The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry

When the headmistress collapses dead, the students at Saint Etheldreda's School decide to keep the news under wraps so they aren't returned to their families.

This is a precocious murder-mystery book for preteens, with very little gore and a lot of innocently made bad judgment calls. It's the kind of story where a church basement strawberry social is the very epitome of the town's social scene.

But it's also a cracking good mystery full of fun characters: these seven Victorian-era British school girls cover the gamut of personality types, from the goth girl to the flirt to the science geek to the actress. You'll find from the 1890's era to modern days there isn't much difference when you gather a group of girls - you'll get sisterhood and teasing, both affection and a few tears.

How long with the crime go unnoticed? And above all, whodunnit? There are quite a few twists and turns to the plot, because it turns out the girls don't know quite as much about things as they'd thought. The gradual drama is fun, and the big reveal is a surprise in many ways.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

The end is nigh (or maybe not)!

An unlikely angel and an odd devil work together to stop Armageddon in this genius partnership between two of my favorite writers. I picked it up now because it's about to be released as a TV series with Gaiman at its helm.

A kid in England is actually the Antichrist, but nobody knows that. Every time he thinks about something hard enough (Atlantis, UFOs, or tunnels to China) it happens - and let's just say Adam is a real thinker.

It's very funny, and wicked smart, so I can't wait to see how they film it, since Neil's overseeing it so maybe they can't bleed the fun out of it.

Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor

Every action in a small town issues ripples that reverberate farther and longer than one might imagine; in this book, the disappearance of a teenage girl affects the next 13 years of the village's seasonal cycles.

We've become accustomed to every event in a book leading to the next big reveal, which gives this book a strange, eerie electricity because nothing ever happens. Chapters are years, and paragraphs are generally months. It's a stream-of-conscious retelling of things, with no real emphasis put on more or less important events: the birds migrate, trees bud, the well gets decorated, kids go to school (or not), dogs are walked, marriages begin and end, and sex is had.

Which isn't to say it it's boring - I really enjoyed the ebb and flow of life in this small English village. It's a peaceful read, and I found it a relaxing wind-down at the end of my day.

This book was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2017 (which eventually went to Lincoln in the Bardo).

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

A teen with autism investigates the murder of a neighbor's poodle and learns way, way more.

We chose this for the library's book discussion group. I read this in 2003 when it came out - and I remembered that I loved it - but on reread I discovered that I remembered NOTHING about this book. So it was pleasantly like the first time all over again!

Since the book came out, there have been a lot of depictions of Aspergers and autism in books and TV and film, and I think the general public has a better understanding today. But I know that when I first read this book, Christopher's thoughts and perceptions were groundbreaking. I'm always fascinated by how other people's brains work, and this book gives amazing insight.

I loved it just as much the second time around, and now I'll even remember why I'm recommending it.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

A classic quest through the fairy world in search of a fallen star - you know, the best kind of Neil Gaiman story!

Read by the author, the story is an epic yarn: A half-fairy boy(who doesn't know he's anything but human) whimsically takes off on a journey to win the hand of his love. There he meets trees, lords, witches, a unicorn, the broken human incarnation of a celestial body, and sky pirates. I listened to this audiobook while quilting, and I have to say I completely lost track of time.

But in looking online, I discover the book version is richly illustrated ... so off to the library to track that down, too. Oh! And there's a movie? The best adaptation of a Gaiman in film?

Naked Without a Hat by Jeanne Willis

When things get crowded at his mother's house (with the new boyfriend), Will gains his first taste of independence by moving into a rooming house. It's the start of an eye-opening adventure in friendship, employment, and the many flavors of love.

I enjoyed the book and its cast of lovable oddballs. His mom is overbearing, but it's a realistic protectiveness she shows - they're both ready for something new in their lives, but it's hard to let go of the comfortable, usual patterns of life. His flatmates are all wacky in their own ways, but together they form a new kind of family.

Will's holding onto a big secret - and I'm not giving it away here - that left me dumbfounded. I had no idea such a thing was possible (I turned to Google once I was finished with the book).

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

A kindergartner is killed in a hit-and-run accident in the street in front of his house, right in front of his mother. Will the driver ever be found?

This is a fantastic twisty thriller full of complex characters, and I'm afraid to give too much plot synopsis because I don't want to give anything away. Chapters alternate between characters and perspectives (annoyingly, one is in second-person).

The setting, the mystery, and the characters in this book reminded me of the British crime drama "Broadchurch." Fantastic, and highly recommended!

The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

A year ago Gottie was having sex with Jason, but it was a secret. A year ago her beloved grandfather was still alive and planning a big solstice celebration. But right now, time keeps slipping down a wormhole that spits Gottie out last summer, then rips her back to the present.

Gottie's a science and math genius, so the wormhole dilemma is a challenge she's attempting to rationalize. Is it possible? How? The part she's maybe overlooking is the Why? Additionally, her obsession with last summer means she's not really living her fullest life right now - there's a lot she's missing.

It's a story of shifting perspectives, with new information leaked out in drips and drabs. There's a delightful cast of characters in a loose, free-form hippy kind of household with minimal guidance and too many teenagers. I was captivated by the narrative - I couldn't decide if this was a story of magic realism, or science fiction, or some kind of psychological breakdown.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

A year after his wife's death, while making an attempt to clean out her closet, Arthur discovers a fancy charm bracelet he's never seen.  Why did Miriam keep this hidden? Do the charms mean something?

This is a cute, thoughtful book in the same genre as The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry or A Man Called Ove; Arthur has become stuck in a rut, because if he eats breakfast at EXACTLY the same time every day and if he obsesses about watering the fern then maybe he won't have to deal with the fact that his wife is never coming back and his whole world is different.

The charms lead Arthur on an unexpected journey - true travels, yes, but also an emotional journey through and out of the grief that's been crippling him. He reconnects with the world and his family, and finds a purpose in moving forward.

I've already recommended it once, and it will be popular with library readers. A good, quaint find!

Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family by Constance Novis and Helen Fester

Books by the Dorling Kindersley (DK) company are always rich with photos and illustration with text broken into digestible bits - and this book is a stellar example of the style they do so well. It's a coffee table style book with 250 pages packed with information and vivid photography.

I learned a ton about European history and even more about the 20th-century monarchs and world events; I was fascinated with the progression of the monarchy from Queen Victoria to the current Queen Elizabeth and into the future with the line of succession.

I also liked that scandal isn't swept under the rug - it's mentioned, but not dwelt upon. The modern royals have endured a lot of media scrutiny through infidelities, divorces, youthful indiscretions, and momentary lapse of judgement and those are presented without judgement.

I spent a lot of time hopping away from the book and online to learn more about someone or something. It's re-fired an interest in history and a desire to read more.

I had this book checked out so long the library's automated system started threatening me with the replacement cost of $54 if I didn't return it. It's a phenomenal book, but certainly a lot to wade through.

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce

Have you already read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry? This new novel is a companion - not really a sequel or a prequel, more like a parallel story - to that excellent book.

In that previous story, Harold is walking to see a terminally ill former coworker; this book is her side of the story. Since there were several big surprises toward the end of the first book, you'll think you know the story ... but Queenie's got an ace or two up her sleeve, too.

The news of Harold's walk affected Queenie greatly. She's spent years feeling guilty about what happened all those years ago, and she feels this may be her time to get it all off her chest. As she begins to write, we're introduced to some lively new characters (many are other hospice residents) and we see a different perspective on some people we met in Harold's story.

As with the first, this book is WONDERFULLY written and you'll be absolutely transported to her beach garden and the Well-Being Garden as Queenie observes the passage of time and the healing balm of nature.

I don't know if this book would be quite so enchanting if you haven't read the other one - I had a hard time "unringing the bell" of having heard Harold's story to imagine this as a stand-alone novel, but it might work that way, too.

The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde

Corporatized magic for profit, professional kidnapping and ransom scams, and high-risk tourism are all factors in the fantasy quest (sorry, no, not a quest, didn't fill out the paperwork - it's just a business trip) of this novel, the third installment of The Chronicles of Kazam series.

When magician The Once Magnificent Boo gets kidnapped, our heroine and intrepid orphan Jennifer Strange turns the ransom negotiation into a multi-tasking trip to also save the world's last two dragons by locating a mythical stone for a crooked magician. And she might find a way to sneak in a date, too.

The first two books in this series (The Last Dragonslayer and The Song of the Quarkbeast) to me felt a bit incomplete ... like they were building to something. Yes, THIS is what they were building to! Fforde has found his groove with this third book, and he's not done because this one ends with the start of a whole new world for the magicians of Kazam. I won't ruin it for you.

I seriously loved this book, and I couldn't have said that for the first two. But I've really come to love these characters, and the storyline in this one is full, rich, and satisfying. Best yet!

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

One day recent retiree Harold Fry walks down to the mailbox to post a letter. The walk feels so good he decides to wait 'til he reaches the next letter box - then the next, and the next. Suddenly, the letter he was going to send seems insubstantial; his message requires more. Next thing you know, Harold has decided to walk the length of England. Immediately. With no planning. In yachting shoes.

The book follow's Harold's walk and his mindframe; the time alone and the exertion on his unprepared body wreak havoc with his mental state. Will he make it? Why in the heck is he doing this? And why can't he and Maureen just TALK to one another!?

It's a lovely book full of ups, downs, and good intentions. Harold may be a little loony, but his heart is in the right place. You'll want to find out how this walk ends.

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

What happens when you throw a modern female historian into 16th century England - does she know as much as she thinks? Can she cope? That's just what happens in this installment of the search for the rare alchemical book Ashmole 782.

Second in the All Souls Trilogy that began with A Discovery of Witches, this novel continues both the love story and the epic quest of historian witch Diana Bishop and her scientist vampire Matthew Clairemont. And while I devoured the first book in practically a single sitting, this one I enjoyed in audiobook format, spread over 24 hours and several weeks in the car. (This audio version read by Jennifer Ikeda is outstanding.)

Diana and Matthew mission in the time travel is twofold: study up on Diana's previously untapped powers of witchcraft, and attempt to lay hands on the Ashmole manuscript before it's torn apart. They slip into Matthew's own actual past, which creates some new challenges - since he was at that time a sworn enemy of witches but suddenly not only consorts with one but marries her.

These arrangements allows Diana a unique peek into Matthew's past, as she gets to meet long-dead friends, enemies, and family, but she also gains a deeper understanding for a long-lifed vampire's very necessary half-truths, constant goodbyes, and ever-shifting personas.

This book's a bit of a whimsy - a historical story stuck in the middle of a contemporary series. And it's fun to read; the fish-out-of-water element of dealing with a patriarchal, monarchical society puts Diana on unsure footing from the start.

Ostrich by Matt Greene

Alex is working hard to figure things out: Are his parents divorcing? What happened to his hamster? Is his dad cheating? Where do you start when measuring your penis length?

Complicating matters for Alex are the fact he's ill (brain tumor, but the details are left for us to muddle out) and simultaneously intellectually precocious while emotionally immature.

While Alex is a middle-schooler, there are mature situations in this book and the much of its comedy is found in Alex's naivety, which requires the perspective of an older reader to comprehend. I guess what I'm saying, is that I think the book is written for adults. Seriously: not a book for middle-schoolers, despite the colorful cover and main character's age.

The writing style is unusual - sometimes it's straight narrative, sometimes more stream-of-consciousness, occasionally in untranslated non-English (French, post-seizure gibberish), and often a bit disjointed. Like Alex's perspective.

The spelling is "creative" - when Alex mis-hears (or is led astray by his jokester father), things are spelled out as he believes them to be. The book title is actually part of this: "I already know what it's like to feel ostrichized, which is a better word for excluded (because ostriches can't fly, so they often feel left out)." (quote from page 16)   Click to see a true definition of ostracize from Merriam Webster.

I really enjoyed this book, but the end came as a bit of a surprise to me. I could even get on a soapbox and say it was unsatisfactory, but at the same time that may be what the author intended.

(Sorry if this review gets you excited and then you can't locate this book: from what I can tell, this book hasn't been released in the US and may not be in the near future. Every review I see online - including this one - came from reviewers' reading advance readers copies, and the Fall 2013 publication date seems to have been cancelled. On a positive note - apparently the ARCs are not hard to come by!)

1,227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off by John Lloyd, John Mitchison, and James Harkin

Three quiz-show creators pulled together a bunch of their favorite, most compelling factoids, strung them together into an order of their own logic, and the result was this funny, interesting, light book.

This would be a good pick-it-up-and-put-it-down kind of book (it's just a string of facts) - but I'll admit, I just sat down and read it straight through. That allowed me to enjoy the eccentric thread of logic the authors applied in organizing the facts - they're not sorted by subject or themed in any way. It's just a bunch of things these guys thought were interesting. And you will, too.

It might be a good car-ride book; you really want to share some of these facts as you read them.  And you're guaranteed to come away with something new ... even if it's just that armadillos carry leprosy.

The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence

When Alex Woods was 10 he got beaned in the noggin by a large meteorite that slammed through his home's roof at 200 miles per hour and conked him out. He's lucky to be alive - although he lost a month of his life (he doesn't remember anything for 2 weeks before, or the 2 weeks he was in a coma) and now he's got to deal with epilepsy caused by the injury.

That's not the only reason he's a bit different. He's really into science and math but hates sports, so that's made him a target for bullies. Oh, and his mom runs a crystal and healing shop and reads tarot cards.

But he can thank those bullies for the incident that introduced him to Mr. Peterson; what began as making restitution turns into an unconventional friendship between the teen and the Vietnam vet. And that friendship ultimately leads to the biggest action in the book.

I'm not sure if this book is supposed to be young adult or adult ... and who cares about labels anyway? It's such a great book that I think anyone over the age of 16 should give it a try (why 16? why not?). Alex is the right kind of quirky - the kind you see yourself in, even if you've got your own unique style of strange. His mother loves him, and he's a guy who does what he believes is right.

I cried. And laughed a lot. Read this book!

Freddie & Me: A Coming-of-Age (Bohemian) Rhapsody by Mike Dawson

Do you have music that instantly transports you to another time and place in your life? Pop music can do that because it touches a part of memory that's deeply emotional and close to the heart.

For Mike Dawson, the soundtrack of his life was written and performed by Queen. He's introduced to the legendary rockers' music when he's about nine, and he becomes a little obsessed: He tracks down lyrics, memorizes songs, collects albums, and drives everybody around him a little bonkers with the constant conversation about all things Queen. And remember - this is pre-internet, so it was a lot more work to be this kind of fan, back in the day! OMG does that make me feel old.

This graphic novel tells the story of Mike's growing up and becoming a man, accompanied by his obsession and fantasies about Queen and Freddie Mercury. It's a funny book, and a very relatable story - even if you weren't (aren't) a Queen fan, chances are that you've had these same feelings about some other band or artist.

You'll cringe at Mike's pre-adolescent talent contest performance of Bohemian Rhapsody. You'll recognize the PLEADING to get your parents to take you to a concert. And you may even recognize the reflection and rediscovery that an adult perspective shines upon childhood interests.

The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams

Twelve-year-old soccer star Dennis is a little lonely - his mom left a couple years ago, his dad isn't dealing with it well. So when he strikes up a friendship with Lisa, a glamorous fashionista a couple years older, it's the best thing to happen in a long time.

When Lisa suggests she try on come of her clothes, Dennis is a bit torn: he want to try on the beautiful dress and he's curious how it looks and feels - but he's a boy! Lisa prevails, and Dennis is elated. Then, she has an idea: Hey - how about you go to school this way! I'll say you're a foreign-exchange student so you don't have to talk! I'll bet no one notices you aren't a girl!

The kids don't consider the implications of their scheme, and it goes as bad as one would expect. But there's more to the story, and it's not as down-pat as you might anticipate.

One of the most interesting things about this book is that Dennis is young enough he isn't really considering his sexuality - for him, this is more about the clothes. He's maybe got a bit of a crush on Lisa, but that's not really the focus, either, and nobody in the book asks him if he fancies boys or if he wishes he was a girl - it's totally about what you're wearing.

The story moves fast, and the lively illustrations (by the incomparable Quentin Blake) add to the story without turning it into a picture book. This book would be an awesome conversation starter with a younger age-group, and fun to read, too.

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

In a near-distant future, magic exists. While it's been relegated to performing boring tasks like delivering pizza and rewiring houses without tearing up the walls, it does exist and is in use - and teen orphan Jennifer Strange is the girl who schedules the work and fills out the forms to make it legal.

But it seems there are bigger jobs for Jennifer to perform - this coming Sunday at noon, for example, she's supposed to kill the last dragon in existence. Not that she WANTS to, or even necessarily WILL ...  but Big Magic is afoot, and abundant soothsayers agree the visions include both Jennifer and dragon death.

The comedy is decidedly British (like Fforde's other books, and in the vein of Douglas Adams or Monty Python), and the setting is the Ununited Kingdoms. It's fairly obvious Fforde plans to make this a series - there are a lot of characters introduced here that could have a rich life down the line in another tale. And while there's a satisfactory ending to the tale, the climax of this story is almost an after-thought in the larger scheme of establishing mythology for another story.

While the main character is 16 years old (in two weeks), this story would easily be of interest to younger readers or adult readers too. Jennifer is a teen slightly wise for her years - but not dissimilar from anther magical orphan embraced by young and old alike (*cough*Harry*cough*).