All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Steifvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater is one of my favorite books.

I loved her Raven Cycle series.

But All the Crooked Saints––Stiefvater's latest novel––hit a soft place inside me, where love meets darkness longing for redemption. In her book, she tells a story rife with magical realism that strips away the stupidity of religion and pokes at the characters that are hurting and want to be healed. This is the sort of story I love––where an author is able to deal with real life issues in ways that feel like fantasy. Or maybe this was a fantasy, that felt like real life.

Three cousins live with their extended family on a ranch in Colorado where pilgrims will come hoping for a miracle. One of the cousins is can provide a miracle but what happens after that is up to the pilgrim. And what happens when that balance of miracle and darkness is tipped? Thus the story begins to move forward in interesting ways.  It results in a whirlwind of life-changing events for all three cousins.

I found that it took me awhile for the story to settle in and make sense, so I encourage readers to push through the seemingly confusing first pages. It is well worth the read.

I don't know if Stiefvater is a Christian or just someone who understands the darkness that exists in the world. Her view of how we should deal with that darkness is beautifully rendered through this story.  We are all crooked saints.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

I have been a fan of John Green for years. In his latest novel, Turtles All the Way Down, he gives readers an excellent picture of what it means to suffer, to be imperfect and yet be loved. What starts as a mystery, soon becomes the story of one teen's struggle to understand (or rather decide) if she is a whole person.

This book is an incredible inside-look into the fears and identity crises we all have experienced manifested intensely inside one girl.

When Aza discovers a long-ago friend's billionaire father goes missing, she and her friend Daisy decide they will try and solve the missing-person case for the offered reward.  But as they dig into the past to find clues, they discover more about themselves than they do the case, resulting in a series of life-changing events.

Green again gives readers uncompromising characters who are able to be funny, honest, raw and likable. This is my favorite of his to date.

Sycamore by Bryn Chancellor

Told through multiple voices, Sycamore tells the story of people in a small town dealing with love, loss, and finding a place to call home.

When a girl's bones are found down in a rocky gully, it opens up the tumultuous past for both young and old members of the small town of Sycamore. I loved moving fluidly between the past and present, following the stories of the intertwining characters living in Sycamore. Written with heart and an understanding of what makes people choose to act, to love, to leave, and to say goodbye, Chancellor has given us a beautiful view of small-town life in the midst of public tragedy.

I grew up in a small town. So many of the things that define small towns are present in this lovely tale: the ever-present knowledge of everyone's else's business, seeing but not telling secrets, hiding shameful behaviors because everyone knows you.

Everyone knows. I think that's what Chancellor showed through her characters that I loved most: while everyone knows, everyone is gracious with each other's secrets and longings and needs. Not that things aren't ugly or bitter or twisted anyway. But that in the knowing, there can still be love.

Waste of Space by Gina Damico

Irreverent. Hilarious. Surprisingly tender. That's how I would describe Waste of Space.

Ten teenagers are cast in a new reality show set in space. Sounds ridiculous––and it it! The whole book is written as a series of "documents" discovered after the show aired, as a way of explaining exactly how everything started to devolve and eventually fall apart.  It uses behind-the-scenes phone calls from the producers, scientists, and crew members; Camera feeds (both on and off-air); Private confessions; and cell phone recordings by the teens trapped in space.

While the ten teenagers are all stereotypically cast for maximum tension, it is the insane man behind the show's idea who got my attention. I love how author Gina Damico gave Chazz (the reality-show producer) an over-the-top personality. I laughed. I gagged. I was shocked. Surely no one is this crazy in real life, right?

Everyone on the ship is trying to win the final prize, but nothing goes as planned (Chazz will try to control this many, many times). What was supposed to be scripted and timed becomes real and dangerous and out of anyone's control.

While it was a heck of a romp, in the end, this was a story about trying to find our place in this world (or the next).

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

I have had Jennifer Egan's latest book, Manhattan Beach, on hold from the library since this spring and it finally arrived a week ago.  I loved several of her previous books: A Visit from the Goon Squad, Look at Me and The Keep. Egan has a way of opening up her characters, developing them into complicated, but realistic people.

Though set during the first world war, Manhattan Beach didn't rely on the usual tropes of battle and pain. Instead it showcased a father and daughter as they both are navigate how to survive when their worlds collapse.

As a child Anna adored her father, accompanying him as he visited men for his union job. But when her father suddenly disappears, Anna is left adrift. As an adult she gets sucked into the underworld her father disappeared into, looking for answers to her father's disappearance and discovering what local nightclub owner, Dexter Styles, knows.

This beautifully-written book was a fascinating story about at a headstrong women determined to succeed and the machinations of a desperate man determined to provide for his family––at any cost.

Hot Milk by Deborah Levy

Hot Milk follows Sofia and her mother, Rose, as they travel to Spain where they will see a new doctor who will hopefully be able to finally explain Rose's seemingly incurable illness.

Levy's writing provides deep insights into human nature and in this book she allows us into the mess that is Sofia's life. While in Spain, moving strangely as if in a haze through the hot, muggy landscape, she must navigate her depressing relationship with her dependent mother, all while encountering new people who also demand her attention.

This is a story, sure. But it is not light reading. Levy has drawn her characters and their every action with purpose, pointing readers to what underlies their motivations, insecurities and messiness.

The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

The Breakdown. It is certainly a title with double meaning. When Cass sees the car broken down in the rain on the way home one night, she stops but does not get out to help. The next morning, a woman is found dead inside that very car.

Over the next weeks, Cass starts forgetting things. She begins to question everything and wonders if she also forgot something she did that night she stopped by the car.....

I appreciated the story structure Paris used to put this suspenseful tale together. I didn't figure things out too quickly, but was carried along by the mystery and was pleased when the clues started to connect. 

This is an easy thriller I would recommend to anyone who likes this genre.

Toot & Puddle by Holly Hobbie

Friends, even those who live together, can be very different. Such is the case with pigs, Toot and Puddle. Toot wants to see the world; Puddle likes to stay at home in Woodcock Pocket.

 (Woodcock Pocket: I love saying that aloud. So satisfying in the mouth).

Holly Hobbie's pictures are stunning, which is why I fell in love with these darling pigs. Their understanding of the sorts of differences we find in each other - and embrace -  is a lovely picture of friendship for young children.

I fell for her earlier books - before they became more brightly colored and eventually a tv series. I will advocate for the originals as my favorites by far.









You can find more of the original-style adventures with Toot & Puddle here:

Big Sister, Little Sister by LeUyen Pham

I fell in love with Big Sister, Little Sister because I am a big sister and I have a little sister. This book captures so much of what that experience is like. 

Pham goes between their two perspectives both in simple statements and amazing pictures.

According to the big sister, she is always right and always looks out for her little sister.  However, according to the little sister, she is always right and she doesn't need looking after. It was fun to hear my boys (big brother, little brother) identify with these girls in their sibling roles.

Pham's style of illustrating gives life to all of the facial expressions and body language that accompany interactions between sisters. Or siblings, period.

If you are a sister or have daughters or know what it means to have/be a sibling, this book is a gem.

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty

Now that all three of my kids are older, I don't have the regular pleasure of reading picture books aloud.

I still love them.

Two nights ago I read Ada Twist, Scientist aloud to a friend's daughter,  three-year old Lily. I love that it encourages children to ask questions in order to understand their world. That's what a good scientist does, right?

As any good picture book should do, David Roberts' illustrations made Lily ask questions and look for clues in order to answer some of the questions Ada Twist asks within the story.

There are a fair amount of words (great vocabulary, too!) but even with Lily at age three, there was plenty to spur excellent conversation about the basics of what it means to be a scientist.





Andrea Beaty and David Roberts have other books about children pursuing career interests. Check out these titles as well:

Peace Like A River by Leif Enger

I only read Peace Like a River because a friend recommended it....even named his first-born after its main character, Reuben. Its soft cover art and even the title itself would not have drawn me to put it in my library bag on a normal weekly run.

Reuben, a pre-teen boy,  tells the story of how he, his father, and spunky younger sister all go on a journey to look for his older brother, who is on the run from the law.

I thought this book would be soft (like the cover) and perhaps too steeped in religious language (the title) to cover any grit there needed to be in a story involving death and law and love. While this story certainly errs on the side of "family-friendly" in terms of how it handled difficult themes, I was pleased that it still gave those themes the weight they deserved.

There are elements of magical realism that I struggled with throughout, but they become increasingly important to Reuben on their journey. I wouldn't add this title to my "best books" list, primarily for how the magical pieces are used in the culmination of the story (no spoilers, sorry).

Overall, I was glad to have read it. It was different than other books I typically choose in that it held onto an ideal worldview in the midst of tragedy. While this bothered me for much of the book, I still valued the story Enger shared through Reuben's eyes.

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney

The Girl Before is the perfect psychological thriller set in a world of incredible technological advances. This felt like an extended  episode of Black Mirror.

Emma and Jane both have just experienced traumatic things in their lives and so when the perfect house comes available, they jump at the opportunity to live within its safe boundaries.

Never mind the odd questionnaire that accompanies their applications asking them about their personal habits and what they would do in ethically challenging situations.

Never mind the long list of rules they must obey in order to live there.

Never mind that no one seems to live there for very long.

The book follows both Jane and Emma's experiences living in One Folgate Street...and what we learn about the house and its architect will shock and keep readers enthralled until the very end.

The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

The Girl with Glass Feet is a beautiful, modern fairy tale.

Ida is slowly turning into glass and she has returned to St. Hauda's Land looking for a cure. What she finds instead is Midas, a shy boy who is determined to help her stop the curse that has made her feet heavy and fragile.

Shaw has created a world that hints at the horrible, but still seems beautiful and full of possibility, even in the face of the tragic reality of Ida's feet.

This is a love story of a different kind. It might break your heart, or it might give you a lightness of heart at the hope it provides for us.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

The Vegetarian falls into my "words as art" list of books, where the ideas presented are more important than what is actually happening in the story.

Translated from Korean, this book uses stark, beautiful imagery to capture how one woman's decision to stop eating meat effects those around her in devastating ways.

Admittedly, I think I missed some of the things Kang wanted me to see and understand. I closed the book feeling like I had experienced something profound but unable to express to my husband exactly what it was.  It certainly made me think about our bodies and what makes them beautiful/repulsive, both to ourselves and others.  I saw how our decisions can damage others, but also how our inability to express deep emotions can be more damaging still.

This was an intense examination of passion and commitment to what we believe we must do to survive.

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

I would love to turn this book into a stage play. I spent one whole night dreaming up exactly how I would stage certain scenes, with a revolving set that transforms from the past cabin to the present-day cabin.

Aaaah. Fuller's Swimming Lessons has left an indelible print on my heart. It centers on the relationship between Gil and his wife, Ingrid, who disappeared 12 years ago. The book begins with Gil thinking he has seen his lost-missing wife outside his bookstore and chasing her outside. In this process he becomes ill and his adult daughter, Flora, comes to stay with him for time. She is a woman who still longs for her absent mother and thinks this visit might finally provide her with answers to past.

Flora's present-day chapters are broken up by letters Ingrid wrote to her husband before tucking them into books, where her husband may or may not ever find and read them. Together, these letters give a picture of how she and Gil met, fell in love and what led to her disappearance.  As Flora cares for her father, she learns some of what happened in the past and must make hard choices about what they mean for her future.

I loved this character-driven story filled with mystery, regret, sorrow and love.

Did I mention I want to make it into a stage play?

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore brings together a couple of my favorite story ideas: setting is a bookstore + mystery.

A death in the bookstore where Lydia works sets off memories of an old, unsolved murder she witnessed as a child. As she tries to work through this new death in her life, ghosts from her past begin to emerge and puzzles - both new and old - reveal clues that begin to offer answers to questions she has held onto for years.

Sullivan creates an interesting cast of characters to surround Lydia including my favorite, a fellow bookseller named Plath (loved her literary nod name).

While this is certainly an adult book based on thematic material, I did feel comfortable handing it off to my teenage son to read when I was done. It's a nicely twisty story that mystery fans will come away from feeling satisfied.

The Good Widow by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

There is a surge of relationship-gone-bad thrillers in the market right now thanks to the success of Gone Girl. The Good Widow would certainly fit into this genre.  While it held my attention, it didn't leave me gasping in the same way Gone Girl did.  There was an urgency to and connection I felt with the two main characters in Gone Girl that I just never got here.

Without giving away too many details, this story begins with Jacks (short for Jacqueline) learning that her husband, James, was killed in a car accident while in Hawaii. Trouble is, Jacks thought he was on a business trip in Kansas. Not only that, she learns he was with another woman.

Jacks and Nick, the fiancee of the woman her husband was with when he died, decide to travel together to Hawaii to retrace the last days of their loved ones in the hopes of understanding what happened and to bring closure to their loss. They discover a lot about themselves and their lovers that they did not know.

I appreciated the past - present structure of the book, allowing me to see the progression of the various relationships. But, overall, I found parts to be more annoying than believable and I hurried through the end simply to find out what would happen. I would not recommend this over other books with this same tone, but if you like a quick-read thriller, this one fits the bill.

Kindred by Octavia Butler

A few weeks ago a bookseller email-blasted a "100 Books You Should Read" list. Usually I scan through them and find the same old-school titles paired with the usual modern day suspects. However this list had all sorts of titles on it that I have read and loved and that I usually don't find on such lists. Clearly, this list had been created by a like-minded soul.  I started writing down the titles of everything I had never read to look up and possibly read.

Kindred was one of those books. I've read some of Butler's short stories but never one of her novels. At first I was worried it would be like The Time-Traveler's Wife (which I loved). I worried enough to think that Niffenegger had maybe stolen Butler's idea from this 1979 book.....but no.

Butler tells the tale of Dana, a black woman married to a white man,  who finds herself transported back in time to a slave-holding plantation. She is yanked out of her present life into the past in order to save the life of a white boy  - the son of a cruel slave-owner. She soon finds herself trying to use her modern-day knowledge to protect and save the people around her. But the past only sees her skin color and she is pulled into the only role she can play: slave.

What Dana must endure, must watch, must learn about her people's past is told with grace and blood; How she must finally save herself is the reason to read until the end.

Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed

Gather the Daughters is a tour-de-force of gut-wrenching creepiness. I like dystopian futures crafted by writers whose visions of what could be is just off-kilter enough to exact change in the real world. But this.....Melamed clearly has drawn from her experiences working with abused children. She tells the tale of a disturbing culture ruled by men, as told through the eyes of multiple female children.

All the girls in the community grow up hearing about the wasteland...a burning, inhospitable place for people. Years ago the ancestors came to this island and made a life for themselves, each family contributing to their closed society. Children are free in the summers to play and wander. But come the year of fruition, girls become women, and women have one role to play in their society.

Kudos to Melamed for portraying all of her characters with their necessary levels of creepiness and fear, without having to be grossly explicit in all of the details. I loved being pulled along in the story wondering "what's going to happen next" as each new detail about the isolated community is revealed and we are ushered into the secrets of what it means to be a good daughter.

Problems by Jade Sharma

So.....I thought I had problems. But compared to Maya and her myriad issues, I really shouldn't complain anymore. Sheesh.

This book exposes a world of addiction and compulsion and strips out all the pretty, hopeful moments.  I would never recommend this to anyone who can't handle explicit content in any form because Sharma goes there.

However, I would recommend it to people who are comfortable with the ugliness of life and need to know they are not alone. There was something oddly repulsive, yet comforting in Maya's decision-making processes. I found myself saying, "Yep. That's exactly how it goes" multiple times throughout this book.  Sharma has perfectly captured our human messiness and that's what made me finish this short book.

When the English Fall by David Williams

There was something compelling about the basic premise of this story: what would a peaceful people do when apocalyptic events push them to their limits? Told in the form of an Amish man's journal entries, we get a glimpse into the events as they unfold around their community.

Admittedly, I felt it was a little too safe but reconciled this with the fact that it is an Amish man who is telling the story. It made sense that he would couch everything in terms of thankfulness and hope. As a general rule I stay away from books like that; I'm not a pessimist, but a realist. A reality where everything is tied up neatly in the end annoys me because that's not how life is. I suppose in that way this book did not disappoint. I closed it in the end feeling OK with how Williams chose to resolve the Amish decision, but unsettled enough to not hate it.

The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel

Yann Martel is best known for his novel Life of Pi. It was such a delight it was even made into a movie. Should it be made into a film, The High Mountains of Portugal would make viewers crazy. That, or offer a director amazing artistic opportunity. I feel like something about this book rang the same sort of bells the movie Holy Motors did for me. If you haven't yet seen this film, strap on your crazy boots before you do - and hold on for the ride.

I digress....

There are three distinct stories in The High Mountains of Portugal with each having a similar themes of beauty, finding meaning and identity. It took me awhile to get into the story since it is told in a simple, stark way. But once I adapted to the rhythm, I was hooked into seeing what Yann wanted me to see. Without spoilers, I loved the religious overtones found in everyday experiences and the depth of insight into the human condition.

This is not a light read. This is not fluff to quickly eat before moving on to another course. It is, however, very much a love story.

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

In Roth's Carve the Mark, everyone is born with a currentgift. Akos and his brother are captured by a dangerous people who want what their currentgifts will offer them. Among those dangerous people lives Cyra,  a girl who must channel her own currentgift to serve her tyrannical brother in ways she despises. When the two are brought together, unexpected things happen that will change both of their lives and perceptions deeply.

Fans of Roth's Divergent series will expect this to be another action-packed dystopian sort of thing.  My son wasn't as drawn into this story, maybe because the pace is slower and the world takes some explanation at the start that might leave younger readers bored and confused.

But...for those of us who stuck it out, it becomes a character study of Cyra and Akos, revealing within them the struggle to remain true to who they are and a willingness to be changed. For those of you who'd like to see it, the story may also be a reminder to those of us currently sharing a planet with people who hate us for reasons we can't understand.

City of Saints & Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson

City of Saints & Thieves drew my interest initially because it was set in Africa. Not in the lush, wildlife-infested portion that I usually am drawn to (The Poisonwood Bible anyone?) but in a modern, urban city where crime and passion exist hand-in-hand.

The book features gangs, thievery, mystery and revenge. I found myself rooting for Tina - spunky, resourceful, loyal and determined - to discover who murdered her mother years ago. Her sole purpose among the gangs in Sangui City was to equip herself for revenge. But what happens when it is time to finally get it leads to a series of unexpected events and revelations. I found her experiences both incredible and eye-opening. They very well could be the experiences of an urban, African teen struggling to live in a dangerous time and place.

Not only did I love Tina, but some of her cohorts and enemies made me laugh or burn with rage - which is the mark of a good character writer. When I'm feeling invested, something has gone very, very right.

Genius: The Game and Genius: The Con by Leopoldo Gout

I originally picked these up for ME. But my 12-year old son swiped the first book, Genius: The Game, for himself before I was able to read it. After one night he had it finished and eagerly assured me it would love it.

First impression: loved the artwork featured on nearly every page in graffiti-like borders and the typographical choices of random bolding, underlining and font face changes. All together it makes for a very modern, urban feel.

Young boys will especially love the science and engineering behind the plot, but girls will dig that (IMHO) the coolest character is a Chinese badass girl.  There is mystery, coding, machine battles, world-travel and danger around every corner. You don't know who to trust, what's REALLY going on or who is going to win in the end. Sound enticing? Good.

The fun continues in the second book, Genius: The Con. Same feel, same adventure is continued.  Some secrets are revealed, which is satisfying. Some things are not yet revealed, which is frustrating (and means a third book). Ah well.

As Painted Wolf would say, "Bring it on, Leopoldo Gout."