A Full Life by Jimmy Carter

 Jimmy Carter was born in 1924 in Plains Georgia.  His parents were poor land owners and he grew up in a small community where most of his neighbors were black sharecroppers. They lived humbly without either running water or electricity.  From those humble beginnings Carter's intelligence and work ethics helped him attend college and later be appointed to the United States Naval Academy. After graduation he went through specialized training to serve on submarines, and eventually rose to become a major player in the development and testing of the first nuclear submarines.  When his father died, he left the military and took his young family back to Georgia to take over the running of his father's interests which included both farming, and the distribution of farming supplies and seed to other farmers. He got involved with politics as a champion of civil rights, and eventually was elected of Governor of Georgia. He was so successful in cleaning waist and corruption in Georgia that leaders of the Democratic Party urged him to run for President. He won the election and served for one term.  After being defeated by Ronald Regan in 1981, he spent the rest of his life working for political causes through the Carter  Foundation which sought world wide democracy and improvement of civil rights and economic equity.  

Here is another book from the US 250 celebration list.  I enjoyed it immensely.  It is read by the author and listening the the book felt like I had been invited to his home and allowed to sit while he told stories about his life. I have kept journals since I was 12 years old and the first entry in my very first journal stated that Jimmy Carter had won the election, and that my mother said, because of that, we should get our food storage up to date since there was likely to be a war. My parents were staunch Republicans, so I didn't really have a great opinion of his presidency.  Listening to the stories in the book, however, I feel like he was one of the most moral of the US presidents. He was devoutly Christian and let his religious faith guide his decisions in office. His presidency has not been seen as one of the best in history, but the way he comported himself is so strikingly different from some current politicians, it made me nostalgic for days gone by.  This book is a good choice for those in my demographic who are interested in US political history, but also for those who want to read about someone who tried his whole life to do the right thing. (2015, 272 p) 

Die with Zero by Bill Perkins

When most middle and upper class people die, they leave tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars for others to inherit. Most Americans believe that saving for retirement is so important that when they get to retirement age, they don't know how to stop saving and start spending.  In this book, Perkins makes a case for trying to live your life intentionally so that you use your money to enrich your life long before you get too old to really enjoy it. He encourages people to think about their lives in "buckets" of time and imagine what they can and cannot do in each bucket.  Then they should decide what they would like to experience in their life and which bucket it would best fit in. That might mean putting less in your 401 k during your 30's and 40's so you can have experiences while you are young you wouldn't be able to have when you are older, or taking a month off in your 30's to hike the Andes. He also encourages readers to think about bestowing inheritance money to family and causes earlier, when they really need it, instead of waiting until you die. He suggests that if we live into our 80's or 90's our kids will be old enough and well established in their careers so that what they inherit from us at death won't have a lot of impact.

My sister recommended to me that I read this book while we were talking about cash flow now that I am no longer working full time.  I told her my husband and I had to be financially conservative until we reach 65 and start collecting pensions and social security.  This book certainly counters that idea and Perkins makes a convincing argument. That said, in the book he over-simplifies things a little too much in places. For example he talks about estimating how much money you will need each year for the rest of your expected life span.  In his example calculation he doesn't adjust for inflation, but inflation is a very important thing to think about.  I may be able to live comfortably on $80,000/year now, but will I be able to in 20 years? Not likely. In order for your money to keep up with inflation most of it needs to be in an account that makes enough interest to keep up with inflation. If you spend it all in your 30's or 40's, there is nothing there to make interest. Still, he gave me something to think about and I think I will be more daring about spending money on experiences now that I have read the book. (240 p. 2021)

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

 Emily Wilde is a young Cambridge professor who, at the early age of 26, is one of the world's foremost experts on the Faerie Folk.  She has traveled to the far northern town of Hrafnsvik to study the previously elusive ice faerie folk.  The town people are leery of her because she is an outsider, and she lacks social skills, so she has a rough time getting any cooperation from them, until her academic frenemy, Wendell Brambleby shows up.  His dazzling appearance and charm smooth the ruffled locals, but she is infuriated when he offers to co-author a paper with her, knowing that she will do all the work and he will get all the credit. As they begin to work together to solve some local faerie abduction mysteries, Emily begins to wonder if there is more to Wendell than meets the eye. That suspicion becomes a hope, when she finds herself in a predicament from which only his special special skills, and the help of new village friends, can save her.

I can't remember who recommended this book to me, but I am glad they did.  It is a delight. Emily's personality is super quirky, and the chemistry between her and Brambleby is a lot of fun.  Fawcett has an expansive imagination and her world building is wonderful. She has obviously spent a lot of time studying the faery folklore of the British Isles and she calls on many traditional faerie folk tropes in the book. Since I have been adjacent to the academic world my whole adult life, (my husband is a professor), the banter about getting papers published, and presenting at conferences was just an added bit of fun for me. I am sure I will be recommending this book to my fantasy loving friends and am eager to read the next in the series. (352 p. 2023)

Three Tasks for a Dragon by Eoin Colfer

 When his father dies, Prince Lir is driven from the kingdom when his grasping half-brother sends him on a quest to rescue a peasant girl who has been stolen by a dragon. When he arrives at the dragon lair he finds a broken down and pitiful creature who can no longer fly or breath fire.  As part of his quest Lir must do three tasks for the dragon in order to gain the girl's freedom. As Lir uses his wits to perform each task, he gains the loyalty of the dragon and the affection of the maiden, but his success is short lived. His evil step-brother has more in store for all three of them.

This is a short fairytale novella from the well-known author of the Artemis Fowl series. It honestly sounds like a bedtime story that he made up for his kids and then set down in writing.  It is charming tale of brawns vs brains, and kindness conquering over brutality. It is appropriate for both boys and girls and is full of both action and wit. The reader has a delightful accent and this would be a great choice of something to listen to on a family road-trip. The print version is highly illustrated by rockstar illustrator, J. P Lynch. I am thinking of buying a copy for my grandkids! (115 p. 2023)

My Friends by Frederik Backman

 Louisa has been in the foster care system most of her life.  Her best friend has recently died, and now she is breaking into an art gallery to get a glimpse of a painting of three boys on a pier. When security guards chase her away, she hides in an ally where she bumps into a man she thinks is homeless, but who is really the famous artist of the painting she loves. The connection between the two is instantaneous, but the guards are still chasing her and she has to run away. The chance encounter changes the course of her life.  She gets caught up in discovering the history of the artist, his friends, and what happened on the day that was immortalized in the painting. To help her on the path of discovery is one of the boys depicted in the painting.  He is now a middle aged adult, hardened and reclusive due to all he has suffered, but when he meets the girl, he is reminded of his own youth, and he begins to talk.

I don't know of any current author who can tug on a reader's heartstrings as much as Frederik Backman. Reading the book, one cannot doubt that he had a youth similar in some way to the characters he depicts.  He captures the crushing affects of abuse, the heartache of neglect, and the joy of a teenager's unfettered summer like someone who really knows what it is like.  At the beginning of the book he hints that things are not going to turn out well and that the story will be a tragedy. By the end, however, even though there are some tragic elements, there is more hope that you expected. His books are quiet sentimental, but if you are in the mood for all the "feels" he really can't be beaten as a writer. (2025, 448 p.)

The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri

When Babak's father is killed, Babak promises his little sister, Sana, vow they will stay together, even though their harsh aunt sends Babak to one family, and Sana to another.  In order to stay together they sneak away and attempt to join the nomadic travelers whom their father used to serve as an itinerate teachers. Their decision to find and follow the nomads lead them on a daring adventure through the deserts of Iran during WWII.  Because Iran is technically controlled by the Allies, British and Russian soldiers crowd the bars and tea houses, while German spies sneak around trying to learn secrets.  During their travels Babak and Sana meet a Jewish boy who is trying to return to his brother who has been shipped to Israel. Babak feels like he should help him, but the boy, hardened and sharpened by his experiences, has a difficult personality. Babak's only tool to deal with all the diversity and challenges of his life on the run is the chalk board that he father used to tutor nomadic children, and his love of language and teaching.

Here the winner of this year's Newbery Honor winner. It is a truly charming book and accessible to a wide range of ages.  I have read a lot of WWII stories, but this one is unique because Iran was an outlier in the conflict.  Both sides vied for control of its oil, but it never officially entered into the war.  The theme of the book is using communication to bridge cultural and political differences.  Babak tries to teach the nomads Farsi, and to get the Ben, the Jewish refugee, to teach him Hebrew. Barak not only tries to learn other's languages, he tries to understand how they are feeling as well. Babak's efforts to exercise cultural tolerance and understanding is at the core of the book's charm. It is interesting that this book and the previous book, Piecing Me Together, both deal with trying to understand different people's cultures and points of view, but this one does it in such a charming and heart warming way, while the other just left me feeling cold. (192 p. 2025)

Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

 As Khosrou struggles to find a place for himself in Oklahoma, he remembers stories from Iran: his own story, stories of his family, and Iranian legends.  As he shares his stories with his class, they don't know what to believe and what not to believe.  His own life seems as fantastic, amazing, and cruel as the folktales of his culture.  Nor are his struggles over.  His stepfather is sometimes violent, and so are some of the bullies at his school. Although his mother was a doctor in Iran, they now struggle to get enough food and to meet basic needs.  He keeps a notebook where he writes ways that he has learned to cope, and clever things to say to the girl he likes, who thinks he is scum.  Through it all, thoughts of his heroic mother, his affectionate grandfather, and his absentee father help him make it though, one day at a time.

I didn't realize when I checked out this book that it was the winner of the Printze award for outstanding teen literature the year that it came out. The book is formulated kind of like the tales of Scheherazade.  The author jumps from the past to the present, from folklore to reality with the turn of the page.  As I read, I wondered how much of the story was based on Nayeri's own experience. An afterword explains that it all was.  He admits that his memory might have been inaccurate, but every cruel thing that happens to Khosrou is something he experienced. The reader should be warned that this is a hard tale to hear, though Nayeri does a good job of sticking in a funny story after a heavy one to the the book is much less depressing than it could have been.  It is the kind of book that sheltered white kids should read so that they can get a perspective on what it is like to be a refugee from a different culture in America. I could see a kid being assigned to read the book, expecting to hate it, but ending up really liking it. Hopefully they would become a better person from the experience. (368 p. 2020)

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

 An old man shows up in a small southern town. He calls himself Theo and has a charming Portuguese accent.  He finds a coffee shop and notices some beautiful portraits, done in pencil and charcoal on the walls of the shop. Intrigued, he discovers that they were drawn by a local artist and depict local residents.  Impressed by the emotional depth of the art, he decides to purchase the portraits one by one and give them to the people they depict. Thus begins a magical year during which Theo's gentle charm and big heart blesses the people of Golden, and helps unite them as a community. 

It is ironic that the last book I listen to in 2025 might be my favorite of the whole year.  This is the most charming and heartwarming book I have listened to in a long time.  Theo is an amazingly likeable character, as are almost all the characters the reader comes to know in the small town of Golden.  Even though Theo is amazing, the author wisely doesn't make him flawless. We see him get angry, tired and impatient some times.  Throughout the book we get to hear stories of the errors of his youth. All the main characters have checkered backgrounds, which is maybe why the book feels so hopeful.  They all receive a little bit of redemption by seeing themselves through Theo's kind eyes.  I can imagine that some readers might think the story slow or boring, but I loved it and savored it like rich chocolate ganache. If you want to listen to a book that will set your feet on the right path for the new year, this is the one for you. (2023, 399 p.)
 

The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day

 The Mona Lisa is perhaps the most famous painting in the world, but back in 1910, it was just one of many great artworks in the Louvre Museum in Paris. What catapulted it to world wide fame? It was stolen. This is a children's nonfiction book about the 1911 heist of the Mona Lisa and how it affected the popularity of DaVinci's masterpiece.  It also gives a decent summary of DaVinci's life, and the place of the Mona Lisa in his career. The books ends with the surprising capture of the Mona Lisa thief, and the consequences that befell him. 

When I checked this out I thought it was a children's mystery fiction, but it turned out to be a really well written and entertaining nonfiction.  The tone of the narrative is snappy and informal. Day includes a lot of interesting facts about Paris, the Louvre, and the state of the world in the early 20th Century. He also talks about DaVinci in a not-too-flattering way, that is also engaging and amusing. The reader should beware that Day includes a lot of subjective social commentary in his narrative. This would be a great book for teachers of homeschoolers who want to mix literature with other subjects, like humanities or history, and also have a lot of interesting social questions to discuss. I am not surprised it won the Siebert Medal for children's nonfiction when it came out. (2023, 288 p) 

The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt

 Hercules Beal has a lot on his plate.  His parents have recently died, and his older brother has come home from his "dream job" to take care of Hercules and take over the family nursery. On top of that, he hasn't yet hit his growth spurt so he is the shortest kid in his whole junior high class. He is bummed when his brother enrolls him in a charter school that focuses on environmental science, especially when he finds out that his home room and English teacher is an ex-marine major. His teacher assigns him to somehow recreate his own version of Hercules' seven labors as his year-long English project. As Hercules tries to find his name sake's motivations and trials reflected in his own life, he begins to process all that has happened in his life--the good and the bad--and learn the importance of facing everything on his own.

Besides Jason Reynolds, I think Gary Schmidt is my favorite contemporary writer for kids. His 12-year-old boy voice is spot on, and his characters are all fully developed and sympathetic. This story is super heart-warming.  I think I cried four different times while I was listening to this book, not because it was sad, (though there are sad parts) but because it was so touching. Schmidt's setting is good as well.  It is realistic enough to be believable, but quirky enough to be interesting. I finished the book and thought to myself, "I hope they make this a Battle of the Books selection some day because I want  thousands of kids to read this."  (352 p, 2023) 

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

 Emmett Watson returns home from Juvenile Detention to find that his father has died and their farm is lost to creditors.  All Emmett wants to do is take his 8-year old brother, Billy, away from Nebraska and make a new start in Texas. Billy has other ideas.  He wants to take the Lincoln Highway to California and search for their mother who abandonded the family when Billy was a baby. Before they can firm up their plans, two of Emmett's friends from the detention center, Dutchess and Wooly, show up on his doorstep.  They claim to have a treasure  just waiting for them in New York, that they are willing to share with Emmett, and all they need is for Emmett to drive them there.  Emmett refuses, but before he knows it they have stollen his car and he has no option but to go after them.  Thus starts an adventure for each of the boys. Emmett wants his car back, Billy wants an escapade like the ones in his adventure book, Dutchess wants to even the score with people in his past, and Wooly just wants to see his sister again. Their adventure leads them along the highways and railways of 1954 America, meeting all kinds of characters along the way. 

 This is my third book by Towles, and I liked this one very much. The writing is wonderful and it as much a fun adventure as it is a philosophical walk through the 1850's. Towels really is one of the great literary authors of our age, and this book won a boatload of awards. The characters are masterful and the book is put together brilliantly. Each chapter is written from the point of view of a different character, and aren't necessarily in chronological order. Each of the main characters are complex with fully developed backstories and personalities. I think the publisher expected the book to be a smash success, because they invested in three different voice actors to narrate the book and they all do a wonderful job. This is another great choice for a book club. (2021, 592p)

Personal note:  When I was a little girl there weren't any DVD players of video games for kids to play in the back seat of a car.  One thing I used to do on a long road trip was look at the cars passing or driving next to us and imagine my spirit jumping into the car with those people and going home with them for a while to see what they were like and how they lived. That is kind of what this book is like.  The reader gets to jump into the lives of almost every character, live inside them for just a short tim, and see how they think and how they live. 

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

 Murder Bot has discovered that his friend and liberator, Dr. Mensah, is in trouble, and Murderbot knows he must do what he can to help her, even if it means stepping further out of his comfort zone.  He makes further adjustments to his programing to appear more human and takes a transport to the place he first met with Dr. Mensah's group. Meeting up with the original crew is emotionally complicated for Murderbot, but when bullets begin to fly, he knows exactly what to do.

Here is another series I really enjoy. This is a great episode, where we see Murderbot take a few more giant steps toward being more human. It has the fast paced action scenes that one would expect, but also some really nice scenes with Dr. Mensah that melt your heart. I also like that each book is really short, only a few hours on recording.  I imagine they make the series more accessible for reluctant reader teens.  (2018, 176 p.)

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

 Mila Pavlichenko is a student, library researcher, and single mother when she decides to take a riflery course.  She finds she has a talent for sharp-shooting so when Russia enters WWII, she enlists to defend her country from the German invaders. She becomes a very effective sniper and rises through the ranks in the Russian military.  Although conflicted about her nickname of Lady Death and in her relationships with her ex-husband, her shooting partner, and her commanding officer, her main focus is in defeating the invaders who have caused so much death and destruction in her beloved Russia. 

Here is another book that I just chose while browsing the available titles.  I figured that I enjoy  WWII historical fiction and I ultimately liked The Rose Code written by Quinn. This turned out to be an interesting book.  It is based on a real person and many of the events in the book are taken from Pavlichenko's own memoir.  I think the author was trying to address the question, "how can a woman kill over 300 men and not lose her soul or her sanity?" The answer the book puts forward is that being a sniper is just one other way to "do your bit" during wartime. Mila seems to rather successfully separate herself from the job she needs to do, though the terrible things she experiences as her battalion is forced back on two different fronts give her PTSD for the rest of her life.  A fascinating part of the story, also based on history, is that after serving as a sniper, Pavlichenko is chosen to be part of an diplomatic envoy to the United States and becomes friends with Eleanor Roosevelt. The author adds some elements to the book, like various romances and the attempt on President Roosevelt's life, which are not part of the historical record, but she weaves them into the historical elements pretty well, and they give the story a thrilling and satisfying ending. (2022, 448 p)

Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley

 Jake's father is the head of a nature preserve for dragons.  There are only a few hundred true dragons left on the earth, and they all live in one of three preserves.  Though the rangers of the preserve know dragons live there, they are illusive and rarely seen.  On the day that Jake is to have his first solo overnight excursing in the preserve, he happens upon a dying female dragons who has just given birth to babies. Only one baby has survived, and Jake impulsively decides to try to save it.  Thus begins a long journey in which Jake learns about parenthood, love, and the the circle of life. 

I checked this out because I am a big fan of Robin McKinley.  She usually writes high fantasy, but this one is different. I was really impressed with how authentically she captured a 15 year old teenage voice in the character of Jake. The book is written to sound like his own journal/memoir, and his language is delightfully colloquial and at places a little snarky. McKinley shows how sacrificing for the dragonling creates an unbreakable bond between Jake and his dragon, and between him and all dragons.  In some ways the book has a strong environmental theme.  I am sure Jane Goodall felt about her chimpanzees many of the same things McKinley has Jake feel for the dragons. On the other hand, it has a "wish fulfillment" appeal for anyone who ever wanted to make friends with a real dragon. I really enjoyed the book.  It was one of my favorites in a long time, but it did ramble a little.  I think it would have been a better book if she had edited out about 1/4 of it. Still, I think a lot of people, both teens and adults, would enjoy it. (2007, 275 p.)

The Childbury Lady's Choir by Jennifer Ryan

 In Chilbury England the men have gone off the war, and the vicar has canceled the church choir practices.  You obviously can't have a choir without a bass and tenor section, right?  Don't tell that to Primrose Trent.  She takes charge and organizes the women of Chilbury into a choir that becomes the heart of their community, and a second family for its members.  It is a family with secrets and challenges--a widow who is sending her son off to war, a debutant who is out of her depth in a relationship, a teenage girl with a hopeless crush, and an unethical midwife whose dark deeds are catching up with her. Their challenges bring them together, and their music brings their whole community together. 

After reading The Kitchen Front, I put this earlier book by the same author on hold.  It is in format, premise and flavor very much like the later book, but that was alright with me.  Ryan has a way of drawing believable characters who seem hopelessly flawed in the beginning of the book, but as the book progresses become more relatable and human. She also shows how the women heal by getting to know each other and offering each other a bit of grace. This is really wonderful stuff, a bit sentimental, but positive and heartwarming messages.  This recording is done with a full cast, which I enjoyed. I will be recommending this and The Kitchen Front a lot. (2017, 384 p.)

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

Four women's lives lie in tatters two years after the start of WWII.  One is a mother with three boys whose husband has been killed in the war.  A second is a woman with a cruel and abusive husband. The third is an unwed mother working in a food factory, and the last is a kitchen maid who grew up in an orphanage. All four women learn of a cooking competition, the winner of which will become a radio cooking show cohost.  All see winning the competition as the ticket out of their predicaments, and all see the other competitors as the enemy...at first.  Then life throws them together, things happen, and they begin to see that they are much stronger as friends than enemies. 

This book is the total embodiment of the term "heartwarming." The four women each struggle, and are not always very nice to each other.  There are no Pollyannas here, but when push comes to shove, compassion wins out over grief and greed. Near the end, the author does get a little sentimental, but by that point in the story, that is exactly what the reader wants. From a bigger view, each woman represents a different kind of toll that war takes on women. The author also shows how the trials of war made women redefine their traditional roles and gain more independence. This is a good choice for readers who liked The Opera Sisters  or the WWII books of Roseanna White. Also a good choice for those who liked Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame because of the interesting war-time cooking facts and techniques. (2022, 432 p)

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly

 Michael Rosario doesn't understand why the adults around him aren't preparing for the Y2K crisis that is looming in a couple of months. He is secretly stockpiling canned food, filched from the local grocery store, under his bed. His mother works three jobs, and he has a crush on his 16 year old babysitter, Gibby.  One day a strange teen-age boy shows up on the bench outside of his apartment building. Ridge is wearing strange clothing, and seems fascinated by pretty normal every-day things, like a microwave, or a CD player. Michael and Gibby discover he has traveled from the future, and he is both excited to learn about the 1990's and terrified about what his presence in the past will do to his world in the future. Ridge had a book with the general outline of events during the next ten years, and Michael is desperate to read it and discover if Y2K is going to be as bad as he fears. Can he betray his new friend and risk the future of the world to allay his own anxieties?

This is the Newbery book for this year.  It is a well deserved award, and I think a lot of people, both kids and adults would enjoy reading this book.  There is a lot in here about family and the importance of relationships.  There is also a major theme about how to calm anxieties about the future. Kelly conveys the idea that, although bad things happen, in the end we will get through them, without monologuing or feeling preachy.  Michael and Gibby are authentic and sympathetic characters, and even Ridge comes across as a normal kid in a complicated situation. The overall tone of the book is hopeful--a message kids really need right now. (272, 2024)

Children of the Fox by Kevin Sands

 Callan was trained by a master con man. Then one day his master disappeared and ever since he had been planning and carrying out his own little gaffs, trying to save enough money to give him a hope of a respectable life. One day he receives an invitation he can't resist--pull off one job, and be paid more money than he had ever imagined.  He recognizes it for what it is, a trick, but he still can't resist looking into it. His benefactor teams him up with other young teens and tasks them to steel a magical item from the head magician himself. Little do they know that by succeeding they might lose everything.

I put this book on hold after reading the last Blackthorn Key book. I was not disappointed.  This is an exciting and intriguing story with interesting characters. The setting and the magic system are a little fuzzy but I don't think most readers will be too disturbed by that. You can tell that the author is well established, because the book ends on a cliffhanger. They never let new authors do that, but here it works. I put the second book on hold right away, and it is already waiting in my cue. (416 p. 2021)

Greenwild: The World Behind the Door by Pari Thomson

 Daisy Thistledown is happy with her life following her exuberant mother around the world chasing the next big news story. Daisy adores her mother, and is never happier than when at her side, so she is very concerned when her mother decides to put her in a boarding school for a short time while she goes after a story in the Amazon River basin.  Daisy hates the school and when her mother doesn't return by the end of term, she senses something has gone wrong. She goes to a garden her mother and she always went to together, and there finds a magic door into another world. She soon discovers that this new world which is a botanical paradise, is connected to her family, but is also in danger. She teams up with other children her age and together they try to figure out which of the adults is the traitor trying to bring an end to all they love. 

The "through the magic door" is a pretty common trope for middle grade fantasy, but this book does it better than most.  It is clearly a "save the environment" book, but the author really does seem to have a genuine connection to and love of nature that shines through in her writing.  It is almost worth reading for the nature descriptions and world building alone. Daisy, and even the secondary characters, are fully developed, interestingly flawed, and show good character development through the course of the story. The plot twists are a little predictable to me who have read literally hundreds of middle grade fantasies, but I didn't ever get bored and will probably read the next in the series. (2023, 333p.)

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

 A little free library appears in the middle of the town overnight.  Evan looks at the books, and is astonished to find his father's name on the check out lists of many of them.  They were clearly from the Martinville Library that burned down many years previous, but what did his father have to do with that?  As Evan and his friend dig into the mystery, the Ghosts of the Martinville History House are starting to fade. AL and the yellow cat try everything they can think of, but in the end, it may be Evan who can solve the mystery and save the spirit of the library.

What a sweet little story!  It was like an ode to the power of libraries to bring people together.  I loved that Evan has a functional family and a true friend in Rafe. The mice and the cat are adorable too.  It is so rarely that you find a book that is truly wholesome, and also engaging. It would be interesting to know how the two authors collaborated. I wonder if one author wrote the Evan chapters, and the other wrote the chapters about the residents of the History House. I could feel the style of Ms Stead, but I am not as familiar with Ms Mass. (224 p. 2023)