Marilla of Green Gables, A Novel by Sarah McCoy

  Marilla of Green Gables, A Novel by Sarah McCoy. William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, 2018. Adult fiction.

If you are a lover of all things Anne of Green Gables and Avonlea, run to the nearest bookshop for this glorious prequel! Marilla and Matthew are growing up on the island with their parents, Hugh and Clara.  Faithful readers of Anne's story will enjoy McCoy's story of life on the island, the little school, Aunt Izzy's visit to help care for the family during Clara's pregnancy and its aftermath, and the blossoming of Marilla into the woman she becomes. This new story answers some of the questions left unanswered in the Anne stories. All the sites are there with gorgeous descriptions and the novel makes a wonderful armchair vacation. 

The Dying of the Light: A Novel by Robert Goolrick

 The Dying of the Light: A Novel by Robert Goolrick. Harper, 2018. Adult fiction. Advanced Reading Copy, publication July, 2018.

Author of The Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick has written another fascinating novel with a mysterious woman as its main character. Diana Cooke has lived among luxury her whole life. Her education and upbringing have been spared nothing. The goal is for her to marry an incredibly wealthy husband who can save the largest and most beautiful estate in Virginia, Saratoga. The truth is that the money has run out and Diana is her parents' best and last hope.

Diana marries Captain Copperton, a shady character who has money, but no manners, no education, and is cruel and mean spirited. Years go by and the novel really heats up when their son, Ashton, comes home from college with his roommate, Gibby. (Gibson Fitzgerald Cavenaugh, got to love all these Southern names!) Secondary characters like librarian Lucius Walter and decorator Rose de Lisle add spice to the story as they move in to complete restoration projects.  Nothing is as it seems as Ashton spends his father's fortune trying to make Saratoga the showplace it has been the past. An only child herself, Diana is the focus of past, present, and future. While details like coddled eggs, Zuber wallpaper, and Murano chandeliers paint a gorgeous picture, the novel is character driven and well worth the time readers will invest in it. Goolrick mastefully foreshadows the conclusion, but readers will enjoy getting there. Pack this one in your bag for summer vacation!

The Jane Austen Project: A Novel by Kathleen A. Flynn

 The Jane Austen Project: A Novel by Kathleen A. Flynn. Harper Perennial, 2017. Time Travel/Historical Fiction.

   When Rachel and Liam go back in time to try and retrieve documents that will help modern researchers know more about Jane Austen, things get out of hand. Rachel is a medical doctor who diagnoses Jane's illness and suggests treatment. She rescues a small chimney sweeper's helper. She and Liam are posing as brother and sister, but her feelings are far more than sisterly. They have been well trained about the era, people, and events, but who can really be ready for such an adventure? Will their actions change time? What if they can't get back to their own time? What if Jane Austen finds out their secrets? A rip roaring fantasy with authentic details and believable characters, the novel will delight fans of Austen and time travelers alike.

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.