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.

Eight Days on Planet Earth by Cat Jordan

An unusual girl shows up in the field next to Matt's house, waiting for her ride home - a field still famous 50 years later as the crash site for a UFO. Her story can't be true, but Matty can't seem to write her off as just another nutcase.

He may be falling in love. It may be teenage hormones. Or it might be merely a distraction from all the other things going on in Matty's life. But in any event, Priya has somehow captured his interest ... along with the undying devotion of his dog, Ginger.

I loved this book, mostly because I was never sure where it was headed.

Matty's perspective on the world shifts as he explains things to Priya - it gives him a new reason to reconsider the mundane. It also brings him back to the stars, something he once shared with his dad but has left abandoned of late.

We Are All Shipwrecks by Kelly Grey Carlisle

While reading, I had to continually remind myself this book is a memoir - it reads like fiction, a novel of growing up in a strange environment.

Even as a child, Kelly knew the stories that swirled around her may or may not be true: Her mother died when Kelly was an infant. Her faux-aristocratic grandfather is a showman. She was forbidden to talk about some parts of their lives (the boat they live on, the porn store they own). The book is full of what you'd politely call "characters," like the other marina regulars and Kelly's extended family members.

We get the story simultaneously from two different Kellys: the child living it and not understanding it all, and the adult looking back through the lens of experience. She's hungry for love. She's hungry for information. She's dying to get out of there and build a different life.

I enjoyed the book (I even dreamed about it one night). I thought it was a great look at a strange childhood - an unusual perspective on life and family.

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie

In a heart-wrenching memoir, Sherman Alexie explores his complicated relationship with his mother and his grief after her death. The book's narrative is expressed through a combination of essays, poetry, honor songs, and more.

There's a tradeoff, depending on your reading format: the physical book has pictures, and you get the visual formatting in the poetry. In the audiobook you miss out on those - but you get ALL the emotion as the author reads this work himself.

And I do mean ALL the emotion - there's a river of tears from Alexie in the audiobook, and I can only imagine how many they edited out. It's sometimes overwhelming, in the true, honest way he expresses the story of his life and of his family. It's so, so good, but it took me a while to get through this audiobook - it's not the kind of thing you want to listen to every day.

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds

In a rough patch after his mom dies, 17-year-old Matt gets hired (and mentored) by his single, successful across-the-street neighbor, who owns the funeral home.

The job keeps him out of trouble, offers a little pocket money, and allows him to spectate on other people's grief in a reflection of his own. He also meets a girl whose grandmother has just passed away - a girl who challenges him in interesting, confusing ways.

Reynold's a shining star in the teen lit world, and for good reason. The book is sad without being maudlin, and it's realistic in the way modern kids deal with emotion. It's a fantastic urban book about a black neighborhood and the residents who occupy it.

Three Junes by Julia Glass

Readers check in with a family's members three times (in the month of June) to learn about their relationships and loves. We meet recently widowed Paul as he vacations in Greece and ponders his new life and the condition of his family. Then we meet his sons, years later, as they gather for Paul's funeral. Further on, we meet up with prodigal son Fenno when his dog - his last link to his mother - dies and is buried.

We read this for book discussion. I was only halfway through by our discussion date, and decided I was going to continue because - unlike everyone else - I was enjoying the story.

A lot of the book centers around Fenno and his life off in New York. He moves across the world, graduates college, begins a business, comes to terms with his sexuality, deals with the impact of AIDS on his circle of friends, and makes visits back to Scotland to see his family. What he doesn't do is fall in love. Which makes him a slightly tragic figure.

I liked the book - it's rather quiet, without big drama. Just people trying to do the best they can, and sometimes failing.

The Other F-Word by Natasha Friend

When a severely allergic teenager decides to track down his sperm donor in order to do genetic testing, he ends up with more than he bargained for: a passel of half-siblings, too.

I loved this book - it does a stellar job dealing with all the conflicted feelings about "genetic source material" since there are so many diverse families involved: the book includes lesbian parents, heterosexual parents, mothers who gave birth and mothers who did not, kids with siblings, singletons, and even twins who disagree about this life-altering decision. There's a best friend who's adopted, which allows a conversation about the decision to donate sperm versus giving away a baby. The kids are teens - so they're a bit more adult in perspective and yet still very involved in family units. They're in turn curious, scared, anxious, and unexpectedly delighted to find someone with whom they share DNA.

And in spite of all these emotions and potentially heavy subject matter, it's a quaint book that's funny and utterly captivating. I'm not giving too much away to reveal the story's also about teen crushes, bullying, troublemaking/underachieving, and childish grudges. Highly recommended.

Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark

Two teenagers connected only by a tragic car accident that took the lives of their philandering parents.

Juliette is addicted to Adderall, a passed-down legacy from her glamorous, over-achieving mother. Juliette knew about the affair and chose to shelter her wanna-be-author father's fragile ego. On the other hand, Abram was blindsided when his tennis-loving, uber coach father died; he and his mother had no idea there was another woman. Abram's depression means he's snacking and sleeping his days away in a Paxil fog.

They meet in the CVS and tentative politeness turns into an actual friendship. Maybe the only way to get past this grief, anger, and embarrassment is with someone who truly understands.

I loved these broken, real characters and their life-raft friendship. They each recognize a way to help the other heal, even though they feel helpless to do the same for themselves. And the budding romance is sweet and also very realistic.

The book is very well written and completely consuming. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen, hoping the whole way that love might win over in the end.

They May Not Mean To, But They Do by Cathleen Schine

There's a point in life when roles flip between parents and their children - when adult children become guardians for infirm older adults. It's a time fraught with anger, indignation, and sadness ... but if you're lucky, it's also filled with joy, laughter, and reminiscence.

The Bergman family is in just this situation. Father Aaron has dementia and his wife Joy is determined to keep him at home and care for him herself. Son Daniel makes weekly visits for dinner to keep an eye on them, but he's also got a young family to tend. Daughter Molly lives in far away California but feels the pull of guilt and obligation.

This is an amazing, funny and heartwarming book about the universality of families. Nobody's perfect, but they're all doing their best. You'll recognize yourself and your relatives in these characters and the love they share, along with the frustration.

The Underwater Welder by Jeff Lemire

Working in the sea deep below a Canadian oil rig, welder Jack Joseph knows his job: focus on the weld, hold a steady hand. But one day he sees something from the corner of his mask and everything begins to unravel.

He's brought up to the surface, revived, and sent home early from his stint aboard the rig. Going home should be a blessing because Jack's wife Susie is on the verge of giving birth, but Jack's restless to discover what he saw in the deep water outweighs his impending fatherhood.

This black-and-white graphic novel shows through flashbacks and some time travel trickery how Jack's grief for his missing father is affecting his joy for the birth of his own son. In the introduction there's reference to the TV show the Twilight Zone - which is really how this story feels.

It's bleak and sad, but also told very well.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

When their mother takes sick, three adult sisters return to the roost. But each has ulterior motives for her stay - pregnancy, thievery, insecurity - which make their challenging familial relationships even more fraught.

I enjoyed the story - it's about self-discovery and how we limit and define ourselves based on our family - but it's pretty much contemporary chick-lit for the literate.

The "weird sisters" of the title refers to Macbeth's witches, rather than any real oddity in the novel's main trio. That said, you'd best be familiar with Shakespeare's life works to be comfortable in this novel - it's overflowing with people named after characters and conversations filled with quotes. Additionally, the story contains layer upon layer of references and analogies to the bard's work.

Also of note: the story is told from a very unusual point of view. The omniscient narrator speaks singularly as all three sisters collectively (first-person plural). Everything is "we" even when talking about one sister's secrets that she's keeping from the others. It's workable, but a little awkward sometimes.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

As the most-talked about book release of 2015, I have to admit I had reservations about this book. Over the years, there have been plenty of news stories about people trying to take advantage of Harper Lee, and I was pretty sure this was merely another blip on that radar.

Additionally - as this book was written and rejected by the publisher BEFORE "To Kill a Mockingbird" - I was afraid it would feel unfinished, like a rough draft, or incomplete in some way.

Gladly, I was delighted to find I was wrong, and I really enjoyed the book. While I have to admit it's not the masterpiece of Mockingbird, this is still a pretty satisfying novel in its own right.

While racism is again the theme of Lee's book, the personal issue for Scout is the discovery that her father, who she believes to be perfect and a god, is merely a man and simply human. The pedestal she's place him on doesn't just crack or wobble - it's swept away completely.

We discussed this book for the library's book club, and many people were off-put by the strong, seemingly disproportionate reaction Jean Louise has to her father's "citizen council" membership. That didn't bother me - instead, I wished Uncle Jack would just say what he meant instead of talking around and around in circles.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Don's more than a little set in his ways: he has a 7-day meal plan designed for nutritional needs and to perfectly offset his activity level, and his minimal wardrobe is calibrated to his activity level with no concern for fashion or style. He'll make allowances and adjustments as required, but why bother when the calendar is optimized for efficiency?

But Don's also beginning to feel lonely. After a couple disastrous first dates he begins to hone a complicated questionnaire to eliminate time wasted with unsuitable potential partners (smokers, picky eaters). And then a chance encounter and a giant misconception blow Don's whole schedule to bits.

This book is light, funny, and incredibly well written. Don could easily be a bore or a joke or a jerk, but Simsion makes him likeable and sympathetic. You root for him to figure things out, and his endearing challenges make the breakthroughs a glad triumph.

Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman

Do you have one of those storytellers in your life who, when they begin a tale, you're never quite sure if it's truth or fabrication? I do, and this book reminds me of Pops. Neil Gaiman had one, too - the book is dedicated to his father "who would have told the tale with delight" and his son "who would never have believed a word of it." Sounds about right.

When Dad takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r on his run out to get milk for breakfast, he's got some explaining to do when he returns home to the kids. Luckily, there's a good reason it took so long: abduction by aliens, pirates, dinosaurs ... I won't spoil it for you. Let's just say it's a tall, tall tale. Fortunately, the milk stayed with him through it all.

(Perhaps I've just got Halloween on my mind, but it would be soooo fun to group-costume this story. I've got dibs on Queen of the Pirates, though.)

Who Has What? by Robie H. Harris

This basic picture book offers a great starting place for parents - it deals with the difference between boys and girls, without going into the whole "where babies come from" section.

Mostly, the cartoon illustrations deal with all the body parts we have that are the same: legs, ears, noses, belly buttons, and nipples. Then it deals briefly (and again, with simple cartoon drawings) about the parts we have that are different: dogs have tails, boys have penis, and girls have vagina.

Every little girl with a brother knows this stuff - it isn't information we should hide or be embarrassed about. Yet it's hard if your family isn't gender-mixed to know how these things should be approached. Harris does a nice job of beginning the conversation for you.

Later, when kids want to know about sex ... there are other books and resources. This one's more for the basic, pre-kindergarten discussion.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

When Bee's mom disappears, the super-smart middle-schooler gathers up all the pieces (emails, faxes, correspondence, a magazine article, police police reports, and more) in an attempt to determine what really happened. So, what really happened? Her mother Bernadette's artistic frustration, amplified by a chain of chance encounters and epic irritations, boils over in a series of cacophonous misunderstandings - all before the book begins. Once Bee's on the case, it gets even more mysterious and strange when Bernadette is found, then lost again.

The darkly funny novel is told through disjointed bits of writing - since it's made up of all the information Bee has gathered. Some of the sources are wildly untrustworthy, and everybody's got their own prejudices and biases. Your perception of Bernadette shifts as you uncover more and more of her illustrious past and unrealized potential. Bee is a heartbreaking conduit for the story; she's a kid who really just wants her mom back.

I loved the digging-through-the-files way the story unfolds, and I adored the crazy, vindictive characters involved. The city of Seattle is practically a character, too, and the eccentricities of the nerd micro-culture at Microsoft Corporation are well featured. While I'd like to say the story's a bit improbable, I know that truth is often stranger than fiction ... and it's probably not all that improbable.

No Wonder My Parents Drank by Jay Mohr

One crazy Friday at the library, we happened across a hilarious excerpt from this book about potty training in a popular magazine; immediately, we put the book on the purchase list.

It's a very funny look at parenthood by a professional comedian. Overall, not great for a straight read-through, but ideal for pick-it-up and put-it-down kind of reading.

My only beef with the book: Mohr never directly explains the situation with Jackson's mother, and some of the illusions to their situation made me say, "Huh?" (I even resorted to wikipedia for bio info mid-way through the book.) I understand his trying to avoid discussing his past relationships - but didn't he bring it on himself by writing a book about it?

It's So Amazing! by Robie H. Harris

Confused and scared about telling your kids about sex, babies, and puberty? This book may be your new best friend ... I picked up this book after reading a blog post by a mom who explained this has been a godsend for them. They've housed it in a prominent place where their kids can look it over, review, and re-evaluate as they wish. I think it would be a great book for that.

There are a lot of words, but also a lot of cute illustrations in this book: your kid will not sit down and read it all at once. But hopefully they'll pick it up to read the part they're curious about, then come back for more as they have further questions.

Way back when ... my parents used the famous Peter Mayle books "What's Happening To Me?" and "Where Did I Come From." This book is very similar in both tone and style - but also addresses modern concerns such as AIDS/HIV and all the forms a family can take (traditional, single-parent, same-sex, grandparents as primary caregivers, etc.)

Not Becoming My Mother by Ruth Reichl

I've read all of Ruth Reichl's books on her life as a restaurant critic and food editor. But this book is a little different: It's a tiny little tome that honors her mother.

Reichl explains that her mother Miriam gave the best examples in opposition - what NOT to do, rather than what TO do. While Reichl spent most of her life telling entertaining "Mim Tales" of her mother's outrageous behaviors, it was after her mother's death and the retrospect found in reading her mother's letters that Reichl finds the woman behind the characture.

It's a touching, sensitive book. Reichl probes and re-discovers her relationship with her mother through her writing, and it's the kind of book that will make you re-analyze some of your own relationships.

How honestly do we see the people we're closest to?