Monkeys by Susan Minot

Balancing the all-seeing perspective yet limited understanding of youth, this novel (in the form of short stories) show us a New England family through the eyes of its seven children.

Each story moves us forward in time, eventually covering about 15 years. The stories mostly center around small, relatively commonplace occurrences - monumental life events happen outside the stories, though we see their impact through the changing interactions of the family.

It's a story from the perspective of the kids, without it being a children's book. With such a range in age, it's interesting to ponder the ways each Vincent child processes events like mother's tears, father's alcohol abuse, or the addition of another baby.

The Hawley Book of the Dead by Chrysler Szarlan

When a Las Vegas magician with true magic is hunted by a fetch, she whisks her children away to the place where she was born - a New England ghost town and haunted forest thick with family secrets. But all the secrets make this "safe" place dangerous too in unexpected ways.

It's a good book with a unique angle in the very crowded genre of supernatural novels. Reve is a well-drawn character, flawed but also likeable, and her kids act like typical kids ... even though Nana is not your ordinary kind of grandmother.

It looks like Szarlan is working on making this a series called The Revelation Chronicles (this book ends well, but leaves it open for more stories). I'll be interested to see where she takes this.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

After his wife's death, a small-town book snob's soul begins to shrivel up; he's drinking himself to death, and his prickly personality isn't helping the bookstore stay afloat (he openly despises most of the clientele). But a woman, a baby, and his tight-knit community will eventually force A.J. to live, to grow, and maybe even to try new genres.

This is a captivating, lovely story and a book geek's dream: A.J. has opinions (and so do his customers) and the more well-read you are the more entertaining you'll find those references. It's a refreshing breeze of a book, with flawed, real "human" characters and a brisk pace.

It was hard to put down - and honestly, I finished it in just a couple sittings.

Wicked business

by Janet Evanovich

Evanovich returns to her supernaturally charged "Wicked" series with another puzzling adventure.  Lizzy and Diesel are now searching for the Lust stone which is said to contain all the power of that particular deadly sin.  The question is, can they find it before one of the more dangerous individuals with special powers gets their hands on it?  Also, can they keep themselves apart when the stone starts having effects upon the people near it?
This is another riotous romp filled with nearly as many explosions, and flames as one of Evanovich's famed Plum novels.

Too good to be true

by Kristin Higgins

Dumped by her fiance, Grace has enough on her plate. Add to that the fact that he chose her sister as the "better" option, and Grace is not only getting sympathy from the whole family, but also pity. Her solution? Make up a wonderful boyfriend and flaunt the fictitious man at every opportunity. This, of course, snowballs into a series of lies to nearly everyone she knows, including her unbelievably good looking neighbor. Callahan O'Shea just happens to be showing an interest in her as well, when she isn't causing him accidental bodily harm. What will it take to bring out Grace's honesty?

This book kept my attention when the story stayed in the present. Grace flitted back in her memory an awful lot as she worked to show the world that the time spent with her ex felt as though it had happened to a different person. I have to admit, there were times when I skipped a page or two to get to the next scene. However, those up to date scenes were a lot of fun. I will definitely not be giving up on Ms. Higgins anytime soon. Grace and Cal did hold my attention very nicely.