After a wonderful week spent in San Antonio at the Texas Library Association conference, my shelves are groaning with advance reading copies (ARCs) of adult books and autographed children’s and young adult books. Some have a Texas connection, and I share them with you.
Florrie is a positive person, and though she is 87, has had one leg amputated and has moved to a care home, she is generally cheerful. When one of the residents has an accident and dies, she becomes a bit suspicious, and when the manager takes a header out of a third floor window, she begins to wonder if there is a murderer in their midst. The Night in Question (Susan Fletcher, Union Square & Co., 2024, 374 pages, $28.99) explores the six loves of Florrie’s life while keeping the reader on pins and needles as to what the secret is that changed her life. The interactions of the other residents run the gamut of the types you would expect to find in a group of older folks.
A Wedding in Lake Como
Jennifer Probst, Berkley, 2024, 383 pages, $18
Three young women meet their freshman year in college and form a strong bond of friendship. Ava is the queen bee whom everyone wants to be around. Maddie is unsure and feels unloved as she was told by her parents they never wanted her and acted like it. Chelsea is the rock, knowing exactly what she wants for her future. As the years go by the friends are always there for each other, but Ava — wealthy and manipulative — always seem to get her way. The friendship is shattered when Ava does something unforgivable and it takes A Wedding in Lake Como (Jennifer Probst, Berkley, 2024, 383 pages, $18) to bring the three back together to see if they can overcome the trauma. Told from the point of view of Maddie, it is a thoughtful examination of what it takes to succeed and whether the success is worth it. The descriptions of her time in Italy are beautifully rendered and will make you want to visit the environs of Lake Como.
Looking for a new author of thrillers with a smidgen of the supernatural? The Hunter’s Daughter (Nicola Solvinic, Berkley, 2024, 384 pages, $28) is a debut novel that will have you chewing your nails. Anna is a detective lieutenant who has killed a man in the line of duty. But her response to it disturbs her and she calls her therapist. It is revealed that her memories of the past have been sealed and she is the daughter of a serial killer. As her memories come back, she wonders if she has taken his place, as three new bodies have been found. Her father believed in Veles, the Forest God and killed to sacrifice to him. Finding the truth is harrowing.
The life of a spy is often made to seem glamorous, but the truth is something else. Isla Vulnerable (Ivan Luis Hernandez with Victoria Petelin, Wise Ink, 2023, 380 pages, $24.95) is a novel based on the actual life of the author’s father, a Cuban exile who worked for the CIA. The son of a struggling family in Cuba, he is adopted by a judge who is high in the Batista regime. The book provides a realistic look into the revolution in Cuba and how “Victor” tried to fight for his country by aiding the CIA. The searing personal reflections on his past and the toll being a spy takes on his family are wonderfully rendered. Personal family photos with actual names tied to the people in the novel add to the book. The Ezequiel Hernandez Collection of photos and personal papers has been added to the University of Miami’s Cuban Heritage Collection.
The House on Biscayne Bay
Chanel Cleeton, Berkley, 2024, 336 pages, $18
World War I is over, and entrepreneurs are flocking to Florida hoping to make a killing in real estate in The House on Biscayne Bay (Chanel Cleeton, Berkley, 2024, 336 pages, $18). Marbrisa is an amazing mansion built by one such man, ostensibly as a present for his wife. Anna, however, feels the house is haunted and would rather be in the Northeast with their friends. Their life ends in tragedy and the house sits in ruins until a wealthy couple buys and restores it. In 1941, Carmen leaves Cuba to live with her sister in the house, and the saga of tragedy continues. The story of the two unrelated couples is actually tied together by a surprising ending that comes as a shock. I read this one in one sitting!
With so many books for youth mired in angst, it is a pleasure to read a book that while dealing with reality does not leave you feeling down. Eleven-year-old Sophia has a true best friend, Sophie Gershowitz, who is 88. They are very much alike and love and loathe the same things. When Sophia overhears a conversation that Sophie’s son might be moving her to another state because she is becoming forgetful, Sophia vows to prove she is okay. Using the Merck Manual, she practices all of the tests Sophie will face at the doctor’s. Tree. Table. Book. (Lois Lowry, Clarion Books, 2024, 194 pages, $18.99), told from Sophia’s viewpoint, is filled with humor and pathos. The tests evoke memories of Sophie’s childhood in Europe during the war, which she has never told anyone. But the day-to-day events are quite funny and childlike. A winner of a story.
Ferris
Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick Press, 2024, 240 pages, $18.99
Ferris has a rather unique family. Her sister is a terror, her uncle is living in the basement, and Charisse, her grandmother, is seeing a ghost. Oh, and she was born under a ferris wheel. When Charisse asks Ferris (Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick Press, 2024, 240 pages, $18.99) to acquire 40 candles to light the chandelier in their home so the ghost can find her husband, it is just one of the zany events in the book. And as Charisse says, it is a love story.
Bridge to Bat City
Ernest Cline, Little, Brown and Co., 2024, 315 pages, $17.99
Treat yourself to a delightful tall tale of how the bats came to reside under the Congress Street Bridge in Austin. Thirteen-year-old Opal must go to live with her uncle when her mother passes. The Flat family has a wide streak of weird, so when they lose their farm they move to Austin where weird is appreciated. However, Opal has befriended a colony of bats that has had their cave home destroyed and they must move too. Opal can communicate with them after a visit by a UFO (OK, just hang in there!). Bridge to Bat City (Ernest Cline, Little, Brown and Co., 2024, 315 pages, $17.99) is a tribute to Austin in the early 1980s and includes a wide array of music, musicians and other notables. It is funny and would be a good family or school read-aloud.
The third book in the Best Wishes series is set in Fort Worth. Time After Time (Sarah Mlynowski and Christina Soontornvat, Scholastic Press, 2023, 169 pages, $15.99) is a take-off of the Groundhog Day film. Lucy’s class is taking a field trip to the natural history museum, where her father works. She expects the day to be perfect, and it turns out to be far from that. When a package with a bracelet in it appears on her porch, Lucy is told it is magic and she has one wish. Of course, she wishes for a do-over of the day, and each iteration gets worse. She and some friends finally solve the problem, Lucy grows up a bit, and her perfect day, though different, happens.
When we think of shells we most often think of a beach. But, A Shell Is Cozy (Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long, Chronicle Books, 2023, 40 pages, $18.99) opens our world to the plethora of shells to be found in every environment. Not only do we learn about the shells but about the creatures that inhabit them and the places where they can be found. The lyrical text provides knowledge that shells are protective and can be sharp, spiny, athletic, hungry or numerous other things. The gorgeous illustrations make one want to be a collector, but only of shells that are empty!
The Lost Forest: An Unexpected Discovery Beneath the Waves
Jennifer Swanson, Millbrook Press, 2024, 56 pages, $33.32
Who says there is nothing new under the sun? The Lost Forest: An Unexpected Discovery Beneath the Waves (Jennifer Swanson, Millbrook Press, 2024, 56 pages, $33.32) reveals the discovery and research into a cypress forest discovered miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Alabama. The author traveled with the research team and with text and photographs details the discoveries and research. Text boxes contain explanations of the scientific work and QR codes allow the reader to explore with the teams. This is a superb book for anyone interested in science and discoveries of the unknown!
Having just visited the wonderful Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, I was drawn to The Wildlife Watching Encyclopedia (Laura Perdew, ABDO, 2024, 192 pages, $34.95). Everything you need to know about this endeavor includes a definition, gear to have, etiquette, times and locations, finding and identifying animals, and safety (don’t be one of those idiots who think they can pet a bison or elk). Outstanding photos accompany clear writing and text boxes provide interesting questions. The book is perfect for taking on vacations as well as reading at home.
Meeting Minda Dentler was truly an honor. She is The Girl Who Figured it Out (Minda Dentler, pictures by Stephanie Dehennin, Sourcebooks Explore, 2024, 48 pages, $18.99), a wheelchair athlete who became the first woman wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii. Born in India and stricken with polio, her mother allowed her to be adopted by an American couple to give her a better chance at life. Constantly encouraged by her adoptive father to “Just figure it out,” she learned to walk, play the piano, take chances and even interned at the White House. Becoming an athlete was her next goal, and she succeeded through many trials, failure and persistence. The repetitive sentence, “Afterward, I was stronger, I was smarter, I was more confident!” is a motto to embrace.
Reuniting with an old friend brought me a Welcome to the Wonder House (Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Georgia Heard, illustrated by Deborah Freedman, WordSong, 2023, 40 pages, $18.99). This house contains 12 rooms filled with 29 poems. From curiosity to nature, to mystery and other clever topics, the poems stimulate the imagination and the illustrations are perfectly in sync. My favorite is about paper, which is why I want to hold a book when reading.
A love of language led Fort Worth author, Teresa Argenbright, to create a rollicking book of nonsense verse about two sisters who have many adventures with a menagerie of friends. Charlotte & Penelope and Their Magical Menagerie (Teresa Argenbright, illustrated by Dan McGeehan, Brown Books Kids, 2024, 32 pages, $16.99) is imaginative, and the rhyming text will make a great read-aloud.
A Caldecott Honor illustrator/author has created a humorous tale of the adventures of a dog and cat on their way home from a day out. Two Together (Brendan Wenzel, Chronicle Books, 2024, 48 pages, $18.99) are almost home when a toad leads them astray and a bear scares them to run until they are lost. Finally arriving home, they are safe until tomorrow’s adventure!
If I could give every child a gift, it would be the gift of imagination. Two-time winner of the Caldecott Award, Sophie Blackall creates an escapade of the imagination by turning a living room rug into the ocean and becoming captain of a ship. Mom goes along with it and the two have several close calls with marine inhabitants. Ahoy! (Sophie Blackall, Anne Schwartz Books, 2024, 48 pages, $19.99) proves you do not have to have expensive toys to have a wonderful time.
