01 Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein Nineteen-year-old Avery Abrams was set to be the next big gymnastics When she hits a version of rock bottom and moves home, Avery's former teammate and crush Ryan (who did

01 Frog: The Secret Diary of a Paramedic by Sally Gould Gould's memoir of her life as a paramedic is Sally Gould's memoir is named after a darkly humorous term of affection for paramedics in Australia ( This is Sally Gould's first book. useful to readers of any age--that considers how the constitution was shaped, factors that continue to push Sophie Elmhirst revisits a decades-old true story that she crafts like fiction, skillfully using dry

Brother s is seventy-year-old Alex Van Halen's tribute and love letter to his younger brother ("Edward " or "Ed," never "Eddie"), told with intimate reflections and details. By continually evolving, pushing limits, and challenging the status quo, the four friends shaped the

When a documentary shines a light on Margot again, Billy's longtime crush on the musician is renewed.

, and others on my to-read list include The House Girl by Tara Conklin, March by Geraldine Brooks, Old untested characters find they are capable of incredible grit—and other idealist characters find themselves crushed Callum, an Irish horse thief, fled to America an orphan at fifteen years old. Brown also wrote the wonderful Gods of Howl Mountain , Wingwalkers , and Rednecks . 03 Wilderness by Like I told you. And I'm American and not something else because they failed that day.

After pushing him to return home before heading to college, he headed to campus and died in a freak accident

But her female sex holds her back from being able to find the knowledge she seeks, and she dresses as They love each other, but they are able to stay married only because they push down the memories of tragedies The exploration of gray areas between good and evil was the most intriguing aspect to me as our elderly Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby is living out her days in a posh flat in London.

fiction thriller with fantastic details of the time that focuses on the character of a twenty-four-year-old believers" are pitted against dark, feared forces, turning what the village collectively believes to be good destructive righteousness, blind obedience, and attempts at wielding selfish power do so by remembering the old Destructive blizzards, devastating tornadoes, desperate heat, and shockingly bitter cold are alternately

Now Sybil is in her late 70s, she's set in her ways, she's sometimes out of step and old-fashioned, often I love a novel told through letters. the novel traces each of the unsympathetic protagonist's professional missteps and cutthroat choices, pushing

lots to consider; a wonderfully offbeat feminist Western; a captivating multigenerational family story told Duchess is a thirteen-year-old girl trying to keep her family together. Her mother Star is old friends with Walk and Vincent, and when Vincent reappears, the tenuous peace and Whitaker's story builds into a tale of heartbreak and desperate hopes for redemption that folded back The story is told in two timelines, one as young Idris and Mazna are brought together by tragedy and

But a young, half-feral female student and a shockingly unorthodox widow both seem to hold mysterious Magical realism allows the force that haunts, challenges, and pushes them to take the form of a beast

Warren digs deeply into the realities of doubting his faith, God, his life’s work, and his vision of Warren’s life story, both personal and professional, and his push and pull between faith and science, be too easily reached or too pat, but Warren digs deeply into the realities of doubting his faith, God

The story is told with alternating chapters focused on a chilling crime that feels connected to the Elise-Wade Practical, tough sixteen-year-old Bridget arrives in 1877 Dodge City without a penny to her name or enough But her meek and mild manner invites only cold shoulders and contempt from her fellow students.

reporting concerns to the police will result in punishment such as the bulldozing of their homes, where a crush It is told in young Jai’s point of view and primarily focuses on his outlandish ideas for becoming a

Old friends resurface, pulling Anna out of herself, and when other young girls go missing, the draw of annoyance at hand-holding! the promise of friendship and magic and bonds to come!). Love! their years together (and apart) are an anchor of sorts, regardless of their status: “He brought her goodness It's winter, it's cold, and it's tough to simply survive. Anderson's beautifully spare writing about the brutal winter and the pressing crises of hunger, cold,

He relates with starry-eyed enthusiasm his brushes with countless musicians he admires--and his collaborations She seems like a good egg, and I really liked spending time with her through this memoir.

suggested ingredients for a stocked Mexican kitchen to an exploration of tomato varieties; from how to fold Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad “MacKaye never told

The friendship between Ganymedes and dark-humored 6-year-old Grasshopper is funny and sweet, and I loved For my full review please check out Spellslinger . 06 Blood of the Old Kings (Bleeding Empire #1) by In Blood of the Old Kings , dead sorcerers power the empire, which has long been run on a system of necromancy But when a long-dead sorcerer takes the shape of a voice in her head and pushes her to question the rules For my full review, please see The Blood of the Old Kings .

what will later be known as Montana, with Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops horridus ambling by in the lush To all who might suggest that Sam Heughan's heartthrob role as Jamie in Outlander or his rugged good In Waypoints, Sam Heughan points out places along Scotland's ninety-six-mile West Highland Way that hold

These are my current Bossy book wishes, whether because my library doesn't have a copy (Strange Gods; Click here to check out my full review of The Book of Delights. 03 Strange Gods by Alison Kimble In Alison Kimble's Strange Gods (published in 2021), Spooky arrives at a wilderness camp for troubled teens bracing herself for bullies, counselors ready to crush her spirit, and other kids determined to disrupt and , who has borne him seven children, is enraged when Louis takes up with a fresh-faced eighteen-year-old

Warren’s life story, both personal and professional, and his push and pull between faith and science, be too easily reached or too pat, but Warren digs deeply into the realities of doubting his faith, God Bowler tackles this "God's reward/punishment" mindset within her personal framework of cancer treatment

It's tough to feel sympathy for a seventeen-year-old who is without money, hungry, and desperate to please Miller says she's made pancakes, mentions she doesn't want the pancakes to get cold, then we see a tray

the novel traces each of the unsympathetic protagonist's professional missteps and cutthroat choices, pushing

to take for granted--it's dangerous enough that those in power want to silence the two of them for good power of books takes a tough situation that ends in a death and allows for a fresh start--which might push

But the disturbing scenes they find upon their return surpass the outrageous tales they've been told years of brutal battles and ensure their much-anticipated homecoming in order to see their loved ones pushed

...and growing Puritan radicalism," as Blakemore writes in an author's note. ...this cannot be what God But of course, he is God--he must have known exactly what men would do, and not cared, or else figured The women are all trapped in a system that's crushing for females.

wild stories of following various whims and passions and desires, all with a constant undercurrent of pushing

Kuang is also the author of Yellowface , The Poppy War , Babel , The Burning God , and The Dragon Republic For my full review of this book please see Katabasis . 02 Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-Il Kim In this But when a long-dead sorcerer takes the shape of a voice in her head and pushes her to question the rules For my full review, please see The Blood of the Old Kings . 03 Voyage of the Damned by Frances White The key might lie within the centuries-old war her people have waged against the ruthless summerlings

This feels more old-fashioned than the era in which the story is set, but it's handy for the story. Hendrix sets up the push-and-pull of conflicting pressures here: responsibility and risk; following gut

unaware of this); and some unknown creature or group with power and greed is compromising the sacred old The tone of the book often reminded me of The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C.

the event, but the racial issues bubbling beneath the incident and her resulting emotional trauma, pushing

Warren’s life story, both personal and professional, and his push and pull between faith and science, be too easily reached or too pat, but Warren digs deeply into the realities of doubting his faith, God Bowler tackles this "God's reward/punishment" mindset within her personal framework of cancer treatment

Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd The Final Act of Juliette Lloyd  is a historical fiction art-focused mystery told heartbreaking to be privy to their insecurities and fears as well as their soaring hopes--and their crushing Ana is Sherlock Holmes-esque in that she holds many of the answers to the mysteries that abound--but the plot, and various characters' belief in their own judicious use of technology and science to play God

Their old days as hardened criminals could help them satisfy their thirst for revenge--as long as they're But the push to shift production to meet current-day wine trends and demands; the disconnect between

And it is watching a new show, MedCenter Argala (and gleaning tips about holding conversations and performing It does not act like itself for much of the book, which is with good reason but is also somewhat unsatisfying installment of Murderbot (here are my glowing reviews of the first three installments and here is my gushing

But a young, half-feral female student and a shockingly unorthodox widow both seem to hold mysterious Magical realism allows the force that haunts, challenges, and pushes them to take the form of a beast in Moscow ,  a book I really liked, and Rules of Civility ,  which I was even more taken with--the old

Yet Wizenberg finds it impossible to brush off her strengthening feelings.

The recently deceased Uncle Jake, an old-fashioned villain, made a lot of enemies--and they're ruthless There's a ton to unpack here, including the exploration of the good and evil warring within each of us Her life in the wild consists of scrabbling for sustenance and carving out shelter; floating deadly cold A fifteen-year-old Indigenous Masquisit girl Anequs finds a dragon egg, and when it hatches, she befriends

Donoghue weaves a good amount of fact into this story. There's a constant push and pull of life and death--a microcosm of what is occurring on the battlefields

When Bill, a good-hearted coal merchant, discovers something shocking while making his regular delivery This was a fast read (listen), and while the denouement didn't completely hold together for me and the storylines and the varied, complicated set of characters' influences and motivations, Joella explores the crushing

master plan for a performance--and talks her unfriendly teen coworker, Nathan, into making his gamer crush

the masters' willful brutality, and the spark to fight that persists in some who have been hurt and pushed Family is pitted against family; those who worship the old gods clash against those who embrace Christianity The details of life at the time are wonderful, and some characters wield magic and hold mysterious powers

many senses, but now she was a grown woman with a full life, and she was not regularly reliving the crushing The topic is crushing, but Crawford's writing is wonderful in its honest and unflinching reflections

; The Last Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave's great mystery that offers unexpected (but not manipulative) pushes her to consider a DNA-based, data-driven dating program that makes sense to her--and she receives Dave In The Last Thing He Told Me, Hannah has just celebrated her one-year anniversary of marriage to Laura Dave sets up a well-rounded, fascinating mystery; Hannah and Bailey are pushed to work together For my full review of this book, please see The Last Thing He Told Me. 06 One of Us Is Next by Karen

I do love historical fiction, and my World War II focus has been pushing out all others in my book club

Six Four-Star Bossy Mystery Reads Doesn't the cold winter feel like the perfect time to cozy up with Helen lives in her dream home, an old Victorian beauty where she grew up, with her architect husband, I'm up for a renegade story and a good-over-evil, noble quest.

pretty girl" greeting from the recently met grown-man male detective partner to Devlin's thirteen-year-old lesser extent, so was the daughter's telling her traumatized aunt how pretty she is (while soothingly brushing I'm a sucker for an unlikely detective partnership, and this was a good one. Are you a Webb fan?

But Alexei's parents have always pushed him so ruthlessly, he never made friends or developed a life surprise Harriet upon her arrival with the fact that Win was able to come after all, it should be a good Except, Harriet and Win broke up months ago...and haven't told anyone yet. Then Iris spies a storefront familiar from one of her deceased mother's old photos, a gelato store...

The Night Ship is historical fiction with a magical realism undercurrent that's told in two timelines Her home life is hectic, hardscrabble, and emotionally cold, but she has never known life to be any other Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai Makkai's boarding school-set mystery offers depth as it exposes age-old are unredeemable buffoons, at best ignorant and rigid and at worst neglectful and cruel--and always holding

Orenstein pushes parents and trusted adults to "challenge the unwritten rules of male socialization, mentioned look especially promising to me: Talk to Me First; Sex, Teens, and Everything in Between; and For Goodness