Death in Focus by Anne Perry

Elena Standish is a British photographer visiting Italy with her sister, Margot, in 1933.  Both Margo and Elena had family members who were lost in WWI and neither has found a permanent romantic relationship since.  In Italy, the Elena meets Ian Newton and instantly feels drawn to him.  Their connection strengths during a shared trauma, when they find the dead body of a man in their hotel.  When Ian gets called away suddenly to Paris, Elena, usually reserved, impetuously agrees to accompany him. Their train trip turns into a nightmare, and the beginning of a fast paced adventure that leads Elena into the heart of pre-WWII Nazi Germany.

Anne Perry is a bestselling author of historical adventures.  I wanted to try one of her books, but her other series have been going on a long time and I didn't really want to read a book written 15 or 25 years ago.  Then I saw this one, the first in a new series.  I turned out to be quite good.  The setting is vivid and the characters nuanced and layered.  She has a wonderful way of unfolding the story bit by bit, so the reader comes to realize what is going on about the same time as the reader does.  I also liked how vulnerable the main character is.  She is not superhero.  She has just barely enough courage to get through what she has to, and is always at risk of losing it.

I just read the Wikipedia page about Perry, and holy cow, what a life!  I am not going to tell you about her, so you will go and read it yourself. (305 p. 2019)

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Maddie is a young teen living in Philadelphia in 1793.  Her father has died, but she helps her mother run a successful coffee shop.  One day in September one of their serving girls dies suddenly of a mysterious illness.  Soon others around the city are dying and word gets around that it is the yellow fever. Maddie and her mother try to keep the coffee house open, but then her mother falls ill. Maddie is convinced to flee the city with her grandfather, but when they both fall ill, they have to rely on the kindness of others to get through.

This is a vivid look at a brief, but devastating flu epidemic.  Anderson adds a lot of carefully researched detail to put the reader into the experience.  Maddie is a strong and appealing character whose resolve not to give up keeps her going. We are doing this book for our November Parent/Child book club.  I was a little worried that is might be to realistically harsh for a 9 year old.  We will see what kind of response I get. (2000, 251p.)

The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans

Elise has been just going through the motions since her divorce five years earlier.  Every day she eats the same thing from the same restaurant all alone in the food court in her building. Then one day in November a handsome lawyer approaches her with a surprising proposition.  He wants to make an agreement with her to spend the holiday season together.  He writes up a contract that they will attend each other's office parties, go out to dinner, and basically keep each other from feeling lonely until Christmas day.  Elise is reluctant, but also very lonely, so she finally agrees.  That begins the most wonderful holiday season she can ever remember.  As she spends times with her mysterious benefactor, she finds that this "pretend" romance might not be pretend at all.  Yet she knows that if he knew about her dark past, he would have never want to see her again.

One of my friends at work recommended this to me.  If you are in the mood for a super clean sugary holiday romance, a la Hallmark, this is the book for you.  The problem with it for me is that the love interest, Nathan, was way, way, way to perfect.  Rich, handsome, kind, generous, polite, tidy...you get the picture.  I think I would have liked it better if he was a little more endearingly flawed. The whole book is one long Cinderella fantasy. Still, if that is what you are looking for, it is pretty well written and completely indulgent, like Godiva chocolate in print.  (2014, 251 p.)

The Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser

Amy lives with her mother in Germany, but both of them have had a rough couple of months, so they decide to visit Amy's mother's ancestral home on the island of Stormsay in Scotland.  Amy has always been an avid reader, but in Stormsay she learns that she is more than a book reader, she is a book jumper.  She can jump into the book world and impact the stories there.  It has been her clan's mission to protect the book world for centuries, but that world is in danger, and only Amy, with her special family background, can save it from terrible disaster.

This is a decent fantasy for the omnivorous book geek teens of the world.  Amy meets characters from a wide range of literature, from fairy tales to Anna Karenina.  The whole thing is a avid reader's dream come true. Amy is a likeable character and there is a nice little clean romance between her and the Jumper from the rival clan, Will. The plot is not hopelessly predictable and the book concludes nicely, but with room for sequels.  The book was originally written in German, but the translation is excellent.  I don't think the second book is available in English yet, but I might read it when it comes out.  (384 p. 2017, If you have a Provo Library Card, this book is "always available" in Audio from Overdrive.)

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Flavia is an 11-year-old girl who lives in a venerable old house in England. Her mother has died, and she lives with two sisters, her father, and some domestics.  Flavia is obsessed with chemistry and is never happier than when she is distilling poisons in her great uncle's laboratory.  One day she hears an argument in her father's study, and then later finds a man dead in the house's culinary garden. Flavia is intrigued, and soon is conducting a full out investigation of the murder.

The charm of this book is Flavia's complex personality.  She is at once intrepid and vulnerable, cold blooded and compassionate.  Bradley has caught the essence of per-pubescent exuberance, still unfettered by hormones or social consciousness.  On top of that, Bradley has a host of other interesting characters, a charming setting, and a well crafted plot.

I read this because the 10th in the series recently came out and got good reviews.  I thought, 'I better go back and read the first one,' not realizing how many are in the series.  So now I have another cozy mystery series to fall back on when I am need of a literary break from heavier topics. (363 p. 2009)

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

Rachel Hollis is an event planner, the founder of a successful media company, and a well known blogger. This is a memoir/motivational book about her life and secrets for success.  She writes in a very informal style and pushes herself to tell her whole story, warts and all.  Each chapter begins with a "lie" that she used to believe about herself: "I'm not good enough," "loving him is enough for me," "I am defined by my weight" and many others.  Then she relates how she began telling herself the lie and how she ultimately taught herself the truth. 

I checked out this book because it has been one of the top 5 most requested e-book in my library for months.  I have a feeling it is making its way around the local women's book clubs, and it is an excellent choice for that. It is very readable, and Hollis has a way of making the reader feel like she is your close personal friend who is cheering for you. I would not really choose the life that she has chosen for herself, but I did feel validated and encouraged by the time I finished the book.  I would recommend it to any woman who is facing challenges and needs a hand up. (2018, 220 p.)

Love is a Wistful Song by Ava S. Quill

Aryen lives in a society where your family clan, or Banner, is everything.  Aryen was born in a strong Banner, and enjoys many privileges because of it, including the chance to attend the best music school in the country. The one privilege she doesn't have is to choose her own spouse. When her Banner arranges her marriage to the handsome and social climbing Blaine, Aryen begins to realize how much her un-bannered childhood friend, Ryan, means to her. As her love for Ryan and dislike of Blaine grows she finds herself in an emotional maelstrom that threatens to destroy everything most dear.

This is a fun riff on the Romeo and Juliet trope--family feuds, forbidden love, overbearing parents, and self-sacrifice. Aryen is a likeable character, an authentic music geek, and the setting, though not historical, feels like a bit like Downton Abby. Quill includes some exciting and some funny action scenes. The "starvation" scene (I won't say more because it would be a spoiler) is not very believable.  Anyone who writes about someone going without food should fast for 48 or even 72 hours and see how functional they are. Most readers haven't, so they won't be bothered by it, (I have, and was) but all in all this would be an easy book for me to recommend to clean romance loving friends. (219, 354 p.)

Witches:The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer

What kid has never been fascinated by the story of the Salem Witch Trials.  Unfortunately popular media often portrays a caricature of what happened in Salem Massachusetts in 1682.  This carefully researched history draws from diaries, newspaper articles, public record, and letters to give a detailed account of what really happened.  One thing I appreciated in this account was that Schanzer resists the temptation to promote a specific idea of what motivated the players in the story.  Why did the girls start to act possessed and accuse others of witchcraft?  Why did the local religious leaders allow and even promote the execution of so many innocent people? Why did it take so long for "cooler heads" to prevail and stop the slaughter? Schanzer presents different theories but leaves it to the reader to decide.  This would be an interesting book to do for a parent/child book group in October.  It could lead to some really good discussion about the difference between facts and the interpretation of facts. No wonder it won a Sibert honor in 2012. (2011, 144p)