Louise Penny is a genius! Beautiful and deep the Inspector Gamache series makes me feel like I'm at home. Start with Still Life, A Great Reckoning is the 12th book in the series.

"People like you must create. If you don't create, Bernadette, you will become a menace to society.”

This novel has the mood of Arrested Development and the pacing of a Woody Allen movie. Semple did indeed write for Arrested Development and it shows, quirky and bizarre meet reality in this family tale of Seattle living. Keens, blackberry bushes, one way streets, and Microsoft are all part of the Seattle stew that makes this awesome novel.

Tuck Everlasting
"Don't be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life."

Tuck Everlasting is beautiful and thought provoking. Winnie gets restless and "runs away" into the woods. There she meets a family who change her perspective on the world. Is eternal life a blessing or a curse?

Quick and powerful, much like Kneenock Rise, Natalie Babitt manages to pack a lot of wisdom into little packages.
Lexie 770, Ages 8+

This book is hilarious, heartbreaking, and by the end I absolutely loved Eleanor! Eleanor has been going through her life alone, through a series of small interactions she comes out of her shell and opens herself up to friendship.

There is a dark undercurrent, but the mood of the book is really hopeful. Contains some salty language and excessive drinking. Overall my favorite new read of the year!

What a fun book! This is squarely in the YA category, cute love story, a few misfits, and a little drama. Main character Will Porter decides to transfer from his school for the blind to a regular high school. When an experimental surgery to give him sight becomes a possibility, he has to decide if being able to see is worth the risk of changing who he is.

Content notes: mild swear words, and a small amount of kissing. 670 Lexile, Ages 12+

Death on the Nile: A Hercule Poirot Mystery
"It seems all wrong to me--her looking like that. Money and looks--it's too much!...Got everything, that girl has. Doesn't seem fair..."
Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile

Linnet Ridgeway has it all, and if she doesn't have it yet she can get it. A romantic cruise on the Nile, where evil is lurking just under the surface.

A great vacation/summer read, for anyone who loves a good who done it!

Full of gadgets, man eating squids, and odd characters; Alex Rider is James Bond for kids. This series will appeal to boys who like video games and action movies. With 14 books in the series, it could keep a boy occupied for months!
670 Lexile, Ages 10+

What a fun series for middle grade and tween girls. Creel is sent as a sacrifice to the local dragon in the hopes that she will be rescued by a knight, become rich, and in the process bring the family out of poverty. What unfolds is a surprising tale of friendship and intrigue. This series is a perfect summer binge!

Dragon Slippers 850 Lexile, Ages 8+
Dragon Spear 920 Lexile, Ages 8+
Dragon Flight 870 Lexile, Ages 8+

One of Christie's most famous novels for good reason, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd did not disappoint! The set up in the book is very traditional with a set list of suspects and alibis, and a list of motives that include blackmail and a will. However, the ending is WOW!

"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him."
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

"Oh, I am delighted with the book! I should like to spend my whole life in reading it."
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

This was the first Austen I read, it was assigned reading in a romantic literature class I took in college. Needless to say I was hooked! Because of Northanger Abbey's comic and satirical tone, as well as the short length, it is a great place to start if you have never read Austen.