The Fire, the Water and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla

The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Maudie is an autistic middle schooler who looks forward to spending her summers with her Dad and the rest of the time with her mom and stepfather. This summer she has to keep a secret from her Dad & as soon as she arrives there are California wildfires that destroy his home. Her Dad decides to take them back to where he grew up, a beach town with waves and surfers beckoning to her. I loved Maudie, she was relatable as she tries to find strength to surf & tell the secret her mother warns her she must keep. I could not stop turning the pages; middle school kids will be turning those pages as they see & root for Maudie to succeed again and again.

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Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to Tara Smith for this suspenseful audiobook, awesomely narrated by Kirsten Power. A neighborhood has someone breaking into their house, there is a murder, maybe 2, and some marital infidelity. The title, Someone We Know, is good on many levels; this is a sizzling mystery, lots of head games, and family drama. A must read!

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The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing by Lara Love Hardin

The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing by Lara Love Hardin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This audiobook, narrated awesomely by the author, Lara Love Hardin, was excellent! I did not like Drug fueled Lara and I rooted for her sobriety and a normal life. I love her journey and also the book she co-authored with Anthony Ray Hinton, The Sun Does Shine, which is a MUST READ too!

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Finally Seen by Kelly Yang

Finally Seen by Kelly Yang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Lina Gao leaves her grandmother in China to finally live with her parents and little sister who went to America 5 years ago, Lina is hit with many things---this new country is strange, her family did not tell her the truth about their life in America, they may lose their home, their father works tirelessly for an organic farmer who is harsh and merciless and this causes fights between her parents. As Lina struggles in school, she meets friends and foes. I really liked the teachers who supported Lina and helped her find her voice. I also loved how Lina sees her family and is able to finally be seen by her mother, father and sister. A must read!

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Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book for the Albright College Book Club Zoom and I loved the narration by the author, Jeannette Walls! Sallie was such an awesome, flawed character but a strong woman with her own ideas raised during Prohibition. As a child she was her father's pride and joy, when he marries again, Sallie and his wife do not get along and when she makes a big mistake she is sent away for 9 years. Upon her return, Sallie has to fit in to a dysfunctional family, ruled by her rich father that will not ever bend. The town she lives in, the house she lives in, the business of bootlegging she has been raised in consume her, changing her life and ideas, as much is uncovered. Still Sallie Kincaid was someone you could trust, who had a deep love of her people and their lifestyle of running rum. there was so much heartache but Sallie did not let that destroy her but make her a better person to all.

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Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this story of a family wedding on Nantucket- the daughters follow their dead mother's notebook of what Jenna's wedding should entail, their father, Doug, remarried is still in love with Beth who died of cancer quickly over 7 months. What should be a happy weekend is so much more than that with many disagreements, lies, and drama. I could not stop turning the pages (I am like this with all Elin's books) such a great read, beautiful setting, characters you want to throttle, characters that make you laugh, and a great plot. A great summer read!

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Four Eyes by Rex Vogle and illustrated by Dave Valeza

Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel by Rex Ogle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this 2nd graphic novel from Rex Ogle about his middle grade year of needing glasses & hating the whole experience!!! His mother is divorced & works at a minimum wage job waitressing while his stepdad stutters and also makes minimum wage. In school his best friend dumps him and helps the school bully pick on Rex. When he needs glasses, his family can't pay for the GREAT looking ones he wants & he is picked on because of the cheap glasses. Rex really has a tough time & becomes friendly with a kid at lunch and as 6th grade progresses, Rex experiences lots of highs and lows. I highly recommend this graphic novel!!!

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Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is our Albright College Zoom Book Club read for April and oh did I love this audiobook version, Narrated by: Lynnette R. Freeman, Simone Mcintyre!!! There was so much I loved about this book---family problems, secrets causing mysteries, and the different settings with the beauty, culture, food and angst.

Many thanks to Casey Ciocca for lending me this book! It is also going to be our Albright College Zoom Book Club for April. This debut is a must read! The book starts with a huge mystery that is uncovered very slowly, rocking Bennie & Byron's world and everything they knew and believed. This book awesomely covers many years, many different characters, and many different plots yet Wilkerson weaves them seamlessly. The mysteries and betrayals as they are uncovered are mind altering---what will happen to Benny & Byron plus all the other characters that will be affected by the truth----too long in coming. Will Byron & Benny survive the audiotape their mother dictated before her death. A must read!

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The In-Between: A Memoir in Verse by Katie Van Heidrich

The In-Between: A Memoir in Verse by Katie Van Heidrich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Based on the author's life, this novel in verse details Katie and her siblings constant, surprise moves from place to place by her mother (who has some issues) and how it affects Katie at home, school, and with her visits to her Dad (now remarried to an Asian woman). I was so saddened by Katie's voice- her embarrassment, confusion, longing, and many unanswered questions. But this book also provides hope and determination by Katie and will resonate with middle grade & YA readers! Highly recommended!

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All the Broken Places by John Boyne

All the Broken Places by John Boyne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to Milly Neff for recommending this awesome Holocaust book! Oh boy, I loved this novel, but I really tried to like Gretel Fernsby, but her life, her history, her personality kept me reading---but I did not really like her throughout her life from childhood to adulthood. I loved 91 year old Gretel though and this book moved back and forth in time, so chilling, haunting, and sad. Gretel's past has tormented her whole life but as the 91 year old now living in England, I loved these parts of the book most because Gretel has become a caring, forthright, dame who befriends a new family in her complex that calls upon her (demands) to question her own guilt, complicity, and all that she has spent her life running from and can she really help protect violence? A must read!

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Tumble by Celia C. Perez

Tumble by Celia C. Pérez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great cover and such a good, important read for middle grade and YA! Adela lives with her mom and Alex (her mom's boyfriend and the only father she has ever known) when they approach her with Alex's wish to adopt her. What this sets off is Adela looking for her real father--one question her mother has refused to answer ever! So when Adela and her bestie decide to look for her birth certificate they find GOLD--a picture of her mother and real father with a small Adela. As she begins the search for her father so much hits her and she is also in her school play the Nutcracker and knows her mom & Alex want an answer to adoption. I loved Perez's writing, her characters, and the food (oh so yummy) as this 12 year old braves finding her father and his family of wrestlers. This is a must read for all; the wrestling expectations (and history) in this family, her grandfather who does not remember, her mother who is still fighting her on anything about her father, and her father, Manny, who wants to be the son his father has demanded back in his prime. The family dynamics were wonderful, heartbreaking, and real. Highly recommended!

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The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this thriller as part of my Albright College Zoom Book Club and oh did I love it! Zig zagging between 3rd person description and Rose's journal entries, the reader learns about twins, Rose and Fern, as they grow up and present day. I think Fern is on the spectrum--- she does not like to be touched, going into public like swim meets, restaurants, bowling, all assault her vision and auditory processes (so she does not go) and she is a librarian with such an awesome love for books and the library (yay!) although she does not like to deal with the many questions about printers and computer problems:)
Rose can't have a baby, her husband left her and is away on a job, and Fern thinks she would love to help her sister and will try to have a baby for her. When Wally (Rocco Ryan) enters Fern's life while Rose is away trying to rekindle her marriage, things Fern did not like begin to change as her friendship grows with Wally.
I enjoyed the way Hepworth told this story weaving in and out about the sisters, their relationship with their mother, and their very entwined relationship. Suspenseful, a must read, and I will be reading other Sally Hepworth books!

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A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this jolly romance just after finishing listening to Julia Whelan's Thank You for Listening and just as I loved the madcap romp romance in Julia's book so did I love the hysterical plot of plus size Bee (porn star) now a real star cast in a Family Channel Christmas romance with none other than her teen crush, rock star Nolan Shaw! I loved both characters' personalities--they were real people with real problems- Nolan was a bad boy rock star and now his family has medical problems he wants to keep quiet and use $$$ from this movie to pay the exorbitant medical bills while Bee must not let anyone who she is, but surprise surprise---Nolan knows who she is (and he is an avid fan with a crush) and I was sucked right into this great romance with lots of laughs and oh so much chemistry! I want more of Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone collaborations!

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Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Narrated by Chris Reilly, Mungo is a a young teen living in hell with a mother who leaves & disappears from the family. Mungo has a sister and brother (Hamish is dangerous, a gang leader who hates Catholics & gay people) and life is bleak until he meets James, who is a Catholic (not good) and gay (not good) and they forge a friendship where James raises his beloved pigeons, talk about a future that includes them and accepts them. It was very hard to listen to this book---neglectful parents, violence, rape, fighting, and so much dysfunction it made for a difficult read and because of my mind at this time, I really did not enjoy either of Douglas Stuart's books like I wanted to...

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Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book, writer, etc...but the totally depressing topics, the Glasgow dialect made it difficult for me to gush about loving this book. I am now listening to Young Mungo, so we will see if the narration makes it easier to enjoy... Shuggie's life is so dismal- his mother drinks and she becomes abusive to her family and gets on the phone and crank calls people who have wronged her, goes thru men, is totally irresponsible and leaves her children hungry and disillusioned. As this continues, the older children plot to leave...and poor Shuggie is left to watch over his mother, hungry, cashing her child support checks and missing lots of school. I ached for Shuggie and all the difficulties he encounters, will he be able to escape this life?

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The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

The Island by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this wonderful beach read about 4 women, Birdie, her daughter Chess and Tate (opposites in every way) and Birdie's sister, India who converge on their summer home in Tuckernut Island after 13 years. Oh the plot, the drama, the suspense, and the real humanity of family with secrets. Another great character was Barrett, he has some history with both daughters and I enjoyed him as a character who did not fit into the business world, never went to college, but was crushed on by almost all of these ladies and many others on the island. A great story of love lost and found, grief, anger, and the importance of family and love.

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Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson

Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this Varian Johnson book so much! Ant is 10 yrs old and loves cards as muc h as his father and brother and this year he wants to do so much better in the card tournament than he did last year. But it all seems to fall apart and his partner and friend must back out of the competition. What happens is Ant's family falls apart, he meets a new girl who is good at cards, and he begins to change as he finds out more secrets about his father. A must read!!!

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Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes

Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awesomely narrated by Paul Holes; this audiobook covers Holes' time solving cold cases, serial killer captures and rapist cases. His stories are compelling; his need to solve cases to help the families was pivotal and affected his life, his marriages and his relationships with his children. A must read!

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Private Label by Kelly Yang

Private Label by Kelly Yang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love Kelly Yang and this YA novel hit me with the reality of Serene's and Lian's lives as ehtnic students in a largely white high school. Serene's mom has raised her but Serene has always had questions about her father, and her mother has always responded---That is in the past, only go forward, but that still does not stop Serene thinking about who he might be. Serene and her mother are very very close while Lian has a family with a mother who pushes him to be an engineer while he would love to be a stand up comic. When they finally get to know each other---both realize how much the honesty they share with each other changes their lives. A must read! Just like her other YA novel, Parachutes, teens will see what other teens lives are like.

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The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow

The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to my cousin, Colleen Bresnahan for recommending this true story of David Crow, his father and David's family as they are targeted many times throughout their life by their bully of a father. Pontificating all the time, just being a blow hard, David and his brother and sister live in a reign of terror during their entire life as their father tries to draft them to kill their mother and others he abhors. Told by David, who is a hell cat himself, David has a side that feels empathy, while his father only feels empathy for animals. Constantly telling David about the people he killed and got away with, his convict father also has a side that beguiles others---like the doctor in jail that gets him out early and the women who marry him. Despite his learning disabilities David loves to read and continues to go to school to better himself. It is only through counseling and forgiving his mother, father and himself that David feels he can have a relationship and makes his way successfully in the world.

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