The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

When Tom returns to Australia from the WWI battlefield, he's alive and whole but broken inside. He takes a solitary, regimented job on a remote lighthouse, but didn't count on meeting the headmaster's engaging daughter before he set off.

The trajectory of his life is changed with Isabel - suddenly the tiny island of Janus isn't so lonely with a lovely wife and a happy life. Starting a family becomes an exercise in resilience and heartbreak until the day an infant girl and a dead man drift ashore in a boat and they decide to keep the child as their own. On Janus it's easy to forget the impact this decision has on the rest of the world, but eventually the couple discovers the full implication of their deceit.

This is a gorgeous book, emotional and gripping, yet lyrical and dreamy, too. You're lost in the descriptions of time and place, of the feel of the wind and the wonder of the lighthouse's works. It's also rough on your heart because there are no easy answers - everyone involved is fallible and imperfect. There are no true black-and-white answers to this novel's dilemmas.

We read this one for the library's book discussion group, and it was the spark for some very interesting conversation. It's recently been released as a film, and I'm interested enough to make time for that, too, in the near future.

Glitter and Glue: A Memoir by Kelly Corrigan

Every child is closer to one parent, and Kelly Corrigan is definitely her father's daughter. He's the fun one, while Kelly's mother, Mary, is all rules and no-nonsense. (A few years back our library book group read Corrigan's cancer memoir, The Middle Place, which deals a lot with her relationship with her father, Greenie.) 

When Kelly and a friend decide to wander internationally and seek adventure after college, Mary is unhappy to say the least. Yet mom is the one person who never fails to send Kelly the mail and news from home she craves. And Kelly is amazed to realize it's her mother's wisdom she hears in her head guiding her choices when she takes a nanny job with an Australian family shattered and rebuilding after the mother's death. 

While most of this book happens half a world away from home and separated from her family, it's at its heart a book about Kelly's relationship with her mother and the lessons Kelly absorbed even when she didn't know she was listening. Many women find a new appreciation for their mothers when they become mothers themselves; Kelly is lucky to have begin that shift earlier in life thanks to the Tanners.

It's an excellent book, engaging and incredibly touching as Kelly comes to recognize and appreciate all that her mother is and does. The title comes from her mom's description of her marriage and parenting: "Your father may be the glitter but I'm the glue."

Pink

by Lili Wilkinson

This is a smart, hilarious read for anyone who has ever questioned their place in the world. Wilikinson's main character falls into the, Questioning category of LGBTQ. However, that is not the biggest question in Ava's life. Sure, she questions her sexuality throughout the novel, but she also questions the friends she is choosing in her new school and those she left behind. Is she one of the pretty people, a geek, or a near-goth lesbian? Feeling as though she must pick a side of her personality, Ava makes some tremendous mistakes that threaten friendships, both old and budding.
Teens and adults will enjoy watching Ava navigate her life while recalling their own attempts to fit in. Let out your inner geek, some of the trivial facts Ava's friends toss out will send you searching for added details.