THE OPPOSITE OF EVERYONE is the perfect title for this cunning, captivating and delightful novel that hits home in a few spots. "I was born blue," completes the circle of this enchanting novel when Paula Vauss, a divorce lawyer in Georgia, receives a note from her mother that reads: "I am going on a journey, Kali, I am going back to my beginning; death is not the end. .." The rich stories of Georgia lore and Karma make this novel charming. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it as the novel moves along fast and a surprise ending neatly ties everything together. I will be reading Joshilyn Jackson's other novels as her writing is distinctive and enjoyable.

Maud's Line is a rich novel of the life of an eighteen-year-old Cherokee Indian living with her family on a U.S. Government allotment in 1928 Oklahoma. Like all poor girls, she dreams of colorful dresses, mirrors, running water—all the things she reads about in books.

When a white peddler comes to town, Maud flirts with him with the idea she will leave town with him and sample that rich life. Maud does not understand the peddler's customs. Why will he not take her with him? Do the morals of the honest white man interfere with the beliefs of the good Cherokee girl?

Maud's Line is well written and very informative about Cherokee lore. I look forward to Margaret Verble's next novel.

Mac McClelland, a well-known human rights journalist, writes about her experience reporting on the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. The horrific atrocities she sees and hears, leaves her sick. McClelland becomes fearful and extremely vulnerable to the conditions violating all human rights. The slant of her reporting changes when she develops PTSD at the completion of her Haitian assignment.
She writes in-depth about the Haitians battle with PTSD while battling her own symptoms. McClelland meets a French soldier Nico in Haiti and is attracted to him even with all the chaos. One side effect of her illness nearly destroys Nico and their relationship.
I found this book very enlightening about PTSD and McClelland writes this compelling memoir suggesting our Government fund more programs and new treatments for veterans and families with this affliction.

First Frost is a delightful story about the Waverley women in Bascom, North Carolina. They each have strange powers and the women in the community take wide berths around them so their strangeness does not rub off on them, unless they need something like a special mixture that stops a child's cough. Just before the first frost the Waverley women become restless, unsettled and hope they can last until that frost without making any mistakes. This year the Waverley women question their gifts. Are they really gifts or just stories told many times?

The Waverleys have a large family feast in the back yard the afternoon after the first frost of the season when their apple tree bursts with apple blossoms and then apples that the tree throws at the men if they get too close to it. No one knows why this tree acts that way, and the Waverley women do not know how or why they have special skills. Their family history is sparse but this year's first frost clears the atmosphere, everything settles down, and answers come to some of their questions about their past.

First Frost is a refreshing novel and Sarah Addison Allen's prior books are now on my wish list.

The death of a newborn infant is always devastating. When an opportunity arises for the woman to become a wet-nurse for another newborn infant, she accepts the opportunity to ease her discomfort. This is how Juliet got her wet-nurse.
The wet-nurse fell in love with the beautiful Juliet and vowed to give her all the love and happiness she and her husband Pietro bestowed on each other and the six boys she lost to the plague. The story is told from the wet-nurse's point of view. Juliet is head-strong and her lover Romeo is determined to wed her. It is the night before the wedding when Juliet learns that her cousin Tybalt and Romeo are both killed in a fight and she is devastated. She cannot imagine being married to someone other than Romeo, but will obey her father, Lord Cappeletti. By now you may have guessed this Juliet and Romeo are the same as the Romeo and Juliet from Shakespeare's play ROMEO AND JULIET.
JULIET'S NURSE is romantic, funny and full of action during this time in history. Award winning author Lois Leveen has a few surprises for her readers and her style is most enjoyable and readable.

Mimi Malloy at Last is an adventure where a family finds a gap in their family tree. After World War II the Irish Catholic family did not move from Quincy, Massachusetts so they were able to revisit their earlier haunts and homes to relive those memories. It is surprising what they uncovered. Once revealed, the family sighs a big relief and become close again. Mimi Malloy at Last reveals how earlier misconceptions of family life can wreak havoc with sibling hurt feelings, misunderstandings and relationships. Julie MacDonnell handled the mystery with deep understanding and sensitivity. I thoroughly enjoyed going down memory lane with the Malloys and revisiting Quincy in that era after World War II. I look forward to reading MacDonnell's next book.

Buying In tells the entertaining story of Sophie's adventures as a first-year analyst with Sterling and Sons, a brokerage investment bank. Sophie is from rural Massachusetts and has a lot to learn on her job dealing with mergers and the idiosyncrasies of big-named corporations in a male-dominated profession. Sophie's ideas of a 9-5 job with anticipated sight-seeing adventures are quickly replaced by reality. She works all-night for most of the five difficult months making changes in merger documents for early morning meetings. Events take place where Sophie quickly matures and applies the advice given by her boss Ethan, surprising both him and the reader. Wall Street, high finances and rigorous deals in a male-dominated profession all pique my interests, so I look forward to her next adventure.

The Mouse Proof Kitchen is the story of Tobias and Anna whose perfect life is shattered when their daughter Freya is born: flawed. Will they be able to give her unconditional love?

Their lives change when they leave England to live in France. They are the new owners of an old farmhouse Les Rajons at the top of a large hill open to the wind on all sides. Their view is of the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea. The story recounts their struggles with leaky roofs, mold, and rats in the kitchen. Anna gets organized and deals with Freya's demanding and critical medical care while cleaning up and repairing the house for her planned French cooking school or a restaurant for tourists.

Dealing with serious questions of parenthood and desperate housing problems, The Mouse Proof Kitchen is written with good-natured humor of farm life in rural south France that ends happily. I enjoyed the quick read and will read more of Shah's books.

David Fitzgerald shares his experience with manic depression during his twenty's and thirty's. When young, his older brother Andy beat and insulted Fitzgerald. His college roommates bullied him relentlessly. Fitzgerald never learned to fight back or stand up for himself.
At twenty-three, Fitzgerald had no self-worth and the bullying triggered a sharp razor-cutting session leading to psychiatric hospitalizations. Today Fitzgerald functions normally as long as he controls his medicine and keeps appointments with his psychiatrist.
Fitzgerald has two novels published and this is his first memoir. There are some disturbing parts, but otherwise SHARP a Memoir makes an interesting and informative read about bipolar disease from the patient's point of view.

A Land More Kind Than Home is a line from You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe, that reflects the thread in this novel. It is a painful tale of courage and bravery in the face of cruelty. In the early 1900s, the town of Marshall was a small crossroad in Madison County in western North Carolina. Tobacco is about the only product that grows there and people live a simple but poor and rugged life. They have their farms and their faith to sustain them, and live by the adage: Protect your own and do not snoop.

A Land More Kind Than Home is written from the first-person point-of-view. Each character reiterates what happened in their past and the struggles they are having in the community now. The characters are Adelaide Lyle, the town midwife; Clem Barefield, sheriff for Madison County; and Jess Hall, a curious boy of seven with many questions.

This is Cash’s first novel. I found it a delight to read and felt right at home in Marshall. I look forward to Wiley Cash’s second and subsequent books.

If you are interested in the Aboriginals and how the first penal colony was settled in New South Wales in the 1780’s, The Lieutenant is the book worth reading. Although it is fiction loosely based on a real person, the rich details of daily life, conflicts, and diversity of language drives the story leaving its readers to want more.

Valley of the Lost takes place in picturesque Trafalgar near Vancouver, Canada. Lucky Smith finds a small baby crying behind the Women’s Support Center where she is a counselor. Lucky discovers the body of a young female. Is she the baby’s mother? Could this be a drug overdose? The next morning a counselor from Child Services demands Lucky turn the baby over to them. They will find a licensed foster home until the baby’s family can be located. Lucky forcefully says no; she will be his foster mother.

Constable Molly Smith, Lucky’s daughter, is a new recruit with the local police department. The detective enlists Molly’s help to solve this case. Molly is popular with the young women in town and thinks she can get more information from them than he can. Molly runs into a stone wall. No one in town has any information other than her name is Ashley (no last name) and the baby’s name is Miller. Many twists and turns drive the mystery to a surprise ending.

Valley of the Lost is a delightful mystery and I look forward to more adventures featuring Constable Molly Smith. The first in the series is In the Shadow of the Glacier.