The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill (2022) Algonquin Books

This is a book that everyone needs to read.  Ms. Barnhill gives us much more than a fairy tale about creatures that understand goodness and greed.  In my opinion, the story is on a par with Gulliver’s travels as satire on our current world.  Here creatures can be something other than they look.  Happiness depends on goodness and children can start remarkable behavior amongst neighbors.

The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer (2007) Phiolem Books

An Enola Holmes story about her tracking down a ‘kidnapped’ lady from an aristocratic family.  This is during unrest in London fomented by workers who feel they are being taken advantage of by the upper classes.  At the same time, Enola continues to try to contact her missing mother and evade the clutches of her brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes.

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer (2006) Philomel Books

Enola Holmes is introduced as the young sister of Sherlock and Mayfield Holmes.  Her mother has disappeared, and the brothers expected a full staff at their estate.  But there is only a Butler, his wife, the cook, and their son.  The brothers intend to send Enola to a boarding school, which appalls her so, she runs away – to London, and solves the case of the kidnapping of Tweksbury, who was not kidnapped, but ran away himself.  Only Enola gets kidnapped by the same two men who kidnapped Tweky after he arrived at the docks of London hoping to get on a ship for adventure.  Will she get away, will she save Tweky, will she evade her brothers?  And why didn’t her mother take Enola with her?

Abhorsen by Garth Nix (2008) Harper Teen

The third volume in the Abhorsen series set in the old kingdom and Ancelstierre, where Lirial must use her powers as the Abhorsen in waiting and as a Remembrancer to defeat the ultimate evil that seeks to destroy the world. Sabriel, the Abhorsen, and Touchstone are threatened with assassination. Sameth and Ellimere, their children are left in charge. Samuel wants nothing to do with the dead. Moggert is along for the ride and a Disreputable Dog. The tension winds up all the way to the end - this is epic fantasy.

Recitatif by Toni Morrison (1983) in Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women 

A story about two girls raised like orphans in a shelter because their mothers could not take care of them.  One mother spent her nights dancing, the other was sick.  They tend to stay closer to each other because they’re not like the other kids, or each other.  They overcome the fact that they’re two different races, but like all eight-year-olds who become friends, they have good times and bad.  Eventually one leaves before the other and they don’t see each other again until they are grown.  But by then, they have different viewpoints on life.  The biggest difference is how they want to look back and see their pasts.  Eventually they reconcile over the past.  But they understand that their present and future are necessarily going to be foreign to one another.

Wobble to Death by Peter Lovesey (1970) W. Clement Stone 

A six-day race is organized in London with two prominent pedestrian racers and a group of known local racers.  One of the top men is being cuckolded by his own man.  Part way in, there is a death by poisoning.  Some racers take a small amount of strychnine as a tonic, but this man had way too much for it to be of his own application.  Then his trainer dies by way of gas in his tent.  Only he has a bloody dent in the back of his head.  On the last day of the race, it appears the promoter’s assistant has made off with the winnings.  It’s up to Sargent Cribb and Constable Thackeray to catch the thief and solve the murders.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (2013) Feiwel & Friends

The granddaughter of a farmer/space pilot who went to the moon on a diplomatic mission is looking for her.  She’s been missing for three weeks, and the authorities are giving her the run-around.  What she doesn’t know is that her grandmother brought a horribly burned princess back with her and hid her for years as scientists strove to keep her alive.  Now the evil queen of the Lunars is looking for her to eliminate the last possible threat to her throne, sending an army of genetically modified humans with wolf traits and killer instincts to threaten Earth.  Will she find her grandmother?  Will she find the missing princess?

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (from The House on East 88th Street and Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber) Directed by Josh Gordon & Will Speck, starring Javier Bardem, Winslow Fegley. Shawn Mendes, Eagle Picture, Hutch Parker Entertainment & Sony Pictures Animation

A fun movie about a stage magician who finds a singing crocodile, whom he names Lyle.  With visions of fantastic success, he trains the reptile to sing and dance several popular songs.  But when he gets him on stage for their premier performance, Lyle freezes.  The magician goes on the road to earn money.  When he returns 18 months later, his old home on the first floor of the building has been sold to a family: a teacher, a cookbook writer, and a shy boy.  They have discovered Lyle and after initial shock have become friends with him.  The boy has come out of his shell, the woman is considering another book and the teacher has felt rejuvenated.  But the tenant in the basement is trying to ruin everyone’s day by cheating the magician out of his property and send Lyle to the zoo.  This is a fun movie for the whole family.  Who knew Javier could sing and Dance?

Better Off Dead by Lee Child & Andrew Child (2021) Delacorte Press

In which Reacher walks into a setup of an ex-Army intelligence officer who has set a trap to find her missing brother.  After convincing her he doesn’t know anything about it, he hides, and watches two thugs fall for the trap.  She thinks her brother is dead.  Reacher thinks otherwise.  There is a man who makes anything, including bombs for money.  He is willing to exert control over this out of the way town and follows-up his threats with murders.  The brother was working for this man.  Reacher is intrigued enough to go after the man and get him and his thugs off the street.  This collaboration with Child and his son works seamlessly.  The pace is just as intense as any of the previous books.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (1993) Four Walls Eight Windows

A near-future story about society breaking down.  Specifically, what comes after and how a young woman survives the loss of her father, her family, her home and neighborhood to raiders and drug addicts, devises her own understanding of God, and finds a place to start over.  The story takes place in California.  The police and fire departments have become extremely corrupt.  Corporations are buying people and treating them like industry from the 19^th century.  People kill just to rob other people.  But in our heroine’s view, God is change and people can effect change.

The Warden’s Daughter by Jerry Spinelli (2017) Knopf Books for Young Readers

Cammie O’Reilly is the warden’s daughter.  Her mother was killed saving her from a milk truck.  She is taken care of by a trustee and is the adopted daughter of the women in prison.  She, of course, wants a mother and wished her father would marry the trustee.  She see’s the other kids who have mothers and is terribly jealous.  She acts our, trying to get attention that she refuses to accept.  When her favorite prisoner, Bobo, hangs herself, it takes time for her to accept that all the stories the woman told her.  She acts out even more and starts shoplifting.  Eventually she is caught, but instead of being punished, as the warder’s daughter, she is taken home.  Once there, she acts out against the trustee who sends her to the one place she has avoided, where the accident happened.  She returns in tears and the trustee cleans her up and calms her to sleep.  When she awakes, the trustee is gone, released for time served. Years later, she learns the woman spent an extra year at the prison just to help Cammie through her problems.

New Kid by Jerry Craft (2019) Quill Tree Books

Jordan Banks is the new kid in a private school who helps new friends overcome insecurities, prejudice, and negligent racism.  His teacher keeps confusing the name of another black student just because he’s black.  He finds a girl has a crush on him.  And he helps another girl overcome her fear of how people will see her because she has a burn scar from saving her brother’s life.  A well done, non-preachy book that deserved the Newbery it won.

Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb (2004) Piatkus Books

“We are Cassandra” – the tagline of a group that threatens to blow up places where people gather to overthrow the government in a fourth world war (the series is set in the 2050s -the author should have added a century since we are coming up on the time of her stories and have not yet achieved interplanetary colonization or FTL).  Eve Dallas is personally targeted as are the properties of her wealthy husband Rourke.  The tension is constantly ratcheted higher to the climax on the statue of liberty.

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain (1934) Alfred A. Knopf

The only postman in this story is death. A Bum gets a job at a service station/diner and finds the diner’s owner’s wife is unhappy.  He wants to take care of that problem.  Cain weaves a story of murder and unexpected luck of both varieties.

Lirael by Garth Nix (2003) Harpercollins

The second volume in the Abhorsen series.  This follows a daughter of the Clayr who barely remembers her mother and does not know who her father was.  She only wants to gain the sight of her cousins and settles for being a librarian.  She is especially good at Charter magic and incessantly curious about the Library, especially wherever she is not supposed to go.  At the same time, the daughter and son of Sabriel and her husband, the king, Touchstone must keep the kingdom safe while the parents must continuously cross the kingdom, fighting free magic and the dead.  What Lirael and the Prince learn can make all the difference.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (2015) Henry Holt

A farm boy loses his big brother and their life savings to a conman.  He decides to do anything to get even and see the conman ruined.  To do so he becomes known as dirty hands since he will do anything for a price.  He gathers a team around him that becomes more successful than the other gangs on the docks.  Then he takes a job that promises enough money to buy freedom for his crew of six.  They break into an impenetrable fortress and steal a person.  Every character has background and things to hide.  But will the merchant they are working for keep his deal or make things much worse.

Robert B. Parker's Slow Burn by Ace Atkins (2016) G.P. Putnam's Sons

A Spenser story about fireman wannabes who think the Boston Fire Department needs help with budget for men and equipment to fight fires – and their brilliant solution is to start fires.  But that puts fire fighters and sparks, the people who provide coffee and blankets for the firefighters at risk.  Spenser is looking into what one of the Fire Chiefs thinks was the first incident where three of their own died.  At first glance it looks like fire for profit, leading Spenser to think a local made guy or his organization is responsible.  Instead that guy provides the video proof they need.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (1962) Simon & Schuster

The Carnival comes to town in October and two boys are caught up in the magic of the sinister Mr. Dark.  The language is unusually flowery by Bradbury and the three states, mad, madder, maddest, etc. seems to overpopulate the prose.  If an editor got hold of it today, it would be shorter.  But the basic good vs. evil comes through.  The book was published in 1962 and the movie came out twenty years later, the screenplay also written by the author.  I like the book’s opening better than the movie and the special effects seemed to be the movie’s overdone part. 

We have a local book and a movie club - this was our pick for October.

Nemesis by Jo Nesbö (2009) Harper

Harry Hole is in Norway and his love is in Moscow fighting a custody suit against her former husband.  A bank is robbed.  The robber never speaks more than four words out loud.  He whispers his instructions to a woman to have the manager empty the ATM into a carryall.  Then he kills the woman.  Harry is added to the robbery task force looking to solve the bank robbery, but his interest is in the murder.  A new character is added to the cast who never forgets a face.  Others in this story include gypsies, jealous lovers, and other lonely people.  Harry figures out who the real killer is.  But that's his curse, isn't it?

Come Again by Nate Powell (2018) Top Shelf Productions

A group of people live off the grid in a small community.  Yet all the problems of people still exist in their version of utopia. One mother, raising her child by herself, has a secret from everyone, along with the husband of her best friend.  Their boys discover the cave where secret meetings have been happening.  The cave likes secrets, and one of the boys becomes bait.  This is a graphic novel. It's a dark story and Mr. Powell chose to do many of the scenes in darkness.  It's worth the read.