HOUSEWRIGHTS, by Art Corriveau, 2002

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CORRIVEAU,A

This charming and challenging book takes place in the early part of the twentieth century in Vermont. Lily Willard is a preteen tomboy enjoying the pleasures of rural life and the prospect of her own room in a soon-to-be-built new homestead. Mr. Pritchard, the housewright, appears on the scene with he young twin sons, Oren and Ian, who have spent their lives on the road knowing only the comfort and familiarity of each other and none of the rudiments of what Lily considers normal life. Lily teaches them reading and riding. hey move on.

Ten years later Lily is the bored town librarian when Oren reappears and they marry. All three, Lily, Oren and Ian, live and cavort together as if they were still children, enjoying an innocent intimacy the small town cannot understand. And therein lies the problem.

FALLING ANGELS, by Tracy Chevalier

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CHE

Early 20th century London has its own time-honored customs and it is in this context that two young girls, Maude and Livia, become friends. Their families represent two different social classes. Lavinia with her younger sister, Ivy May, are part of a working class family; while Maude's parents are definitely upper class. The families encounter each other as they visit their family graves at the local cemetery. And it is there that they come into contact with poor Simon, the gravedigger's son, who represents yet a third class. While Lavinia's family is comfortable in the Victoria age, Maude's mother is decidedly not. Kitty Coleman becomes involved with suffragettes and is it during one of their events that tragedy strikes.

WHEN COMES THE SPRING, by Janette Oke

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OKE

(Book II in the Canadian West Series)

Elizabeth is an Easter schoolteacher who marries a Royal Canadian Mounted policeman. Wynn is assigned to a post in the far North. Their life; among the native peoples presents many challenges and hardships. Wynn's love for Elizabeth sustains her spirit when loneliness and extreme weather conditions make life too difficult.

Excellent for young adults and adults to read or to listen to as a book on tape.

DONALD DUK by Frank Chin, 1991

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CHI

For obvious reasons Donald Duk hates his name, given him to honor an uncle who acts in Cantonese opera. In fact, he hates everything Chinese. It is not easy for Donald to ignore his heritage when he lives in San Francisco's Chinatown with parents who own a Chinese restaurant. During his twelfth Chinese New Year, Donald discovers reasons for pride in his Chinese forebears, in a series of detailed and historically accurate dreams.

In these dreams Donald joins the Chinese immigrants who built the Union Pacific railroad, setting a record for laying ten miles of track in ten hours. Author Chin is at his best in these historical scenes, but his descriptions throughout the book bring many other scenes to life also. Donald's father, despite the name with which he has saddled his son, is a marvelous character with a surprising sense of humor and insight.

IN THE COUNTRY OF THE YOUNG by Lisa Carey

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CAREY

A very unusual book. Set on an isolated island off the Maine coast, this story weaves back and forth in time. Artist Oisin MacDara has retreated from the world since the suicide of his twin sister. Blessed (or cursed) with "the sight," he waits for her to appear to him as have so many others who have gone beyond.

Instead of Nieve, his sister, he is visited by Aisling, a little girls of six, a ghost from the Irish potato famine. Over a period of a year she lives with the begrudging Oisin and grows to full womanhood.

This story explores the unique connection between brothers and sisters, as well as the unearthly relationships between souls, separated by time, but united by their suffering.

RED SKY AT MORNING by Richard Bradford

FIC

BRADFORD

When Josh's father leaves his shipyard to command a ship in World War II, he sends both Josh and his mother, a southern belle, to their summer home in the mountains of New Mexico. Josh's deadpan account of their life there, including high school friends, neighbors, and servants, should bring a smile to the most serious reader. Those of a more light-hearted disposition should be cautious: injury could result from the sort of laughing Josh's story often inspires.

Josh's abrupt entrance into adulthood ends his tale on a somber note, however. Readers in search of a comedy or a coming-of-age story, as well as those with an interest in the Southwest, should enjoy this book.

THE GLASS LAKE by Maeve Binchy, 1995

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BIN

Helen married Kit's father, a pharmacist in a small Irish village, but is actually in love with another man. Helen's desire for another love causes her to be moody and often to go out walking beside the lake. One night Helen disappears. That night Kit discovers a letter from her mother attached to her father's pillow. Kit tells no one about the letter and burns it, unopened.

That night changes everything forever. The stage is set for a wonderfully told story of the hidden bond between a mother and daughter that not even death or deception can destroy.

SUSPICIOUS RIVER, by Laura Kasischke, 1996

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KASISCHKE, L.

This debut novel by poet Kasischke is not for everyone. It is grim and depressing. There are moments in the book when the most pertinent question seems to be--Who care less about the main character, the reader or the girl herself?

Leila is a receptionist at the Swan Motel, not averse to taking on a few paying customers. The locals call her the town slut, and not without reason. Her mother turned a few tricks when money got low and carried on for years with her own brother-in-law. Until he killed her.

Leila seems headed down the same path, especially after she falls for Gary, whose idea of love is sharing her with his friends. Unnerving, but lyrical.

ORDINARY WOLVES, by Seth Kanter

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KANTER,S.

Critics have compared this debut novel to the works of Jack London. the plot: Abe Hawcly settled in the wilderness of remote Alaska in the early 1970's. His wife returned to civilization, leaving him with three children to raise and educate. Cutuk, the youngest, grows up intimately connected to nature. His lifestyle in the igloo with his siblings is so basic that it is alien even to the Native Americans in the nearby town who prefer the modern trappings of tvs and snowmobiles.

After being home-schooled for most of his life, Cutuk attends the public high school where he, just like any other boy, falls for a girl.

Discriminated against because he is white, he eventually tries to live in Anchorage with a friend but finds urban life confusing. Cutuk returns to his simple life. An engrossing read.

THE KNOWN WORLD, by Edward P. Jones, 2003.

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JONES

Henry Townsend is a slaveholder in antebellum Manchester County, Virginia. He is also black. After his death, things begin to unravel at his plantation and in the country, revealing the underlying problems and cruelties inherent in slavery.

Like the best fiction, Jones' Pulitzer Prize-winning novel creates a "known world" with fully-realized characters and a compelling plot.

ANGELS, by Marian Keyes, 2002.

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KEYES,M.

Maggie Walsh is the good girl of her barely functional Irish family. Always one to walk on the safe side, having achieved the expected marriage and the manageable mortgage, Maggie is flabbergasted to find that her dull but beloved husband has been having an affair. Grieving and feeling a failure, Maggie leaves for Los Angeles where her best friend Emily is a struggling screenwriter.

The predictable satire of LA is on-target and funny. The book's strength is the unassuming person of Maggie. It's hard not to root for a character like her-charming, smart, self-deprecating-especially since she finds it hard to root for herself. Like Bridget Jones, but less slapstick, and a tad more serious.

THE DIM SUM OF ALL THINGS by Kim Wong Keltner, 2004

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KELTNER

Lindsey Owyang lives precariously between the world of her Chinese grandmother and the world of a young modern San Franciscan. She endures disastrous dates with grandsons of her grandmother's friends while looking for the perfect boyfriend. She is often drawn to "white" men, but feels guilty about it. Her family feels she is wasting her education working at the Vegan Warrior magazine, but Lindsey is clever and resourceful, often using outlandish tactics to keep the office on target. When her grandmother's health requires live-in assistance, Lindsey is recruited. She loves her grandmother but is sometimes embarrassed by her adherence to Chinese customs. A trip to China awakens in Lindsey an appreciation for her heritage. This novel of being Eastern in a Western world is both endearing and hilarious.

HANK AND CHLOE, by Jo-Ann Mapson

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MAPSON

Hank is a 42-year old nontenured professor of mythology in an unexceptional junior college. Chloe is a part-time waitress, and part-time riding instructor. He's been pampered and sheltered by his parents. She is the product of countless foster homes, afraid to love anyone but her dog and horse. What sounds like a run-of-the-mill love story becomes a moving journey of two individuals emerging from drastically different places toward recognition and commitment.

Mapson writes with affection for her characters, considerable wit (the dialog is hilarious), unabashed sensuality, and a very impressive knowledge of horses. Booklist calls this book "an unsentimental tale of the modern West." Followed by Loving Chloe.

THE PERSIAN PICKLE CLUB by Sandra Dallas

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DALLAS, S.

"Persian pickle," another name for paisley, refers to fabric shared by the members of a quilting club in Depression-ear Harleyville, Kansas. One member, Queenie Bean, lonely after her best friend moves away, hopes to become best friends with city girl Rita, brought home by her new husband, in hopes of publishing a hot story. Rita's investigation leads, however, to a surprising revelation.

An enjoyable exploration of period character. Not just for quilters!

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES by Sue Monk Kidd

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KIDD

The memory of the day Lily Owens, only four, accidentally shot her mother intrudes often into her mind. This, and the abuse she suffers for years at the hands of her father, trap Lily in pit of despair. She finally acts when her maid, the beloved Rosaleen on her way to register to vote under the new Civil Rights Acts, "assaults" three of the town's most vicious racists. Lily springs Rosaleen from the hospital and they set out for Tiburon, South Carolina, with only Lily's mother's picture of the Black Madonna to guide them.

Thus they come to the home of the three Boatwright sisters, the producers of Black Madonna honey. In their home Lily discovers both the past and her future, and there she learns to connect to the mother within herself.

LUCIA, LUCIA by Adriana Trigiana

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TRIGIANI

Lucia Sartori is an elderly woman living in an old apartment building in New York City. One day she decides to tell her young neighbor, Kit, the story of her life. In the early 50's Lucia was a beautiful 25-year old whose father was a successful grocer in Greenwich Village. Lucia was a seamstress working at B. Altman's; she was engaged, happy, content. Soon, however she perceived inevitable conflicts between marriage and career and hesitated to proceed with the wedding. Her situation was further complicated when she met handsome and charming John Talbot. It appeared that Talbot would give her a life of uptown luxury, something she could never hope to achieve as a career girl. There was something mysterious about John, though, and all was not as it seemed. It seemed everything in Lucia's personal and professional was shifting when a crisis occurred that jeopardized both her career and her family.

THE HOUSE ON BOSTWICK SQUARE by Velda Johnson

FIC

JOHNSON, V.

Laura met and married her British husband in America. In time, she learned that her husband's parents were sending him money to keep him in America and away from their home, supposedly since his uncontrollable gambling shamed them. He appears to have committed suicide, but Laura is certain he was murdered. Unable to make a living and care for her small child, she takes herself and her daughter to the home of her husband's family, and house on Bostwick Square. There the mystery of her husband's life and death deepens and begins to endanger Laura. Readers who enjoy traditional romantic suspense will want to follow Laura's story as she attempts to uncover the truth.

THE BODY OF JONAH BOYD by David Leavitt

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LEAVITT
The year is 1969 in the small California town of Wellspring. Denny Denham, secretary and lover to Ernest Wright, a manipulative psychoanalyst, becomes friends with his neurotic wife Nancy and their children: the rebellious Daphne, draft dodger David and teenage aspiring writer, Ben. Nancy's best friend, Anne, and her new husband Jonah Boyd spend Thanksgiving weekend with the family. Jonah is working a novel but continually misplaces his copy, written in a set of Italian notebooks. During the course of the visit he loses the notebooks permanently, setting off a chain of events that changes the course of many lives.
This is an entertaining read that surprises at the end with an unexpected plot twist.

FOUR CORNERS OF NIGHT by Craig Holden

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HOLDEN

Mack and Bank have been friends since the fourth grade when Bank protected Mack from bullies. Although their lives have taken different turns, as adults they find themselves on the same police force, friends still. As a police officer, Bank likes to prowl the streets at night keeping track of prostitutes, drug addicts and his "snitches."

When a young teenager, Tamara, vanishes both Bank and Mack become emotionally involved in the case, because they are reminded of the way Bank's own daughter disappeared seven years before. When a second disappearance brings to light fingerprints matching those on Bank's daughter's items, Bank's obsession and desperation become troubling.

This is a dark story of the street.

AFTER THIS by Alice McDermott

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MCDERMOTT

This novel depicts an Irish-American family in mid-century America. It spans the era from just after WWII through the seventies, covering the impact of the sexual revolution and the Vietnam War.

With the help of a spinster aunt, John and Mary Keane raise their four children in a middle class Long Island neighborhood. Their lives are through joyous and tragic events that affect all members of the family: the meeting of John and Mary, and outing at sea, the death of a son in the war, an unwanted pregnancy.

Everyone, on some level, can relate to the story of the Keane family. A moving and poignant book.

THE BOLEYN INHERITANCE by Phillippa Gregory

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GREGORY

Three women - Katherine Howard, Anne of Cleves, and Jane Boleyn - tell their versions of two very dangerous years during the reign of Henry VIII. Of the three, Jane Boleyn is the least well-known (the other two being wives of the English king) and perhaps the most interesting.

She had given testimony which send Anne Boleyn and her own husband to the scaffold and again becomes involved in the secret machinations of the court.

ANYONE BUT YOU by Jennifer Cruisie, 1996

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CRUSIE

What the forty-year-old and divorced Nina Askew wants is an energetic young dog to cheer her up. She cannot stop herself, however, from rescuing the sad-eyed, flop-eared, dumpy and apparently depressed hound scheduled for execution. Soon named Fred, the dog promptly introduces Nina to the handsome but much younger emergency room doctor in the apartment under hers. Nina i convinced she is too old for Alex, though her friends and her hormones tell her otherwise.

Its refusal to take itself seriously and the endearing Fred make this light-hearted romance a treat.

HOW I LIVE NOW by Meg Rosoff

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ROSOFF

This novel depicts a futuristic wartime. When fifteen year-old Daisy's father sends her to England to live with cousins, she is more than happy to escape her nasty stepmother. While Daisy finds real family with her cousins, she bonds almost mystically with cousin Edmond, with whom she also begins a sexual relationship. Then, when enemy forces take over the country, the house is commandeered, and the boy and girl cousins are sent to different homes.

Survival is difficult, and the horror of war touches them all, but Edmond's experience is devastating. Reunited with him well after the conflict, and greatly changed in character and spirit, Daisy describes how she lives now.

Teens are this book's intended audience. Though Daisy and Edmond's relationship might be considered incestuous and some adults might be alarmed that a 15 yer-old is having sex at all, teen girls seem likely to devour Daisy's story.

SUSANNAH'S GARDEN by Debbie Macomber

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MACOMBER

The school year is over, and fifty-year old Susannah is leaving her husband and college-age daughter for an extended visit with her elderly mother. The visit happens none too soon, for Susannah realizes her mother can no longer live alone. Susannah has been brooding of late about the young love her father drove away. She wants to track Jake down, and when she discover secrets among her father's papers, she is more determined than ever. The arrival of Susannah's daughter, unhappy after a break-up, complicates matters, particularly when said daughter falls for the local bad boy. Then there is Susannah's best girlhood friend, long divorced and finally interested in a man-but an unavailable one. The affairs of the heart of these four women come together in a most surprising way, giving the book a satisfying ending.

LAMB IN LOVE by Carrie Brown

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BROWN,C.

Norris Lamb is the postmaster in a small English village. He dispenses stamps and takes charge of all mailings in and out of the village. Vida Stephens lives in a mansion in and out of the village.

Vida Stephens lives in a mansion in the village and is the loving caretaker for the past twenty years of Manfred Perry, an autistic "child." Manfred lost his mother at birth and his father doesn't know how to relate to his challenged, non-speaking son.

Now after all these many years, Norris becomes aware of his love for Vida, but is too shy to express it. He sends her unsigned love letters postmarked from various parts of the world. Vida of course is quite baffled by this.
This story is all the more tender because the lovers are no longer young, and the author understands that love is disconcerting at any age.

SHARMILA's BOOK, by Bharti Kirchner

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KIRCHNER,B.

Sharmila is a successful graphic artist, thirty-two years old and feeling it is time she was married. She has not had much luck finding a husband, however, Indian or American. Her mother and father were born in India, but have afforded Sharmila all the freedoms of an American Woman.

Sharmila's mother tells her that finding a husband the American way is not working, therefore Sharmila should consider an arranged marriage. Sharmila agrees and a marriage is arranged to a wealthy young businessman living in Delhi.

This book is humorous and romantic as Sharmila stumbles through all the marriage arrangements and tries to get to know her new family. It is also suspenseful as she discovers the mysterious circumstances of her betrothed first wife's death. Sharmila's book offers a brief glimpse into the conflicts inherent in the life of a modern Indian American woman.

I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE by Wally Lamb

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LAMB

The topic covered in this sizeable novel are like a month's worth of Oprah shows-mental illness, dysfuctional family life, domestic abuse, SIDS. It was, in fact, and "Oprah" book. This is the story of family's secrets, focusing on a set of identical twins, one afflicted with schizophrenia and the other burdened by feelings of resentment, bitterness, and guilt.

A weighty tone, by the author of She's Come Undone, packed with drama, suspense, and humor.

THE CHEROKEE TRAIL by Louis L'Amour

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LAMOUR,L.

While Mary Bredon and her husband survived the Civil War, their Virginia home did not fare so well. Hoping to start fresh and eventually return to restore their plantation, they travel west to a job as stationmaster at a stagecoach stop on the Cherokee Trail in Colorado. Nearing their new home the couple encounters the opportunistic raider who had looted and burned their Virginia Plantation. Fearing public exposure of his deed, the raider murders Mary's husband.

Mary, needing the means to support herself and her daughter, claims her husband's job. Despite opposition from her boss, from the man she is replacing, from the Indians and from her husband's murderer. Mary becomes the stationmaster. She is helped by the Irish girl and the orphan boy she hires, as well as by mysterious stranger Temple Boone. Both men and somen will enjoy this.

THE GIRLS by Lori Lansens

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LANSENS

"I have never looked into my sister's eyes." So begins this remarkable novel about two sisters, conjoined twins, abandoned by their mother and raised by the nurse who brought them into the world. Aunt Lovey refuses to consider them disabled or deformed. To her they are Ruby and Rose, individuals with two brains and two hearts.
At the age of twenty-nine Rose embarks upon the writing of the story of their lives, and encourages Ruby to add her unique perspective. Through their alternating narratives the girls reveal a contradictory longing for independence and togetherness and sisterly love like no other.

Heartbreaking and very funny, you won't forget The Girls.

SIGHTSEEING by Rattawut Lapcharoensap

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LAPCHAROENSAP

A collection of stories by a young Thai-American depicts Thai culture hovering between the ancient and modern. The stories focus on family relations, romance, and cultural changes.

Many of the stories involve young men and their single mothers who encourage them to find their own way in the world.

Lapcharoensap's characters are engaging and his tales, though of a different culture, reveal universal themes.

ODD THOMAS by Dean Koontz

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KOONTZ

Twenty-something Odd Thomas is a short-order cook in Pico Mundo, a small city in the western desert. Odd Thomas sees dead people. Though Odd does not fear the dead, he finds his ability to be a curse as often as it is a gift. Sometimes the dead seek his help in bringing their murderers to justice, and sometimes, with the help of the chief of police, Odd can prevent a crime. This time, however, the carnage Odd hopes to prevent, protecting his city and his beloved Stormy, is of unprecedented proportions. Odd must do his best in a race against time....

Readers looking for a well-written horror story, including a bit of bittersweet romance will be more than satisfied with Odd Thomas.

NINETEEN MINUTES by Jodi Picoult

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PICOULT

19 minutes...that's all it took for an alienated teen to shoot 29 people at high school one day. 10 lost their lives. What could have caused this teen so much anguish?
Peter Houghton had been bullied by kids since his first day in kindergarten. In those early years little Josie Cormier had been his best friend, but as Josie grew older, she began to spend more time with the "popular" kids. In fact, these are the very same kids who continually victimize Peter.
Thus, Peter brings guns to school and begins the rampage. Josie is in the center of many who are shot, but remains unharmed. After the shooting, she can't remember anything about the incident. Complicating the situation, Josie's mom is the judge assigned the case. Can she render a just decision?
Picoult's characters and events reflect real life and her insight into teens is nothing less than awesome. A compelling read.

A MARRIAGE MADE IN WOODSTOCK by Cathie Pelletier, 1994

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PELLETIER,C.

Frederick Stone has contentedly mutated from poetic hippie to accountant, a 44-year old who crunches every number from frequency of razor usage to the number of millmeters his hairline has receded in one week. His soul mate, alas, is no longer his wife and fellow Woodstock veteran, Chandra (changed from Lorraine 20 years earlier), but his computer. Chandra, when not conduct "Seminars of the Mind," still throws herself into all the boycotts and protests going. Early on in the story she moves out, leaving the decidely non-introspective Frederick to contemplate the gulf between the youthful self who waded in the Woodstockian mud and the middle-aged bean counter who faces lif3e alone and divorced.

Pelletier's writing is as usual colorful and funny, but don't expect the boisterous romp of The Funeral Makers. Folks of Frederick's generation can relate.

THE GRASS DANCER by Susan Power

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POW

Susan Power is a Sioux from Chicago with a B.A. from Radcliffe, a J.D. from Harvard, and an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writer's Workshop. For all these academic credentials, this book is very nonacademic and readable.
Power focuses on a group of North Dakota Sioux who are in touch with the past and the magic of nature. Tribal spells abound and ghosts are an everyday presence that is accepted by the members of the tribe.
Written in vignettes, this is a wonderful book that does not deal with day-to-day existences of Native Americans, but concentrates instead on their spiritual lives.