Meant to Be Yours / Susan Mallery / 464 pages (see note)

Renee is a wedding planner who has given up on a future with marriage and children. Jasper is a handsome, quirky, intelligent writer who thinks he is too damaged for a lasting relationship. But doesn’t love always find a way.   At one point, I thought the story jumped the shark with Renee’s mom’s story and I put it down but I’m glad I picked it back up.  It totally worked.  Susan Mallery’s books are so fun and heartwarming and this one is no different.
Note: This book is about 75% of the 464 pages.  The remaining pages are a bonus previously published novella, A Very Merry Princess.

The Bromance Book Club / Lyssa Kay Adams / 352 pages

I loved it, loved it, loved it! I literally laughed out loud!  Gavin's marriage is in trouble and here comes fellow professional baseball teammate, Del, to the rescue.   Del and a group of other professionals have found the key to winning back and keeping their women and historical romance novels serve as their manuals.  I was rooting for Gavin and Thea from the start. This had it all - a loving sweet couple, kids, a dog, a snarky sister, and hilarious friends who mean well. Honestly, what man wouldn’t benefit from reading at least one spicy romance novel!  I can’t wait for the sequel, Undercover Bromance coming March 2020,

Wonder/ RJ Palacio/ 315 pgs

Somehow I missed reading this one with my kids when it came out a few years ago. Needing a feel-good story, I decided to give it a try. August Pullman was born with a severe facial deformity. In fact he apparently suffers from a number of different issues, all of which lead his doctors to call him a "medical wonder." While physically he looks very different from other kids his age--fifth grade--he's actually just a normal, ordinary smart boy on the inside. After years of homeschooling, his parents decide it's time he goes to school. This is the story of August's first year. It's challenging, sad, and angering but also wonderful and uplifting. I liked that the story was told from a number of different points of view. Auggie gets the most time and he's a delightful narrator. But it's nice to see things from the point of view of his best friend, his sister (very emotional), and others.

My Favorite Half-Night Stand/ Christina Lauren/ 371 pgs

This is a contemporary romance set at UC Santa Barbara. Reid, Ed, Alex, Chris, and Millie all work at the university in some capacity and are friends. Millie is the only female but she gets along well with all the guys. Though they have been strictly friends, one night she and Reid end up having sex. They don't tell any of the others and neither is sure if they want to try dating since it might ruin their friendship. The five friends decide to try online dating. Millie ends up writing the perfect profile bios for the guys but can't write a good one for herself because she has a hard time sharing anything personal. Even with her friends she's very closed off because of some things that happened when she was younger. When the guys make fun of her online profile, she decides to set up another one using just her middle name and an obscured picture. She and Reid end up being matched by the software and they start communicating, though Reid doesn't know that it's Millie. This is borderline cat-fishing and Millie knows it's wrong but it goes on longer than she wants. This, and her inability to communicate her feelings are the big issues in the story. This wasn't one of my favorites of Lauren's books but the friendship among the five is fun and Reid is a really great hero.

Unicorn Crossing / Dana Simpson / 178 pgs

Unicorn Crossing is the fifth book in the Heavenly Nostrils series by Dana Simpson, perhaps better known by the title of the first book, Phoebe and Her Unicorn. I love this comic strip series! If I could remember the first time I read Calvin and Hobbes, I think it probably felt like this. Phoebe and Marigold Heavenly Nostrils remind me a lot of Calvin and Hobbes, actually, except that Phoebe isn't quite as devious and the focus of their adventures are more magic than adventure-based. The illustrations are fun, the unicorn is adorably self-involved, and some crazy shenanigans ensue. In this book, Phoebe and Marigold read a book together and try to balance the shine of novelty with their longstanding friendship. We also see them remembering how they met and realizing how much they mean to each other. It's very sweet, and there's something for everyone hidden in these books! A fun read for the whole family!

The Bookshop on the Corner: a novel/ Jenny Colgan/ 332 pages

The Bookshop on the Corner written by Jenny Colgan presents in interesting idea.  The Birmingham, England library is closing branches, downsizing it's and collection and going hi-tech.  Media specialist are in and librarians are out.  Nina hopes to retain her job as librarian, all the while collecting the spoils of discarded books.  After losing out to friend Griffin, for the one job opening and having her book collection threaten serious structural damage to her roommates home, Nina embarks on an adventure.  Up in the Scottish highlands is an old van, perfect for Nina's idea of a rolling bookstore.  Her stock?  All those discarded library books.  After a few mis-starts, Nina gets her van up and going.  All that is to find romance.  Will it be midnight train engineer, Marek or sheep farmer Lennox who fulfills her dream?  This is a light read that presents some interesting concepts and presents Scotland in a very nice light.  

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat/Edward Kelsey Moore/369 pgs.

Odette, Clarice, and Barbara Jean were the best of friends in high school during the late 1960s; they were dubbed "The Supremes" and the name stuck, even though forty years have passed since that time. These African-American women have married and remained in Plainview, Indiana, and have been there for each other, through thick and thin. The novel focuses mainly on one year in the Supremes' lives with all its laughter and sorrow. It's a very heartwarming, entertaining novel--with secrets, humor, and a feel good ending. Highly recommended!

Those Girls/Lauren Saft/330 pgs.

Debut novelist Lauren Saft takes the reader through junior year of high school for three friends:Alexandra Holbrook, Veronica Collins, and Mollie Finn. Alex and Mollie have been friends since grade school, with Veronica becoming part of the group when she moved into town in fifth grade. Each chapter is written in one of the girls' voices. The book consists of drinking, some drugs, sex, partying--and trying to establish one's own identity. It's part "Clueless" and part "Mean Girls"--not a very good read. I personally hope it's not an accurate portrayal of today's 16 or 17 year-old girls--or that young adults reading this book feel that there is something wrong with them if they aren't like one of these characters.

Just Deserts Hetta Coffey Mystery Series Book 4/ Jinx Schawrtz / 330 pages

The first time I met Hetta Coffey I thought she was rude and self centered and did not expect to like her.  Once you get to know her, she's OK.  In Just Deserts by Jinx Schawrtz, Hetta's boat is in need of repairs.  Stuck in dry dock and in need of cash to pay for the repairs, Hetta takes a job as a mine consultant for a Mexican mine.  Her job puts her in contact with mine operators, human traffickers, mystery men, drug smugglers and winery operators.  With the help of her long time friends, Hetta manages to get into  and out of deep trouble while saving Arizona and befriending a coyote.  If you enjoy strong women with a heart, you will like Hetta Coffey.

The Interestings/Meg Wolitzer/468 pages

Six teenagers meet at an artsy summer camp in the 1970s, dub themselves "The Interestings" and begin a friendship that lasts past the summer. Four of them form a bond that spans several decades and life-changing events.


I have to come clean on this one. I was on my final renewal before I decided to actually read it. Once I started it, I wasn't sure the title was accurate, but by the second chapter, I was hooked. Wolitzer's characters and their lives seemed very real. What happens to friendship when half of the friends achieve success and wealth and the other half does not? Can you genuinely love someone when you also envy them just as deeply?

The Circle/Dave Eggers/491 pages

What if everyone had one user id for everything with one password, and everything you did was linked by one company? What if Facebook, LinkedIn and the Social Security Administration merged? And then your health insurance companies, Twitter and your bank joined in? Transparency is the goal; privacy is the enemy. You are just beginning to learn about The Circle. When Mae gets a coveted job with The Circle, she thinks she has it made. She has a lot to learn.

Read this at your own risk. Maybe because I was under the weather when I read most of it, but I was creeped out by this book. This is the 1984 of this generation. I have no doubt that this will be made into a movie sooner or later. I'm looking forward to reading fluff next. 

Jane, the fox & me / Fanny Britt & Isabelle Arsenault / 101 pages

 A graphic novel disguised as a children's picture book is an interesting twist. A story of a young woman Helene who is bullied by her classmates. She finds solace in reading Jane Eyre. The class is given a surprise camping trip as a reward and Helene is forced to go. She places herself in a tent with other girls who don't fit in. While reading one evening a fox walks out of the forest. There is almost a connection and then a tent mate scares the animal away.  Soon after a young woman, Geraldine appears who has been kicked out of her tent. She immediately makes everyone feel comfortable and important. These two become the best of friends and Helene finds confidence in herself, leading to many more smiles aimed at the world.
 One of the interesting parts about this graphic novel is the art. There are colored pencils with dark lines when Helene is lost in the world of Jane Eyre. Lush scenes with vivid colors and fully drawn characters. But when Helene is thinking about her reality, the colors are dreary and pencil lines with little to no color. What a striking contrast! This is a perfect book to help children understand the effects of bullying and that one person can make all the difference. A New York Times Best Illustrated Book.

6 Degrees of Reading: Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear, Advice to Little Girls by Mark Twain, The Dark by Lemony Snicket.

Truly, Madly, Deadly/Hannah Jayne/262 pages/2 December Challenges Met

Sawyer Dodd's life is falling apart. Her parents divorced, and her father has remarried and has a child on the way (6 geese a-laying.) Her boyfriend was just killed in a drunk driving accident. She's even feeling watched while she runs during track practice (7 swans a-swimming.) Then she receives a note implying that her boyfriend (who was secretly abusing her) was killed for her. When other people who abuse her in different ways start dying, Sawyer must convince everyone she's isn't responsible.

This was a fairly predictable, but still relatively entertaining, YA book. It would be a good first thriller for that audience.

A Prayer for Owen Meany/627 pages

Owen Meany is an unusual little boy. His voice, which is in permanent scream mode (and shown in all caps), and his small stature make him an oddity in the small town of  Gravesend. During a Little League game when he is eleven, he hits a foul ball that strikes his best friend's mother in the temple, instantly killing her. Owen doesn't believe in accidents. He believes that he is the instrument of God. Throughout the rest of his life, he takes charge of the people and situations around him.

Told from the point of view of his best friend, A Prayer for Owen Meany is often hilarious. The novel goes back and forth between telling the story of Owen and the present day for Johnny, his best friend. The last third of the book loses the humor of the story and focuses on the reasons why Owen believes what he believes. I'm looking forward to my book club's discussion of the novel.

Princess Posey and the New First Grader / Stephanie Greene / 85 pgs

There is a new girl joining Posey's 1st grade class.  Her name is Grace, she is nice and she looks like a princess; but Posey is unsure about her.  She worries that her friends like Grace more than her and won't have time for her anymore.  Will Grace and Posey become friends?  And How is Grace feeling about being the new girl in school?

The Princess Posey books are accessible for young readers.  They are right on level for my little 1st grader to read and it helps bridge her to chapter books.  Plus, the main character is likable and MUCH less annoying than Junie B. Jones.