Can one small novel reveal complex relationships, show love's powerful hold on suspicion, expose career choices, in a three day whirlwind of a wedding and its aftermath? Anne Tyler's THREE DAYS IN JUNE can. She sets the scene, develops characters, moves the plot with sensitivity, economy of language and a generous amount of realistic dialogue. The characters seemed to rise from the page and enter my heart and mind. I began to think of them as acquaintances or friends or relatives. What goes on in the complexity of bringing two disparate families together for a wedding? Anne Tyler knows and informs us with her deep understanding of humankind and her unmatched writing skill. She brings the novel to a stopping place, but I choose to believe the story does not end.

Kit Crockett, a Cherokee teenager, in the hands and pen of Margaret Verble, leaves a personal journal written while in an orphanage. Kit tells us how she got there and what she endured. Kit reveals the many levels of stealing a heart, a soul, a culture, a family and steals a place in the reader's heart during the telling. Verble is a wonderful weaver of stories and embodies the thinking, feeling and language of a sensitive, intelligent girl. I heartily recommend this book to any reader willing to plow through the ugliness and accept a beautiful child into their heart.

Can two sisters close in childhood but separated by civil war sustain a warm bond and be reunited after decades living miles apart? Zhuqing Li's novelesque writing style and thoroughly researched history provides the answer. Li portrays the careers of two powerful intelligent Chinese sisters, one in Nationalistic Taiwan, the other in the developing Communistic mainland of China. Opposing political ideologies and family values are compared and contrasted through the lives of the sisters. A scholarly political narrative becomes an engrossing story. A search for family unity lives in hopes and dreams. Author Li skillfully weaves the sisters' individual strengths within the political realities. She highlights their constant confrontations with chauvinistic systems. I am humbled by the sisters' battle with societal forces when compared to my comfortable life contemporary with their lives. Readers will be treated to a profound lesson in history and a compelling story of family love and loyalty.

Can you hug Stalin without embracing Communism? Lea Ypi answers this question and more in this novelesque memoir of her growing up in tiny Albania. Using personal anecdotes to recount family history as Albania moves from single-party socialism to a plural party government, Ypi unfolds a compelling personal story and teaches political theory and philosophy at the same time. The struggles of the Albanian people in the 1980's and 90's are poignantly displayed. Defining, developing and living with freedom underlies the narrative. In the end Ypi reveals her answers to what is freedom. This book can be read and enjoyed by a variety of audiences from discerning teenagers to time-worn political philosophers.

Author Tubbs has given us a readable, thoroughly researched account of the contributions three mothers made in the lives of three very famous Black civil rights leaders. In each case, although very different, the mothers were instrumental in the formative years of their sons. Tubbs shows us how the mothers fought for civil rights, stood tall against oppression, and provided a foundation for the sons' development. This book adds an accessible account to civil rights literature making a strong case for recognizing the overlooked importance of motherhood. On balance I would prefer more of the historical novel approach to writing than an academic thesis.

Kirabo stars in this Ugandan family saga. I like Kirabo as she seeks to understand clan customs, traditional relationships and ultimately to find her absent mother. Makumbi weaves a thoughtful tale with the threads of clan relationships and rivalries, with strong elements of expanding feminism, with the values of schooling all set in the political background of government versus rebellion. Book clubs should find rich material for discussion. In my view this is an excellent novel and a good read, albeit at times,the path is strewn with unfamiliar language, undefined Swahili vocabulary and awkward usage. Readers should feel rewarded for traveling on these Ugandan roads in Kirabo's shoes.

In You Were There Too, Colleen Oakley skillfully weaves intense matters of sincere love, complicated human relationships, and emotional crises into a beautiful tapestry. Through mastery of dialogue the characters become real. Applying thoughtful imagination the unusual circumstances gain authenticity. By facing difficult topics with honest observations the narrative achieves reality without losing any creative, imaginative threads. Author Oakley has moved into my list of favorite authors. This book deserves a broad audience.

With rich, lovely sentences and perceptive insight into the ugliness of war, Sarah Rose has given us history that reads like a novel and a novel that teaches us about the over-looked role of strong women on the clandestine side of World War II. Author Rose skillfully portrays the tactical side of being a spy while revealing the undeniable role of human emotions that lay traps and forges escapes from danger. Sarah Rose has written a thoroughly researched story that tells the truth about the success and failures of French and English women who enabled the war effort in Europe.

If I was limited to only three authors to read for the rest of my time on earth, Anne Tyler would be one of them. She is a masterful story teller. In Clock Dance she tells us about Willa Drake at various life points. Along the way we meet a colorful variety of unforgettable characters that come to life under her genius pen. Her simple, direct uncomplicated prose creates a realistic view of life that offers hope, redemption and the chance for meaningful relationships in a sometimes crazy world.

Arthur Truluv is my introduction to Elizabeth Berg's writing. Her straight forward, unencumbered prose drew me quickly into the disparate lives of Arthur, Maddy and Lucille. By the end of the story, I felt rather well acquainted with the featured trio of characters. The plot allowed each one to develop as an individual and to grow into warm, loving relationships with each other. Lucille's persona jumped off the pages. Arthur's gentle nature and insight into the needs of others became a major theme. But Maddy overcame her troubled childhood with such alacrity I deemed too good to be true. I enjoyed reading the book. But without malice, I feel as if Elizabeth Berg for me is one and done.

Stephanie Powell Watts has written a warm and sensitive story about a segment of life in small town North Carolina. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. She delves into the hearts and minds of an extended family to expose their inner tensions, their success and/or failures at love and their search for a place to call home producing an absorbing story. However, some of the parts belie the strength of the book as a whole. Occasionally a paragraph will start on one topic and end far a field. She interrupts the rhythm of lovely prose with aside comments. Mini essays explain too much with over-burdened sentences. However,this slow moving narrative is artfully established is established in the last third of the story. I heartily recommend this book to book clubs as it is ripe for discussion.