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 My Name Is Mary Sutter Robin Oliveira Viking Books $26.95 | My Name Is Mary Sutter This compelling story of Civil War medicine as seen through the eyes of a young midwife desperate to become a surgeon, will keep you riveted until the last page. Mary is a remarkable character willing to endure anything to keep her patients alive and to learn everything she can while enduring the horrors of war. |
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake Aimee Bender Doubleday Books $25.95 | The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake The cover looks like a light summer read, and in a way it is, but it is much more thoughtful and beautifully written than that. On the night before her ninth birthday Rose discovers she can taste the emotions of the people who prepare her food, and is so overwhelmed by her mother's misery she has to stop eating her cooking. How do you go on being ordinary when you know so much about the people in your life? This is a magical story of a girl maturing into wisdom and acceptance while continuing to be unassuming and loving. |
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 Raven Stole the Moon Garth Stein Haper Paperbacks $14.99 | Raven Stole the Moon Garth Stein Fans, it's time to celebrate! His first novel is back in print! How does a couple heal after the death of a child? On impulse Jenna takes off to the site of the accident two years after the tragedy, leaving Robert bewildered and hurt. Suddenly Jenna is running for her life and dealing with scary things she doesn't understand. This book will keep you hooked until the last page with its mystical story based on Tinglit mythology and contemporary relationships--not to mention a PI's assistant you'll hope you never meet! |
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All Roads Lead Me Back to You Kennedy Foster Pocket Books $15.00 | All Roads Lead MeBack to You Who'd have thought the story of a woman running a ranch in eastern Washington would be such a page-turner! It's wide range of charcters draws y into the world of bone-tired, self- reliant Alice Andison as she faces daily challenges--including a daring blizzard rescue. Don't miss this satisfying novel of growth, self-discovery, and insight into the meaning of cultures. And why is the red car lurking? |
Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese Vintage Books USA $15.95 | Cutting for Stone Reading this huge, tightly structured novel feels as real as reading a memoir of a fascinating life begun precariously as a twin in Africa. With its depictions of daily life in an Ethiopian hospital compound, third-world medicine, and violent politics--much of it from a child's viewpoint--and always filled with wonderful thoughts and conversations--this story of a son from an unusual extended family is so much more than a family saga or coming-of-age novel. It will have you reading just one more page, and then another. You won't want to leave this mesmerizing world. |
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The Forgotten Garden Kate Morton Washington Square Press $15.00 | The Forgotten Garden This book has a wonderful feeling. It reminded me a little of the way it felt to read The Thirteenth Tale. It is an engrossing story of family, abandonment, great love, and a search for home. As Nell and then her granddaughter, Cassandra, search for the answers to the mystery of Nell's life we travel back and forth from England to Australia and from the early 1900's to the present time, seeing the world through Nell's and her family's eyes until we learn along with Cassandra why Nell was abondoned on a ship about to leave London for Australia. In the process Nell finds peace and Cassandra repairs her shattered life--and the garden is brought into its former glory. |
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The Gargoyle Andrew Davidson Anchor Books $15.00 | The Gargoyle This unusual book is part magical realism, part historical novel, and like nothing you've ever read. It is the story of a love so powerful and persistant it lasts through centuries. |
The Horse Boy: A Memoir of Healing Rupert Isaacson Back Bay Books $15.99 | The Horse Boy: A Memoir of Healing A trip to Mongolia would never occur to most of us as a solution to a problem, but it did to Rupert Isaacson, and he had the good sense to take us along for the journey. You'll feel as if you've actually met the open-hearted people and the beautiful horses as the Isaacsons take their son on a quest for healing from the pain of severe autism. |
The Lace Makers of Glenmara Heather Barbieri Harper Perienniel $14.99 | The Lace Makers of Glenmara To move on from the disasters in her life: her mother just died, her latest fashion line flopped, and her boyfriend took off with her runway model, Kate goes on the vacation to Ireland she and her mother had planned. This lovely, warm story of village life will make you want to move to Ireland and learn to make traditional lace with the women of Glenmara. |
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Love Walked In Marisa de los Santos Plume Books $14.00 
Belong to Me Marisa de los Santos Harper Paperbacks $14.99 | Cornelia Brown Series Marisa de los Santos returns us to the best parts of childhood by taking us inside the minds of two wonderful children: Clare, a sen- sitive girl with a huge capacity for forgiveness, and Dev (one of my favorite fictional characters ever), a young genius with a wisdom most of us only hope to achieve. By revealing the hearts of these two special children Marisa reminds us of our best selves and our own capacity for caring. These warm, human books will stay with you to comfort you on your worst days. |
 Major Pettigrew's Last Stand Helen Simonson Random House $25.00 | Major Pettigrew's Last Stand Major Pettigrew is that character in an English novel who is someone's husband or widower who occasionally comes to tea or the fete, but is usually off playing golf or at home puttering. This time he gets to be center stage and we have the delight of getting to know him. What a deeply satiffying story of a quintessential Engliish village turned topsy-turvy when a stereotypical character grows into the person he was meant to be! |
 My Life in Pink and Green Lisa Greenwald Amulet Books $16.95 | My Life in Pink and Green The title got me--my favorite color combination had to be a good book! Lucy Desberg is a spunky twelve-year-old who is determined that her family is not going to lose their house because Mom and Grandma can't seem to make Grandpa's pharmacy pay. Using her creativity--including writing a grant with the help of her sister away at college, doing research, requesting help from sympathetic adults, Lucy finds ways to make money that just might work. You'll share Lucy's hope and determination, frustrations, embarrassing moments, and triumphs. At the end you will feel like you've had the priviledge of being her best friend. |
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 Passion on the Vine: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Family in the Heart of Italy Sergio Esposito Broadway Books $14.95 | If you love food, wine, or Italy, you have to read this book. This is the people's wine book--no intricate rating systems or incomprehensible taste descriptions--just conversations about growing grapes, making wine, and eating marvelous food. The book is filled with odd characters, the warmth of family, and the joy of living--you really can't live without this book! (At least I can't!) |
The Postmistress Sarah Blake Amy Einhorn Books $25.95 | The Postmistress This one of those books... one that is so real and so beautifully written, it is pure magic. When I picked it up to skim bits to write this I found myself immediately caught up in whatever page I happened to open and I didn't want to stop reading. Writing with this kind of grace and clarity is priceless. |
Princess for Hire (Princess for Hire, No. 1) Lindsey Leavitt Hyperion Books $16.99 | Princess for Hire Imagine you are given the opportunity to substitute for any princess anywhere in the world who needs someone to fill in for her--the catch is that you know almost nothing about the princesses you impersonate. You can imagine the hilarious situations that can result.... This debut novel (and first in a series) is utterly delightful and full of heart. You'll root for Desi, who is perfect for the job, as she breaks all the rules in order to to survive and improve the lives of her royal employers. But the real question is: Would you want her job? Be sure to check out the Web site. |
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Seedfolks Paul Fleischman HarperTrophy $5.99 | This is a book about hope in an unlikely place, about the power of nature to overcome the damage done by greed and neglect, and about the gift humans have to transform their lives when they learn to care for each other. |
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The Summer Book Tove Jansson New York Review of Books $14.00 | It's back in print! This lovely story of a six-year-old grandaughter's summer with her eccentric grandmother is a perfect book to share with a loved one. Set on an island in the Gulf of Finland, Jansson's writing is filled with sensuous images of vegetation, rocks, and the sea. You may know Jansson as the author f the popular Moomintroll comic strip and books for children. |
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The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield Washington Square Press $15.00 | Everybody in our book club rated this a "10"--one of the favorite books we've ever read. We stayed up too late, arrived at work late, and didn't want it to end. A gothic mystery like no other. The book has a stunning Web site |