If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Carey and her younger sister Jenessa are lost. They are hidden. But they are together. They have been taken from their abusive father and sequestered away in a run-down camper in the middle of a huge state park by their meth-addicted mother. She leaves them to fend for themselves for weeks at a time, but they manage to survive, and in many ways form a complete family with each other. But then some unexpected visitors show up: a social worker and Carey's father. They take the girls out of the woods and try to give them a new life that's very different from their old one. The past in the woods, and their present in the real world clash and meld together in very unexpected ways. And together, Carey and Jenessa then must face the secret of the white star night that changed them forever.

This YA debut by Emily Murdoch takes a terrible, harsh setting and plot that seem pretty unbelievable and brings them so alive that you can't stop reading. The characters and what they say and feel are so real, that it gave me some real moments of extreme emotion. So, if you can find this one, don't let it pass you by.

Tapestry of Fortunes by Elizabeth Berg

There are so many topics or themes in Berg's new book that intrigued me. As soon as I ordered it for the library, I knew I wanted to read it, but I didn't. It sat on the shelf. Sometimes it was read by other patrons. And sometimes it sat - waiting for me. So one fateful day, I picked it up, and in a couple I days I read it. It was not a mistake of fortune.

In the book, Cece Ross, a motivational speaker, mourns her best friend's passing by changing her own life. She finally heeds the wishes of her friend by getting rid of things she doesn't need, taking a long break from her job, giving back to others, and finding out what the rest of life will hold. Cece feels it will be difficult to do these things, but after consulting her many fortune telling items, she decides it is, indeed, the exact right time. So she sells her house and moves in with three other women, into a beautiful, old house. She starts to volunteer at a hospice, and she takes her new friends on a road trip that they will never forget. And neither will I.

Tapestry of Fortunes was a wonderful surprise for me, full of truth and joy and a realness of character that will stick with me for a long time. So, if I were you, I'd check your Taro cards and then heed them - and pick up this great read!

Taken by Erin Bowman

A patron who likes to read the same kind of YA lit as I do recommended this to me after she checked it out. I'm so glad I did! Because, you know, I've always wondered what it would be like to just be living as part of a great big social experiment where my entire life, and death was controlled by a secret government I knew nothing about. Haven't you wondered that?

All kidding aside, this book, which is first in an upcoming series, is full of great details, relatable characters, action, and emotion. Although it relies on some of the stock elements in recent dystopian YA literature, Bowman makes these elements seem original and gives them, yet again, a new, fresh spin.

In the story, Gray Weathersby lives in a world that simply seems from a long time ago. There is no electricity or running water. The townspeople grow all their own food and build their houses. But the real surprise is that there is something really wrong with the town of Claysoot. Its boys disappear at the age of 18. They know it's coming, they prepare, but in the end, something just takes each boy on his 18th birthday, including Gray's brother Blaine. Forever. There is also the fact that there is a giant wall surrounding the town, and no one has ever climbed over it and survived. That is until Gray and his girl Emma get really angry after Blaine is taken, and they want answers. And the answers are beyond the wall.

I love finding first time authors that have talent, and Erin Bowman is very much one of these. Give her first novel a try, and you won't regret it!

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Remember the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray? I loved that movie. Well, take that premise, of reliving the same day over and over again until you get it right, and then turn it around a bit. Life After Life is about a girl who gets to start over - and over again. It's a book that's really like no other.

Ursula is born on a terrible, snowy night in 1910. Or is she? Yes, she is. And each time she is born, she gets a little bit further in her life before a tragedy strikes to take it all, and she starts all over again. Does anyone notice this strange reliving? Well, Ursula finally does. She comes to think of herself as sort of clairvoyant, experiencing deja vu when in a situation that requires a judgement, a decision. If she can just make the right choice or avoid the tragedy she feels is coming, she will probably live her life a little longer - before it begins again. While this may seem a little too weird, a little too redundant, Atkinson makes it extremely readable and the characters extremely real.

I found myself holding my breath at each turn Ursula must make, thinking, "Oh, please let her live past this this time." It was also a revelation learning how each turn, each decision could mean so much, life or death. How many decisions in our own lives mean the difference between a good, happy, long life and a sad one or a tragically short one. It's probably good we don't know these things in reality, but it was very entertaining to find out in the fantasy with Ursula.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Once in a great while, a book comes along that reaches into you. It makes your brain remember your heart and your true desires in life. Although it seems like just a little young adult novel, just a little bit sci-fi, a little bit romance- to me it was a lot more.

All we know at the beginning is that Jenna Fox has awakened to a world she doesn't remember. She doesn't know her parents or the grandmother who seems to hate her. She comes to learn that she has been in an accident, an event that she is not to speak of to anyone. But then who would she tell? She has no friends and her parents are keeping her outside contact to a minimum. So she watches videos of her life, one for every year. Her memories begin to resurface, making her feel like an alien in host body. It is not until she demands to have her own life and is allowed to go to school and venture outside that she begins to put the mystery of her life together. But is it really her life to live?

The writing in this book is so interesting that it drew me in immediately. Told from Jenna's point of view, at first the language is stilted, halted, like a robot delivering some lines in a play. But then it is interspersed with short interludes, a kind of poetry, that lets us into Jenna's thoughts more deeply. By the end of the book, when Jenna finally understands her situation and grows into who she is going to be, the style is more that of a "normal" teenager, albeit a very thoughtful one.

The other thing I love about this book is knowing that there are sequels. BUT this book also could stand alone. The ending, while perhaps a bit different than we hope, is satisfying in itself. If you wanted to only read this one book, it would be fine - still an excellent book on its own. This is how a series should be done. But I know that this will not be the last Jenna Fox book for me. I will soon have to read The Fox Inheritance, book two in the series. But until then, I will not forget this beautiful, emotional book for all ages.

The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

A book club friend donated this book to the library, and then another told me she could not put it down, so I thought I would finally take the time to give it a read. It is the kind of book you can sit and think about long after you're through.

It is the story of William Talmadge who was born to grow the many kinds of fruit trees in his orchard. His mother and father start from nothing, and pass on this reassuring, cultivating work to Talmadge. Talmadge is a common man who struggles with the loss of his sister, who mysteriously disappears into the forest one day. It is this event that shapes him, just as he shapes the trees to bear better, hardier fruit. Then one day he is faced with another struggle when two young girls, both pregnant and running away from he knows not what, enter the orchard to steal his fruit. Instead of chasing them away, he chooses the hard decision of cultivating them also. Their relationship to each other fascinates him, and he can't keep himself from helping them. His life in the orchard makes a shift then, from being all about him, his grief, and the land he is on. It shifts to become about love and the true sacrifice that love takes.

Perhaps it is the beautifully detailed writing, the characters that feel like real people when you're done, or the unique description of life cultivating a fruit orchard. Perhaps it is my own dear connection to my own sisters, or my father's life-long interest in fruit trees and grafting. There are a lot of reasons for me to love this book, and I hope you'll find your own.

Carry the One by Carol Anshaw

When we're young, there is a part of our brain that is sadly undeveloped. This part tells us that we are invincible - that whatever we do, it will all work out. We don't seem to get the fact that one action(or lack of action), one decision can change the lives of many, many others forever. It is this one, defining minute that defines the characters' lives in Anshaw's Carry the One.

A beautiful wedding, an unexpected mingling of lovers, and a celebration to excess - and then the accident. An accident that two sisters, their brother, and their friends have to cope with, remember, and live (or die) with forever. How can they cope with such an event? How do they get over the guilt? The siblings all try their whole lives, not only to escape, but to atone for the accident in their different ways. One dives into chemicals, one into art and love, and one into protest. Time goes on, life goes on, but can they ever outrun their connected story? Can they ever do the victim justice? Do they deserve to just move on and live their lives, striving for their own happiness?

While this sounds like a really depressing, heavy book full of dark emotions, it is so much more than that. It has humor, too, and the beautiful, realistic writing style that brings these unforgettable characters to life. It's a book that makes you think, and a story that carries you forward. Let me know what you think!

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

From the first page of Khaled Hosseini's new novel, the reader is drawn in and held captive by the beautiful writing and enthralling story filled with wonder, sadness, and impossible choices. A book club friend was kind enough to lend me her advance reader's copy, I could not put it down once I started. I think it will take a high spot on my list of favorite books.

In the opening of the book, we are first entranced by the folktale that is told to a young boy and his sister. The tale tells of a much-feared div or ogre who steals a child and whose father is so torn apart by grief that he devotes his life to finding him. But what he finds at the ogre's mountain is a place far better for his son than the poor home he could provide. Is the beautiful home, riches, and education offered by the ogre better for the boy than the simple love of his father and the sureness of family? Can the father stand to leave his son and sacrifice his love? This becomes the real choice that the storyteller must face. This choice, this time involving a daughter and a rich acquaintance, begins the chain reaction that unfolds into a family saga spreading across the world: Kabul, Paris, San Francisco, and Greece.

If you enjoyed Hosseini's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, then you will not want to miss this one which will be available on May 21, 2013. Please let me know what YOU think!

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

The premise behind this novel is mesmerizing: A woman commits a crime and then goes into hiding for virtually the rest of her life, with only a handful of people knowing the truth. Can she keep the secret forever? Can a criminal redeem  his or her life and be happy and "normal" ever again? Are secrets sometimes necessary or will they always be barriers to true happiness?

CeeCee Wilkes, a 16-year-old impressionable girl who has lost her mother at a very young age, finds herself in love with someone who wants her to help him commit a kidnapping. He has his reasons, which seem noble, and she truly just wants someone to love. When the crime goes wrong and all the perpetrators go into hiding, CeeCee has to create a life that she has no clue how to start, and she must keep secrets about her lover while being separated from him forever.

As I said, there are a lot of great questions explored in this light, easy read in a style I would compare to Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts or the like. While this is not my favorite kind of writing style, there are many things I liked about this book. It was fast-paced, had interesting characters, and as I said above, a dynamite plot premise. Its weaknesses lie in the, what I will call, unbelievable stupidity of the characters and their crime. I do realize that there are stupid crimes committed every day, but sometimes in this novel both the dialog and the characters' motivation seemed a bit contrived and very stilted. The characters often used very overused expressions in their speaking, and the descriptions seemed quite cliched, and I would kind of go, "Ugh, really?" But then the plot would move ahead and keep me engaged. I wanted to find out what happened to these idiots. I wanted to know if the remaining victims of the kidnapping were for real, or if they had some evil elements themselves.

So, if you like some light, general women's fiction with a little mystery thrown in, then this is your ticket. Give it a try and come to our book club to discuss it on May 2nd!

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

Reading two nonfiction titles in a row in our book club maybe wasn't the wisest choice. And in total ignorance, I actually believed this to be a novel when we picked it for our list. Let's just say it would have made a fabulous historical novel. But it is not a novel.

What it is is the true account of a devoted couple in Warsaw, Poland who own a very successful zoo. They are not only devoted to each other but to their son Rys and to each and every animal held within. There are wonderful stories of pigs, badgers, and birds kept as pets in the villa beside the zoo. There are stories of the owners' love of nature and creatures within the painstakingly created habitats. But then World War II takes all of that away. But it also gives the couple, Jan and Antonina Zabinski, a new and dangerous focus: switching from saving the animals to saving Jews trying to flee Poland or simply trying to stay alive during the war. The Zablinskis put themselves in constant danger, using the zoo they loved as a hiding place, a portal, and a refuge.

This is a unique story with intense detail of the natural world, both things that Ackerman is famous for. For a naturalist, a veterinarian, or a very avid gardener perhaps, this would be a great read. For me, someone who has read many, many World War II stories focusing on the holocaust, the book took a wonderful story and bogged it down in needless detail, leaving it bereft of action and the intense emotion that a reader should feel when reading a book about the holocaust.

But my opinion is just one. There were some in our book club who couldn't get through the book, and there were some who absolutely loved it. So, if you really like good nonfiction, please read The Zoo Keeper's Wife and tell me what you think and why you liked it. We'd love to hear your comments!