Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo

Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo. Candlewick, 2018. Review from Advanced Reading Copy. Children's fiction.

With the publication of Raymie Nightingale, DiCamillo introduced readers to Louisiana Elefante, daughter of a trapeze duo, who lives with her grandmother. This new novel is Louisiana's story. When her grandmother rushes her into the car and takes off, Louisiana is hurt, puzzled, and angry. Along the way, however, kind strangers help and Louisiana finds new strengths within herself. A new friend, Burke Allen, and his family in a small Georgia town open their hearts to Louisiana. Told with humor, ever unique plot twists, and the types of quirky characters that readers have come to expect from Kate DiCamillo, the novel will touch readers' hearts AND their funny bones.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

 The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware. Scout Press, 2018. Review of Advanced Reader Copy. Adult mystery.

Ware's latest mystery begins like an Agatha Christie tale with a young woman named Harriet and an unexpected letter about a possible inheritance. Harriet, known as Hal, works as a fortune teller and Tarot card reader in a kiosk on the Brighton pier. Her mother died in a recent car accident, the bills are mounting up, and an unscrupulous loan shark is after Hal. Hal is certain that they must have the wrong heir, but she decides to investigate and maybe even get a bit of money to help out.

But, the family that she discovers: Harding and Mitzi and their children, Harding's brothers, Abel and Ezra, and the huge house and gardens are far beyond Hal's imagination. Mrs. Westaway has died and left old Mrs. Warren, the housekeeper, in charge. Mrs. Warren makes Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca look kind! Was Maud, the only daughter really related to Hal? Why happened to Maud to make her leave years ago? How was Maud's friend, Maggie, connected to the family? Will Hal ever figure things out? Or is Hal really in danger as she has begun to believe?

As usual, Ware fills her novel with twisty happenings, people who don't always tell the truth,  and a convoluted plot.  Also, try The Woman in Cabin 10 for suspense at sea if you enjoy Ware's writing.

Becoming Madeleine by Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Lena Roy

  Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by her Granddaughters by Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Lena Roy. Farrar Straus Giroux (Macmillan), 2018. Biography/Children's.

Using family records, diaries, photographs, and stories, the authors have put together a loving tribute to their own grandmother, the famed author of both children's and adult books. Madeleine L'Engle knew early that she wanted to be a writer and make her mark on the world with her words. She was talented and determined, practicing her craft and not taking rejection personally. Of course, these women remember a loving grandmother, but the book is really about Madeleine's younger life and is appropriate for both children's and young adult readers. It tells about Madeleine L'Engle's younger writing and follows her early successes. Madeleine's life was not all sunshine, but she used her writing to make sense of the world and to give hope to her characters and her family, too.

Maiden Voyage: A Titanic Story by Sarah Jane.

Maiden Voyage: A Titanic Story by Sarah Jane. Review of Advanced Reader Copy. Forthcoming from Scholastic, 2018. Historical fiction/Middle grade fiction.

Three young women find themselves on RMS Titanic's maiden voyage, but their situations are very different. Isabella James is rushed out of the only home she has known by people she has known as her parents with only a packed case, a letter, and instructions to read the letter only when the great ship docks. Of course, she is distraught and reads the letter. She learns that her real parents are on the ship. Lucy is on the ship with her beloved, but ill, mother and her difficult and untrustworthy father. They sail with their servant Abigail who has recently lost her own mother and assumed her mother's job with the family. All three girls have their own secrets, not the least of which is Abigail's little brother who she has sneaked onboard!

Readers familiar with the White Star line and the historical events surrounding the disaster of April, 1912 will enjoy this well written novel. In different classes, the sights and sounds, foods and rooms are as different as the brave and determined young women.  Some of the characters they meet are actual people, others are imagined characters who move the story along to its dramatic conclusion.

Blue Window by Adina Rishe Gewirtz

 Blue Window by Adina Rishe Gewirtz. Candlewick Press, 2018. Young adult/dystopian fantasy.

As thick as any Harry Potter, this novel about five siblings is one that lovers of fantasy will gladly carry in their backpacks. When the characters fall through a blue window one December night, they arrive in a very different world where it is summer. They find strange people in this world run by a weird genius. They feel the danger and want to get out. But,  they are unable to trust anyone but themselves as danger lies all around them. Max, Jean, Kate, Nell, and Susan must discover skills and gifts that they never imagined they have in order to just survive.

Keep Her Safe by Sophie Hannah

   Keep Her Safe by Sophie Hannah. William Morrow (HarperCollins), 2017. Adult Mystery/Thriller.

  Cara Burrows, a pregnant mom, escapes her family and goes to a spa resort in the Southwestern USA. When she checks in, she is sent to the wrong room. Only later does she realize that the young woman she saw in the wrong room is a teenaged Melody Chapa. Melody is America's most famous murder victim. Is Cara hallucinating? Could Melody possibly be alive? What about Melody's parents who are in prison for killing her? Thus, begins this twisty thriller. The plot is unique, the characters intriguing. With Melody's neighbors and friends all weighing in and big name reporters and lawyers involved, a lot is at stake. Where is Melody? Who is telling the truth?