Laura's bookshelf: all

Laura's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 26 Apr 2025 18:08:02 -0700 60 Laura's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg What Does It Feel Like? 214312329
“What Does It Feel Like? is fiction, but it is my most autobiographical work to date. Eve’s story is my story.”—Sophie Kinsella

Eve is a successful novelist who wakes up one day in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. Her husband, never far from her side, explains that she has had an operation to remove the large, malignant tumor growing in her brain.

As Eve learns to walk, talk, and write again—and as she wrestles with her diagnosis, and how and when to explain it to her beloved children—she begins to recall what’s most important to her: long walks with her husband’s hand clasped firmly around her own, family game nights, and always buying that dress when she sees it.

Recounted in brief anecdotes, each one is an attempt to answer the type of impossible questions recognizable to anyone navigating the labyrinth of grief. This short, extraordinary novel is a celebration of life, shot through with warmth and humor—it will both break your heart and put it back together again.

“Why did I write such a personal book? I have always processed my life through writing. Hiding behind my fictional characters, I have always turned my own life into a narrative. It is my version of therapy, maybe. Writing is my happy place, and writing this book, although tough going at times, was immensely satisfying and therapeutic for me.”—Sophie Kinsella]]> 144 Sophie Kinsella 0593977564 Laura 4 4.25 2024 What Does It Feel Like?

author: Sophie Kinsella
name: Laura
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves:
review:

]]> The House of Eve 176443755
“A triumph of historical fiction�� ( The Washington Post ), an instant New York Times bestseller, and a Reese’s Book Club pick, set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.

1950s fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.

Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his parents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.

With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.]]> 384 Sadeqa Johnson 1982197374 Laura 0 to-read 4.23 2023 The House of Eve

author: Sadeqa Johnson
name: Laura
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection]]> 220341389 John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and a passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest disease.

Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.

In 2019, John Green met Henry, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone while traveling with Partners in Health. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal and dynamic advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, treatable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing 1.5 million people every year.

In Everything is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.]]> 208 John Green 0525556575 Laura 4 So interesting 4.52 2025 Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

author: John Green
name: Laura
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/25
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves:
review:
So interesting
]]> The Correspondent 223001257
Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has. A mother, grandmother, wife, divorcée, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.]]> 304 Virginia Evans 0593798430 Laura 0 to-read 4.56 2025 The Correspondent

author: Virginia Evans
name: Laura
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Carter Avery's Tricky Fourth-Grade Year]]> 205181066 From the author of the beloved MR. TERUPT series comes a story with surprising truths about a student no teacher would wish for, and a teacher no student would want to be stuck with.No teacher has ever liked Carter Avery. So he doesn’t expect that Ms. Olivia Krane will be any different. In fact, he heard the rumor that the new teacher—nicknamed Owl-livia, or the Owl, for short—can twist her head all the way round to catch any kid who’s up to no good. And since Carter has a hard time sitting still and not blurting stuff out, he’s sure he’s in for rough times being sent to the principal’s office. Making things annoying know-it-all Missy Gerber is in his class!But the Owl knows just how to handle Carter’s energy, showing his classmates another side of him. Everything’s looking up until Carter finds out that some people would like to see Ms. Krane replaced. The news spurs him on a secret mission to save his teacher. Then a disruption, heated words with Missy, and trouble outside of school test Carter’s plan, heart, and courage, as he navigates an especially tricky school year.With a stellar cast of characters, young and old, Rob Buyea pens another authentic story of life in and out of middle school, an experience not soon forgotten.]]> 352 Rob Buyea 0593376196 Laura 0 currently-reading 4.27 2024 Carter Avery's Tricky Fourth-Grade Year

author: Rob Buyea
name: Laura
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Wild Dark Shore 211004089
Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers. But with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants, packing up the seeds before they are transported to safer ground. Despite the wild beauty of life here, isolation has taken its toll on the Salts. Raff, eighteen and suffering his first heartbreak, can only find relief at his punching bag; Fen, seventeen, has started spending her nights on the beach among the seals; nine-year-old Orly, obsessed with botany, fears the loss of his beloved natural world; and Dominic can’t stop turning back toward the past, and the loss that drove the family to Shearwater in the first place.

Then, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman washes up on shore. As the Salts nurse the woman, Rowan, back to life, their suspicion gives way to affection, and they finally begin to feel like a family again. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting her heart, begins to fall for the Salts, too. But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers the sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own dark secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, the characters must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late—and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.]]> 303 Charlotte McConaghy 1250827957 Laura 0 currently-reading 4.27 2025 Wild Dark Shore

author: Charlotte McConaghy
name: Laura
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman]]> 200285643 Hank is struggling to hold his family together when his mom doesn't come home.

When eleven-year-old Hank’s mom doesn’t come home, he takes care of his toddler sister, Boo, like he always does. But it’s been a week now. They are out of food and mom has never stayed away this long�� Hank knows he needs help, so he and Boo seek out the stranger listed as their emergency contact.

But asking for help has consequences. It means social workers, and a new school, and having to answer questions about his mom that he's been trying to keep secret. And if they can't find his mom soon, Hank and Boo may end up in different foster homes--he could lose everything.]]> 320 Gennifer Choldenko 1524718920 Laura 5 4.50 2024 The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman

author: Gennifer Choldenko
name: Laura
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/21
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland]]> 148775 Come from Away.
When 38 jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Canada by the closing of U.S. airspace on September 11, the population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17,000. The citizens of Gander met the stranded passengers with an overwhelming display of friendship and goodwill. As the passengers stepped from the airplanes, exhausted, hungry and distraught after being held on board for nearly 24 hours while security checked all of the baggage, they were greeted with a feast prepared by the townspeople. Local bus drivers who had been on strike came off the picket lines to transport the passengers to the various shelters set up in local schools and churches. Linens and toiletries were bought and donated. A middle school provided showers, as well as access to computers, email, and televisions, allowing the passengers to stay in touch with family and follow the news.

Over the course of those four days, many of the passengers developed friendships with Gander residents that they expect to last a lifetime. As a show of thanks, scholarship funds for the children of Gander have been formed and donations have been made to provide new computers for the schools. This book recounts the inspiring story of the residents of Gander, Canada, whose acts of kindness have touched the lives of thousands of people and been an example of humanity and goodwill.]]> 256 Jim DeFede Laura 4 4.22 2002 The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland

author: Jim DeFede
name: Laura
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/18
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves:
review:
Such a tragic, but heartwarming book. Audio sounds just like Tom Hanks.
]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 5]]> 59041700 “What a lovely bible,�� Mrs. Tribly said.
“Isn’t it just?�� I replied, hoping she would not ask me to read a favorite verse aloud.
I do not believe the psalmist wrote,
Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest,
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.

The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.]]> 247 Beth Brower 0998063657 Laura 0 currently-reading 4.77 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 5

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 5

author: Beth Brower
name: Laura
average rating: 4.77
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Sideways Life of Denny Voss]]> 216625366 In this poignant and funny novel, a man who is defined by his limitations sets out to fight a murder charge—and discovers unexpected truths about himself, his family, and the world at large.

On the surface, Denny Voss’s life in rural Minnesota is a quiet one. At thirty years old, he lives at home with his elderly mother and his beloved blind and deaf Saint Bernard, George. He cleans up roadkill to help pay the bills. Though his prospects are limited by a developmental delay—the result of an accident at birth—Denny has always felt that he has “a good life.��

So how did he wind up being charged with the murder of a mayoral candidate—after crashing a sled full of guns into a tree?

As Denny awaits trial, his court-appointed therapist walks him through the events of the past year. Denny’s had other scuffles with the law, the first for kidnapping a neighbor’s cantankerous goose. And then there was the time he accidentally assisted in a bank robbery. It seems like whenever Denny tries to do the right thing, chaos ensues.

Untangling the events around the murder reveals even more painful truths about his family’s past. He’s always been surrounded by people who love him, but now it’s up to Denny to set his life on a new course.]]> 330 Holly Kennedy 1662525915 Laura 0 to-read 4.67 2025 The Sideways Life of Denny Voss

author: Holly Kennedy
name: Laura
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4]]> 56553921
The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.]]> 208 Beth Brower Laura 4 4.75 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

author: Beth Brower
name: Laura
average rating: 4.75
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/16
date added: 2025/04/16
shelves:
review:

]]> Save Me a Seat 25311520
Joe's lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own.

Ravi's family just moved to America from India, and he's finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in.

Joe and Ravi don't think they have anything in common -- but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week.]]> 256 Sarah Weeks 0545846609 Laura 4 4.06 2016 Save Me a Seat

author: Sarah Weeks
name: Laura
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2017/03/11
date added: 2025/04/16
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars. Looking for books to recommend to a teacher to help with character education. This one covers a lot...bullying, acceptance, cultural diversity, peer pressure...My only complaint was it ended too abruptly.
]]> <![CDATA[Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping [On a Dead Man] (Vera Wong, #2)]]> 215805924 Vera Wong is back and as meddling as ever in this follow-up to the hit Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.��

Ever since a man was found dead in Vera's teahouse, life has been good. For Vera that is. She’s surrounded by loved ones, her shop is bustling, and best of all, her son, Tilly, has a girlfriend! All thanks to Vera, because Tilly's girlfriend is none other than Officer Selena��Gray. The very same Officer Gray that she had harassed while investigating the teahouse murder. Still, Vera wishes more dead bodies would pop up in her shop, but one mustn't be ungrateful, even if one is slightly...bored.

Then Vera comes across a distressed young woman who is obviously in need of her kindly guidance. The young woman is looking for a missing friend. Fortunately, while cat-sitting at Tilly and Selena's, Vera finds a treasure Selena's briefcase.��Inside is a file about the death of an enigmatic influencer—who also happens to be the friend that the young woman was looking for.

Online, Xander had it a parade of private jets, fabulous parties with socialites, and a burgeoning career as a social media influencer. The only problem is, after his body is fished out of Mission Bay, the police can't seem to actually identify him. Who is Xander Lin? Nobody knows. Every contact is a dead end. Everybody claims not to know him, not even his parents.

Vera is determined to solve Xander's murder. After all, doing so would surely be a big favor to Selena, and��there is nothing she wouldn't do for her future daughter-in-law.]]> 325 Jesse Q. Sutanto 0593546253 Laura 3 4.28 2025 Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping [On a Dead Man] (Vera Wong, #2)

Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping [On a Dead Man] (Vera Wong, #2)

author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
name: Laura
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/15
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves:
review:

]]> The British Booksellers 180351949
A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington . . . until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.

When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband’s declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.

As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father’s legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe’s local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.

From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of WWII, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.]]> 364 Kristy Cambron 0785232249 Laura 0 to-read 4.06 2024

author: Kristy Cambron
name: Laura
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Spy School: The Graphic Novel (Spy School Graphic Novels #1)]]> 57066669 Can an undercover nerd become a superstar secret agent? Now a graphic novel!

Ben Ripley may only be in middle school, but he’s already pegged his dream job: CIA or bust. Unfortunately for him, his personality doesn’t exactly scream “secret agent.�� In fact, Ben is so awkward, he can barely get to school and back without a mishap. Because of his innate nerdiness, Ben is not surprised when he is recruited for a magnet school with a focus on science—but he’s entirely shocked to discover that the school is actually a front for a junior CIA academy. Could the CIA really want him?

Actually, no. There’s been a case of mistaken identity—but that doesn’t stop Ben from trying to morph into a supercool undercover agent, the kind that always gets the girl. And through a series of hilarious misadventures, Ben realizes he might actually be a halfway decent spy…if he can survive all the attempts being made on his life!]]> 296 Stuart Gibbs 1534455434 Laura 4 4.08 2022 Spy School: The Graphic Novel (Spy School Graphic Novels #1)

Spy School: The Graphic Novel (Spy School Graphic Novels #1)

author: Stuart Gibbs
name: Laura
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/13
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves:
review:

]]> Speechless: A Graphic Novel 210563323 From Eisner Award-winning author Aron Nels Steinke comes a heartfelt and funny middle-grade graphic novel about friendship, anxiety, and expressing yourself.

Middle school was supposed to be a fresh start for Mira, who struggles to speak in class even though she can speak at home without a problem. She didn't used to have anxiety speaking--and she used to have friends. Now, her former best friend Chloe is her worst enemy, and Mira's only solace is making videos for her secret stop-motion animation channel. But when Chloe's mom has to travel for a family emergency, Mira is horrified to learn that her family has volunteered to let Chloe stay with them. When it feels like everything is going wrong, will Mira ever find her voice?]]> 256 Aron Nels Steinke 1338849328 Laura 4 4.19 2025 Speechless: A Graphic Novel

author: Aron Nels Steinke
name: Laura
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves:
review:

]]> Mixed-Up 208840706 New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia has returned with a middle grade graphic novel about the struggles of a game-loving girl who gets diagnosed with dyslexia and her loving support network that help her along in the journey.

When reading isn’t as easy as ABC��

Stella knows fifth grade will be the best year ever. Her closest friends, Emiko and Latasha, are in her class and they all got the teacher they wanted. Then their favorite television show, Witchlins, announces a new guidebook and an online game!

But when the classwork starts piling up, Stella struggles to stay on top. Why does it take her so long to read? And how can she keep up with friends in the Witchlins game if she can’t get through the text-heavy guidebook?] And when she can’t deal with the text-heavy Witchlins guidebook, she can’t keep up with her friends in the game. It takes loving teachers and her family to recognize that Stella has a learning difference, and after a dyslexia diagnosis she gets the support and tools she needs to succeed.

Bestselling author Kami Garcia was inspired to write this special book by her daughter’s dyslexia journey; her own neurodivergent experience; and the many students she taught over the years. Mixed-Up shows that our differences don’t need to separate us.]]> 208 Kami Garcia 1250840880 Laura 3 4.21 2025

author: Kami Garcia
name: Laura
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3]]> 55138117 "It has been a day ordained by the fates, for how else could one explain the wholly cursed chain of events?" The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London Neighbourhood of St. Crispian's. But Emma's plan for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian's. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House. Readers have compared The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion to Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L. M. Montgomery, and Jean Webster.]]> 229 Beth Brower Laura 4 4.65

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3

author: Beth Brower
name: Laura
average rating: 4.65
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/08
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains: From the NYT Bestselling Author of Nothing to See Here]]> 199531846
Junko Tabei dreamed of a life climbing mountains. But men refused to climb with her. Sponsors told her to stay home. And gloves were not made to fit her hands. Junko, eager and unstoppable, wouldn’t let these obstacles get in her way. Instead, she planned an expedition to summit Mount Everest with an all-women team.��Battling icy peaks, deep crevasses, and even an avalanche, Junko refused to give up. She climbed step by step . . . up, up, ever up! After summiting the world’s tallest peak, Junko took on a new challenge - protecting the wild spaces she loved for future generations.]]> 48 Anita Yasuda 0063242419 Laura 4 4.30 2024 Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains: From the NYT Bestselling Author of Nothing to See Here

Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains: From the NYT Bestselling Author of Nothing to See Here

author: Anita Yasuda
name: Laura
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> Old School 211642066
Dexter Foreman is twelve�� going on eighty. He has lived at The Pines Retirement Village with his grandmother since he was six years old, and as a result, he gets along better with senior citizens than kids his own age. He’s been home-schooled by the residents up until the day the county’s truancy officer shows up and announces that Dex has to go to the local middle school.

At school, Dex sticks out like a sore thumb. He dresses like a grandpa (and can be just as cranky). His taste in movies and music is decades out of date. Only a few students—like Gianna Greco, a reporter at the school’s newspaper—find him intriguing. For most, he is a weirdo ... or a target.

Raised among a generation of Mr. Fix-its, Dex can repair seemingly anything with his trusty Swiss army knife�� which comes in handy since their old school building seems to be crumbling around them. It also ends up putting Dexter in a situation that could either make or break his school career.

Dexter would do anything to return to his old life at The Pines. But when his wish finally seems to be coming true, his old and new worlds collide in a way that surprises everyone—and Dexter most of all.]]> 288 Gordon Korman 0063238144 Laura 4 GK does it again 4.33 2025 Old School

author: Gordon Korman
name: Laura
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/07
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves:
review:
GK does it again
]]> <![CDATA[Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear]]> 30278755 The instant #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller

"A must read for anyone hoping to live a creative life... I dare you not to be inspired to be brave, to be free, and to be curious." --PopSugar

From the worldwide bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and City of Girls the path to the vibrant, fulfilling life you've dreamed of.

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert's books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the "strange jewels" that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.]]> 276 Elizabeth Gilbert 1594634726 Laura 0 to-read 4.11 2015 Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Laura
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Broken Country 214151202 “The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.��

Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn’t realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager—the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.

As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.

A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.]]> 320 Clare Leslie Hall 166807818X Laura 4 4.5 4.41 2025 Broken Country

author: Clare Leslie Hall
name: Laura
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/03
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves:
review:
4.5
]]> The Briar Club 181110045 A haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse during the McCarthy era.

Washington, D.C., 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; police officer’s daughter Nora, who is entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Bea, whose career has ended along with the women’s baseball league of WWII; and poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare.

Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears apart the house, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: Who is the true enemy in their midst?]]> 432 Kate Quinn 0063244748 Laura 3 4.26 2024

author: Kate Quinn
name: Laura
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves:
review:
I guess I'm not a fan of Kate Quinn's books. I keep trying them, but never really like them.
]]> <![CDATA[Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back]]> 200982378 Perfect for fans of New Kid and A First Time for Everything, a joyful and tearful debut middle grade graphic memoir about one girl being uprooted when she moves to Hong Kong, a place where her family fits in but, for her, it's nothing like home.

Ruth Chan loves her hometown in Toronto, hanging out with her best friends for life, and snacking on ketchup flavored potato chips, which are the best. What Ruth doesn’t love is having to move to Hong Kong after her dad gets a new job there.

Her mom is excited to reunite with her family, but it’s not the same for Ruth. In Hong Kong, her classes are harder, her Cantonese isn’t good enough, and her parents are never around. Ruth feels lonely and completely uprooted.

But as Ruth’s dad tells stories about her family, about how they relied on their strength, courage, and each other to survive the most difficult times, Ruth realizes that she too can be strong. Gradually, she puts down roots, knowing that home will always be where her heart is.]]> 288 Ruth Chan 1250855349 Laura 3 4.27 2024 Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back

Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back

author: Ruth Chan
name: Laura
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Royal Conundrum (The Misfits #1)]]> 156740460
“For any kid who’s felt like a misfit, this crackling adventure packs a wallop!�� —Lincoln Peirce, creator of Big Nate and Max & the Midknights

Olive Cobin Zang has . . . issues. And they mostly aren’t her fault. (No, really!) Though she often slips under the radar, problems have a knack for finding her. So, imagine her doubts when she’s suddenly dropped off at the strangest boarding school a former castle turned prison that's now a “reforming arts school��!

But nothing could’ve prepared Olive for RASCH ( not “rash��). There, she’s lumped with a team of other kids who never quite fit in, and discovers that the academy isn’t what it seems—and neither is she. In fact, RASCH is a cover for an elite group of misfits who fight crime . . . and Olive has arrived just in time.

Turns out that RASCH is in danger of closing, unless Olive’s class can stop the heist of the century. And as Olive falls in love with this wacky school, she realizes it’s up to her new team to save the only home that’s ever welcomed them.]]> 288 Lisa Yee 1984830295 Laura 3 3.75 2024 A Royal Conundrum (The Misfits #1)

author: Lisa Yee
name: Laura
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness]]> 171681821
A must-read for all parents: the generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood.

“With tenacity and candor, Haidt lays out the consequences that have come with allowing kids to drift further into the virtual world . . . While also offering suggestions and solutions that could help protect a new generation of kids.�� —Shannon Carlin, ,i>TIME, 100 Must-Read Books of 2024

After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why?

In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the “play-based childhood�� began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the “phone-based childhood�� in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this “great rewiring of childhood�� has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies.

Most important, Haidt issues a clear call to action. He diagnoses the “collective action problems�� that trap us, and then proposes four simple rules that might set us free. He describes steps that parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments can take to end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood.

Haidt has spent his career speaking truth backed by data in the most difficult landscapes—communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the public health emergency faced by Gen Z. We cannot afford to ignore his findings about protecting our children—and ourselves—from the psychological damage of a phone-based life.]]> 400 Jonathan Haidt 0593655036 Laura 0 to-read 4.36 2024 The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness

author: Jonathan Haidt
name: Laura
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Lost Bookshop 65137920 The Keeper of Stories meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets.

‘The thing about books,�� she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.��

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found��

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder�� where nothing is as it seems.]]> 432 Evie Woods 0008609209 Laura 3 4.03 2023 The Lost Bookshop

author: Evie Woods
name: Laura
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/29
date added: 2025/03/29
shelves:
review:

]]> The Best of Friends 52149789
Reeling from the worst night of their lives, the three mothers plunge into a desperate investigation of the bizarre incident. How could something so horrible happen in their wealthy Southern California suburb?

They soon discover that the accident was just the beginning, and troubling discoveries lead to chilling questions: Do they really know their children? Do they even know each other? As more secrets surface, a fog of doubt and suspicion threatens to poison their families, their friendships, and the whole community.

With the illusion of happiness and safety long gone, these women must now confront the hazards of heartbreak, the consequences of jealousy, and the dangers of living double lives.]]> 285 Lucinda Berry 1542022134 Laura 0 to-read 3.98 2020 The Best of Friends

author: Lucinda Berry
name: Laura
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride]]> 39665277 234 Joe Siple Laura 0 to-read 4.61 2018

author: Joe Siple
name: Laura
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> One Wrong Step 210563338 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen comes a brand-new, spine-tingling adventure about two kids and their fight for survival on the unforgiving trails of Mount Everest. Jennifer Nielsen's storytelling climbs to new heights in this epic about loss, letting go, and the most important lesson a climber can where the eye goes, a person follows.

For a climber, letting go means certain death. For Atlas, it means something even worse. But he'll have to learn how to let go and look up if he ever wants to see the top...

Twelve-year-old Atlas Wade has been trying to forget the memory of his mother by climbing mountains ever since she died when he was nine years old. When his father signs them up for an expedition group hoping to be the first to ever summit the unconquerable Mount Everest, Atlas can't wait for the chance to prove himself to his father, and maybe finally he can leave his mother behind him on the mountain.

But this time, Atlas is the one left behind, as well as a young American girl named Maddie and their sturdy yet injured Sherpa, Chodak. When news breaks out that war has returned to Europe, and that Nazis are attempting their own summit dangerously nearby, Atlas and Maddie plead with the expedition to come back down.

Their warnings come too late. Atlas looks up that same morning to see an avalanche and when they receive no word from the group, Maddie and Chodak join Atlas as he begins a dangerous journey up the mountain in the hopes of finding survivors.

Atlas, Maddie, and Chodak will have to rely not just on their own wits for survival, but on each other as well, especially as sickness, bad weather, and their fears of a Nazi spy watching them puts their mission -- and lives -- at risk in the brutal terrain. And Atlas will have to learn how to let go if he wants any chance of finding his father and fixing the rift between them caused by his mother's death, before it's too late.

Using one of the world's greatest -- and most infamous -- mountains as a backdrop, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen's storytelling climbs to new heights in this touching, thrilling epic about grief, letting go, and the bonds that keep us alive.]]> 336 Jennifer A. Nielsen 1338275860 Laura 0 to-read 4.01 2025 One Wrong Step

author: Jennifer A. Nielsen
name: Laura
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2]]> 48677941
The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.
]]> 162 Beth Brower Laura 4 4.59 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2

author: Beth Brower
name: Laura
average rating: 4.59
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves:
review:

]]> And Then, Boom! 195888819
Joe Oak is used to living on unsteady ground. His mom can’t be depended on as she never stays around long once she gets “the itch,�� and now he and his beloved grandmother find themselves without a home. Fortunately, Joe has an outlet in his journals and drawings and takes comfort from the lessons of comic books—superheroes have a lot of “and then, boom�� moments, where everything threatens to go bust but somehow they land on their feet. And that seems to happen a lot to Joe too, as in this crisis his friend Nick helps them find a home in his trailer park. But things fall apart again when Joe is suddenly left to fend for himself. He doesn’t tell anyone he’s on his own, as he fears foster care and has hope his mom will come back. But time is running out—bills are piling up, the electricity’s been shut off, and the school year’s about to end, meaning no more free meals. The struggle to feed himself gets intense, and Joe finds himself dumpster diving for meals. He’s never felt so alone—until an emaciated little dog and her two tiny pups cross his path. And fate has even more in store for Joe, because an actual tornado is about to hit home—and just when it seems all is lost, his life turns in a direction that he never could have predicted.]]> 256 Lisa Fipps 059340632X Laura 5 4.62 2024 And Then, Boom!

author: Lisa Fipps
name: Laura
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/31
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves:
review:
ALL the feels-- Lisa Fipps is so good at that. Loved this one as much as Starfish.
]]> The Glass Girl 208430624
There’s only one thing that dulls the pressure: alcohol. Vodka, beer, peppermint schnapps—alcohol smooths the sharp edges of Bella’s life. And what’s the big deal? Everyone drinks. Besides, Bella can stop whenever she wants. But after she gets blackout drunk at a Thanksgiving party and wakes up in the hospital, it’s time to face reality. And for Bella, reality means rehab.]]> 464 Kathleen Glasgow 0525708081 Laura 0 to-read 4.32 2024 The Glass Girl

author: Kathleen Glasgow
name: Laura
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Be Ready When the Luck Happens]]> 209192698 In her long-awaited memoir, Ina Garten—aka the Barefoot Contessa, author of thirteen bestselling cookbooks, beloved Food Network personality, Instagram sensation, and cultural icon—shares her personal story with readers hungry for a seat at her table.��

Here, for the first time, Ina Garten presents an intimate, entertaining, and inspiring account of her remarkable journey. Ina’s gift is to make everything look easy, yet all her accomplishments have been the result of hard work, audacious choices, and exquisite attention to detail. In her unmistakable voice (no one tells a story like Ina), she brings her past and her process to life in a high-spirited and no-holds-barred memoir that chronicles decades of personal challenges, adventures (and misadventures) and unexpected career twists, all delivered with her signature combination of playfulness and purpose.

From a difficult childhood to meeting the love of her life, Jeffrey, and marrying him while still in college, from a boring bureaucratic job in Washington, D.C., to answering an ad for a specialty food store in the Hamptons, from the owner of one Barefoot Contessa shop to author of bestselling cookbooks and celebrated television host, Ina has blazed her own trail and, in the meantime, taught millions of people how to cook and entertain. Now, she invites them to come closer to experience her story in vivid detail and to share the important life lessons she learned along the way: do what you love because if you love it you’ll be really good at it, swing for the fences, and always Be Ready When the Luck Happens.]]> 320 Ina Garten 0593799895 Laura 4 4.25 2024

author: Ina Garten
name: Laura
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/24
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves:
review:
4.5 I had so much fun getting to know Ina Garten. She narrates her audiobook and does a top notch job.
]]> What Happened to the McCrays? 195391623 From New York Times bestselling author Tracey Lange, a poignant story about the resilience of family, the importance of community, and the magic of middle school hockey

When Kyle McCray gets word his father has suffered a debilitating stroke, he returns to his hometown of Potsdam, New York, where he doesn’t expect a warm welcome. Kyle left suddenly two and a half years ago, abandoning people who depended on him: his father, his employees, his friends—not to mention Casey, his wife of sixteen years and a beloved teacher in town. He plans to lie low and help his dad recuperate until he can leave again, especially after Casey makes it clear she wants him gone.

The longer he’s home, the more Kyle understands the impact his departure has had on the people he left behind. When he’s presented with an opportunity for redemption as the coach of the floundering middle school hockey team, he begins to find compassion in unexpected places. Kyle even considers staying in Potsdam, but that’s only possible if he and Casey can come to some kind of peace with each other.

Full of love and hope, What Happened to the McCrays? takes an intimate look at both sides of a failed marriage and two people who must finally confront the awful pain of their past or risk being consumed by it.]]> 352 Tracey Lange 1250328438 Laura 0 to-read 4.08 2025 What Happened to the McCrays?

author: Tracey Lange
name: Laura
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Aviator's Wife 13642950 In the spirit of Loving Frank and The Paris Wife, acclaimed novelist Melanie Benjamin pulls back the curtain on the marriage of one of America’s most extraordinary couples: Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

When Anne Morrow, a shy college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family, she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong. Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. In the years that follow, Anne becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States. But despite this and other major achievements, she is viewed merely as the aviator’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness.

Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.]]> 416 Melanie Benjamin 0345528670 Laura 0 3.88 2013 The Aviator's Wife

author: Melanie Benjamin
name: Laura
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves:
review:

]]> All the Broken Places 61111301
Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can't help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henry's beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretel's hard-won, self-contained existence.

All The Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretel's girlhood in Germany to present-day London as a woman whose life has been haunted by the past. Now, Gretel faces a similar crossroads to one she encountered long ago. Back then, she denied her own complicity, but now, faced with a chance to interrogate her guilt, grief and remorse, she can choose to save a young boy. If she does, she will be forced to reveal the secrets she has spent a lifetime protecting. This time, she can make a different choice than before -- whatever the cost to herself....

From the New York Times bestselling author John Boyne, a devastating, beautiful story about a woman who must confront the sins of her own terrible past, and a present in which it is never too late for bravery. ]]> 400 John Boyne 0593653068 Laura 0 to-read 4.43 2022 All the Broken Places

author: John Boyne
name: Laura
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Things You Save in a Fire 41150382
The tough, old-school Boston firehouse is as different from Cassie's old job as it could possibly be. Hazing, a lack of funding, and poor facilities mean that the firemen aren't exactly thrilled to have a "lady" on the crew, even one as competent and smart as Cassie. Except for the handsome rookie, who doesn't seem to mind having Cassie around. But she can't think about that. Because she doesn't fall in love. And because of the advice her old captain gave her: don't date firefighters. Cassie can feel her resolve slipping...but will she jeopardize her place in a career where she's worked so hard to be taken seriously?

Katherine Center's Things You Save in a Fire is a heartfelt, affecting novel about life, love, and the true meaning of courage.]]> 320 Katherine Center 1250047323 Laura 4 4.00 2019

author: Katherine Center
name: Laura
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dial A for Aunties (Aunties, #1)]]> 53310061 What happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family?

You get 4 meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue!

When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It's the biggest job yet for the family wedding business��"Don't leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!"—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie's perfect buttercream flowers.

But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy's great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?]]> 299 Jesse Q. Sutanto 0593336739 Laura 0 to-read 3.67 2021 Dial A for Aunties (Aunties, #1)

author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
name: Laura
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Last Human 43908954 In a future when humans are believed to be extinct, what will one curious robot do when it finds a girl who needs its help?

In the future, robots have eliminated humans, and 12-year-old robot XR_935 is just fine with that. Without humans around, there is no war, no pollution, no crime. Every member of society has a purpose. Everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Until the day XR discovers something impossible: a human girl named Emma. Now, Emma must embark on a dangerous voyage with XR and two other robots in search of a mysterious point on a map. But how will they survive in a place where rules are never broken and humans aren’t supposed to exist? And what will they find at the end of their journey?]]> 288 Lee Bacon 1419736914 Laura 4 4.02 2019 The Last Human

author: Lee Bacon
name: Laura
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/11
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Good Dirt 213618132 The daughter of an affluent Black family pieces together the connection between a childhood tragedy and a beloved heirloom in this moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake, a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick

When ten-year-old Ebby Freeman heard the gunshot, time stopped. And when she saw her brother, Baz, lying on the floor surrounded by the shattered pieces of a centuries-old jar, life as Ebby knew it shattered as well.

The crime was never solved—and because the Freemans were one of the only Black families in a particularly well-to-do enclave of New England—the case has had an enduring, voyeuristic pull for the public. The last thing the Freemans want is another media frenzy splashing their family across the papers, but when Ebby's high profile romance falls apart without any explanation, that's exactly what they get.

So Ebby flees to France, only for her past to follow her there. And as she tries to process what's happened, she begins to think about the other loss her family suffered on that day eighteen years ago—the stoneware jar that had been in their family for generations, brought North by an enslaved ancestor. But little does she know that the handcrafted piece of pottery held more than just her family's history—it might also hold the key to unlocking her own future.

In this sweeping, evocative novel, Charmaine Wilkerson brings to life a multi-generational epic that examines how the past informs our present.]]> 368 Charmaine Wilkerson 0593358368 Laura 3 4.04 2025 Good Dirt

author: Charmaine Wilkerson
name: Laura
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves:
review:

]]> Counting Miracles 205126997 Amikor Tanner kíváncsiságtól hajtva az észak-karolinai kisvárosba utazik, még nem tudja, hogy az egész élete megváltozik. Az apja nyomát követve megismerkedik egy, a gyerekeit egyedül nevelő doktornővel és egy magányosan, elvonultan élő öregemberrel. Ha Tanner képes megnyitni a szívét a szeretet és a szerelem előtt, a csodálatos találkozások sora ezzel nem ér véget...]]> 368 Nicholas Sparks 0593449592 Laura 0 to-read 4.05 2024 Counting Miracles

author: Nicholas Sparks
name: Laura
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Finding Me 58687126
This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn’t always see me.

As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. We are forced to reinvent them to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be . . . you.

Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.]]> 304 Viola Davis 0063037327 Laura 0 to-read 4.54 2022 Finding Me

author: Viola Davis
name: Laura
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow]]> 41692854 From the bestselling author of The Ragged Edge of Night comes a powerful and poetic novel of survival and sacrifice on the American frontier.

Wyoming, 1870. For as long as they have lived on the frontier, the Bemis and Webber families have relied on each other. With no other settlers for miles, it is a matter of survival. But when Ernest Bemis finds his wife, Cora, in a compromising situation with their neighbor, he doesn’t think of survival. In one impulsive moment, a man is dead, Ernest is off to prison, and the women left behind are divided by rage and remorse.

Losing her husband to Cora’s indiscretion is another hardship for stoic Nettie Mae. But as a brutal Wyoming winter bears down, Cora and Nettie Mae have no choice but to come together as one family—to share the duties of working the land and raising their children. There’s Nettie Mae’s son, Clyde—no longer a boy, but not yet a man—who must navigate the road to adulthood without a father to guide him, and Cora’s daughter, Beulah, who is as wild and untamable as her prairie home.

Bound by the uncommon threads in their lives and the challenges that lie ahead, Cora and Nettie Mae begin to forge an unexpected sisterhood. But when a love blossoms between Clyde and Beulah, bonds are once again tested, and these two resilient women must finally decide whether they can learn to trust each other—or else risk losing everything they hold dear.]]> 497 Olivia Hawker 1542091136 Laura 0 to-read 4.19 2019 One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow

author: Olivia Hawker
name: Laura
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Lotus Shoes 213888887 THE CAPTIVATING, HEART-RENDING STORY OF TWO WOMEN IN 1800S CHINA

Love and loss. Sisterhood and betrayal. Little Flower and Linjing's fates are bound together.

As a child, Little Flower is sold to Linjing's wealthy family to become a muizai. In a fit of childish jealousy over her new handmaiden's ladylike bound feet and talent for embroidery, Linjing ensures Little Flower can never leave her to ascend in society.

Despite their starkly different places in the Fong household, over the years the two girls must work together to secure both their futures through Linjing's marriage. As the two grow up, they are by turns bitter rivals and tentative friends.

Until scandal strikes the family, and Linjing and Little Flower's lives are unexpectedly thrown into chaos. Linjing's fall from grace could be an opportunity for Little Flower - but will their intertwined fates lead to triumph, or tragedy for them both?]]> 400 Jane Yang Laura 0 to-read 4.23 2025 The Lotus Shoes

author: Jane Yang
name: Laura
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Long Bright River 55835660 AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

[Moore's] careful balance of the hard-bitten with the heartfelt is what elevates Long Bright River from entertaining page-turner to a book that makes you want to call someone you love." - The New York Times Book Review

This is police procedural and a thriller par excellence, one in which the city of Philadelphia itself is a character (think Boston and Mystic River). But it's also a literary tale narrated by a strong woman with a richly drawn personal life - powerful and genre-defying." - People

A thoughtful, powerful novel by a writer who displays enormous compassion for her characters. Long Bright River is an outstanding crime novel... I absolutely loved it.
--Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

Two sisters travel the same streets, though their lives couldn't be more different. Then one of them goes missing.

In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don't speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling.

Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey's district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit--and her sister--before it's too late.

Alternating its present-day mystery with the story of the sisters' childhood and adolescence, Long Bright River is at once heart-pounding and heart-wrenching: a gripping suspense novel that is also a moving story of sisters, addiction, and the formidable ties that persist between place, family, and fate.]]> 497 Liz Moore 0525540687 Laura 0 to-read 4.15 2020 Long Bright River

author: Liz Moore
name: Laura
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Housemaid's Wedding (The Housemaid, #2.5)]]> 220921867 The Housemaid’s Wedding is a winter-themed short story meant to fill in the long gap between Book 2 of the Housemaid series (The Housemaid’s Secret) and Book 3 (The Housemaid is Watching). It can be read either between Book 2 and Book 3, or after Book 3.

Today is supposed to be the happiest day of my life.

I'm engaged to the man of my dreams, and in a few short hours, I'm going to stand before a judge, who will declare us husband and wife, till death does us part. Despite some bumps in the road, this day is everything I dreamed it would be.

There's only one problem:

Someone out there doesn't want me to live long enough to say my vows.

And if I'm not careful, they may very well get their wish.]]> 76 Freida McFadden Laura 0 to-read 3.40 2024 The Housemaid's Wedding (The Housemaid, #2.5)

The Housemaid's Wedding (The Housemaid, #2.5)

author: Freida McFadden
name: Laura
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Ladies of the Lake 63009309 After two young women’s deep bond is torn apart, what will it take to bring them together again? In The Ladies of the Lake, the beloved author of Saving Amelie and Night Bird Calling returns with a transformative new historical novel about the wonder and complexities of friendship, love, and belonging.

When she is forced to leave her beloved Prince Edward Island to attend Lakeside Ladies Academy after the death of her parents, the last thing Adelaide Rose MacNeill expects to find is three kindred spirits. The “Ladies of the Lake,�� as the four girls call themselves, quickly bond like sisters, vowing that wherever life takes them, they will always be there for each other. But that is before: Before love and jealousy come between Adelaide and Dorothy, the closest of the friends. Before the dawn of World War I upends their world and casts baseless suspicion onto the German American man they both love. Before a terrible explosion in Halifax Harbor rips the sisterhood irrevocably apart.

Seventeen years later, Rosaline Murray receives an unsuspecting telephone call from Dorothy, now headmistress of Lakeside, inviting her to attend the graduation of a new generation of girls, including Rosaline’s beloved daughter. With that call, Rosaline is drawn into a past she’d determined to put behind her. To memories of a man she once loved . . . of a sisterhood she abandoned . . . and of the day she stopped being Adelaide MacNeill.]]> 384 Cathy Gohlke 1496453549 Laura 0 to-read 4.22 2009 Ladies of the Lake

author: Cathy Gohlke
name: Laura
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dear Mr. Knightley 17657649 Dear Mr. Knightley is a contemporary epistolary novel with a delightful dash of Jane Austen.

Samantha Moore survived years of darkness in the foster care system by hiding behind her favorite characters in literature, even adopting their very words. Her fictional friends give her an identity, albeit a borrowed one. But most importantly, they protect her from revealing her true self and encountering more pain.

After college, Samantha receives an extraordinary opportunity. The anonymous “Mr. Knightley�� offers her a full scholarship to earn her graduate degree at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. The sole condition is that Sam write to Mr. Knightley regularly to keep him apprised of her progress.

As Sam’s true identity begins to reveal itself through her letters, her heart begins to soften to those around her—a damaged teenager and fellow inhabitant of Grace House, her classmates at Medill, and, most powerfully, successful novelist Alex Powell. But just as Sam finally begins to trust, she learns that Alex has secrets of his own—secrets that, for better or for worse, make it impossible for Sam to hide behind either her characters or her letters.]]> 317 Katherine Reay 140168968X Laura 0 to-read 3.92 2013 Dear Mr. Knightley

author: Katherine Reay
name: Laura
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Little House in the Big Woods (Little House, #1)]]> 8337
Little House in the Big Woods takes place in 1871 and introduces us to four-year-old Laura, who lives in a log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. She shares the cabin with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their lovable dog, Jack.

Pioneer life isn’t easy for the Ingalls family, since they must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But they make the best of every tough situation. They celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do their spring planting, bring in the harvest in the fall, and make their first trip into town. And every night, safe and warm in their little house, the sound of Pa’s fiddle lulls Laura and her sisters into sleep.

The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura’s real childhood as an American pioneer, and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family.]]> 224 Laura Ingalls Wilder 0060885378 Laura 5
This series started my love affair with reading!]]> 4.21 1932 Little House in the Big Woods (Little House, #1)

Little House in the Big Woods (Little House, #1)

author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
name: Laura
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1932
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves:
review:
3/7/25-- reread for possible Battle of the Books. Still love. I hope students nowadays will love and appreciate as well.

This series started my love affair with reading!
]]> <![CDATA[When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary]]> 204806515 Bestselling author Alice Hoffman delivers a stunning novel about one of contemporary history's most acclaimed figures, exploring the little-known details of Anne Frank's life before she went into hiding.

Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl has captivated and inspired readers for decades. Published posthumously by her bereaved father, Anne's journal, written while she and her family were in hiding during World War II, has become one of the central texts of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust, as well as a work of literary genius.

With the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Frank family's life is turned inside out, blow by blow, restriction by restriction. Prejudice, loss, and terror run rampant, and Anne is forced to bear witness as ordinary people become monsters, and children and families are caught up in the inescapable tide of violence.

In the midst of impossible danger, Anne, audacious and creative and fearless, discovers who she truly is. With a wisdom far beyond her years, she becomes a writer who will go on to change the world as we know it.

Critically acclaimed author Alice Hoffman weaves a lyrical and heart-wrenching story of the way the world closes in on the Frank family from the moment the Nazis invade the Netherlands until they are forced into hiding, bringing Anne to bold, vivid life. Based on extensive research and published in cooperation with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, When We Flew Away is an extraordinary and moving tour de force.

"Adding new poignance to a story whose ending we already knew, Alice Hoffman has deftly recreated the child Anne Frank with all her wit, mischief, and uncertainties. This fictionalized account of the increasingly desperate years that preceded the famous diary breaks readers' hearts one more time. But it reminds us of how important it is to remember and honor all that was lost." -- Lois Lowry, Newbery Award-winning author of Number the Stars]]> 304 Alice Hoffman 1338856944 Laura 0 to-read 4.03 2024 When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary

When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary

author: Alice Hoffman
name: Laura
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Archer's Voice (Where Love Meets Destiny, #1)]]> 42098358
Archer's Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love.]]> 338 Mia Sheridan Laura 0 to-read 4.27 2014 Archer's Voice (Where Love Meets Destiny, #1)

Archer's Voice (Where Love Meets Destiny, #1)

author: Mia Sheridan
name: Laura
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hello Beautiful 217005288
But then darkness from William’s past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia’s carefully orchestrated plans for their future, but the sisters�� unshakeable devotion to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?]]> 416 Ann Napolitano 0593243757 Laura 0 to-read 4.13 2023 Hello Beautiful

author: Ann Napolitano
name: Laura
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom]]> 214151420 From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

As the family’s YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby’s delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime.

Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: “Finally.��

For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family’s devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt’s cultish life coaching program, “ConneXions.�� No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother’s cruelty.]]> 320 Shari Franke 1668065398 Laura 3 4.42 2025 The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom

The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom

author: Shari Franke
name: Laura
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/05
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Challenger Disaster: Tragedy in the Skies (History Comics)]]> 52750823 History Comics: The Challenger Disaster, we turn the clock back to January 28, 1986. Seven astronauts boarded the space shuttle Challenger on what would be a routine mission. All eyes and cameras were on crew member Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher, who was set to become the first private citizen in space. Excitement filled the air as the clock counted down to liftoff. But at T-plus seventy-three seconds after launch, the unthinkable happened...

What caused the midair explosion? In Pranas T. Naujokaitis's imaginative tale, set in a far-off future, a group of curious kids investigate the hard questions surrounding the Challenger explosion. Inspired by the legacy and sacrifice of the Challenger seven, they continue in their footsteps, setting out toward the stars and into the great unknown!]]> 128 Pranas T. Naujokaitis 1250174295 Laura 4 3.86 2020 The Challenger Disaster: Tragedy in the Skies (History Comics)

The Challenger Disaster: Tragedy in the Skies (History Comics)

author: Pranas T. Naujokaitis
name: Laura
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves:
review:

]]> Safiyyah's War 195853572 336 Hiba Noor Khan 0063351862 Laura 4 4.29 2023

author: Hiba Noor Khan
name: Laura
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/03
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves:
review:

]]> The Last Year of the War 40530049
The only thing that makes the camp bearable is meeting fellow internee Mariko Inoue, a Japanese-American teen from Los Angeles, whose friendship empowers Elise to believe the life she knew before the war will again be hers. Together in the desert wilderness, Elise and Mariko hold tight the dream of being young American women with a future beyond the fences.]]> 389 Susan Meissner 0451492153 Laura 0 to-read 4.15 2019 The Last Year of the War

author: Susan Meissner
name: Laura
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tiger Tiger: His Life as It's Never Been Told Before]]> 173404111 The impossible life of Tiger Woods—how did he become the GOAT, and what drove him to fall so spectacularly? In Patterson’s hands, Tiger’s story is a hole-in-one thriller.

Filled with brand-new interviews,�� Tiger Woods is the first nonfiction collaboration between James Patterson and golf reporter Peter de Jonge, co-authors of the�� New York Times�� bestselling “Miracle�� golf novels.��
��
Tiger Woods is unrivaled as an athlete. He made the ultimate commitment to his chosen sport—and transformed it. Before the age of twenty-five, he rose to phenomenon twice named "Sportsman of the Year" by�� Sports Illustrated ; won more than thirty professional tournaments; and became the youngest player to win pro golf’s four Grand Slam tournaments.��
��
How did Woods do it? On watching the ball, Woods says, "I practice putting with my left eye closed, so I can't see the target line at all with my peripheral vision. That makes it easier to keep my eyes looking straight down."��
��
Patterson and de Jonge tap into the transformative moments of Woods’s life, revealing in vivid, dramatic scenes what Woods saw and felt on the course and in his inner life—from his only "perfect" shot (a 3-wood on No. 14 at St. Andrews) to his missed first putt at the 1995 Masters through his recent comeback tours. ��
��]]> 448 James Patterson 031643860X Laura 0 to-read 3.79 2024 Tiger Tiger: His Life as It's Never Been Told Before

Tiger Tiger: His Life as It's Never Been Told Before

author: James Patterson
name: Laura
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Never Closer 202193689 When your life changes in a moment, how do you rewrite your story?

In 1940s Britain, with the Second World War raging, Alice is working in a laboratory developing a potential wonder drug, called penicillin. Made to leave school at sixteen and abandon her aspiration to be a teacher, she learns instead about medicines and miracles and how curing people may be her destiny.

In the present day, Jo, already in a failing marriage, is devastated when she hears her daughter’s life is on a knife edge. At her bedside Jo starts to read Alice’s diary, found the previous day in a vintage handbag.

A door opens onto the past, revealing a young woman’s fierce determination to succeed against all odds. Past and present overlap and merge as life-changing events resonate across the gulf of time.

This is a story of a mother whose life is blown apart. Now she must find a way to put it back together. Can Alice show her the way?

“I devoured this book. The characters are rich and their stories compelling.�� �� ŷ�� reviewer

“This is a tale that will wring your heart and feed your soul. Don’t pass it up!�� �� I’m a Voracious Reader

“Timeless themes, beautifully packaged.�� �� Something by Jane

]]> 229 Margot Shepherd 1739519817 Laura 0 to-read 4.24 Never Closer

author: Margot Shepherd
name: Laura
average rating: 4.24
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Who Was Laura Ingalls Wilder? 17572857 112 Patricia Brennan Demuth 0448467062 Laura 0 4.19 2013

author: Patricia Brennan Demuth
name: Laura
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/01
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Faker 195263491 The story of a family of liars... and the son who wants to break the family tradition.

Trey knows the routine. His dad gets him into a school full of kids with rich parents. Trey makes friends, and his dad makes connections. Soon, there's the con, where Trey's dad suckers the other parents into investing in one of his schemes. Once the money's in the bank, Trey, his sister, and their dad are on the run... until they set up somewhere else and start again.

Trey believes his father when he says no one's getting hurt. After all, these parents have money to spare.

But Trey's starting to get tired of running... and lying... and never having a friend for longer than a few months. But how do you get your family to stop lying when your lives depend on it?]]> 224 Gordon Korman 1338826751 Laura 4 4.00 Faker

author: Gordon Korman
name: Laura
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/01
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves:
review:

]]> The Playmakers 216319813 An entertaining, funny, and empathy-building story about underdogs who will stop at nothing to prove they’re remarkable too.

Jax has something to prove. After trying out for the basketball team, he and his friend Nic don’t make the final cut. Sure, Jax might be the shortest kid in the seventh grade, and Nic might not have a lot of confidence, but they’ve got skills.

Luke is the tallest kid in the seventh grade. He’s not bad at basketball, but he didn’t even try out for the team. Instead, Luke’s an aspiring actor and auditioned for the school play. Unfortunately, he didn’t get cast.

Jax and Luke decide to take matters into their own hands. They have a wacky, wild, outrageous idea, a plan that is sure to fail—unless it doesn’t.

Jax decides to form his own basketball team and challenge the school team. Luke agrees to join the team, on the condition that Jax and his friends help Luke compete in a regional drama competition.

Miley, probably the smartest kid at school, agrees to help both Jax and Luke. She’s been reading up on sports science and thinks she might have found a way for her friends to win through math.

Can a team of underdogs prove to the whole school that they have what it takes to be noticed, or will it all go horribly wrong?]]> 256 Chad Morris 1639933832 Laura 0 to-read 4.38 2025 The Playmakers

author: Chad Morris
name: Laura
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Virtually Me 216316037 A mysterious package.
A new school.
A chance to be someone new.

A new virtual reality school where students get a fresh start.

The pandemic was rough on everyone, especially since school went from being a fun place where you could hang out with your friends to a bunch of heads in small rectangles all trying to talk at once. For Bradley, Edelle, Hunter, Jasper, and Keiko, that’s about to change.

A mysterious box arrives at each of their houses, and they’re invited to attend a virtual school. More than just being online, they’ll be able to create an avatar of themselves and interact with their friends and other classmates in real time using VR headsets.

For each of them, that presents an opportunity to become someone they’re not, or someone they haven’t been. For Bradley, it’s a chance to come out of a self-imposed shell. Edelle hopes everyone will see her for who she really is, not just for how she looks. Hunter is looking forward to pretending he’s still the person he was last year. Jasper wants to get over past assumptions. And for Keiko, it’ll allow her to disappear into the crowd.

For all of them, it’s a chance to see just how much they’ve assumed about each other in the past and maybe an opportunity to become friends.

]]> 280 Chad Morris 1639933670 Laura 0 to-read 4.00 2023 Virtually Me

author: Chad Morris
name: Laura
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Swan's Daughter 228393488 Two outsiders share a forged desire to become something more to themselves, and to each other in this cozy romantic fantasy from bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.

To find love is a curse ...

Prince Arris knows that marriage means murder. Thanks to a poorly worded wish to a sea witch, all one needs to rule the Isle of Malys is the heart and hand of the kingdom’s heir. Historically, this has been construed quite literally.

Thus, Arris expects that the day after his marriage and murder he will wake up as a sentient tree alongside the rest of his predecessors. His only chance at a long life is finding true and lasting love. When Arris's parents announce a tournament of brides to compete for his hand and heart, a slew of eligible, lovely and (possibly murderous) bachelorettes make their way to Rathe Castle. Amidst glittering balls in ozorald caves, strolls through menageries of daydream trees and pearl crocodiles, tea time on glass boats and kisses that leave his head spinning, Arris cannot tell who is here out of love for him…or lust for power.

Until he meets Demelza.

As a veritas swan, Demelza’s song wrings out the truth. Forced into hiding, Demelza strikes a deal. Arris will provide her with safekeeping in exchange for her truth-telling song to sort through his potential brides.

While Arris is used to dodging death threats and Demelza is accustomed to fighting for her voice to be heard, to survive the tournament of brides requires a different kind of bravery. And perhaps the bravest thing one can do is not merely protect one’s life, but find the courage to chase a life worth living.]]> 352 Roshani Chokshi 125087310X Laura 0 to-read 4.00 2026 The Swan's Daughter

author: Roshani Chokshi
name: Laura
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[London Calling (City Spies #6)]]> 214152096 In this sixth installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies stage a rescue in Rome in another international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Charlie Thorne.

Cairo, the newest member of the City Spies, takes the lead when his sister disappears in Istanbul. Determined to save the family of one of their own, the team risks discovery as their search leads them to Rome. Meanwhile, there’s been intel that seems to threaten the royal wedding about to take place in Westminster, bringing the team back to the UK on an official case for MI6. With so much security all over the city, it’s harder than ever for the City Spies to go unnoticed. Will their skills be up to the task?]]> 400 James Ponti 1665932503 Laura 0 to-read 4.50 London Calling (City Spies #6)

author: James Ponti
name: Laura
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Survived the Black Death, 1348 (I Survived #24)]]> 202772968 The Black Death was a pandemic of unimaginable propotions, taking the lives of 75 - 200 million people worldwide. Lauren Tarshis's story of one girl surviving the plague pulses with terror, action, and hope.

In this gripping story about the first wave of the plague, I Survived readers will travel to medieval England -- a time of knights and peasants; cathedrals and castles -- when the most deadly disease in world history sweeps across Europe and parts of Asia and Africa.

New York Times bestselling author Lauren Tarshis tells the story of how one girl finds incredible hope amid illness and grief. Includes a section of nonfiction backmatter with more facts and photos about the real-life event.]]> 144 Lauren Tarshis 1338891812 Laura 4 3.95 I Survived the Black Death, 1348 (I Survived #24)

I Survived the Black Death, 1348 (I Survived #24)

author: Lauren Tarshis
name: Laura
average rating: 3.95
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves:
review:

]]> The Firefly Summer 61272853
For as long as Ryanna Stuart can remember, her summers have been spent with her father and his new wife. Just the three of them, structured, planned, and quiet. But this summer is different. This summer, she’s received a letter from her grandparents—grandparents neither she nor her dad have spoken to since her mom’s death—inviting her to stay with them at an old summer camp in the Poconos.

Ryanna accepts. She wants to learn about her mom. She wants to uncover the mystery of why her father hasn’t spoken to her grandparents all these years. She’s even looking forward to a quiet summer by the lake. But what she finds are relatives�� so many relatives! Aunts and uncles and cousins upon cousins—a motley, rambunctious crew of kids and eccentric, unconventional adults. People who have memories of her mom from when she was Ryanna’s age, clues to her past like a treasure map. Ryanna even finds an actual, real-life treasure map!

Over the course of one unforgettable summer—filled with s’mores and swimming, adventure and fun, and even a decades-old mystery to solve—Ryanna discovers a whole new side of herself and that, sometimes, the last place you expected to be is the place where you really belong.]]> 400 Morgan Matson 1534493352 Laura 0 to-read 4.37 2023 The Firefly Summer

author: Morgan Matson
name: Laura
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The River We Remember 101160844 In 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by the murder of its most powerful citizen, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances in this dazzling standalone novel.

On Memorial Day, as the people of Jewel, Minnesota gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of so many sons in the wars of the past, the half-clothed body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. Investigation of the murder falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.

Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose.

Both a complex, spellbinding mystery and a masterful portrait of midcentury American life, The River We Remember is an unflinching look at the wounds left by the wars we fight abroad and at home, a moving exploration of the ways in which we seek to heal, and a testament to the enduring power of the stories we tell about the places we call home.]]> 432 William Kent Krueger 198217921X Laura 3 4.19 2023 The River We Remember

author: William Kent Krueger
name: Laura
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/21
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves:
review:

]]> Daughter of the Reich 51937186 The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See, a spellbinding story of impossible love set against the backdrop of the Nazi regime.

As the dutiful daughter of a high-ranking Nazi officer, Hetty Heinrich is keen to play her part in the glorious new Thousand Year Reich. But she never imagines that all she believes and knows about her world will come into stark conflict when she encounters Walter, a Jewish friend from the past, who stirs dangerous feelings in her. Confused and conflicted, Hetty doesn’t know whom she can trust and where she can turn to, especially when she discovers that someone has been watching her.

Realizing she is taking a huge risk—but unable to resist the intense attraction she has for Walter—she embarks on a secret love affair with him. Together, they dream about when the war will be over and plan for their future. But as the rising tide of anti-Semitism threatens to engulf them, Hetty and Walter will be forced to take extreme measures.

Will the steady march of dark forces destroy Hetty’s universe—or can love ultimately triumph��?

Propulsive, deeply affecting, and inspired by the author’s family history, Daughter of the Reich is a mesmerizing page-turner filled with vivid characters and a meticulously researched portrait of Nazi Germany. In this riveting story of passion, courage and morality, Louise Fein introduces a bold young woman determined to tread the treacherous path of survival and freedom, showing readers the strength in the power of love and reminding us that the past must never be forgotten.]]> 560 Louise Fein 0062964054 Laura 0 to-read 4.24 2020 Daughter of the Reich

author: Louise Fein
name: Laura
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Forever and Back (Life on the Ledge Duet #1)]]> 222520092 In motherhood and marriage, is anything ever really simple?June Cannon has spent the last seventeen years of her life as a devoted mom and wife, but when her husband, Camp, doesn’t come home for dinner—again—and her teenage daughter calls her simple, she’s had enough. Inspired by a podcast, her way forward becomes get a divorce, get a job, and show her kids she’s anything but simple.

As soon as she tells Camp she wants a divorce, he becomes the husband he hasn’t been for years, blurring the lines between what’s real and what’s pretend for the sake of their kids.

She quickly realizes that nothing—including her life, no matter what her kids think—is simple. As June catapults herself into the world at age forty to build a life outside of her family’s needs, a romantic interest from the past returns to town, giving her the attention she’s missed.

When the unhealed wounds of kept secrets and loss are reopened, June must decide between the wild and free life she thinks she wants and the seemingly simple one she already has.

This title contains explicit language and romance scenes.]]> 362 Ashley Manley Laura 0 to-read 4.51 Forever and Back (Life on the Ledge Duet #1)

Forever and Back (Life on the Ledge Duet #1)

author: Ashley Manley
name: Laura
average rating: 4.51
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife]]> 204158999 For readers of Remarkably Bright Creatures and A Man Called Ove, a warm, life-affirming debut about a zany case of mistaken identity that allows a lonely old man one last chance to be part of a family.

‘Would you mind terribly, old boy, if I borrowed the rest of your life? I promise I’ll take excellent care of it.'

Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he’d return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is there’s nobody left in Fred’s life to borrow from. At eighty-two, he’s desperately lonely, broke, and on the brink of homelessness. But Fred’s luck changes when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of grumpy Bernard Greer at the local nursing home. Now he has warm meals in his belly and a roof over his head—as long as his poker face is in better shape than his prostate and that his look-alike never turns up.

Denise Simms is stuck breathing the same disappointing air again and again. A middle-aged mom and caregiver at Bernard's facility, her crumbling marriage and daughter's health concerns are suffocating her joy for life. Wounded by her two-faced husband, she vows never to let a man deceive her again.

As Fred walks in Bernard’s shoes, he leaves a trail of kindness behind him, fueling Denise's suspicions about his true identity. When unexpected truths are revealed, Fred and Denise rediscover their sense of purpose and learn how to return a broken life to mint condition.

Bittersweet and remarkably perceptive, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is a hilarious, feel-good, clever novel about grief, forgiveness, redemption, and finding family.]]> 336 Anna Johnston 0063397293 Laura 4 4.28 2024

author: Anna Johnston
name: Laura
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/13
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves:
review:

]]> Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All 201721655
Down at the bottom of the tall buildings of New York City, Magnolia Wu sits inside her parents�� laundromat. Magnolia has pinned every lost sock from the laundromat onto a bulletin board, in hopes that customers will return to retrieve them. But no one seems to have noticed. In fact, barely anyone has noticed Magnolia at all.

What she doesn’t know is that this is about to be her most exciting summer yet. When Iris, a new friend from California arrives, they set off across the city to solve the mystery of each missing sock, asking questions in subways and delis and plant stores and pizzerias, meeting people and uncovering the unimaginable.

With each new encounter, Magnolia learns that when you’re bold enough to head into the unknown, things start falling into place.]]> 160 Chanel Miller 0593624521 Laura 4 Such a cute story! 4.28 2024 Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All

author: Chanel Miller
name: Laura
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves:
review:
Such a cute story!
]]> We Are Big Time 90590111 SWISH! Cheer courtside for a Muslim teen as she joins an all-girls, hijab-wearing basketball team and learns that she’s much more than a score. This energetic graphic novel is inspired by a true story!

Aliya is new to Wisconsin, and everything feels different than Florida. The Islamic school is bigger, the city is colder, and her new basketball team is…well, they stink.

Aliya’s still excited to have teammates (although the team's captain, Noura, isn't really Aliya's biggest fan), and their new coach really understands basketball (even if she doesn't know much about being Muslim). This season should be a blast...if they could just start to win. As they strengthen their skills on the court, Aliya and the Peace Academy team discover that it takes more than talent to be great--it's teamwork and self-confidence that defines true success.��

For fans of The Crossover and Roller Girl, this graphic novel goes big with humor and heart as it explores culture and perceptions, fitting in and standing out, and finding yourself, both on and off the court.]]> 240 Hena Khan 0593430492 Laura 4 4.5 stars 4.27 We Are Big Time

author: Hena Khan
name: Laura
average rating: 4.27
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves:
review:
4.5 stars
]]> <![CDATA[The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy]]> 29744878 In this evocative and affectionate memoir, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, the last surviving child of Joe and Rose Kennedy, offers an intimate and illuminating look at a time long ago when she and her siblings, guided by their parents, laughed and learned a great deal under one roof.

Prompted by interesting tidbits in the newspaper, Rose and Joe Kennedy would pose questions to their nine children at the dinner table. "Where could Amelia Earhart have gone?" "How would you address this horrible drought?" "What would you do about the troop movements in Europe?" It was a nightly custom that helped shape the Kennedys into who they would become.

Before Joe and Rose’s children emerged as leaders on the world stage, they were a loving circle of brothers and sisters who played football, swam, read, and pursued their interests. They were children inspired by parents who instilled in them a strong work ethic, deep love of country, and intense appreciation for the sacrifices their ancestors made to come to America. "No whining in this house!" was their father’s regular refrain. It was his way of reminding them not to complain, to be grateful for what they had, and to give back.

In her remarkable memoir, Kennedy Smith—the last surviving sibling—revisits this singular time in their lives. Filled with fascinating anecdotes and vignettes, and illustrated with dozens of family pictures, The Nine of Us vividly depicts this large, close-knit family during a different time in American history. Kennedy Smith offers indelible, elegantly rendered portraits of her larger-than-life siblings and her parents. "They knew how to cure our hurts, bind our wounds, listen to our woes, and help us enjoy life," she writes. "We were lucky children indeed."]]> 277 Jean Kennedy Smith Laura 3 3.95 2016 The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy

author: Jean Kennedy Smith
name: Laura
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/07
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living]]> 27840585 Instead of pushing for perfection

A few years ago, I found myself exhausted and isolated, my soul and body sick. I was tired of being tired, burned out on busy. And, it seemed almost everyone I talked with was in the same boat: longing for connection, meaning, depth, but settling for busy.

I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, neighbor, writer, and I know all too well that settling feeling. But over the course of the last few years, I’ve learned a way to live, marked by grace, love, rest, and play. And it’s changing everything.

Present Over Perfect is an invitation to this journey that changed my life. I’ll walk this path with you, a path away from frantic pushing and proving, and toward your essential self, the one you were created to be before you began proving and earning for your worth.

Written in Shauna’s warm and vulnerable style, this collection of essays focuses on the most important transformation in her life, and maybe yours too: leaving behind busyness and frantic living and rediscovering the person you were made to be. Present Over Perfect is a hand reaching out, pulling you free from the constant pressure to perform faster, push harder, and produce more, all while maintaining an exhausting image of perfection.

Shauna offers an honest account of what led her to begin this journey, and a compelling vision for an entirely new way to live: soaked in grace, rest, silence, simplicity, prayer, and connection with the people that matter most to us.

In these pages, you’ll be invited to consider the landscape of your own life, and what it might look like to leave behind the pressure to be perfect and begin the life-changing practice of simply being present, in the middle of the mess and the ordinariness of life.]]> 240 Shauna Niequist 0310342996 Laura 0 to-read 3.81 2016 Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living

Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living

author: Shauna Niequist
name: Laura
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame 150246174
Nothing could be more out of character, but after fifty-nine years of marriage, as her husband Bernard’s health declines, and her friends' lives become focused on their grandchildren—which Jenny never had—Jenny decides she wants a little something for herself. So she secretly applies to be a contestant on the prime-time TV show Britain Bakes.

Whisked into an unfamiliar world of cameras and timed challenges, Jenny delights in a new-found independence. But that independence, and the stress of the competition, starts to unearth memories buried decades ago. Chocolate teacakes remind her of a furtive errand involving a wedding ring; sugared doughnuts call up a stranger’s kind act; a simple cottage loaf brings back the moment her life changed forever.

With her baking star rising, Jenny struggles to keep a lid on that first secret—a long-concealed deceit that threatens to shatter the very foundations of her marriage. It’s the only time in six decades that she’s kept something from Bernard. By putting herself in the limelight, has Jenny created a recipe for disaster?]]> 384 Olivia Ford 0593656415 Laura 4 4.05 2024 Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame

author: Olivia Ford
name: Laura
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> The Other Einstein 28389305 A vivid and mesmerizing novel about the extraordinary woman who married and worked with one of the greatest scientists in history, written by New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict!

In the tradition of The Paris Wife and Mrs. Poe, The Other Einstein offers us a window into a brilliant, fascinating woman whose light was lost in Einstein's enormous shadow. It is the story of Einstein's wife, a brilliant physicist in her own right, whose contribution to the special theory of relativity is hotly debated and may have been inspired by her own profound and very personal insight.

Mitza Maric has always been a little different from other girls. Most twenty-year-olds are wives by now, not studying physics at an elite Zurich university with only male students trying to outdo her clever calculations. But Mitza is smart enough to know that, for her, math is an easier path than marriage. And then fellow student Albert Einstein takes an interest in her, and the world turns sideways. Theirs becomes a partnership of the mind and of the heart, but there might not be room for more than one genius in a marriage.]]> 304 Marie Benedict 1492637254 Laura 0 to-read 3.80 2016 The Other Einstein

author: Marie Benedict
name: Laura
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Everything's Coming Up Rosie 221132539 Sometimes what you think you want and what you actually want turn out to be different things . . .

Rosie Waterman has one to become a working actor. But lately, that hasn't been working out. When she loses her apartment and her job on the same day, she does what she always does--puts herself out there, ready to find the next big thing. But a trip home makes her realize that while she's been struggling to make this dream come true, all her friends have become real adults with careers and weddings and babies on the way. Rosie's been at this for years, and she has nothing to show for it. But how does she simply let go of her dream?

When she's offered a job as the director of a regional theatre's production of Cinderella, she jumps at the chance--even though she's only directed in college and the job is in Door County, Wisconsin, and not in New York. She has no other offers, and at least she'll be getting paid to do something theatrical. But when she arrives, she quickly realizes that the "regional theatre" is actually in a retirement community, and the "actors" are actually senior citizens with no acting experience whatsoever.

Working on the show presents new challenges, forcing Rosie to learn how to step up and be the leader this fledgling theatre troupe needs. The more time she spends with her new cast, the more she begins to rethink what it means to dream big, especially when that big dream hasn't turned out to be at all what she thought it would be. It's not at all what she expected, but could it be exactly what she needs?]]> 352 Courtney Walsh 0840713851 Laura 0 to-read 4.28 2025 Everything's Coming Up Rosie

author: Courtney Walsh
name: Laura
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Joe Nuthin's Guide to Life 199798209
Joe-Nathan likes the two parts of his name separate, just like dinner and dessert. Mean Charlie at work sometimes calls him Joe-Nuthin. But Joe is far from nothing. Joe is a good friend, good at his job, good at making things and at following rules, and he is learning how to do lots of things by himself.

Joe’s mother knows there are a million things he isn’t yet prepared for. While she helps to guide him every day, she is also writing notebooks of advice for Joe, of all the things she hasn’t yet told him about life and things he might forget.

By following her advice, Joe’s life is about to be more of a surprise than he expects. Because he’s about to learn that remarkable things can happen when you leave your comfort zone, and that you can do even the hardest things with a little help from your friends.]]> 400 Helen Fisher 1982142707 Laura 0 to-read 4.37 Joe Nuthin's Guide to Life

author: Helen Fisher
name: Laura
average rating: 4.37
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> How to Age Disgracefully 199605519
When Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizens�� Social Club three afternoons a week, she assumes she’ll be spending her time drinking tea and playing gentle games of cards.

The members of the Social Club, however, are not at all what Lydia was expecting. From Art, a failed actor turned kleptomaniac to Daphne, who has been hiding from her dark past for decades to Ruby, a Banksy-style knitter who gets revenge in yarn, these seniors look deceptively benign—but when age makes you invisible, secrets are so much easier to hide.

When the city council threatens to sell the doomed community center building, the members of the Social Club join forces with their tiny friends in the daycare next door—as well as the teenaged father of one of the toddlers and a geriatric dog—to save the building. Together, this group’s unorthodox methods may actually work, as long as the police don’t catch up with them first.]]> 337 Clare Pooley 0593831497 Laura 0 to-read 4.12 2024 How to Age Disgracefully

author: Clare Pooley
name: Laura
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Girls in the Stilt House 54762314 Set in 1920s Mississippi, this debut Southern novel weaves a beautiful and harrowing story of two teenage girls cast in an unlikely partnership through murder—perfect for readers of Where the Crawdads Sing and If the Creek Don't Rise.

Ada promised herself she would never go back to the Trace, to her hard life on the swamp and her harsh father. But now, after running away to Baton Rouge and briefly knowing a different kind of life, she finds herself with nowhere to go but back home. And she knows there will be a price to pay with her father.

Matilda, daughter of a sharecropper, is from the other side of the Trace. Doing what she can to protect her family from the whims and demands of some particularly callous locals is an ongoing struggle. She forms a plan to go north, to pack up the secrets she's holding about her life in the South and hang them on the line for all to see in Ohio.

As the two girls are drawn deeper into a dangerous world of bootleggers and moral corruption, they must come to terms with the complexities of their tenuous bond and a hidden past that links them in ways that could cost them their lives.]]> 326 Kelly Mustian 1728217725 Laura 0 to-read 4.35 2021 The Girls in the Stilt House

author: Kelly Mustian
name: Laura
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Maid's Secret (Molly the Maid, #3)]]> 216351856 When a daring art heist takes place at the Regency Grand, Molly’s life is threatened. The question is who’s out to get her, and why? Long-buried secrets will be revealed in this intriguing and heartwarming novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest

A wedding. A heist. A secret.

Molly Gray’s life is about to change in ways she could never have imagined. As the esteemed Head Maid and recently promoted Special Events Manager of the Regency Grand Hotel, good things are just around the corner, including her marriage to her beloved fiancé, Juan Manuel, only two months away.��

But Molly’s entire existence is upended when a film crew descends upon the hotel to shoot the hit reality TV show Hidden Treasures, starring popular art appraisers Brown and Beagle. On a whim, Molly brings in a shoebox containing a few of her gran’s old things for appraisal, and much to everyone's surprise, one item turns out to be a rare and priceless treasure. Instantly, Molly is both a multi-millionaire and a media sensation—the world’s rags-to-riches darling—until the priceless piece vanishes from the hotel in the boldest, brashest antiquities heist in recent memory.

The key to the mystery lies in the past, in a long-forgotten diary written by Molly’s gran. For the first time ever, Molly learns about Gran’s true-to-life fairytale, a young girl to the manor born, the only child of a wealthy magnate. But when Gran falls head over heels in love with a young man her parents deem below her station, her life is thrown into turmoil. As fate would have it, the greatest love of Gran’s life is someone Molly knows quite well��.

Together with her friends, Molly combs the past and the present to catch the thief before looming threats against her become real.

A spirited heist caper and an epic love story, The Maid’s Secret is a spellbinding whodunnit that will capture and warm your heart.]]> 336 Nita Prose 0593875419 Laura 0 to-read 3.93 2025 The Maid's Secret (Molly the Maid, #3)

author: Nita Prose
name: Laura
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Medicine Woman of Galveston]]> 197522445 In a uniquely vivid story of women in medicine, found family, and conquering fear for readers of Kristin Hannah, Ellen Marie Wiseman, and Audrey Blake, an impoverished former doctor and her disabled son join a traveling medicine show and its family of strangers on a collision course with the deadliest natural disaster in American history �� the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. From the acclaimed author of The Nurse's Secret and The Second Life of Mirielle West.

Once a trailblazer in the field of medicine, Dr. Tucia Hatherley hasn’t touched a scalpel or stethoscope since she made a fatal mistake in the operating theater. Instead, she works in a corset factory, striving to earn enough to support her disabled son. When even that livelihood is threatened, Tucia is left with one option—to join a wily, charismatic showman named Huey and become part of his traveling medicine show.

Her medical license lends the show a pretense of credibility, but the cures and tonics Tucia is forced to peddle are little more than purgatives and bathwater. Loathing the duplicity, even as she finds uneasy kinship with the other misfit performers, Tucia vows to leave as soon as her debts are paid and start a new life with her son—if Huey will ever let her go.

When the show reaches Galveston, Texas, Tucia tries to break free from Huey, only to be pulled even deeper into his schemes. But there is a far greater reckoning ahead, as a September storm becomes a devastating hurricane that will decimate the Gulf Coast—and challenge Tucia to recover her belief in medicine, in the goodness of others—and in herself.]]> 384 Amanda Skenandore 1496741684 Laura 4 3.73 2024 The Medicine Woman of Galveston

author: Amanda Skenandore
name: Laura
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/30
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves:
review:

]]> Code Name Hélène 50089336 Code Name Hélène is a spellbinding and moving story of enduring love, remarkable sacrifice and unfaltering resolve that chronicles the true exploits of a woman who deserves to be a household name.

It is 1936 and Nancy Wake is an intrepid Australian expat living in Paris who has bluffed her way into a reporting job for Hearst newspaper when she meets the wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca. No sooner does Henri sweep Nancy off her feet and convince her to become Mrs. Fiocca than the Germans invade France and she takes yet another name: a code name.

As LUCIENNE CARLIER Nancy smuggles people and documents across the border. Her success and her remarkable ability to evade capture earns her the nickname THE WHITE MOUSE from the Gestapo. With a five million franc bounty on her head, Nancy is forced to escape France and leave Henri behind. When she enters training with the Special Operations Executives in Britain, her new comrades are instructed to call her ��É��È��. And finally, with mission in hand, Nancy is airdropped back into France as the deadly MADAM ANDRÉ, where she claims her place as one of the most powerful leaders in the French Resistance, armed with a ferocious wit, her signature red lipstick, and the ability to summon weapons straight from the Allied Forces.

But no one can protect Nancy if the enemy finds out these four women are one and the same, and the closer to liberation France gets, the more exposed she--and the people she loves--become.]]> 451 Ariel Lawhon 0385544685 Laura 3 4.39 2020 Code Name Hélène

author: Ariel Lawhon
name: Laura
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/30
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves:
review:
I felt like this book was too long and jumped all over making it hard to follow.
]]> My Friends 217163697 #1��New York Times��bestselling author Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a stranger’s life twenty-five years later.

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an artist herself, knows otherwise and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their difficult home lives by spending their days laughing and telling stories out on a pier. There’s Joar, who never backs down from a fight; quiet and bookish Ted who is mourning his father; Ali, the daughter of a man who never stays in one place for long; and finally, there’s the artist, a boy who hoards sleeping pills and shuns attention, but who possesses an extraordinary gift that might be his ticket to a better life. These four lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be put into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. As she struggles to decide what to do with this bequest, she embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn the story of how the painting came to be. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more she feels compelled to unleash her own artistic spirit, but happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this fresh testament to the transformative power of friendship and art.]]> 448 Fredrik Backman 1982112824 Laura 0 to-read 4.58 2025 My Friends

author: Fredrik Backman
name: Laura
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Home in a Lunchbox 200150490
When Jun moves from Hong Kong to America, the only words she knows are hello, thank you , I don’t know , and toilet . Her new school feels foreign and terrifying.

But when she opens her lunchbox to find her favorite meals—like bao, dumplings, and bok choy—she realizes home isn’t so far away after all.

Through lush art and spare dialogue, Cherry Mo’s breathtakingly beautiful debut picture book reminds readers that friendship and belonging can be found in every bite.]]> 40 Cherry Mo 0593661346 Laura 5 4.60 2024 Home in a Lunchbox

author: Cherry Mo
name: Laura
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves:
review:
This was my pick for the Caldecott award. It didn't win, but it's a winner in my eyes with it's stunning pictures and endearing story.
]]> <![CDATA[The Beat I Drum (Life of a Cactus, #3)]]> 219268826 Connor, best friend of Aven Green, tells his own story in this tale about overcoming the challenges of life with Tourette’s.
Connor Bradley is dreading the first day of high school. Not just because he is new, or because he misses his best friends, but because he knows the other kids won’t understand his barking and tics. Connor has Tourette Syndrome, and every day has been a challenge—from the mimicking to the laughing, the questions, and the stares. It turns out school isn’t quite as bad as he expected. Connor forms a fast friendship with a girl who also has Tourette’s and is welcomed into her accepting circle of friends. He also meets a special music teacher who encourages him to take up the drums to manage his stress, and maybe get a break from his tics.
��
But Connor’s world is turned upside down when his absent father reappears and a bully starts to escalate at school. All these problems—with family, with friends, and even with himself—build and build until Connor feels ready to explode. Will a surprising revelation save him and help him find his beat again?]]> 272 Dusti Bowling 1454957050 Laura 0 to-read 4.54 2025 The Beat I Drum (Life of a Cactus, #3)

author: Dusti Bowling
name: Laura
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> As Bright as Heaven 43708086 Secrets of a Charmed Life and A Bridge Across the Ocean comes a new novel set in Philadelphia during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which tells the story of a family reborn through loss and love.

In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters--Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa--a chance at a better life.

But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without--and what they are willing to do about it.

As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world, not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.]]> 395 Susan Meissner Laura 4 4.24 2018 As Bright as Heaven

author: Susan Meissner
name: Laura
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/20
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves:
review:

]]> Happy Town 199531675
Perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Jennifer L. Holm, this adventure-packed middle grade story, set in a world not too far from our own, follows a family that moves to a remote company town that seems perfect on the surface....

Keegan knows there’s something off about Happy Town.

The isolated, high-tech company town is too perfect—with a dome keeping out bad weather and self-driving vehicles rumbling throughout the town delivering residents to work and school. Still, Keegan is excited to grow his art skills at Happy Town’s state-of-the-art middle school, even if he has less time to see his mom and stepdad because of their new jobs.

But when the two become obsessed with working and eating Happy Corp Meat Cramwich (the Microwaveable Sandwich Crammed with Meat) and Keegan gets sentenced to Mandatory Work Opportunities for refusing to follow Happy Town’s shady rules, he discovers a dangerous glitch in the system that’s turning the town’s happy residents into mindless zombies. Scratch that, literal zombies. With his new friends Gloriana and Tank by his side, he’ll need to find a way to destroy Happy Town’s happy system—before there’s nothing left.]]> 208 Greg Van Eekhout 0063253364 Laura 2 3.64 2024

author: Greg Van Eekhout
name: Laura
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/19
shelves:
review:
Great potential, but it just fell flat for me.
]]> Specters in the Glass House 209351020 368 Jaime Jo Wright 076424146X Laura 0 to-read 4.27 2024

author: Jaime Jo Wright
name: Laura
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Unmaking of June Farrow 66087062 A woman risks everything to end her family’s centuries-old curse, solve her mother’s disappearance, and find love in this mesmerizing novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Spells for Forgetting.

In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm—and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line. The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors.

It’s been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. Faint wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere—the signs of what June always knew was coming. But June is determined to end the curse once and for all, even if she must sacrifice finding love and having a family of her own.

After her grandmother’s death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother’s decades-old disappearance, except they only lead to more questions. But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she’s been searching for? The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk past the threshold. And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love.

With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant novel of romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible—a story you will never forget.]]> 320 Adrienne Young 0593598679 Laura 0 to-read 4.13 2023

author: Adrienne Young
name: Laura
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cog 43453676 Five robots. One unforgettable journey. Their programming will never be the same.

Cog looks like a normal twelve-year-old boy. But his name is short for “cognitive development,�� and he was built to learn.

But after an accident leaves him damaged, Cog wakes up in an unknown lab—and Gina, the scientist who created and cared for him, is nowhere to be found. Surrounded by scientists who want to study him and remove his brain, Cog recruits four robot accomplices for a mission to find her.

Cog, ADA, Proto, Trashbot, and Car’s journey will likely involve much cognitive development in the form of mistakes, but Cog is willing to risk everything to find his way back to Gina.]]> 208 Greg Van Eekhout 0062686070 Laura 0 to-read 4.18 2019 Cog

author: Greg Van Eekhout
name: Laura
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Black Cake 57926137 We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?

In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.

Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right��? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?

Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.]]> 385 Charmaine Wilkerson Laura 3 4.06 2022

author: Charmaine Wilkerson
name: Laura
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/14
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hum If You Don't Know the Words]]> 32739413 Perfect for readers of The Secret Life of Bees and The Help, a perceptive and searing look at Apartheid-era South Africa, told through one unique family brought together by tragedy.

Life under Apartheid has created a secure future for Robin Conrad, a nine-year-old white girl living with her parents in 1970s Johannesburg. In the same nation but worlds apart, Beauty Mbali, a Xhosa woman in a rural village in the Bantu homeland of the Transkei, struggles to raise her children alone after her husband's death. Both lives have been built upon the division of race, and their meeting should never have occurred... until the Soweto Uprising, in which a protest by black students ignites racial conflict, alters the fault lines on which their society is built, and shatters their worlds when Robin's parents are left dead and Beauty's daughter goes missing.

After Robin is sent to live with her loving but irresponsible aunt, Beauty is hired to care for Robin while continuing the search for her daughter. In Beauty, Robin finds the security and family that she craves, and the two forge an inextricable bond through their deep personal losses. But Robin knows that if Beauty finds her daughter, Robin could lose her new caretaker forever, so she makes a desperate decision with devastating consequences. Her quest to make amends and find redemption is a journey of self-discovery in which she learns the harsh truths of the society that once promised her protection.

Told through Beauty and Robin's alternating perspectives, the interwoven narratives create a rich and complex tapestry of the emotions and tensions at the heart of Apartheid-era South Africa. Hum if You Don't Know the Words is a beautifully rendered look at loss, racism, and the creation of family.]]> 432 Bianca Marais 0399575065 Laura 0 to-read 4.17 2017

author: Bianca Marais
name: Laura
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Last Love Note 123087802 You may never stop loving the one you lost. But you can still find love again.

Kate is a bit of a mess. Two years after losing her young husband Cameron, she’s grieving, solo parenting, working like mad at her university fundraising job, always dropping the ball—and yet clinging to her sense of humor.

Lurching from one comedic crisis to the next, she also navigates an overbearing mom and a Tinder-obsessed best friend who's determined to matchmake Kate with her hot new neighbor.

When an in-flight problem leaves Kate and her boss, Hugh, stranded for a weekend on the east coast of Australia, she finally has a chance, away from her son, to really process her grief and see what’s right in front of her. Can she let go of the love of her life and risk her heart a second time?

When it becomes clear that Hugh is hiding a secret, Kate turns to the trail of scribbled notes she once used to hold her life together. The first note captured her heart. Will the last note set it free?

The Last Love Note will make listeners laugh, cry, and renew their faith in the resilience of the human heart—and in love itself.]]> 384 Emma Grey 1958506281 Laura 0 to-read 4.04 2023

author: Emma Grey
name: Laura
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Shelterwood 220817706
1990. Law enforcement ranger Valerie Boren-Odell arrives at Horsethief Trail National Park seeking a quiet place to raise her son. But no sooner has Valerie reported for duty than a teenage hiker goes missing and the long-hidden burial site of three children is discovered in a cave. Val’s quest to uncover the truth wins an ally among the Choctaw Nation’s Tribal Police but soon collides with the deadly legacy of the land itself.

1909. Eleven-year-old Olive Radley knows that her stepfather is a threat to the two Choctaw girls boarded in their home. When the older girl disappears, Ollie flees, taking six-year-old Nessa with her. Together they begin a perilous journey to the remote Winding Stair Mountains, the territory of outlaws, treasure hunters, and desperate men. Along the way, they form an unlikely band with other children struggling to get by on their own.

In this gripping novel, Lisa Wingate traces the story of children abandoned by the law and the battle to see justice done. Amid times of deep conflict over who owns the land and its riches, Ollie and Val each leave behind one life in search of another.]]> 384 Lisa Wingate 0593726529 Laura 0 to-read 3.91 2024 Shelterwood

author: Lisa Wingate
name: Laura
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> How to Read a Book 62365896 A charming, deeply moving novel about second chances, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories.

Our Reasons meet us in the morning and whisper to us at night. Mine is an innocent, unsuspecting, eternally sixty-one-year-old woman named Lorraine Daigle��

Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from rural Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher. Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest. Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed.

When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain, and Frank to dispatch his duties as the store handyman—their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways.

How to Read a Book ��is an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives. With the heart, wit, grace, and depth of understanding that has characterized her work, Monica Wood illuminates the decisions that define a life and the kindnesses that make life worth living.�� .��]]> 288 Monica Wood 0063243679 Laura 0 to-read 4.21 2024 How to Read a Book

author: Monica Wood
name: Laura
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Persuasion 2156 249 Jane Austen 0192802631 Laura 0 to-read 4.15 1817

author: Jane Austen
name: Laura
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1817
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Heir (Heir Duology, #1) 206780522 An orphan.
An outcast.
A prince.

And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.

Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZ has seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hotheaded mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.

Banished from her people for an unforgivable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who uses magic to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Martial Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But when a chance encounter leads to an unexpected attraction, Sirsha learns her mission might cost her far more than she's willing to give up.

QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire and nephew of a venerated empress, but he’s loath to take the throne when his aunt steps down. As the son of a reviled emperor, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.

Beloved storyteller Sabaa Tahir interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with power, treachery, love, and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed, on a journey that may cost them their lives―and their hearts. Literally.]]> 484 Sabaa Tahir 0593616944 Laura 0 to-read 4.24 2024 Heir (Heir Duology, #1)

author: Sabaa Tahir
name: Laura
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Yonder 58932365
So when Jack goes missing from their small Appalachian town, Danny is determined to find him. He wonders if Jack’s abusive father could be behind his disappearance or if it has anything to do with Yonder—a hidden magical town Jack once spoke of where flocks of rainbow birds fly through the sky and they’ve never heard of war. As answers elude him, Danny begins to fear that he didn’t know Jack as well as he thought.

Eventually, Danny’s investigation forces him to reckon with even larger questions: What is America fighting for in this war? What role do each of us play in stopping injustices, big and small? And is there such thing as a true hero?]]> 368 Ali Standish 006298568X Laura 4 4.24 2022 Yonder

author: Ali Standish
name: Laura
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/06
date added: 2025/01/06
shelves:
review:

]]>