Golden Boy by A. J. Symon

GOLDEN BOY by A. J. Symon is a young adult novel with a strange supposition. It has a wonderful cover which mirrors the story of a dog (Hudson) being turned into a high school boy (Bud Golden). Emma Branch is a lonely high school student who ended up taking care of her brothers (Chip and Buckhead – who act like their names) and her rather obnoxious, opinionated, and prejudiced father, Wayman, after her mother dies. Emma’s dream is to study science, and she has developed an injection to prolong the life of fruit flies. No one is really interested, though, until in desperation she injects her dog. Suddenly there’s a star player for the football team that Wayman coaches, and the adventure (filled with deception) begins. There is some suspense and high school relationship drama which could appeal to readers. As all gets resolved, the author is not afraid of explicitly highlighting the value of scientific experimentation (“Flying machines. The telephone. Landing on the moon. All crazy ideas until they weren't. Magic is just science no one can explain yet.”) and quality parenting (“It's amazing what a kind word from a parent will do.”). Thankfully, the father character does mature, but it’s not a subtle transformation. School Library Journal (starred review) and Booklist suggest GOLDEN BOY for grades 6 thru 10, and these less mature students may appreciate the hijinks, although the animal experimentation could be triggering for some. I am more apt to agree with Kirkus: “An interesting premise that suffers from clumsy execution.”

When Lemons Give You Life by Anna Johnston

A LibraryReads selection for August, WHEN LEMONS GIVE YOU LIFE by Anna Johnston (The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife) is the story of an older man, named Griff, who was a Michelin star chef but now lives (according to the author) in “the most negligent nursing home imaginable.” That low quality of care was a big obstacle for me when I started reading about Griff, his estranged sister, Lisa, and his partner, Beau. The author jumps around in time and shares stories from the childhood of Griff and Lisa, (thirteen years apart in age with different fathers) as well as from their adult lives. WHEN LEMONS GIVE YOU LIFE is very cleverly written (“odd that we fear ageing, forgetting how lucky we are to even get the chance”). Booklist says, “Johnston thoughtfully explores grief, loneliness, aging, and sibling relationships while leavening with warmth and humor.” Indeed, Johnston comments movingly on “the invisibility cloak of age and dementia,” while also promoting laughter with some madcap adventures. I found myself coming to care for the characters more and more and particularly enjoyed the last third of the book as conflicts were resolved and reconciliations occurred. One more quote: “What matters – what lasts – is how you love people. How you treat them when no one’s watching. That’s the only legacy worth leaving.”

Return to Sender by Stephanie Parente

RETURN TO SENDER by Stephanie Parente is a debut novel which succeeds and surprises on many fronts. While mainly a rom com, it explores aspects of identity, friendship, and grief, offering humorous sidenotes and road trip adventure with appealing characters. The most endearing is fourteen-year-old Phoebe who has recently lost her father and is living with her twenty-six-year-old sister, Violet, a teacher. Parente is described as “passionate about writing messy characters falling in love,” and she begins the story with a rebellious Phoebe opening and reading a stranger’s love letter. That leads to their finding and convincing Dex, a troubled young man, to return the letter to its intended recipient, named Catalina. Along the way, the trio visits several highlights (e.g., Yogi Bear statue, Coney Island, a gay bar in Chicago) and experience moments of self-reflection (“The sort of unremarkable night that maybe once would have been easily forgotten, but now I knew to hold onto it with both hands. What a privilege it was to be bored and boring. We were alive at the same time, on opposite sides of the couch. I could have lived in this moment with him forever.”). Violet often focuses on naming three good things and is relentless in trying to stay positive (although her musings about being a guardian can feel repetitive). As readers might expect, there are several romantic scenes as well. RETURN TO SENDER received a starred review from Publishers Weekly (“a zany road trip provides a path to recovery”).

Everything Changes Everything by Lauren Kessler

EVERYTHING CHANGES EVERYTHING by Lauren Kessler is a memoir which covers “Love, Loss, and a Really Long Walk.” Kessler, an award-winning author and teacher, shares the emotional story of the assisted suicide death of her husband and the overdose of her daughter a few months later. These heavy topics are treated reverently and insights conveyed poignantly through beautiful writing:

“I can, ever so hesitantly, every once in a while, sit across from a friend and let them in on a sliver of my life. But I can't turn my head on the pillow at night and talk to the person who knows me as much as I have ever let anyone know me.”

“WIDOW. WINDOW. I am not trying to be clever. I'm saying that widowhood is a window. Looking through it, you can view, assess, learn from, cry over, laugh about, regret, celebrate - everything - a marriage that was, the relationship that helped define you for decades. Falling in love is easy. A long marriage is hard.”

Referring to her husband and their children: “I have a past that does not include him. They do not.”

“…so much a part of who I am, and who I will ever be. I am walking through the world with them and without them. There is no denouement. The story continues.”

Kessler intersperses flashbacks about her family and feelings with the story of her walk along the Camino Francés, an ancient 500-mile pilgrimage route between Spain and France. At times a physically challenging route, this endeavor (requiring about a month to complete) allowed her to spend time alone, to observe nature, visit picturesque villages, and meet new people – essentially an opportunity to reflect on her life before and in the future. Kessler writes about “a lesson of the Camino that translates directly to life: that occasionally and gloriously, there are true aha moments, but mostly there is the long slog toward making sense of who you are.”  Along the way, she quotes Mary Oliver (“When Death Comes…”) and comedian George Carlin (“I want to live my life backwards…”).

I would also highly recommend The Salt Path by Raynor Winn and Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks; these, too, deal with time spent in nature and self-reflection while facing the loss of a spouse.

The Big Unlock by Laura L. Rubin

THE BIG UNLOCK by Laura L. Rubin is subtitled “Liberate Your Creativity Through Mindful Journaling.” Rubin, creative coach and founder of mindful writing company AllSwell Creative, provides tons of prompts and encouragement. She divides her book into four (increasingly deeper) sections: Living Unlocked; Make Yourself Comfortable; Having a Blast; and Digging In; within these sections, “each chapter can stand on its own.” Examples of specific prompts include: “Make a list of songs on your life soundtrack. What's on your personal playlist? What memories do you associate with each song? Why did you choose them?” OR “When was the time you didn't follow the rules … and the outcome was beneficial?” OR “Try writing a letter from your loved one to you. Use your imagination to tune into their voice. What do you think they’d like to communicate?” Throughout she advocates for personalizing each suggestion like her 4x4x4 plan (write for four minutes a day for four days a week for four weeks) which can adjust to 6x6x6 or 5x3x5 or 9x3x8, and so forth.  Rubin says, “Essentially, write into any resistance. … All of this is an experiment, an exploration. Just bring your attention back to the page and keep going.” That is wonderful advice, and I would echo her call to “let yourself be curious. … “dog-ear, underline, annotate. But, most of all, enjoy.”

The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff

THE BURNING SIDE by Sarah Damoff is a beautifully written, character-driven story set in Texas and a LibraryReads selection for May 2026. The focus is on April and Leo whose house burns down and whose marriage is falling apart. They have two young children, Sadie and Otto, and move in temporarily with April’s parents, Deb and Billy. The narrative jumps around in time and there are many sad moments and missed opportunities for clearer communication in this book, only intensifying the “feels” and affection for these characters. Deb and Billy have their own poignant story as they adjust to the impact of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, reflecting throughout on their long, not always happy marriage. April and her siblings, Josie (dramatic middle child involved in theater) and Cameron (with girlfriend Rachel) also need to cope with selling the family home (“We live in homes until we leave them, and then they live in us. … I miss it. But we can only return to a place, not a time.”) and decisions about their own Alzheimer testing. There are plenty of issues and shifts in the characters’ reality, but that contributes to the realistic feeling of family life: “It doesn’t go fast, but it will have gone fast.” Having myself just returned from a memorial service for a dear Aunt who loved to read, Deb’s musings resonated: “In a flash, I'll be gone, my own children recalling their favorite things about me in some new house at some new table with some new iteration of family. So I dance now as if time is the music. This, I know, is how you dream. This is how you live forever.”

Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer

GOOD JOY, BAD JOY by Mikki Brammer (The Collected Regrets of Clover) introduces readers to Joy Bridport, someone who at first seems truly too good to be true. Joy invariably looks on the bright side, gives others the benefit of the doubt, and sacrifices her own needs to help others. Her life, however, gets turned upside down (look at that cover!) when she learns that her best friend of eighty years, Hazel, has terminal cancer. Brammer shares Joy’s innermost thoughts about her parents’ values, her troubled relationship with her own daughter (Elizabeth) and grandson Finn, as well as a new friendship with Rowan, a neighbor recently released from jail. Joy starts to take some risks, and the lack of consequences will have readers nodding in agreement about how older women often are invisible. GOOD JOY, BAD JOY is a rather sad story and while Joy grows, it can be a difficult read emotionally. Like “good” Joy, Booklist describes this novel more positively as “a heartwarming, poignant story of self-discovery and hope.” Book groups will find much to discuss.

Moonlight Murder by Uzma Jalaluddin

MOONLIGHT MURDER by Uzma Jalaluddin is her second Detective Aunty novel and I found it even more enjoyable than the first, although also a bit slow-paced in parts. Kauser Khan, the main character, is an older widow whose heritage is Muslim and South Asian. She lives in Toronto where her son (Ali, then 15) was killed by a hit and run driver eighteen years ago. The story revolves around her belated investigation of his death and the more recent death of another young teen, Qasim, close friend of her granddaughter, Maleeha. As the beautiful cover illustrates, the culture of the tightly knit community in the Golden Crescent neighborhood of Toronto is integral to the story and Jalaluddin brings to life secondary characters like Kauser’s daughter; old friends May (“Who knew that a shared love for Louise Penny and the Public Library would lead to a friend for life?”), Fatima, and Nasir (also a potential romantic interest); the local police; and several high school students, including the brother, Kamal, and the best friend, Joquiem, of Qasim as well as some of his teachers. The dual mysteries (“Two parallel stories, separated by decades and circumstance, linked by place and community. Both deaths assumed accidents. Both with unanswered questions about motive, story, and intention…”) offer suspense and surprise. Kauser is an appealing character who relies on her faith and also still grapples with grief (“It felt good to make plans for the future. It felt good to feel capable of thinking beyond the next few days. She had lived her life in survival mode for so long, wrestling with the ghosts of death, loss, and grief, … but she could feel something shift inside her now, at last.”). Read this series in order as you anticipate the next title.

Life: A Love Story by Elizabeth Berg

LIFE: A LOVE STORY by Elizabeth Berg (The Story of Arthur Truluv and others) has a beautiful cover and expresses some truly wonderful and universal sentiments. Berg introduces readers to Flo, a widow in her nineties. Flo has received a terminal diagnosis and in an effort to wrap up her affairs she crafts a lengthy letter to Ruthie, the now grown woman who, as a young child, was her neighbor and almost a daughter. Flo tells Ruthie “You can do with my things whatever you like but I just think you should know why they are not just objects, but pieces of my life that point to something bigger than my life. I'll tell you what, a rubber band is not just a rubber band, as you will come to see.” Filled with wisdom, this letter includes many memories and meaningful stories (“an autobiography in things”), particularly about Flo’s marriage to Terrence (“She never would have predicted that he would be taking care of her long after he was gone. Yet he is.”), and one which might provide some guidance for Ruthie’s own troubled relationship. Even though this novel is almost a monologue from Flo, it is engaging and thought-provoking, totally enjoyable. I also liked the references to older books and songs (e.g., Mrs. Mike and Jesse) and a comment from Flo’s new friend, Teresa, who says, “You know, I had a patient once tell me that the best index he had to his mental health was whether or not he looked up at the sky every day.” LIFE: A LOVE STORY is a March 2026 LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection and received a starred review from Booklist (“The prolific Berg has a huge following, and this is the author at her heartwarming best.”). Highly recommended.

The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead

THE FUTURE SAINTS by Ashley Winstead was a LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection for January and deservedly so. This is a novel which deals with strong emotions shared through the actions of appealing characters. Hannah Cortland is the lead singer whose band is on its way down, due in part to the death a few months ago of their manager and in part to Hannah’s alcohol use and self-destructive behavior. In steps a new manager, Theo Ford, and the dynamics change rapidly as the band’s new and darker songs, along with some spectacular antics, build awareness and interest through social media. United in devastating grief, Hannah and the other band members (handsome bassist "Ripper" Ravishankar and gentle drummer Kenny Lovins) gradually accept Theo into their “found family.” Together, they push back against the pressures of sudden fame and corporate balance sheets, but not without some ruptures along the way. THE FUTURE SAINTS received starred reviews from Booklist (“emotional, unflinching story of grief and fame”) and Publishers Weekly (“readers will fly through the pages to find out whether Hannah will manage to tame her demons in time”). Highly recommended. 

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page

THIS BOOK MADE ME THINK OF YOU by Libby Page came to my attention because of being a LibraryReads pick for February and I am SO glad it did. In contention for my favorite book of the year, the heartwarming story centers on Matilda (Tilly) Nightingale whose husband, Joe, has recently died. While battling a fatal diagnosis, Joe arranged with the local bookstore owner, Alfie, to give Tilly a book a month after his death. Each title prompts Tilly to take a step forward and, to me, Libby Page was “spot on” in her characterization of the feelings of grief and loss: “There's a darkness to her that wasn't there before, that sometimes feels like a fog and others like a stone lodged in her chest. She carries the darkness with her everywhere, all the time, even if on the surface she might look the same as before.” A new friend who is further along in her grief journey says, “My grief is un regalo -- a gift. He gave it to me. it is our memories. Our love. I don't want to put it down. I carry it gently.” Described as a “love letter to bookstores,” THIS BOOK MADE ME THINK OF YOU is truly a joy to read, featuring friendship, sisterhood, a sense of wonder, romance, and, importantly, growth by several characters. Plus, it reinforces the power of reading to transform us (“‘But isn't that one of the great things about fiction?’ he says. ‘It's an escape. Somewhere to go when you don't want to be where you are.’”) and this story is full of ideas for other books to read, including monthly themes and recommendations from Alfie’s bookstore.

THIS BOOK MADE ME THINK OF YOU received starred reviews from Kirkus (“The perfect cozy read for book lovers, sure to break and heal hearts.”), Library Journal (“Readers of all kinds will be captivated by this tender exploration of loss, healing, and the enduring connections that books create”), and Publishers Weekly (“Page crafts a taut plot and makes her characters achingly real”). ENJOY!!

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

ELSEWHERE by Gabrielle Zevin is a young adult novel which I read - and loved – about twenty years ago when it was first published. At the time, it received starred reviews from Booklist and Horn Book and was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Now it is being re-released with a new cover, following the popularity of Zevin’s Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow. In ELSEWHERE, Liz, a fifteen-year-old, is killed in a car accident and travels to an afterlife where she meets her already dead Grandma Betty. It may sound macabre, but instead Zevin infuses the book with hope, personal growth and adventure where Liz’s advisor, for example, suggests, “That dying is just another part of living... In time, you may even come to see your death as a birth.” And Liz does need to mourn the loss of her family and friends, but she meets new people while experiencing the impact of aging backwards as all the afterlife residents do. The new edition contains an interview with the author where she quotes J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan: “To die will be an awfully big adventure,” saying it “feels like an optimistic way of looking at things.” Somehow, I found Zevin’s work more comforting a couple of decades ago when death was a more abstract concept, but I am still grateful for Zevin’s positivity and would certainly recommend this title. The New York Times’ 2005 review references titles like Tuck Everlasting and A Wrinkle in Time concluding, “Its message is how thrilling it is to be alive, here or in Elsewhere.”

The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton

THE LOST STORY OF EVA FUENTES by Chanel Cleeton is one of my favorite reads of the year so far. The story takes place in three distinct time periods: 1900 when Eva, a Cuban school teacher, travels on an exchange program to the United States; 1966, when librarian Pilar and her husband, Enrique, struggle with the changes and oppression of the Cuban revolution; and 2024 when Margo and her ex-husband Luke combine efforts to locate a missing book originally written by Eva. Cleeton does a good job of evoking the characters and their respective time periods, but I would have liked to have learned even more. The mystery involving the lost story and a violent murder were well done with a twist at the end. But the aspect which I truly enjoyed was the way in which Cleeton repeatedly spoke to her readers about lost love, emotions like grief, and about the value of books and stories. She writes, “If the roles had been reversed, if something had happened to her, Enrique would have taken solace in the company of others. She took hers in the cocoon she placed around herself that kept the world at bay” … “Fear and anger wound their way through her like twin snakes, and in her grief, she did the only thing she knew to do. She read.” Another example: “The reader was promised the possibility of sinking into another world, of escaping their problems, the weight of life subsiding for minutes, hours, days at a time. They were promised a story, a fiction, a sleight of hand, a shuffling of letters that altered reality. And yet, in that make believe world the reader looked for truth - for the words on the page to resonate, for the characters in the scene to make them feel seen, for a thread that they could hold on to, for the book to sink its hooks into them and carry them on an unforgettable adventure.” 

The Satisfaction Cafe by Kathy Wang

THE SATISFACTION CAFÉ by Kathy Wang is a LibraryReads selection for July and was recently recommended by Ann Patchett on a PBS NewsHour feature (see video below). However, I found the story evoked feelings of loneliness and sadness. The main character is named Joan and although she is from Taiwan, she eventually moves to California and becomes the fourth wife to an older, wealthy white man. It feels as though she is constantly denying herself and suppressing her feelings in order to “fit in.” No one is very welcoming; why does she bother? The book moves slowly, although it covers several decades, with her own grown children eventually confronting many of the same issues about belonging and following rules. The title reflects her dream: “Joan wished there was a place she could visit to feel less alone: a restaurant with very friendly servers, perhaps, where she might order a bowl of spaghetti and casually surrender her insecurities. When she was little, she used to daydream of a place she named in her head the Satisfaction Café, which had friendly employees and nice food and pretty toys; even as a child, Joan’s imagination had not stretched to fantastic outcomes but, rather, a reasonable amount of happiness.” That feeling proved elusive and instead of peaceful contentment, a melancholy atmosphere pervades the story. Those who prefer a feel good story will be disappointed.  

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

MY FRIENDS by Fredrik Backman (A Man Called Ove and many more) will have readers laughing out loud, but it will also make them incredibly sad. There is so much clever wordplay (read the first paragraph!) that I almost gave up highlighting. Yet, there is also a great deal of death and reflection upon carrying on without our friends: “when the love of our life falls asleep for the last time, because when the soul leaves the body, evidently the last thing it does is tie our shoelaces together. In the weeks following the death we trip over thin air. It's the soul's fault.” With grief as a companion, Backman builds a friendship between Louisa, a creative young woman aging out of the care system, and Ted, a former high school teacher trying to find renewed purpose. They are an unlikely pair who meet because of a painting (a source of solace for Louisa) and the artist (a dear friend of Ted’s) who painted it. Eventually riding together on a cross-country train journey, Ted reaches back twenty-five years to tell Louisa the story of his friendship with the artist, Joar, and Ali, all fourteen-year-old characters in the famous painting. There is quite a bit of physical pain and mental anguish in that story due primarily to the abusive violence exhibited by some of the teens’ relatives. Louisa shares some of her own painful stories of life in foster homes and a lost friend, called Fish. Throughout, Backman places a great deal of emphasis on youthful friendships and the healing power of creativity. He writes, “the ultimate expression of love is nagging, we don't nag anyone the way we nag the people we love. All parents know that, and so do all best friends.” Ted and Louisa banter, bond, get on each other’s nerves, and care for each other as their own friendship develops and the story continues, certain to surprise readers. MY FRIENDS is a LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection for May 2025 and received a starred review from Booklist (“Irrepressible humor, boundless grief, and eternal loyalty coalesce.”) As Ted remarks, “what I hate most isn't that people die. What I hate most is that they're dead. That I'm alive, without them.”  

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

MEMORIAL DAYS by Geraldine Brooks (Horse) was both difficult and comforting to read. Brooks wrote it after the totally unexpected death of her husband, Tony Horwitz in 2019. She deftly combines the shock of those first days and weeks with a period three years later when she ventured to Australia to reflect on her grief and their long life together. Having just experienced loss, I was astounded by the astuteness of many of her observations:

On being alone: “What big plans we had. How many more adventures there would be for us…” AND “Now I wrestle the wheelie bag over the rough ground by myself. I let sadness come and accept it. This is how it is now. Lonely.”

On family and marriage: “This wobbly trio. It was how we would have to go on. We would have to learn to balance ourselves in an unfamiliar asymmetry. And we would all have to learn to stop setting the table for four.” AND “In 35 years Tony and I had settled into an amicable division of labor within the marriage, taking responsibility for the tasks for which each of us had aptitude.” She wisely recommends, “Jot down all the tasks you don't bother to mention that keep the household afloat, the set of torches that only you have learned to juggle. All the little things your partner didn't expect to need to know, until the day they never expected to happen.”

On how hard it is to find space and time to grieve: “… a cascade of consequences. My credit cards froze, because Tony was the primary card holder. In my gray mist of sadness, I did not want to think about credit cards, but I had to, since our bills were paid that way, and if I didn't immediately get to work on making other arrangements, we mightn’t have lights or phones the following month. I knew I was lucky to have the wherewithal to pay those bills. For so many the death of a spouse is also the death of the breadwinner.” AND “I was used to seeing my desk covered with notes for my fiction, not legal documents, financial spreadsheets, and baskets of condolence notes.” AND “I haven't cried like that for Tony. … I was afraid to give way to it. I knew that if I started, I mightn't be able to stop. So I shut it down. And for the past two years, I haven’t been able to cry at all.” 

On advice from friends: “Do your work. It might not be your best work, but it will be good work, and it will be what saves you.” AND, from a widower friend: “The first time he had ventured out after losing his beloved wife, Gretchen, no one had mentioned her, and he had been hurt and angered. He realized that he needed to speak of her first, to allow others to do so.” 

In conclusion: “I do know this: my job is to carry his light. To keep him vibrantly illuminated for my sons, and for their children -- his grandchildren -- when they get here.”

MEMORIAL DAYS received starred reviews from both Booklist and Publishers Weekly. Related titles to pursue include Year of Magical Thinking by Didion and Crying in H Mart by Zauner. Brooks also mentions The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alxander and A Widow’s Story by Joyce Carol Oates.  

Personally, I want to highly recommend the “Daily Meditations For Working Through Grief” contained in Healing Through Loss by Martha Whitmore Hickman, providing much needed solace to millions since it as originally published in 1994. Some recent non-fiction texts which I have been slowly exploring and hope to review shortly include Can Anyone Tell Me? by Meghan Riordan Jarvis; My Last Gift by Kim Boyer; Renegade Grief by Carla Fernandez; and What Your Body Knows About Happiness by Janice Kaplan.

Brooks alludes to the comfort from music. Here is Coldplay and Dick Van Dyke with All My Love:

The Heartbeat Library by Laura Imai Messina

THE HEARTBEAT LIBRARY by Laura Imai Messina (The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World) is a quiet, reflective novel set in Japan. Much of the story centers around the title library “where the heartbeats of visitors from all around the world are collected” on the Teshima island.  Key characters include Shuichi, a 40-year-old illustrator, and a young elementary school student named Kenta, both of whom are mourning Shuichi’s mother. They gradually build a trust and affection for each other and widen their circle to include Sayaka, a love interest for Shuichi. In its starred review Booklist describes THE HEARTBEAT LIBRARY as “a beautiful meditation on grief and healing.”  The story moves slowly, but there is much to contemplate:

“Life is a succession of shipwrecks. … Because upon arrival on the beach, whatever the existence that preceded it was like, it is now memory. No matter how much pain we have accumulated, life begins again.”

“He smiled. He realized this was how you know you care about someone: when you see them where they aren't.”

“…love is never alone fear is always right beside it.”

As an aside, this book called to mind another favorite book with heartbeat in the title: The Art of Hearing Heartbeats; look for it and others by Jan-Philipp Sendker.

Sticky Notes by Matthew Eicheldinger

STICKY NOTES is from Matthew Eicheldinger, a middle school teacher and gifted storyteller. He subtitles his collection: “Memorable Lessons from Ordinary Moments.” And he offers insights for all of us, not just educators, although I did feel that he validated and evoked many of the varied feelings I had as a teacher. Eicheldinger’s short vignettes reminded me that we often have an impact on others that we may never realize.  A favorite was called “A Dance” about a young boy who is quite excited when his invitation is accepted, but young love runs its course and, saddened, he simply seeks quiet time and acceptance in Mr. Eicheldinger’s classroom during a free period. There are so many more that will inspire readers and touch their hearts. Eicheldinger has collated other stories online at Instagram and TikTok. He says, “empathy and compassion are what keep us grounded and connected” – so true.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston

THE BORROWED LIFE OF FREDERICK FIFE by Anna Johnston requires an ability to believe in coincidences, but this clever debut provides an entertaining read even if the premise is a bit far-fetched. Eighty-two-year-old Frederik Fife is widowed and destitute when he walks by the river one day and is mistakenly assumed to be Bernard Greer, a nursing home resident. His adventures in another life including befriending the residents like Albie (who has dementia and thereby ironically sees Fred/Bernard as his own long dead and much-loved brother named Fred), extroverted Patricia, or gentle Ruby and staff members like nurse Kevin, activities coordinator Linh, or troubled caregiver Denise. Through his natural display of kindness, Fred ends up having a positive impact on many of the other characters. The story is quite humorous in places although Johnston probably over-relies on similes (“yet the moment had been bittersweet, like tasting a Tim Tam for the first time only to be told you can never have another”); plus, she struggles to make the reactions of Hannah, Bernard’s daughter, seem realistic. Like Catherine Newman, Johnston describes grief as “love with nowhere to go” and many parts of this text are quite poignant (“he let the memories sneak out of his tear ducts and roll down his cheeks”). THE BORROWED LIFE OF FREDERICK FIFE was a LibraryReads selection for September 2024 and received a starred review from Booklist (“This touching narrative explores themes of community, family, and the redemptive power of new beginnings”).

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

Today is National Book Lovers’ Day and I am going to recommend one of my favorite book of the year so far: SANDWICH by Catherine Newman. The main character is a woman called Rocky who is dealing with life changes – the physical ones associated with menopause and the shifts in her identity as a mother, spouse, and grown child. She says, “Life is a seesaw, and I am standing dead center, still and balanced: living kids on one side, living parents on the other. Nicky here with me at the fulcrum. Don't move a muscle, I think. But I will, of course. You have to.” The story takes place at the home her family rents every year on Cape Cod and over the course of a week Rocky reflects on other years and the activities of her children Willa and Jamie, on the many joys and difficulties that motherhood brings. She faces some sad times, too: “I’ve heard grief described as love with nowhere to go.” But so many of her observations are heartfelt and hilarious (“she is long married to a beautiful man who understands between twenty and sixty-five percent of everything she says”); readers will be laughing out loud at her commentary and the family dynamics. SANDWICH by Catherine Newman was also recommended by Ann Patchett on PBS and is the Top Pick for LibraryReads in June. Plus, it received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Library Journal. This is one not to miss: “We keep showing up for each other. Even through the mystery of other people's grief. What else is there?”