Bumblebee Season by Eileen Garvin

BUMBLEBEE SEASON by Eileen Garvin (Crow Talk) is the sequel to her debut novel The Music of Bees. She provides an update on the progress that wheelchair-bound Jake Stevenson is accomplishing with his bee hives and Queen of G Honey business located near the Hood River in Oregon. But there is much more to the story as Garvin introduces us to other characters. One is Abigail Elizabeth Plue, a young teaching assistant at the local university; she is interested in insects and nature, but she has difficulty with self-regulation and cooperating with others, resulting in a transfer to study bees. Flaco (“skinny”) is the nickname of Sebastian Santiago Luna Lopez; he’s only fourteen and has been sent North (entering the US without papers) by his mother to keep him away from the cartel in his hometown. Along with Jake, each is struggling with personal issues and rejection by a loved one, but Garvin unites them through a shared desire to protect the environment and a growing respect and care for each other. Belonging and community are key ideas in this book which she has dedicated to “anyone who’s ever longed for home.” BUMBLEBEE SEASON received a starred review from Booklist (“Undoubtedly inspired by her own experiences as an Oregon beekeeper, Garvin is a master at creating hive-like communities vibrating with characters readers will enthusiastically embrace.”).

Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe

STAY FOR A SPELL by Amy Coombe is a cute, cozy fantasy that received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Library Journal. The main character in this debut novel is a princess, Tandy (Tanadelle de Courcy, fourth in line for the throne of the Widdenmar), who loves books and reading, but whose sense of duty keeps her on the road for most of the year. She falls under a curse and gets trapped in a bookstore while travelling in her royal role. Her parents arrange for the seven princes of the Shining Realm to try to break the curse with a kiss. Each arrival offers some amusing diversion, but, for me, the story moved too slowly. I was curious instead to see the relationship between Tandy and Bash, a pirate cursed with fear of water, develop. That took quite a while and meanwhile, two local teens worked with Tandy to rebrand and revitalize the bookstore. I agree with Booklist that teen readers may find those characters and even Tandy to be relatable. Overall, however, I would have preferred a faster pace and a chance to see Tandy make more of her own decisions and really grow. Interested readers should also look for titles like Travis Baldree’s Bookshops & Bonedust or Julie Leong’s The Teller of Small Fortunes.

Does My Child Need me to Lead or to Follow?

DOES MY CHILD NEED ME TO LEAD OR TO FOLLOW? by Claudia Schwarzlmüller is an international best-seller which covers “A Radically Simple Way to Parent Children from Infancy Through Age 6.” Schwarzlmüller is a child psychologist with over twenty years of experience. Her tone is wonderful – calm, compassionate, nonjudgmental, and definitely striving to represent the child’s viewpoint. For example, in the Your Toddler section, she describes behavior which is SO familiar (e.g., a toddler “loves taking things out and putting them away”… and “needs to repeat behaviors many times in order to learn … repetition is the name of the game”). She discusses thinking and playing (when a child “learns about objects by putting them in his mouth, banging them against something else, studying, turning, rubbing, or throwing them”), as well as feelings and relationships, movement, and speech. To me (a relatively new grandmother), the insights Schwarzlmüller offers are spot-on, valuable and actionable (e.g., she lists a series of play schemas and what your child learns from practice like Positioning (a sense of length, height, distance), Transforming, Connecting, Enveloping, Transporting, Dividing/Scattering (geometry/math, quantity, shapes, volume), Sorting, Filling, and Orientation). She writes about allowing your child to lead (“give them the freedom to try things out and as much free time to play as possible”), but also notes, “Children need to find their bearings and to feel safe. You are the missing partner in this social dance if you don't assume your role in moments of leading. Your child is searching for balance between moments of leading and moments of play, just like the rest of us.” Additional parts of the book deal with Your Baby, From Toddler to Preschooler, From Preschooler to Kindergartener to First Grader, plus introductory material, a list of references, and further reading suggestions. Publishers Weekly called this text “a valuable resource for parents of young children [in which] research-based insight meets practical guidance.” I heartily concur and I am highly recommending DOES MY CHILD NEED ME TO LEAD OR TO FOLLOW?

One Plate at a Time by Demi Lovato

ONE PLATE AT A TIME by Demi Lovato is subtitled “Recipes for Finding Freedom with Food” and, in addition to 80 recipes, contains comments and recommended reading related to the prolific singer’s struggles with bulimia and “disordered eating habits.” The recipes are grouped by fives (e.g., Perfect Pastas, Winner-Winner Chicken Dinners, and 15-Minute Dinners) then linked to a category like Dinners (or Midday Meals or Something Sweet or Rise and Shine!). Not every recipe has a picture, but most do, and the ones that are there are colorful and appealing, plus many others feature Demi Lovato. The recipes contain common ingredients and relatively simple instructions, although there is no nutrition information. I am looking forward to experimenting with some like Sesame Noodles, Curried Chicken Salad, or Cheesy Mac. Library Journal describes ONE PLATE AT A TIME this way: “Although many of these dishes are familiar, this inspiring cookbook is a definite buy and deserves a spot on any bookshelf, both for the recipes and Lovato's inspiring story.”

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Dixon

THE INFINITE SADNESS OF SMALL APPLIANCES by Glenn Dixon is a relatively short (224 pages) but impactful tale that will make readers think, particularly about artificial intelligence and humankind’s relationships with machines. Set in the future, much of the story is told from the perspective of Scout, a young, but advanced model of a vacuum cleaner (like Roomba) who resides at the home of an older couple, Harold and Edie Winters. Scout is a curious and courageous soul (if machines can be said to have souls) who has chosen her name because of listening to Harold read To Kill a Mockingbird to Edie who has a terminal illness. As with any death, changes are necessary and painful. Scout appears to develop empathy for Harold, his daughter Kate, and the young neighbor boy, Adrian, who was a piano student of Edie’s. They all must learn to trust each other and the other sentient machines like Auto, Fridge, Clock and Watch. It is not easy to battle the overarching and controlling Grid which appears to have no feelings at all. Booklist sums it up well: “The plot is tender and suspenseful as Scout begins to grasp love, grief, and resistance.” Definitely Recommended. Book groups, too, would enjoy discussing THE INFINITE SADNESS OF SMALL APPLIANCES.

The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke

THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF by Evelyn Clarke is a locked room mystery of sorts, taking place on a private island where a half dozen authors have been invited for a long weekend. One of them could earn a million or two along with a contract for future books if able to complete the last manuscript of best-selling author Arthur Fletch. Each brings a unique perspective and mid-level talent to the task: Cate Newhouse (young and unpublished); Priscilla Fox (romance writer); Jaxon Knight (science fiction/fantasy); Kenzo Gray (horror); Millie Mitchell (young adult) and the married team, Sienna and Malcom, who write mystery thrillers as Penn Stonely. At first, these writers grudgingly try to get to know each other and bond over a difficult task, but then the deaths start, danger threatens, and the pace quickens. Exploring the frustrations and joys of the writing life (“The magic, and the mystery, the alchemy of it all, the way you can build something out of nothing, a shared idea that goes from living in your head to living in everyone else's”),  THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF received starred reviews from Library Journal (“a smart satire of the publishing industry”) and Publishers Weekly. It was a LibraryReads selection for April 2026. Readers would likely also enjoy titles such as The Eighth Detective, The Mystery Writer or The Magpie Murders. By the way, Evelyn Clarke is a “ghost-writer” of sorts, being the pen name for a collaboration between two well-known authors (Cat Clarke and V. E. Schwab). Have fun sleuthing!

Often, I enjoy listening to audiobooks, but this title has the difficult and complicated task of introducing several writers and their genres. The narration quality from Fiona Hardingham was fine, but I found the audiobook to be confusing and much harder to follow than reading the text.

The Name Game by Beth O'Leary

THE NAME GAME by Beth O'Leary (The Switch, The Road Trip and others) is a cute, if confusing, story. Two people with the same name – Charlie Jones – show up to manage a farm store on a remote island named Ormer. Each so desperately craves a fresh start (“It’s so tiring. Trying to be what I think other people think I should be.”) that they agree to share the managerial responsibilities for the summer. The island doesn’t allow motorized vehicles and sports a cohesive local community filled with eccentric characters (like the doctor who is also a fabulous baker). Readers gradually learn parts of the Charlie Jones back stories (e.g., about a former girlfriend and boyfriend), but there is a lot to track and sharing a name doesn’t help. Emotions, especially romance and anxiety, run rampant and readers may, like one of the characters, ask themselves, “When did everything get so messy? It’s all lies and secrets and people pretending to be things they’re not.” An engaging story, but one that is hard to follow, especially at the end, THE NAME GAME is an April 2026 LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection. Booklist describes it as “a perfect read for those who enjoy the voice of Bridget Jones or want their romance with a side of drama.”