. I was a witness to these folks infidelities, jealousies, insecurities, sacrifices and was not depressed by their troubles because each story seemed to end with the sense of hitting a hard spot in life but seeing their way through it. I just can't explain Lee's talent clearly enough, so I'm just going to urge you to read the book. You won't be sorry.

This is a powerfully written political rant literally in wolf's clothing. Well, werewolf's (more correctly: lupine) clothing. This may sound ridiculous, but this is a very serious book about culture, racism, violence, war, protest and pretty much everything political. Plus medical advances and experimentation, the role of drugs in a community, and layers upon layers of deceptions and machinations. It's bloody, terrifying, full of action and it will keep you up at night trying to figure where the story will go next. In short, this book is really kind of brilliant and very, very much worth the read. It's a treasure chest of poignant observations offered in a fictionalized, blood drenched way. I'm deeply impressed with Benjamin Percy, and I am eager to see more from him in the future.

Yes, it's officially summer now because there is a new book by Claire Cook on our shelves. Time Flies is a good one (but aren't they all?). This time it deals with a divorced woman and single mother trying to make her way in the world with her metal sculptures. She has two looming problems--her fear of driving on highways, and her high school reunion. This is a wonderful book about becoming yourself again, celebrating it, and flaunting it when you can. I really identified with Melanie, and ended up doing no small amount of cheering for her, mentally and occasionally physically. Cook's characters always leap off the page and into your heart, and this one is not different. Trust me, you want to hang out with Melanie this summer, so read this book!

This book is fascinating--it begins with Ben Franklin and goes on through the 1970s with the history of trying to figure out and forecast tornadoes. I LOVE storms, so this book was a lovely adventure for me. I was very surprised to learn about the decades long debate about whether tornadoes even existed, plus many, many other interesting things. There is a bit of science involved in this book, but a layperson like myself can follow along fairly easily. And the stories of tornadoes and their antics will haunt you and have you watching the sky more often than not. Truly a superb book. I absolutely recommend it for those curious about such things or who just love a good history book.

Warning, this woman's writing is addictive. Her characters are so vivid you feel like you know them, and you go through their horrible times with them, feeling each and every one of their emotions.

Eva is a very modern woman for the year, 1956, when this story begins. She's divorced from a cheating husband and trying to raise her brilliant son, 12 years old at the start of the book, under a microscope for all of that AND because she is Jewish, making ends meet as a overworked, underpaid secretary. Lewis, her son, only has two friends, a brother and sister from across the street. Eva is like their second mother. Then a mystery changes the neighborhood forever, and all 4 of their lives change with it. (Wow, it's hard not to reveal any spoilers for this book!). This is a wonderful period peace that is nevertheless very familiar to us today. This is a fantastic read and I highly recommend it.

Emily has been growing up under some major expectations--her mother, a poet, has decided that it is Emily is going to be a great poet (she came upon this when a first edition of Emily Dickinson poetry turned up in her hands on the day her daughter was born--which is also how Emily got her name). However, Emily really doesn't like poetry. She'd rather be a romance writer--she wants happy endings for everything and everyone. She also wants to find her father (it's been just her and her mom for her whole life). She finally gets her mother to confess that she has written Emily's father's name in that Dickinson book--which has been accidentally given away to charity. With the help of a couple of friends, Emily begins to search the city to find that book that will lead her to her father.

This is a delightful middle grades read that truly reminded me of Judy Blume. There's a lot going on for both girls and boys (the friend's little brother is hilarious), and should make a great read for anyone 9-12. Or a big kid like me!

Two of my favorite writers, Gillian Flynn and S.J. Watson, blurbed this book, and I took that as good omen because these folks know what it takes to create a tale that will keep a reader up late and glued to the pages. And Maclean's declared it "a fast paced Exorcist-meets-DaVinci Code", which sounded hilarious in a way, but, after reading it, I have to agree.

This is a story of a man, his daughter and something very demonic, and unnamed. The main character, Professor David Ullman, is an expert on Milton's Paradise Lost, and has a somewhat tongue-in-cheek reputation as a demonologist because of it. His marriage has just dissolved, and he's left with his young and very withdrawn daughter. So it seems fortuitous when a visitor comes to his office and asks him to travel to Venice to "witness a phenomenon"--bringing his daughter was fine and the money offered staggering. But the phenomenon turned out to be beyond hellish, and was now attached to him and his daughter. The professor is pushed into more and more terrifying situations in order to get them free, all the while appearing a madman to everyone else around him. This book is creepy, breath-stealing and pretty much impossible to put down. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you are up to it, it's a riveting read.

This is an atmospheric and heart wrenching view of what the aftermath of 9/11 was for the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It focuses on one family, but the story it tells explains a part of the world that we know so little about at the day top day family level. Everything is in there--the poverty, the richness of life, family, war, peace, religion, traditions, education, Taliban, pride, guilt, life, death and, above all, survival. The prose is very lyrical, boarding on poetic, but that does not soften the blow of the violence these characters are subjected to (or subject others to). It isn't an easy read, but it is one that I highly recommend. It opened my eyes about many things, made me cry a time or two, and, most of all, it made me think about 9/11 in a very, very, very different way.

This is a beautifully written story about four women who think they are strangers, but they have connections to one another that become clearer as this slim novel moves through a few days of each of these ladies lives. The narrative weave is masterful, and several emotions are teased to the surface for both the characters and the reader. The theme throughout, however, is that life is full of things that feel like traps. Our weaknesses and mistakes. The violence done to us by others or ourselves, or that we may have done to others who have crossed our path. But things like that aren't always what they seem--a bad turn can sometimes take us to exactly the place that we need to go. Ultimately, maybe it's only ourselves we have to forget or forgive. I did a lot of cheering towards the end, and at least one fist pump. Please, treat yourself to this little gem.

This is a fantastic book--funny at times, but serious about science in a very accessible way. Zuk is taking on the growing wave of "getting back to our cave-man selves", "paleo-living" gurus and enthusiasts, explaining just how things have changed. Basically, we aren't in a cave anymore, and there is no way to go back to that, not even close. The process of evolution is examined often in Paleofantasy, with plenty of fascinating details about the hard facts or strong theories of why things have changed as they have. She doesn't "dumb down" anything, but rather speaks in clear language and offers plenty of examples so that any reader can follow her through even the most cutting-edge science, helping us to understand what it is and why it's important. And certainly her sense of humor kept me turning the pages. Since I left college, I can probably count the science books I've read on one hand. This one really got my attention and curiosity, so I am highly recommending it to all of you!

Karen Russell's "Vampires in the Lemon Grove" is a collection of delightfully quirky stories that made me laugh out loud at times. Her imagination is limitless, as is her ability to write an engaging tale. There is so much magic and wonder in this collection I could not choose a favorite. That being said, I know I will always smile at the mental picture I have of two geriatric vampires sitting on a bench sucking on lemons in beautiful Italy.

I felt like I had to read this book given the fact that every publishing related bit of email or Facebook update was talking about that book. I'd never heard of him, and kind of went into the book with a attitude of "this had better hold up to the hype". It did. It really did. While what he writes about is "out there" in a lot of ways, and was often miles away from my comfort zone, I hung in there because the writing was so wonderful. He took me to horrible places with beautiful words, leaving me with a notion that I should say thank you for the experience. I think of one of the stories, "Escape from Spiderhead", just about every day. It taught me a whole new dimension in horror, introduced me to a hideous but terrifyingly plausible future. And the whole book taught me the quality of Saunder's work, another thing I will not forget.

These stories are all about men who are fringe or broken: criminals, con men, highly questionable husbands and fathers. And they aren't getting any better. But Walter can create a multi layered character in just a few pages that you will not easily forget. I've got two favorites. The first one is based in the near future and a zombie workforce--"Don't Eat Cat". On the surface, it's hilarious. But it has darker shadows of intolerance and prejudice when you actually stop to think about it. My other favorite was more autobiographical for Walters, "Statistical Abstract For My Home Town, Spokane, Washington". He begins with basic facts, and then goes on to tell what I have assumed are true experiences regarding these statistics. He tells a story about a woman's safe house that was down the block that made me fall for him in a very hard way. I already liked the guy, but now I truly admire him.

I am a vampire fan, and generally take a look at any books about them. Most are not so great. But this one, which I sincerely thought was a YA book (it's not), caught me by surprise. I started reading it on the bus on my way to work--and missed my stop because I was enthralled from about page two onward. This book is the beginning of a series, and it's going to be a good one. This isn't your usual romance (also, now what I thought when I first looked at it)--there's tons of tense action and not a minor amount of gore. It's set in a new and interesting world that lies parallel to this one, split into several dimensions. It's also interesting to me that the author began writing this when she was 15, and sold it to HaprerCollins for six figures when she was 18. They are calling her "the new Stephanie Meyer", but I really think, after reading this book, that she is much more creative and nuanced in her writing. It will be interesting to follow her career over these next few years, certainly.

This is a fast moving tale about two sisters, one a blind but gifted psychic (Annie) and the other a very well-trained spy (Fia). Neither had much of a choice--they have be abandoned by their family, and the "school" that they live at requires them to use their abilities to promote the unknown goals of the institution. As what is demanded of them becomes more dangerous and suspect, Fia uses her training to find a way out. There's a lot of pulse pounding action-- this book is a true psychological thriller that might surprise the fan's of the author's Paranormalcy series. This book has an edge, and I for one really enjoyed it.

This book is delicious in several different ways. There's so much to learn, but with Stewart's gleeful exuberance and depth of knowledge, it's nothing but fun and fascination. And thirst, of course. There are lots and lots of cocktail recipes throughout the book. Trust me--you want this book. And buy one for your friends, because they will steal yours when you aren't looking. It's THAT kind of wonderful book.

I had to have this cookbook. Had to. While I am currently a urban apartment dweller, my heart and soul are those of a gardener and a foodie. Some folks do fantasy football or create virtual farms on Facebook, but me, I read gardening and cookbooks like novels and create beautiful fantasies of the wondrous things I will grow and make someday. And this book will keep me in lovely dreams at least until the farmers markets start up and I can start to cook some of these tantalizing recipes.

I had a rather unconventional childhood, with parents that became parents at the age of 16 and 18, but didn't have me until 17 years after my youngest brother was born. I was always fascinated with other peolpe's families--the one's where all the kids are kids at the same time. I guess I'm still trying to figure how families like that work. Or don't. Feiler started got the idea for this book during a rough patch in his own family life, which involved his wife and young twin daughters. He's done what he's always done when writing about the topic--epic and years long research. But this time, he convinced his family to join him in experiments (at varying levels of cooperation and enthusiasm, as you might suspect). Looking beyond psychologists and family therapists, he took his research to some unlikely places to learn about improving family dynamics: Silicon Valley, the Green Berets, Warren Buffet's bankers to name only a few. He says, " I set out to write an anti-parenting parenting book." It's all about trying new things, working together, shifting power and generally trying to be a team. It's often funny and always highly interesting. I even picked up a few ideas for making things better in some non-family group situations I'm involved in, so I do not consider this book to be for parents only. I think everyone can learn quite a bit from this book, and I happily urge you to read it.

This is Book 2 of The Lunar Chronicles (book one was Cinder), and a fantastic continuation of the fast paced narrative in these re-vamped and futuristic fairy tales. This book introduces another gritty heroine, Scarlet, who is searching for her kidnapped grandmother. Wolf, a stranger with a lot of secrets, joins her in her quest. But for what reasons? Cinder's adventure progresses as well, thanks to a pirate, starting with both of them breaking out of prison. Eventually Cinder and Scarlet meet and join up, finally figuring out that they are both being pursued by Lunar Queen Levana. Meyer's imagination offers her readers a wondrous and action filled break from reality. This is a high octane, can't-put-it-down kind of book that will leave you breathless for the next book in the series (coming in 2014).