Remarkably Bright Creatures and Aunt Dimity

Debut novel REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt features Marcellus McSquiddles, a charming giant Pacific octopus who can read, calculate, and communicate. Fellow characters include Tova, an older women employed to clean the aquarium museum of a small town named Sowell Bay, and Cameron, a thirty-year-old who acts fifteen and is on a quest to find his biological father. Each of these three struggles with loneliness; they somehow find a way to help each other, sharing wisdom and gradually building trust. REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES is a wonderful, moving story about family, friendship, and redemption; it will have wide appeal, most especially to older readers and fans of novels like A Man Called Ove. Van Pelt’s work received a starred review from Booklist, was a Library Reads selection, and was an Amazon Best Book for May 2022. Enjoy!

Also out this week: AUNT DIMITY AND THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE by Nancy Atherton (Aunt Dimity and The Widow’s Curse) is the latest in the long-running series showcasing Aunt Dimity, a ghost-like figure, plus her god-daughter Lori Shepherd and other residents of Finch, England. This one continues true to form with a new resident, elderly Crispin Windle, moving to the small village and Lori and her nosy friends welcoming him while also trying to learn why he seems so sad. Totally as expected, the Aunt Dimity stories are still a lovely treat and a happy, gentle escape to the English countryside. Just enough suspense (this one is definitely on the light side) for a bit of cozy mystery, too.