Johnny will do anything to find out what happened to his twin sister Alyssa, who disappeared when they were 12. Johnny’s mother numbs her pain with drugs, while he relentlessly searches for her every single day and night. Events from this small North Carolina town’s past are slowly revealed, and they change everything. I get the feeling that John Hart wants to be as commercial as John Grisham. The only thing holding him back is that his writing in better! Fast, intriguing, and well written.

"Little Bird of Heaven" by Joyce Carol Oates. I know, I know, I can't keep my mouth shut about this book, but I just don't want anyone to miss it. (September 15 release date.) The writing is simply wonderful. Every phrase, every sentence, every word is just exactly the way it should be. With the care Oates takes creating her stunning prose, I am floored by the fact that she has the time to craft rich, full characters as well. This upstate New York tale is told from the point of view of two small town children. One child is going through her parents divorce, following the accusation that her alcoholic father murdered the local temptress, Zoe Kruller. The other is Zoe's son, trying to figure out what life is like when your mother is murdered, and quite possibly by the father of the girl you are in love with. It is lyrical and poetic, without any of the stumbling blocks in tempo that normally come with such writing.

Do not read the jacket description about this book! (It makes it sound sappy and goofy. Well, maybe it is a little bit sappy, but it is too well written to be described that way.) It is a story about decisions that change lives, but it is also heartbreakingly romantic in places. Hoffman’s novels almost always have a supernatural element to them, and this one did too, but it surprised me this time. She remains a favorite.

A fast-paced story of integration, that tugs at the heart strings. Let’s say you have to drive a bleeding white man to the doors of a hospital in 1960, in the south, and you are a 10 year old black boy. Should you deliver him to the “white side” or the “black side” of the hospital? Such are the everyday dilemmas for the people of Revere, Mississippi where race is the ultimate decision maker. With fully realized characters and a wonderful sense of place, Johnson captures the spirit of the small southern town.

Remember “She sells sea shells down by the seashore?” This novel is the story of the woman behind that tongue twister, Mary Anning. In the seaside town of Lyme, just outside of London, fossils and friendships are uncovered. At a time when Jane Austin is in her heyday and the bible is seen as historical fact, fossils don’t exactly fit into fashionable society. The discovery of skeletons from extinct animals, are the cause of scientific furvor and controversy. Mary is right in the middle of it. Mary Anning’s lifelong journey with fossils began as a common way to make ends meet for her family, and gradually developed into a scientific exploration unlike anything the world had seen.

It’s easy to sum this book
up in one word: lovely. Nothing
sensational happens in Rich Boy, which
makes it hard to describe, but I will
try. This is a prime example of solid
writing, rich characters, and the
growth of a character from his
adolescence into adulthood. Robert is
a loveable, but fallible character, and
you root for him until the very end.
Whether he was causing trouble in his
tiny Pennsylvania neighborhood, or
running with the "A-crowd" in college,
I couldn't wait to go back to this book
when I got home to see how the saga
continued. I was engulfed by his world
and transported to the New York and
East Coast every night. Robert wants
to "make something of himself," and
no matter how misguided he may be,
you will want that for him too. Sharon
is a University of Michigan grad, and
has made me a firm believer that
whatever they are doing down there
must be a good thing, because the
writers that come out of that MFA
program are solid storytellers.

Jess Walter has me roaring with "The Financial Lives of the Poets." I can not remember the last book I read that actually made me laugh out loud while reading. All you need to know is in the first chapter. Late 30s, laid off, and 6 days from losing his home, Matt Prior needs a break. He is supposed to go to the 7-11 to get milk for his sons' cereal the following morning. Instead he ends up happily smoking pot with some local college kids, and setting into motion a scheme that will either sink him or save him from the dismal situation in which he finds his life. Contemporary, witty and smart. (Sept. 22, release date)

I read this book in 2004, and I have not read a contemporary novel that I feel so strongly about since. When I got to the ending, I wanted to start over with page 1. The narrative style is reminiscent of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, and there is a sense of place that only Jim Harrison can match. There are some books that capture your heart and you fall in love. This is one of them.

One brutal night changes the lives of two 12 year old twin sisters forever. One of them saw something that made her lose the ability to speak. Shenandoah will protect her mute sister Woody at all costs, but it would be a lot easier if she knew what Woody saw the night their mother disappeared. Their heartbreaking loss would be hard enough, but adding to their troubles is their heavy-drinking, heavy-handed father. A superior court judge. As the story progresses, you can’t help but wonder, “How heavy handed is he?” Shenny is our protagonist and shows incredible strength and humor while dealing with incredible pain. She is full of one liners you will want to remember like, “That boy was so dumb he could fall on the ground and miss.”

Fun and fast, with a straightforward voice, this is a nice romantic comedy with some pretty steamy love scenes. Grace is our witty heroine, suffering with undiagnosed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Every morning begins with a trip to the coffee shop, where she sits in the same seat, has a muffin, and uses the number of poppy seeds on her muffin to determine how many bites she will take to eat the entire muffin. One morning, her table is occupied, and she is forced to sit with, look at, and talk to….Seamus. Jordan has created a wonderful exploration of both the comic and tragic life of someone living with OCD.

Enzo is the charismatic narrator of The Art of Racing in the Rain. He has struggled since his puppyhood with the fact that monkeys got opposable thumbs and dogs did not. It just isn't fair. Why does the canine have a wonderful, imaginative, innovative mind, and not have the physical means to open a refrigerator door? He stays home and watches television while his owner (a down-on-his-luck racecar driver) and family are away. The Weather Channel, we learn, is not about the weather, but about the world. Unfortunately, things get very rough for the family and Enzo is there through the pains of that real world. Just the way a good dog ought to be. The best ending I've read in quite some time.

After reading Tomato Girl, the most accurate phrase I can think of to describe it is heart-wrenching. To watch the ugliness of a mother's mental illness unfold, through the eyes of her 11 year old daughter, is both enlightening and terrifying. When you come out on the other side of this novel, you feel as though you have an understanding of how light can come out of a horribly dark situation. I found Ellie to be an insightful narrator, struggling to understand an adult world that is far from normal. Good for those who liked Southern gothic authors Carson McCullers and Kaye Gibbons.

Clothes you would actually wear, which is a real problem for me when I look through any 'make your own clothes' books. This one has the most great ideas I've seen in one collection. There are darling tops, great tips about sizing, and great dresses for every season. There are two sections I haven't found anywhere else: making t-shirts, and using the clothes you already have to make patterns. The writing is concise, and I can't wait to try it out myself. It's so inspiring, that I now have confidence that this one will keep me from looking like a walking ad for "Don't try this at home."

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a completely engrossing novel set on the plains of Northern Wisconsin. Edgar Sawtelle is a little boy who comes into the world without a voice. But he doesn't need a voice to communicate with his dogs. The Sawtelles raise dogs, not for their withers height or by any other AKC point system. The Sawtelles are looking for something else; character, heart, and a compatibility with people. They find all of this and more in Almondine, Edgar's dog. It is epic. It is heartbreaking. It is wonderful.

A true classic, with the storytelling style of writers like Betty Smith.
Quite frankly, I thought I was going to be uncomfortable with the subject matter, but the story unfolds with such tenderness, I couldn’t help but love it.
The writing is wonderful, the characters are so very true to life, and the narrator is a gentle guide through his vulnerable experiences.
Extraordinary.

"Leo Gursky is trying to survive a little bit longer, tapping his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he's still alive, drawing attention to himself at the milk counter of Starbucks. But life wasn't always like this: sixty years ago, in the Polish village where he was born, Leo fell in love and wrote a book. And although he doesn't know it, that book also survived: it crossed oceans and generations, and changed lives." Fourteen-year-old Alma was named after a character in that book. She has her hands full keeping track of her little brother Bird (who thinks he might be the Messiah) and taking copious notes in her book, How to Survive in the Wild Volume Three. But when a mysterious letter arrives in the mail she undertakes an adventure to find her namesake and save her family.