Libby Weeks is the anonymous author of a famous series of children's books, similar in type to Harry Potter. The final book in the series is in the process of being completed when Libby is diagnosed with an early onset and quick progressing form of dementia. Her condition prevents her from completing the final book for all the fans of the Falling Children series.

Peanut Bixton, the 11 year old superfan of the series, knows all of the books by heart. She finds comfort in reading and rereading the books. The Falling Children series is her only lifeline in the confusing and anxiety-riddled world of junior high school.

At times, Libby Lost and Found, breaks boundaries between reality and imagination. The book is genre-bending crossing into fantasy, mystery, family saga, and coming of age. At times it is confusing, frustrating, and the readers of this novel may wonder…what kind of journey are they taking?

And yet, in the end, this endearing novel reveals the life-giving force of stories and the healing power of imagination. Stick with this journey and smile at its final words of wisdom.

What a madcap menagerie of retail workers! It's like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest comes to Town Square, the retail giant, AKA, Target?! Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman, dedicated to all retail workers, provides a laugh out loud glimpse into the life of warehouse workers with a pitch perfect, true to life, cast of characters. One of my favorites, Milo, unloads the replenishment trucks by "theme," what he considers his art. The characters in the "Movement" department, formerly known as Logistics, are all jockeying for positions and possible promotions. I'm passing this book onto to some of my family members who serve in leadership positions in the retail industry right now. My only criticism was that I wanted to hear even more from each of the characters.

One of the greatest joys of reading historical fiction is being transported to a dangerous and unfamiliar place in order to learn the lessons of history. Taken from author Eve J. Chung's own family history, Daughters of Shandong provided me a horrifying glimpse into China and Taiwan of the mid-twentieth century and educated me on its policies, geography, and its treatment of women and children within the family structure.

The Ang family and its women and children experience the brutality of the advancing Communist Army enforcing Mao Ze-Dong's massive land reform policies that redistributed land from wealthy landowners. Hai, the eldest child and daughter of the Ang family, was left behind along with her mother and sisters to face the violent cadre of soldiers implementing the Communist ideologies. Escaping from their small village of Zhucheng in Shandong in order to reunite with family, they undergo a brutal journey that takes them all across China to Hong Kong and eventually Taiwan.

I found the details of their journey fascinating. In many instances, I used maps to explore China and Taiwan in order to further understand the geographical context.

Overall, a magnificent read. I highly recommend this novel in order to further understand Chinese policies, geography, and most importantly female agency in Chinese culture.

Based on a true story, Above The Salt by Katherine Vaz spans continents and centuries to tell a sweeping saga of the human heart. So beautifully rendered in its wisdom and details, I can't tell you many times I had to set the book down just to ponder its powerful conflicts of the heart. Ms. Vaz did meticulous research on all of topics covered in this lifelong love story of John Alves and Mary Freitas. Starting with the conflict of Protestants and Catholics on the Portuguese island of Madeira to the Presbyterian sponsored immigration of persecuted Protestants to south central Illinois, the reader follows John and Mary through the Civil War with many betrayals, missed connections, and miscommunications ending in the early twenties of the San Francisco earthquake and the early film industry. This is a must read for lovers of historical fiction. One of my top books for the year.

One of the most interesting aspects of A Council of Dolls is the structural framework of 3 generations of Dakota/Lakota women with 3 different childhood dolls who eventually form a council to speak their "truth" to the main narrator who experiences 3 changes in her own identity (Sissy, Lillian, and finally Jesse). The stories cover over a century of generational trauma in which the Dakota/Lakota women want nothing more than to "rescue our girls and change their stories." The final section of the book is so fascinating as Jesse learns the importance of the stories within herself that are meant to be shared with others. As her father said to her, "Keep noticing…Keep the heart open."

With equal parts character study, love story, mystery, and adventure, Pieces of Blue weaves together the pleasure and pain that comes with living and loving. Lindsey, a young woman with three children, takes the insurance money from her husband's mysterious death to start her life anew, again, by renovating a vacation property off the beaten path in wild, tropical Hawaii. Her three children respond to this new life in different ways from curiosity and adventure to frustration. The focus on the children early in the novel add to its magic and charm. Olivia, Carl/Carlos, and Sena, along with their mother Lindsey each embody the pieces of blue. When Lindsey's first "guest" arrives, he is more than willing to help rebuild the property which raises questions as to his intentions. As the story unfolds, the reader sees multiple sides to each of the characters who add interesting contradictions, mysteries, and revelations. I was especially satisfied with the ending.

Although Margaret Verble completed most of Stealing over a decade ago, its publication couldn't be more timely right now with the revelations of the horrors inflicted on indigenous children in boarding school systems.

Karen "Kit" Crockett, the young mixed-heritage Cherokee narrator, recounts her memories of family and friends layered with the moments when her "whole life" is stolen.

Acting like her beloved protagonist Nancy Drew, Kit and her memories are slowly pieced together. The reader follows her self-revelations to understand all the ways that children were traumatized when the adults around them viewed the world in only one way and had "the last say."

Heart wrenching. Eye-opening. A must read.

A searing satire of technology's effects on individuals and society. Consider it a 21st century odyssey on the magnitude of Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" combined with Hollywood's techno thriller Inception.

Vauhini Vara's "The Immortal King Rao" follows the story of King Rao and his daughter Athena. From 1950s India to the near future of Seattle, the story moves back and forth from castes, nations, to a new way of life controlled by technology's power brokers. The novel explores what happens if online information is curated and controlled, and what happens when technology is developed to connect users to this information. Where and how do people, countries, and ideas begin and end?

What an excellent work of historical fiction, my favorite genre! Yet again, a debut author uncovers a fascinating, yet terrifying story based in fact. In this case, it's the political terror created by Argentina's "Dirty War."

I've always wanted to learn more about the culture of Buenos Aires and the countryside of Argentina's regions of the Pampas and Patagonia, and this novel did not disappoint. From the rich soil of the countryside often controlled by Argentine elites to the political turmoil roiling within its capital, the parallel stories of father and daughter (Santiago and Paloma) intersect and collide throughout the novel. Santiago's experiences during his university days in the 1970s and Paloma's investigations during the 1990s into the Desaparecidos (missing persons) race to unexpected conclusions under "a night of a thousand stars."

Waiting for the next academic thriller in the vein of Donna Tartt? The Latinist by Mark Prins was it for me. Multiple storylines take the reader from the halls of Oxford to the streets of Rome and back again where classical academics and archaeologists put together pieces of lives and stories long ago forgotten. The author creates seamless intersections between art and life/myth and truth. In the main plot line, a classics professor's obsession with his beautiful student illustrates the power of politics and control. Like a Dan Brown bestseller, this novel connects the myth of Apollo and Daphne with the lives of the professor and his student in unexpected ways. The reader can't help see how the characters' lives reflect the puzzle they are trying to solve. I thoroughly enjoyed this smart and suspenseful literary tale.

New York, My Village is not an easy read, and I can't say I enjoyed it; but, oh my, it made me think and feel deeply about our shared humanity. The story illustrates the dangerous parallels between American racism and Nigerian tribalism. Like the classic war novel Catch-22, Akpan makes great use of dark humor and chaotic situations to reveal the importance of bringing all voices to the table to share their stories. Storytelling is hard when it reveals trauma, guilt, and shame, but these same stories can build our relationships and rescue us from ourselves.

Readers of Morningside Heights will find a fascinating view into the marriage at the center of this novel. At first, I felt the strangeness of new love with its unusual comparisons, like "two halves of a clam," and the initial clumsiness of young lovers. But then, I got caught up in Spence and Pru's new life together. From awkwardness to routine and finally to decline, this story of husband, wife, exes, lovers, and children shares the wisdom found in the joys and sorrows of human connection at its deepest levels. Although the individual characters themselves are not fully fleshed out, the marriage at the center of the novel is unforgettable in its twists and turns of beauty.

The beautiful Greek island of Hydra sets an engaging stage for Erica, the main narrator, as she explores the pleasure, pain, and possibility of youthful dreams. Readers will enjoy digging into the evocative details of this place and might find themselves wanting to know more about the writers and musicians, including the iconic Leonard Cohen. Guided by desire, the characters form their lyrics and stories from their amorphous days on the island, and yet, so much is left unsaid by the artists. They become like figures in a mythic Greek drama, complete with their muses and mistakes. The novel A Theater for Dreamers exposes the emotional price artists pay for their artistic expression.