The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson tells the compelling story of Haley Kincain and her father, Andy, as they deal with his post traumatic stress syndrome following his return from military service in Iraq. A thought-provoking novel about a serious topic and the resiliency of the human spirit.391 pages.

"A to Z" by Marie Sexton

Cute story about the lonely owner of a small movie rental business and the lost and damaged man he hires for help.  Zach Mitchell has been stuck in a rut for the past 10 years first working at then owning a small store that rents DVDs in a small suburb outside of Denver.  His life is safe, boring, and monotonous until he hires a regular customer to help run the shop.  Angelo Green is native American and Italian, abandoned by both parents to the foster care system, and distrustful of everyone.  He's also stuck in a rut working two jobs with no friends, but when he starts working at A to Z video things improve.  When the new owner of the building doubles the rent, Zach must decide if he should take a chance by moving the business to the small town of Coda, CO, and asking Angelo to go with him.

This is not a sequel but takes place in the same world as "Promises," and the main characters from that novel play an important part in the story.  It is told from both Angelo's and Zach's points of view, which I liked since they both have very distinct voices and backgrounds.  I really enjoyed this book and seeing how both Zach and Angelo changed over the course of it.  Some of the funniest parts were with Angelo trying to school Zach on movies, of which he knows very little for a DVD rental store owner.  197 pages (Kindle edition).

"Admit One" by Jenna Hilary Sinclair

Tom Smith is a high school history teacher in the small, west Texas town of Gunning.  He's so deeply in the closet that, even though he's taught there for 15 years, no one in Gunning knows he is gay.  His reasons are two fold.  First, he believes that his career would be ruined, and second, he was the victim of a hate crime many years ago that still affects him deeply.  So when the music teacher asks Tom to help the kids put on the musical Rent, he's terrified that not only will this stir up major trouble for the school and the students, he's also afraid that the homosexuality in it will lead to someone discovering that he is gay.

This was a wonderful and very moving story of a man trying to find the courage to believe that he is worthy of love and acceptance for who he really is.  The hate crime wounded Tom both physically and emotionally, and the reader takes his journey with him as he tries to work through his fears and doubts to be with someone special.  The author does a great job of using Rent as a way for Tom to come to terms with what he wants in life, which is what all of us want - to be loved and accepted for who we are.  Highly recommended but only for open-minded adults.  350 pages (Kindle edition).

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

I didn't think it was possible for me not to like a Louise Penny mystery but I have to say that this was my least favorite installment of the Inspector Gamache series!  I think she worked a little bit too hard to work the title into the storyline?  To be fair there were some very funny bits with Ruth Zardo, the eighty something poet, and her surrogate child, Rosa  the duck, but I think the main purpose of this book was to give the reader some background for the next book in the series.  Read this book for the context and be prepared to be enthralled by Bury Your Dead! 372 pages.

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny

I read the third book of the Inspector Gamache series out of sequence but I still really enjoyed it. I gain little insight from each book.  The message of The cruelest month?-beware the near enemy!  Myrna, the psychologist turned bookstore owner tells Inspector Gamache that a near enemy is a

"psychological concept.  Two emotions that look the same but are actually opposites.  The one parades as the other, is mistaken for the other, but one is healthy and the other's sick, twisted... Attachment masquerades as Love, Pity as Compassion and Indifference as Equanimity." (p.197)

Read the book to find out how this concept plays out in the murder of a much-loved woman and in the life of Inspector Gamache and his team. 311 pages. 

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

In this second outing with Inspector Gamache, a woman is electrocuted while watching a curling match.  Once again Penny manages to mix humor, compassion, and great plotting to unravel the mystery of who killed the woman and why.  I like how she develops the characters and their relationships from one book to the next too! 314 pages.

Doc Dudley's Daughter by Elisabeth Hamilton Friermood

Emmeline Louisa Dudley has just graduated from Harper City High School.  The year is 1898 and the United States is at war with Spain in Cuba.  Friermood manages to weave a subtle understory about the cost of war into the story of a young woman beginning a career as a librarian. I loved the part about moving the old library collection into the town's new Carnegie library. 238 pages.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I didn't want to read this book-something about the author's name being in a larger size font than the title?  Once I started reading it however, I couldn't put it down.  It was like watching 24 hour news coverage of a disaster-I was saddened, sickened even, but I had to stay tuned to find out how it was going to end.  As I read I kept asking myself, "Do people really act this way today?"  I hope not.  419 pages.

Twopence to Cross the Mersey by Helen Forrester

Helen Forrester was the oldest daughter of a family living above its means.  When the Great Depression hit England, her family lost their home and everything they owned. Her father decided that a move to Liverpool would improved their circumstances. Twopence to Cross the Mersey, is Helen Forrester's account of the consequences to the family, and especially to her, of that fateful decision. After reading her story, you will never take hot water and soap for granted again. 405 pages.

Sail by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

Katherine Dunne has the brilliant idea to take some time off from work and go on a sailing expedition with her children to try and bring this dysfunctional family back together. Little does she know that the adventure might wind up blasting them apart - literally.  

If you are looking for something with great depth of character and psychological insight, this isn't it. But, if you are looking for a fast-paced novel designed to entertain and intrigue the reader, this is a good one. 414 pages.

Sweet Tea at Sunrise by Sherryl Woods

Sarah Price is a single mom with low self-esteem working as a waitress to make ends meet. Travis McDonald is a retired ball player with confidence to spare. Travis sees promise in Sarah as both a business and life partner. The challenge is to convince her she is capable of filling both roles and more. Discussion questions provided. 

This is book six in the Sweet Magnolias series. It might help to start at book one since the plot assumes you know about many of the events and relationships that unfolded earlier in the series. 389 pages.