Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross

HAZEL SAYS NO by Jessica Berger Gross is certainly a roller coaster of a read. Set in Riverburg Maine, the novel features a family transplanted from Brooklyn: high school senior Hazel Greenberg Blum; her middle school brother, Wolf, who loves to act; professor and frustrated writer Dad named Gus; and Claire, fashion designer Mom. Settling in over the summer, things seem to be going well, but during the first day of school Hazel is propositioned by the high school principal and that event sets off a cascade of reactions. There’s plenty of hate mail and self-questioning; shunning of both kids; parenting crises and career angst for Gus and Claire… and then (that roller coaster) … media interest, trips to New York, local support, and new friends. The audiobook, excellently narrated by Emma Galvin, captures the shock, the sadness, the anger, the self-doubt, the creativity, the joy, the relief… This debut novel deftly explores societal themes (#MeToo; white privilege, antisemitism, small town insularity) while telling a coming-of-age story – mostly for Hazel, but for her parents and younger brother, too, as they all mature and change. In fact, Berger Gross makes the point rather obviously: “it was Wolf’s big monologue [in Charlotte’s Web] and he remembered, he FELT every word: Whatever will happen, will happen. I may not live as long as I'd like, but I've lived very well. A good life is much more important than just having a long life. So starting now, I'm going to stop worrying about myself. There are more important things than just thinking about yourself all the time.” HAZEL SAYS NO could be triggering; it contains some difficult moments and sensitive content; this title received a starred review from Booklist. 

Hazel's reading list:  “Remembering how good reading made her feel - grounded and alive. She’d read as much as she could before college. Virginia Woolf and bell hooks. Jhumpa Lahiri and Lauren Groff. Celeste Ng and Lorrie Moore, Curtis Sittenfeld and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Elena Ferrante and Sheila Heti and Min Jin Lee and Jennifer Egan and more Zadie Smith.” 

The Family Dynamic by Susan Dominus

                                         Happy Father's Day!

THE FAMILY DYNAMIC by Susan Dominus is subtitled “A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success” and was favorably reviewed in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal  written respectively by Ezekiel and Rahm Emmanuel, high-achieving brothers briefly mentioned in the book. Dominus, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and lecturer at Yale, spent years researching a half dozen families whose stories she shares, interspersed with chapters titled Generators, Expectations, Luck and Fate, Finding Nurture, Openness, and Better, Better, Best. As I read about best-selling novelist Lauren Groff and her brother Adam (a successful entrepreneur in the health-care field) and sister Sarah (a world class triathlete and Ironman competitor), I was struck by their family “slogan:” You are so tough!, reminiscent in some ways of the Harbaughs’: Who’s got it better than us?  Dominus describes her own book by writing, “It is safe to say that if this is a book about high achieving families, it is often also about the real costs of having that kind of drive, the sacrifices that having that kind of focus sometimes entails or even the emotional anguish.” And Dominus does more than talk about the supportive role of parents, siblings, and mentors; she also introduces scientists and their research, often providing additional background on their own children. Referencing a “vast body of well-respected research,” Dominus indicates that “parenting effects on children's outcomes … are likely much less dramatic than we have all been led to believe.” THE FAMILY DYNAMIC is a thoughtful work that may require slow, careful reading, but that should spark important conversations on helping children best achieve their potential. The Washington Post reviewer Judith Warner says, “THE FAMILY DYNAMIC will no doubt disappoint readers looking for bullet-pointed parenting-for-success tips. It’s just not that kind of book. It’s better.” 

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

THE LISTENERS is a mix of historical fiction, sprinkled with magic, and romance as well as being the adult debut from the best-selling young adult author Maggie Stiefvater (Shiver, The Raven Boys, All the Crooked Saints and many more). Set in the early 1940s during WWII, the focus is on a fictional West Virginian resort hotel called the Avallon (think The Greenbrier or The Homestead) where the extremely capable general manager is a young, local woman named June Hudson. Through compassion and understanding, she fosters the loyalty and affection of her staff and even many of the hotel guests: “June had long ago discovered that most people were bad listeners; they thought listening was synonymous with hearing. But the spoken was only half a conversation. True needs, wants, fears, and hopes hid not in the words that were said, but in the ones that weren't...” Friction ensues when FBI agents (Tucker Rye Minnick, Hugh Calloway, and Pony Harris) and State Department (Benjamin Pennybacker) representatives arrive because the hotel is ordered to provide lodging for an array of diplomats (German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese), their staff, and other foreign nationals (journalists, pilots) prior to their being repatriated. It is a big ask for locals, many of whom have relatives serving in the US military, but June facilitates the stay while also mourning the recently deceased hotel owner, navigating her own romantic feelings, and managing the magical waters associated with the hotel. THE LISTENERS, the Top Pick LibraryReads selection for June 2025, received a starred review from Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus (“A novel that will remind readers of why they fell in love with reading in the first place.”). In the author’s notes, Stiefvater suggests several other books to serve as “accessible starting points” about the background history. 

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.”  

Welcome to Murder Week by Karen Dukess

WELCOME TO MURDER WEEK by Karen Dukess is a delightfully quirky, frothy offering which combines mystery and romance set in England’s Peak District. After the death of her often-estranged Mom, Cath Little heads to the UK to participate in a pretend murder contest. No one knows why her Mom had purchased the tickets without telling Cath. Soon, however, Cath and her detective team (roommates Wyatt, struggling in his marriage to a birding shopkeeper, and Amity, a romance author with writer’s block), are investigating not only the supposed death of local resident Tracy Penny, but also a series of strange coincidences involving Cath, her childhood, and her Mom. The tiny village of Willowthrop is also home to several memorable characters, including handsome barman and artisanal gin crafter named Dev who is attracted to Cath. This entertaining tale fulfills the author’s description: “Murder, revenge, lies, abandonment – they’re a respite from the mess and confusion of our own lives. Fictional chaos is a holiday, a beautiful distraction. We can go along for the ride and shiver from the danger without worrying that we'll get hurt.” WELCOME TO MURDER WEEK received a starred review from Library Journal (“just the thing for a rainy afternoon and a cup of tea”). Enjoy.  

Two Perspectives: The AI Con & AI for Life

THE AI CON by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna offers a unique perspective on “How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want.” In fact, Kirkus describes this book as “a refreshingly contrarian take on AI” and includes it in a list of “5 Essential New Books That Challenge Big Tech” (Careless People, on my TBR pile, is also included). Bender is a Linguistics professor at the University of Washington and Hanna, a former member of the ethical AI team at Google, is now Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR); both have been critical about promises made and potential societal impact of AI. They have crafted this book with the following goal: “preventing harm from AI hype. [They believe] When people can spot AI hype, they make better decisions about how and when to use automation, and they are in a better position to advocate for policies to constrain the use of automation by others.” Bender and Hanna raise issues such as surveillance (including facial recognition often coupled with biased algorithms) or devaluing creativity, and they point to the importance of more discussion and evaluation. They focus on the application of automation in the areas of decision-making, classification, recommendation, transcription/translation, and text/image generation. Bender and Hanna provide an entire chapter containing questions which “we can each ask, whenever we are in a position to make decisions about automation or influence others who are doing so.” Prompting more thoughtful consideration, they certainly ignited my desire to investigate further with sources such as The Conversation, Journalist’s Resource, CNET’s ai atlas, and think tanks like Brookings Institution or reports from CQ Researcher (citing AI Now Institute, Center for Democracy & Technology, MIT, Pew Research Center, and The Stanford Institute for Human Centered AI, as just a few examples).  As an aide to critical thinking and accountability, roughly a third of their text is devoted to notes and an index. Interested readers may also want to explore their podcast: Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000.

In contrast, AI FOR LIFE by Celia Quillian offers “100+ Ways to Use Artificial Intelligence to Make Your Life Easier, More Productive…and More Fun!” PC Magazine recently interviewed the author and begins by quoting her: “Approach AI with curiosity, not fear.” Quillan, who has been featured as a commentator on AI by several business publications, begins by discussing “getting started with generative AI” and then offers numerous helpful suggestions (e.g., “explain it to me like I’m 12” or “ask me 10 questions to better guide your response”) in a chapter titled “Prompting 101.” From there, she delves into using AI and devotes a chapter to each of the following areas: Home Life; Food, Health, and Wellness; Career Development; Personal Finance; Personal Growth and Learning; Relationships; Travel; and Fun and Entertainment. Using travel as an example, readers will find a series of helpful suggestions for personalizing destination ideas (e.g., What is the best time of year to travel? What are some must-do activities? What is the estimated cost per person?), planning road trips, and exploring local cuisine. This should help users new to AI because her prompts are often quite instructive and specific, like this one: “Could you identify 10 upcoming events or performances in and around Philadelphia's music, arts, or nightlights scenes in May 2025? Make note of the date they are happening and provide a brief description of the event.” Packing tips, local etiquette, and translation are other topics she explores in that travel chapter. My teaching experience has reinforced the view that people learn best when they are pursuing a task relevant to them – Quillian highlights numerous ways to experiment with AI in a personally meaningful way. Although her text is not up-to-the minute (e.g., no reference to Deepseek), she does provide information on several models and AI FOR LIFE should propel readers to a better understanding of the benefits and limitations of AI.

This important topic was just addressed in an Atlantic article, “What Happens When People Don’t Understand How AI Works?” by Tyler Austin Harper. Coming full circle, he references Bender and Hanna, expresses concern about the industry’s “tradition of anthropomorphizing,” and argues that large language models “do not think and feel but instead mimic and mirror.” And laments further about “minimizing attention spans, literacy, and social cohesion.” Much to reflect upon and consider. 

The Essential Guide to Children's Sleep

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CHILDREN'S SLEEP by Andrea C. Roth, Shelby F. Harris, and Allison Shale is published by The American Psychological Association and promises “A Tired Caregiver's Workbook for Every Age and Stage.” I especially liked the calm, matter-of-fact tone and the provision of strategies relevant for different ages. These authors are authorities, based on their educational and professional experience (cognitive–behavioral therapists and a clinical psychologist/sleep specialist) and personal experience as parents; they readily acknowledge “the reality of how difficult childhood sleep issues can be.” After beginning with a review of general principles and guidelines, they structure the book so as to “discuss the importance of caregiver teamwork (Chapter 2), provide guidance for age groups from infancy through adolescence (Chapters 3-7), and offer troubleshooting tips (Chapter 8).” Promising to “present our recommendations along with data to support them,” these authors offer general suggestions and helpful commentary, such as “[at 4 to 6 months] they are also possibly waking a bit more often in the night as they cycle in and out of sleep. Again, all of these changes are to be expected.” The workbook format provides useful questions and an opportunity for reflection and planning. THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CHILDREN'S SLEEP is aptly titled and will be a valuable resource for parents across several years.