The Strangers

by Naomi Alderman

Little, Brown and Company/ Hachette Book Group

      This is not the usual Alderman tale.  There is a fantastical element, but this is a disturbing book about grief, death, unending sorrow and how badly most of us deal with it. The strangers are a small empathetic animal that is dealt with as is common with humans' reactions to things we don't understand. That is, badly. This is beautifully written and not an easy book, but worth your time.

If you would like to know more about, or own any of these books, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.

Stealing Saint Nick: A Legendary Corpse, a Notorious Theft, and the Stories that Shape the World

by M.T.Anderson

Dutton Books for Young Readers/PRH

     You don't have to be a "young reader" to love this book and learn a great deal from it.  Anderson tackles hard questions of religion, war and Santa Claus without ever being too critical, or naive. There is much to learn and wonder about the years from 300AD forward and what to make of how far we have and haven't come since then.

    And yes, this is a very good companion to Anderson's (much funnier) novel Nicked. You'll want to read them both.

If you would like to know more about, or own any of these books, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.

Where Late The Sweet Birds Sang

by Kate Wilhelm

Gateway/Hachette

  This is brilliantly written and thus terrifying. The ecological disaster is too close for comfort and you need only substitute AI for cloning to be genuinely frightened. Still, the characters are very well drawn and it does end with hope. It was written in 1976!

If you would like to know more about, or own any of these books, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.

Dey: a Novel

by Edwidge Danticat

Knopf/PRH

    A Haitian mother living in Miami is in a mall  when a mass shooting occurs. It takes her several days to be able to tell anyone that she experienced this. In Haiti, her parents have a sudden medical emergency and come to her home as soon as they can travel. The wounded family comes together to find strength but the reality of never returning to Haiti is very hard to accept. This is beautifully written and so sad.

    It is very hard to read without thinking of the fear, pain and confusion of the Haitians that the U.S. President is forcing to return to a very dangerous place. 

If you would like to know more about, or own these books, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.

The Neverfear (Book 3 of Impossible Creatures)

by Katherine Rundell

Knopf Books for Young Readers

  If you haven't read the first two in this series, do go back to Impossible Creatures and The Poisoned King. Every part of this series is amazing, but it does help to start at the beginning. Glimouria is a world not like our own - peopled with amazing, strange  and sometimes deadly creatures - but with many of the same needs - friendships, family, trust and bravery.

  This is listed for ages 10 and up but it is a great place for us "up"s  to avoid our world and imagine how it could be.

If you would like to know more about, or own these books, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.