Kidd's dual-timeline historical fiction, based on actual events, shines in its vivid settings, richly imagined characters, sea voyage details, and magical realism elements. The Night Ship is historical fiction with a magical realism undercurrent that's told in two timelines. I didn't realize up front that this is based upon a true story, and now I'm even more deeply haunted. The Night Ship centers around the dilemmas, conflicts, and discoveries of two characters separated by three centuries: Mayken, a Dutch girl on an ocean voyage who is shipwrecked off the coast of Australia, and Gil, an eccentric Australian boy living three hundred years later on the same island, trying to move past trauma and make a home with his grandfather, a stranger to him. As with Things in Jars, in The Night Ship Kidd offers twists and turns, irresistible protagonists, and vivid setting detail. I absolutely adore Kidd's writing and her gorgeous, evocative settings, her wonderfully imperfect and intriguing characters, her foreboding undercurrents, and her pacing and structure. I was particularly taken with the echoes through time that linked Mayken and Gil--shadowy, dark forces; the scrying stone; their struggles to overcome broken and lost mothers; the way they each literally held in their hands the last remnants of their mothers and considered allowing them to drift away in the wind. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Jess Kidd is the author of Things in Jars, a mystery I gave four Bossy stars--and listed in two Greedy Reading Lists, Six Spooky, Gothic Tales and Six Historical Fiction Mysteries Sure to Intrigue You. Kidd is also the author of Himself and Mr. Flood's Last Resort.

ICYMI: Uprooted is a thoughtful, satisfying, grown-up fairy tale with gloriously imagined details. I ate it up and gave it four Bossy stars. Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful. Agnieszka has grown up in a quiet village, surrounded by people she loves. But evil lurks in the nearby Wood, with the dark presence of the wizard they call the Dragon looming over all of them. The Dragon keeps them safe from the Wood, but at a high price: each year he demands one young woman from the village. She is taken for ten years to serve him. The next choosing is coming up quickly, and Agnieszka is sure that her best friend Kasia will be next to go. She considers every desperate plan she can to try to save Kasia from this horrible fate, knowing all the while that she cannot prevent what is to happen. Naomi Novik creates captivating reimaginings of fairy tales (check out my review of Spinning Silver). Uprooted is a thoughtful, satisfying grown-up fairy tale with gloriously imagined details. I ate it up. I feel compelled to also mention that Novik has a series of nine books about dragons, the Temeraire series. The dragons talk and are haughty and greedy and intensely loyal to their riders, and Novik explores world politics and the intricacies of nations' relationships and airborne dragon battles within the books' alternate history, and the human protagonists are wonderfully faulted and fantastic. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I mentioned Uprooted (and Novik's Spinning Silver) in the Greedy Reading List Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups Will Love. Check out my reviews of Lessons One and Two in the Scholomance series, A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate--and stay tuned for my review of Lesson Three, The Golden Enclaves.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Inciting Joy, Ross Gay's newest collection of essays about finding and spreading happiness; I'm reading the third in Naomi Novik's dark, wonderful Scholomance series, the fantasy novel The Golden Enclaves; and I'm listening to Weyward, Emilia Hart's debut novel, about witchcraft and strong women linked across three timelines. What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 Inciting Joy: Essays by Ross Gay In poet and essayist Ross Gay's Inciting Joy, he explores the joy in our interactions with each other, their importance, and how to cultivate more joy together. Inciting Joy explores caring for each other and the human connections that make up a full, rich life. Gay turns his thoughtful eye and sensitive mind to inspiration and fulfillment in essays with topics ranging from skateboarding to masculinity to mortality. Ross Gay's Book of Delights is a sunshiny set of thoughts and examinations that's not overly earnest and never corny. I just loved it. You can check out my Bossy review of that book here. 02 The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik A Deadly Education was the first in Novik's Scholomance series, which is set at a magical school with two routes out: a grueling path to graduation and beyond or, just as likely, death. Danger and darkness lurk around every corner for grumpy, powerful El and her classmates. The second book of the Scholomance was The Last Graduate, which builds on book one's dark humor, dangerous forces, and the irresistible attraction between El and Orion. I tried to slow down and savor it. In The Golden Enclaves, the third installment of the series, the unlikely allied force of students faces the aftermath of their ambitious book two plan to save the world. With everything going wrong, El and her friends must do the unthinkable yet again: this time they must find their way back into the school they fought for years to escape. Novik is also the author of many other wonderful fantasy novels featuring main protagonists I love. 03 Weyward by Emilia Hart In Weyward, Emilia Hart's story of witchcraft and the natural world, she explores three timelines of women connected through the ages by power and by society's historical suspicion of strong women. In 1619, Altha is awaiting her trial for the murder of a local farmer, and she'll need to use all of her powers to evade execution. In 1942, as World War II disrupts the world, Violet is stuck in her family's ramshackle estate when she discovers an intriguing link to the past. In 2019, Kate flees an abusive relationship in London for the safety of the crumbling cottage she's inherited from her aunt--and learns of her ancestors' persecution in the witch hunts of the 17th century. I received an audiobook version of this book courtesy of Libro.fm (Libro.fm supports local bookstores!) and Macmillan Audio. The story is narrated by Aysha Kala, Helen Keeley, and Nell Barlow. Weyward is Emilia Hart's debut novel.

Six Favorite Memoir Reads The Bossy memoir love continues! I've been posting roundups of my favorite reads from last year by genre. I recently posted about Six of My Favorite Fiction Reads Last Year, Six Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year, Six More Four-Star Mysteries I Loved Last Year, Six Four-Star Historical Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year, and Six Four-Star (And Up) Science Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year. You can check out My Very Favorite Bossy 2022 Reads for my overall favorite reads from last year. Now I offer you six of my favorite memoirish reads from last year. Not every title fits neatly in this category; one is a grandmother's story as told by a granddaughter, and David Sedaris's book includes essays but also a big chunk of memoir. Two other books I loved that could have possibly been included on this list were Amy Bloom's heartbreaking In Love (one of my favorite reads of last year overall) and Elizabeth McCracken's The Hero of This Book (altbough McCracken asserts that this is not a memoir, but fiction). If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! I'd also love to hear about some of your favorite memoir reads. Did you read any favorite memoirs last year or have you read any new favorites this year? And for more more more memoirs I've loved that you might want to try, check out these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality 01 Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad Jaouad offers a powerful memoir about coping with leukemia and facing mortality, with thoughtful introspection and a road-trip journey. Suleika Jaouad had just graduated from college to pursue her career dreams of becoming a journalist. She was in love, she was living in Paris, and her future was bright. But she developed a strange itch in her foot. Then she began to feel fatigue she just couldn't shake, no matter how many hours-long naps she fell into. After long months of mystery and suffering, she received a diagnosis: acute myeloid leukemia and a rare blood disorder, myelodysplastic syndrome. Jaouad spent four years constantly fearing for her life; undergoing various procedures; living with intense pain; experiencing extreme lows, moments of desperate hope, and a few highs; choosing to end her long-term relationship, and writing a New York Times column about her experience. She emerged from spending years with her head down, fighting to survive, to realize that she needed to figure out how she wanted to live the rest of her days. Along with her adopted mutt Oscar, Jaouad embarked on a 100-day, 15,000-mile trip around the perimeter of the United States, visiting many of the people--until then, strangers--who had written to her during her cancer fight. The vast majority of page time is spent on Suleika's struggle with her physical disease. She offers hard-won insights and a rollercoaster of feelings and the desire to be independent even as she is irritatingly, deeply reliant upon the kindness and care she receives from family and friends. Click here for my full review of Between Two Kingdoms. 02 You Can't Be Serious by Kal Penn Penn's thoughtful memoir explores serious issues yet also made me laugh out loud. You Can't Be Serious is both thoughtful and playful, and I loved the audiobook. Kal Penn's smart, fun You Can't Be Serious explores his early struggles to make it in Hollywood as he straddles humorous roles and dramatic opportunities; attempts to deflect racism from casting heads and writers; and digs in to try to be one of what he hopes will be an ever-increasing number of diverse faces on television and movie screens. He takes the reader through his discovery of his passion for acting, his immigrant parents' early, practical resistance (they urge him, "at least get a real estate license"), the various early road bumps he encountered, and his dogged determination--which was admittedly shaken after landing very few and consistently stereotypical roles. Penn pulls his memoir into another gear when he adds the fascinating layer of accidental political activism that becomes a passion and, ultimately, a career, one for which he takes a sabbatical from his steady acting job at the time, his role on House. I laughed out loud multiple times; Kal is funny without trying too hard, and his tone is accessible even as he takes the reader deep into worlds most won't have experience with, Hollywood and the White House. Click here for my full review of You Can't Be Serious. 03 Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono Thoughtful, self-deprecating, earnest, and honest, Surrender is a captivating peek into the four decades (and counting) of U2. Bono explores his faith, family, loyalty, musical inspirations, and important activism efforts. I prefer listening to my memoirs read by the author, and I loved hearing U2's songwriter and lead singer Bono take us through the stumbles, pain, joy, and faith that have inspired his music and shaped his life. From treasuring friends he's had since childhood (one of whom was the inspiration for the song "Bad"), to exploring "growing up in Ireland in the seventies with my fists up (musically speaking)"; from digging into the difficult relationship with his father to sharing how he attempted to cope with the loss of his mother decades after the fact, Bono's Surrender is beautifully honest, self-deprecating, and fascinating. Details of Bono's activism make up much of the second half of the book. He is interested in the potential power of his celebrity to do good, in learning about worthwhile issues without ego, and in being actively involved in improving the lives of others around the world. For my full review (and for links to other musicians' memoirs I've loved), check out Surrender. 04 Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris In and among Sedaris's oddball, incisive, skewering observations are poignant, funny, heartfelt, complicated moments from his personal life that add heart to the dark humor in this collection of essays. I like to listen to my David Sedaris books, and I listened to his newest, Happy-Go-Lucky--his first book of new essays since Calypso--as an audiobook as well. Here, Sedaris shares offbeat moments from living in Paris and Sussex, reflects on living in New York City during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and, as always, pokes fun at himself and hilariously skewers others for various affronts. In and among these scenes, Sedaris shares strange, sweet, funny, pivotal moments with each of his living sisters, discusses his sister Tiffany, who died of suicide, and faces the decline of his nonagenarian father, with whom he has always had a complicated relationship. I love to laugh at Sedaris's darkly funny reflections about the world and society--and at his recognition of his own absurdities, strongly held views, and exacting expectations. But what offer depth to his work, and Happy-Go-Lucky is no exception, are Sedaris's unflinching observations of moments in time, desperate scenes, and emotionally charged issues in all of their gritty, messy, poignant, and sometimes hilarious glory. He takes the reader on a roller coaster of emotions, and I love every bit of it. For my full review, check out Happy-Go-Lucky. 05 I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy Former child actress McCurdy's account of her mother's narcissistic, harmful, abusive behavior and how it has shaped the author's life is disturbing, yet McCurdy's tone is wry and appealing in its brutal honesty. Jennette became a child actress at 6 in order to please her mother, pushing down her own anxiety and disinclination to be the center of attention--and eventually committing to her mother's idea of "calorie restriction," which started McCurdy on a path of constant struggling with food and eating disorders that lasted decades. Her mother's volatile emotions; upsetting and controlling actions; pushy manner; mental, emotional, and physical abuse; and disturbing codependence with her young daughter make for an uncomfortable read. Yet McCurdy is witty, often funny, and candid. She doesn't add drama to the often shocking and horrifying revelations she presents to the reader. She's most often matter-of-fact, because while she now has the benefit of age and increased wisdom, therapy and perspective, and distance from the situation, the various methods of constant abuse and control her mother exerted over her until her death were McCurdy's everyday life; for McCurdy, all of this was an unhappy but normal set of circumstances. Click here for my full review of I'm Glad My Mom Died. 06 Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (As Told to Me) Story by Bess Kalb This is an irresistible tribute to Kalb's funny, opinionated, fiercely loving grandmother--a granddaughter's best friend and a wise and formidable character. The author saved every one of her grandmother's voicemails, and here she uses them--along with emails, letters, vividly recalled conversations, and her grandma Bobby's imagined thoughts from beyond the grave--to construct a picture of a formidable, tough-love, fiercely protective matriarch in Bobby Bell. Through Bell's voice we also learn what has shaped the other women of the family: we hear rich stories of Bell's own mother--who fled Belarus in her youth--and her hardships and determination; and we glimpse the difficult relationship between Bobby and her daughter (Kalb's mother) and how it affected each woman's life trajectory. Bobby's recounted memories don't paint her as anything close to a saint; she recounts the evidence of her faults as passionately as the recollections of her life's triumphs--many of which center around having made Bess feel safe and happy and seen. This is a heartwarming, funny, poignant, sassy tribute to a life fully lived and to a determination love freely, deliberately, and unwaveringly. It made me laugh out loud and brought me to tears. I just adored this gem. Click here for my full review of Nobody Will Tell You This But Me.

ICYMI: This five-star retelling of the story of Rumpelstiltskin offers kickass female protagonists, haunting twists and turns, wonderful, signature Novik oddities, and unexpected heart. I'm getting ready to begin reading the third installment in Naomi Novik's Scholomance series and I realized I haven't posted a stand-alone review of some of Novik's other standout fantasy novels, including this Bossy five-star read. In Spinning Silver, Miryem comes from a family of moneylenders who are on the verge of being unable to provide for themselves any longer. So Miryem sets herself the task of collecting the debts owed to her family, earning her the reputation of being able to spin silver into gold. When a foolish boast forces Miryem into a position of meeting the tsar's impossible challenge, she finds that the mysterious tsar isn't what he seems. The swirl of events draws other innocent young women into Miryem's complicated web and toward potential ruin for all of them. Spinning Silver is a creatively and fully reimagined version of Rumpelstiltskin, but Novik goes well above and beyond that fairy tale. Novik's story offers endless odd, lovely, unexpected, and complex elements. The magical and irresistible tale includes protagonists with kickass girl power; multiple and haunting twists and turns I was eager to ride out with the characters; and a magic touch in telling a well-known story with more heart that I would have imagined. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I mentioned Spinning Silver in the Greedy Reading List Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups Will Love. Check out my reviews of Lessons One and Two in the Scholomance series, A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate--and stay tuned for my review of Lesson Three, The Golden Enclaves.

Makkai's boarding school-set mystery offers depth as it exposes age-old power mismatches; offers young characters agency; explores systemic violence against women; and serves up true-crime fascination while its middle-aged protagonist makes mistakes, seeks justice, and fights for closure. I listened to the audiobook of Rebecca Makkai's I Have Some Questions for You, wonderfully narrated by Julia Whelan and JD Jackson. Bodie Kane is a professor and podcaster, and she has left firmly in the past the events of her boarding school years, when her roommate Thalia was murdered--and the school's athletic trainer was convicted of the crime. But when her alma mater invites her to return to teach a course, Bodie is drawn back to the case and realizes its shoddy investigation and its seemingly faulty conclusions. It makes her wonder: who really killed Thalia? I've been eagerly awaiting the release of this story, which I understood to be part whodunit, part boarding school novel--I love a boarding school novel. Yet Makkai's book was also much more. I Have Some Questions for You is an examination of the shocking, broad power of a social media whirlwind, particularly one without basis in facts or merit. It's about our societal obsession with tragedies and mysterious murders, and the tendency of bystanders to insert themselves into speculation and judgment. It's about the infuriating, often tragic power mismatches between men and women, white and Black people, and the wealthy and the poor. Makkai offers up the potentially world-changing power of young people with an idea and tenacity; and she allows the privileged, sometimes cruel, seemingly shallow young students from Bodie's past to make worthwhile differences in the world. Meanwhile our main protagonist is a middle-aged woman appealingly muddling along at times, doing her best, looking for love, and using her intelligence and passion for justice to lead the way. I absolutely loved the structure of the book, as Bodie directs her first-person narrative voice at the person she believes to be responsible for Thalia's murder. I found the repeated true-crime mentions of various similar and dissimilar cases particularly powerful and heartbreaking in their copiousness--and in highlighting the brutality against women that has come to shape our world. Lists include cases summarized in the vein of "It was the one where [insert specific circumstances of a woman's death at the hands of a man]" and "No, it was the one where he got off because [insert faulty investigative or legal prosecution circumstances]." I received an audiobook edition of this book courtesy of Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Rebecca Makkai is also the author of The Great Believers and The Hundred-Year House. For more Bossy reviews of fiction and nonfiction books about boarding schools, click here.

The early story captured my attention with ballet, an orphan's struggles, and Depression-era Chicago, but once Nocturne shifted into dark fantasy I didn't feel connected. In Alyssa Wees's slim (it's 240 pages) fantasy novel Nocturne, set in the Little Italy of 1930s Chicago, promising young dancer Grace dreams of becoming a prima ballerina. As the Depression rages, orphaned Italian immigrant Grace rises through the ranks of the Near North Ballet Company--losing friends, becoming more jaded, and ultimately gaining a valuable, secretive benefactor who may be the key to her job security--but he may not be what he seems. Grace is faced with compromises and tradeoffs, and she must decide where her own loyalties lie and determine how far she's willing to go to keep hold of her long-held dream. I felt connected to Wees's story through Grace's early struggles, her sole real connection, to friend Emilia, and her ballet training and performances. The understated dark undercurrents felt powerful and mysterious. But once the fantasy elements became the focus, the story felt more like a series of ethereal concepts to me. The predator-prey, death-and-life, constricting-and-controlled scenario is orchestrated by an evasive, sinister, and, I felt, annoying man (every Sunday night Grace is forced into a dance and some evasive conversation, and meanwhile she must wait around all week for this?). The story began to feel more juvenile in tone to me as it evolved into a twisted fairy tale, which I often enjoy. Grace's benefactor, who barely speaks, seeks to control her, and has professed his romantic interest in her, has been watching and fixating on her since her childhood (ugh), yet this predatorial scenario is made out to feel more romantic than a horror. As Nocturne became less anchored in emotions and motivations that I could grasp, I lost my connection to Grace. There are twists, and I enjoyed Grace's strong stand at the end, but by that point I had lost my feeling of investment in her story. I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Alyssa Wees is also the author of The Waking Forest. You can check out my Bossy reviews of other fantasy titles here.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Foster, Claire Keegan's slim Irish novel about a young girl sent to live with relatives for a hot summer; I'm reading the first of Alex White's Starmetal Symphony series, the space opera August Kitko and the Mechas from Space, about deadly AI robots coming to destroy space--until our main protagonist, a jazz pianist, is tasked with saving humanity; and I'm listening to This Other Eden, historical fiction set in Maine by Paul Harding, the author of Tinkers. What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 Foster by Claire Keegan In Claire Keegan's slim novel Foster, a young girl in Ireland is taken by her father to spend the hot summer with relatives on a rural farm. The loving, affectionate household allow her to feel more open and secure than she has before, but she can't help wondering if she's here to stay of if she'll be thrust back into her home. Summer is ending, and there's a mysterious, unspoken, disturbing undercurrent at the Kinsellas'. I loved Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These, about Irish-small-town coal salesman Bill Furlong. Each of his small choices build to a crescendo of spilled secrets and an upended decades-old system of cruelties and greed. You can check out my Bossy review of Small Things Like These here. 02 August Kitko and the Mechas from Space (The Starmetal Symphony #1) by Alex White In the first book in Alex White's space opera series The Starmetal Symphony, Gus is a jazz pianist whose biggest hope for the end of the world was to play at the most epic goodbye party of all time. After all, the Vanguards, giant, deadly AI robots, are headed from deep space to destroy Earth at any moment. But when the Vanguards arrive, the sudden, brutal ending Gus has envisioned for himself doesn't happen. Instead, Gus and a small group of Earthlings are pulled in by a small group of traitorous Vanguards--and tasked with saving all of humanity. I really enjoyed Alex White's Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe, the first in the Salvagers series--which I look forward to finishing. That first book in the space opera series offers diverse characters, strong women, a heist setup, and, ultimately, a ragtag group of underdogs saving the day. 03 This Other Eden by Paul Harding Back in 1792, a formerly enslaved man Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife found a safe haven on an island off the coast of Maine. A century later, the Honeys' descendants and their diverse neighbors make up a hardscrabble community that must scratch and claw to subsist--yet they remain on their island, safe from the judgment and danger of the mainland. When a schoolteacher-turned-missionary arrives to educate the island's children, he draws the attention of eugenics-focused authorities, who set out to forcibly evacuate the island. I received an audiobook version of this book courtesy of Libro.fm (Libro.fm supports local bookstores!) and Recorded Books, Inc. The book is narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. Paul Harding is also the author of Tinkers.

My very favorite Bossy February reads! I'm coming in early with my six favorite (and varied!) reads of February, but I feel recklessly sure of myself with just one Bossy review to come before the short month is over. If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! And I'd also love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads? 01 Maame by Jessica George Jessica George's debut Maame takes on big issues of race, culture, and the challenges of growing up between two cultures while shining in its details: wonderful dialogue, messy moments, and the main character's hard-won self-discovery and growth. Young adult Maddie's life in London is exhausting. She's the primary caregiver for her father, who has Parkinson's disease; she pays the bills; her mother spends the majority of her time in Ghana yet manages to micromanage Maddie's religious faith and life from across the globe; her older brother never seems to be around to help; and she's the only Black person at work with a boss who shifts all of the blame and none of the accolades her way. When her mom shows up from Ghana, Maddie jumps at the chance for some independence; a late bloomer, she finds a flat share and revels in finally being on her own. Maddie is inexperienced and has been somewhat isolated in her caregiver role (although she has close friends, who are wonderful characters in the story), so she's got a lot of learning to do and mistakes to make. Jessica George offers a wonderful story with messy moments of love, some humor, big issues of race, loss, anger, lies and betrayal, and underneath it all, the constant, stressful push and pull between Maddie's two cultures. Maame explores Maddie's search to establish herself in the world, and I loved rooting for her the whole way. For my full review, check out Maame. 02 Solito by Javier Zamora Zamora's memoir of his grueling journey from El Salvador to the United States without family at age nine keeps the reader within each immediate, breathless, uncomfortable, fear-filled moment through and to the unknown. In Solito, the poet Javier Zamora shares the story of his grueling journey from El Salvador to the United States at age nine. Zamora keeps us in his nine-year-old perspective, which also serves to keep us focused on moment-by-moment sensations and concerns and makes the memoir feel immediate and breathless. Physical discomfort (he is tired, cold, hot, burned, thirsty, hungry), emotional turmoil (he feels loneliness, fear, concern, disconnectedness), and yearning (he is desperate for trust, for assurances, for safety and security, for reunification) are at the forefront. Zamora takes us through what often feels like his literal step-by-step journey, without summarizing or skipping over impactful moments of need and want and despair. Yet he doesn't mine the difficult situation in an effort to build drama; his account feels honest and without emotional manipulation. I listened to Solito as an audiobook. Click here for my full review of Solito. You might also be interested in the titles on my Greedy Reading List Six Fascinating Books about Immigrants' Experiences. 03 Big Swiss by Jen Beagin Jen Beagin's literary fiction novel is consistently bizarre, at times base, and often darkly funny as her characters alternately dive into and avoid facing the implications of their past traumas, stunted emotional states, vulnerabilities, lies, and sexual exploration. Greta sits in her 1700s Dutch farmhouse in Hudson, New York transcribing sessions for a local New Age sex coach (his credentials are suspect) who calls himself Om. She begins to fall for a stoic female client Greta affectionately thinks of as Big Swiss (Greta gathers from Om's awkwardly admiring chatter that the client is tall and originally from Switzerland). When Greta recognizes Big Swiss's voice at the dog park and the two accidentally meet, Greta panics and lies about her name and her profession, and the two begin a passionate affair. The dialogue is witty, odd, and often both cringe-inducing and darkly funny. Some of the metaphors felt heavily hammered home, but I didn't mind. I was intrigued by the intersection of the women's personalities and lives, and Beagin kept me consistently hooked with this offbeat novel. Click here for my full review of Big Swiss. 04 Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall Marshall's debut historical fiction centers around women's searches for body autonomy in three timelines of interconnected characters and their stories. Looking for Jane is a story of women living in three timelines who are linked through decades by a mysterious letter--and by enormously important, recurring dilemmas for women through the ages: unexpected pregnancies; searches (and fights) for bodily autonomy and securing their health; and weighty choices with repercussions that reverberate. In this historical fiction, Marshall explores the goings-on at 1960s unwed mothers' homes in Canada--based upon actual first-person accounts of practices, cruelties, and secrets and lies at such homes in the U.S. and Canada. The female characters' stories are deeply intertwined; I saw some of the events coming but not others, and I didn't mind predicting portions of where the story was going. Marshall sets up realistic emotional barriers for characters who have had to hide parts of themselves away; she doesn't shy away from sharing the sometimes-tragic outcomes of pregnant women's desperate searches for a say-so in their fates; and she places each story within the events and details of its timeline. Please click here for my full review of Looking for Jane. 05 We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman This was my favorite read of the month! Newman's writing is irresistible; she offers a heartbreaking and heartwarming tribute to friendship and to family that centers around witty dialogue, unconventional arrangements, coping with an excruciating, looming end, and above all else, love. In Catherine Newman's novel We All Want Impossible Things, Edith and Ashley have been best friends for more than four decades. They've shared the good, bad, and the ugly; endless painfully mundane and thrilling cliffhanger moments; love and loss; disappointment and victory; and everything in between. But now the unthinkable is happening: Edi is dying from ovarian cancer and living out her days in a hospice near Ash. Ash is struggling with her own imperfections as a mother, wife, and friend as she tries to figure out how to say goodbye to her longest, best friend in the world. Newman's lets the reader into Edi and Ash's rabbit warren of private jokes and moments and memories, and she made me feel a part of it all. The dialogue is exceptional in how real it feels--funny, heartbreaking, sometimes realistically without resolution. I find myself drawn to books that explore mortality. We All Want Impossible Things is heartbreaking and wonderfully strange, funny and full of love, and a tribute to deeply loving friendships and families. I loved this. For my full review, please check out We All Want Impossible Things. 06 Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger Book two of the Parasol Protectorate series continues to be playful, mischievous, wonderfully detailed about Victorian life, and full of supernatural creatures and clever plotting. The series takes place in 1870s London, and in book two as in book one, the immensely appealing, practical, fearless character of Alexia Tarabotti (now married to Lord Maccon, a werewolf) navigates danger and helps achieve justice by using her smarts, eschewing societal tradition and limits on women, and demonstrating her ability to neutralize the supernatural abilities of werewolves, vampires, and other creatures. She is a preternatural--a human without a soul--serving on Queen Victoria's somewhat secret advisory committee, which affords her a certain power, and she is also the Alpha female of her husband's pack, which affords her a very different one. When her husband disappears, Alexia tracks him to Scotland, where all manner of badly behaving creatures await, she needs her incredibly handy parasol, her unshakable nerve, some savviness, and the armor of the latest fashions in order to fight off danger, uncover dastardly plots, discover the power plays at work, and save her own life. I'm in for all of these books and laughed out loud at the dialogue, Alexia's abrupt manner, and the delightful oddities in Changeless. For my full review (and a link to my review of the first book in the Parasol Protectorate series), please check out Changeless.

The Books I'm Reading Now To start off the year, I'm listening to Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan's slim novel about small-town Ireland; I'm reading Changeless, the second in Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series; and I'm reading Holly Jackson's As Good As Dead. What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan I've had Small Things Like These on my to-read list for a while, and I was recently talking to my friend Jamie about it and moved it way up. Small Things Like These is a slim novel about a small Irish town in the weeks leading up to Christmas 1985. When a local coal merchant discovers something shocking while delivering to the convent, he must confront his past and consider the implications of the the Catholic church's deep influence on the community. Small Things Like These illustrates the power of quiet heroism and deep empathy. 02 Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger I loved the first in Gail Carriger's five-book Parasol Protectorate series, Soulless (I also listed it on the Greedy Reading List Three Offbeat Series I Just Started and Love), but after raving about it for two years it seemed time to stop letting this second installment languish on my unmanageable to-read list and get on with it! The series takes place in 1870s London, and as in book one, the immensely appealing, practical, fearless character of Alexia Tarabotti (now married to Lord Maccon, a werewolf) navigates danger and helps achieve justice by using her smarts, eschewing societal tradition and limits on women, and demonstrating her ability to neutralize the supernatural abilities of werewolves, vampires, and other creatures. When her husband disappears, Alexia tracks him to Scotland, where all manner of badly behaving creatures (along with an angry Queen Victoria) await, she'll need her parasol, her unshakable nerve, and the latest fashions in order to fight off danger and find Lord Maccon. 03 As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #3) by Holly Jackson “Or, you know, instead of revenge plots, we could focus our energy on going off to university in a few weeks,’ he said brightly. ‘You haven’t even picked out a new duvet set; I’m told that’s a very important milestone.” Where are all of my fellow Pippa Fitz-Amobi superfans? Like Changeless, above, As Good As Dead is a sequel in a series I've loved (book one is A Good Girl's Guide to Murder), and I've been delaying reading it because: endings, love for Pip, etc. Ever since her last detective work ended in a resolution (see Good Girl, Bad Blood, book two), Pip has had a nagging feeling of unease. And a stalker. With unnerving similarities to a serial killer caught years ago. Could the wrong person be in jail for those crimes? Pip must find the stalker before she ends up as the next murder victim.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to The Light We Carry, Michelle Obama's book about facing adversity and overcoming difficulties; I'm reading This Woven Kingdom, the first in Tahereh Mafi's series inspired by Persian mythology; and I'm reading Erin Stewart's young adult novel The Words We Keep. What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama I read Michelle Obama's wonderful book Becoming, but after my wise friend Katherine mentioned having listened to it, I immediately wished I had heard Michelle's calming voice read it to me too. So I decided to listen to The Light We Carry and was instantly sure audiobook was the right format for me. Rather than pretending there are quick fixes for life's challenges and difficulties, Obama shares her "toolbox" of emotional, meditative, optimistic, and other methods of coping, reminding herself of what's what, and ways in which she carries on in the face of adversity. 02 This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi Alizeh is to all appearances a servant in the palace--forgettable, invisible, disposable. In reality, she is the heir to an ancient kingdom. She has been forced to hide in plain sight in order to evade those who would eliminate her family forever. The crown prince could never imagine that the prophecy of his father's death that he has become obsessed with centers around the striking servant girl under his very roof. This Woven Kingdom is the first in Tahereh Mafi's fantasy trilogy of the same name. The second book, These Infinite Threads, is scheduled for publication next month. 03 The Words We Keep by Erin Stewart In Erin Stewart's young adult novel The Words We Keep, Lily has been trying to hold it all together since walking in on her sister Alice engaged in self-harm three months ago. Her sister is back from treatment, where Micah, Lily's new friend at school, was also in treatment. Now Lily is struggling to process her own compulsions and consider their potential implications. When Lily explores poetry as part of a school project, she finds the healing power of art--and realizes that trusting Micah with her complicated feelings and true self might be the most terrifying and most important risk she could take.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame, Meg Long's upcoming (to be published tomorrow!) novel; I'm listening to the memoir The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man by Paul Newman; and I'm reading Jess Kidd's novel The Night Ship. What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame by Meg Long Meg Long's first novel was Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, a science fiction novel about a tough young female protagonist and her desperate journey across the ice. Just listen to this premise for book two: After a mission gone awry two years ago, Remy Castell has been desperately searching across worlds to find the friend she failed to save--the friend who changed her life by helping her overcome the brainwashing she was subjected to as a genetically engineered corporate agent. Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame promises more high-stakes action, intrigue, shifting alliances, emotional angst, and more. I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley. 02 The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul Newman I recently started watching "The Last Movie Stars," a six-part documentary about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Although it's well done, I'm not sure I'm up for finishing that amount of digging into their lives. But a memoir, read by the author? As usual, I'm in! The project includes asides from family and friends in order to add context to Newman's recollections and reflections. I'm eager to get into the Hollywood era of his story, then his altruism as part of the development of the Newman's Own brand. 03 The Night Ship by Jess Kidd Jess Kidd is the author of Things in Jars, a mystery I gave four Bossy stars--and listed in two Greedy Reading Lists, Six Spooky, Gothic Tales and Six Historical Fiction Mysteries Sure to Intrigue You. The Night Ship is based upon a true story and centers around two characters separated by three centuries: a girl shipwrecked off the coast of Australia and a boy three hundred years later on the same island, making a home with his grandfather. I'm hoping for more twists and turns, irresistible protagonists, and vivid setting detail as in Things in Jars. Kidd is also the author of Himself and Mr. Flood's Last Resort.

The Books I'm Reading Now This week I wanted to find the three most disparate books I could possibly be reading, and here they are. I kid! But this is certainly an interesting mix. I'm listening to a fast-paced Libro.fm audiobook (Libro.fm supports local bookstores!), Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor; I'm reading The Passenger, the first of Cormac McCarthy's two books in his Passenger series, both released last year; and I'm reading a science-and-sex-focused nonfiction book by Dr. Emily Nagoski, Come As You Are. What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor The city is bad, they say, it’s full of con men, criminals, it’s ugly and dirty, it’s no good, only rich people do well, everyone else suffers. Deepti Kapoor's Age of Vice shifts through time and points of view to explore outrageous wealth, ruthless business deals, class divides, violence, and political corruption in contemporary India. From bustling New Delhi to dusty small towns, Kapoor's story tracks intertwined stories of servants, heirs, gangsters, and journalists in this story, described as "equal parts crime thriller and family saga." I received an audiobook edition of this novel courtesy of Libro.fm's Audiobook Listening Copy (ALC) program. 02 The Passenger (Passenger #1) by Cormac McCarthy The Passenger is the first of Cormac McCarthy's two books in his Passenger series, both released last year. It's 1980, and diver Billy Western plunges into the cold darkness of the ocean to a sunken jet with the bodies of nine passengers buckled inside. The small plane is missing its black box, the pilot's flight bag--and the tenth passenger. Billy's witnessing of the mysterious crash aftermath seems bound to bring him trouble. The Passenger shifts from New Orleans to an oil rig off the Florida coast and places in between while suspicious investigators track Billy to try to find answers. 03 Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski I am done living in a world where women are lied to about their bodies; where women are objects of sexual desire but not subjects of sexual pleasure; where sex is used as a weapon against women; and where women believe their bodies are broken, simply because those bodies are not male. And I am done living in a world where women are trained from birth to treat their bodies as the enemy. I keep hearing about how fascinating Dr. Nagoski's nonfiction is. Come As You Are is about the way women's sexuality works and why. Nagoski builds her book around brain science and groundbreaking research to debunk myths about women's sexuality; detail why there is no "pink pill" for women that correlates with Viagra for men; explore how feelings are at the center of women's sexuality; and explain how women's sexuality is as varied as their fingerprints.

The Books I'm Reading Now It's another great mix of reads for me at the moment. I'm reading the novel Maame by Jessica George; I'm listening to Nothing Like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes) by Mindy Kaling; and my son and I are reading a book together, Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 Maame: A Novel by Jessica George Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman. Young adult Maddie's life in London is exhausting. She's the primary caregiver for her father, who has Parkinson's disease; her mother spends the majority of her time in Ghana yet manages to micromanage Maddie's religious faith and life from across the globe; and she's the only Black person at work and has a terrible boss. When her mom shows up, Maddie jumps at the chance for some independence; a late bloomer, she finds a flat share and revels in finally being on her own. With humor, heartbreak, and the constant push and pull between two cultures, Maame explores Maddie's search to figure out where she belongs. I received a prepublication copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. 02 Nothing Like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes) by Mindy Kaling I'm usually an all-Libby (library) audiobook listener, but I wanted to read Michelle Obama's newest book The Light We Carry without waiting on the sizable library wait list, so I dabbled in listening via Audible for a month. It seems that Nothing Like I Imagined is only available through that app. (Speaking of audiobooks, I've now incorporated Libro.fm into my system--and Libro supports independent bookstores, ding ding ding!) Nothing Like I Imagined is Kaling at her witty, self-deprecating, laugh-out-loud best. Here, she digs into topics such as her single parenthood, faith, social awkwardness, search for (just a few) effortless friendships, her love for her best friend B.J. Novak, and more. 03 Gregor the Overlander (The Underland Chronicles #1) by Suzanne Collins I tried to get my older child to read Gregor the Overlander with me after the Harry Potter Era and the Hunger Games Period, but I wanted it too badly and he was like a cat, solidly rejecting my overzealous interest for years. I put the book out on his bed and suggested it so often, Gregor became a joke between us. Enter: a second child without any Gregor baggage or knee-jerk reactions to it, who was willing to dive in. Woo hoo! We are loving this book from Collins (Hunger Games). It's full of adventure, unexpected heroes, scenes that make us laugh, gross-out moments, and heart.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading a witchy novel from Cherie Dimaline, VenCo, scheduled for publication tomorrow; I'm reading Looking for Jane, Heather Marshall's debut novel that links multiple timelines and women's ongoing fight for body autonomy (also scheduled for publication tomorrow); and an upcoming book club book for me, Solito, which is poet Javier Zamora's memoir of his harrowing journey from El Salvador to the United States at age 9. What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 VenCo by Cherie Dimaline When I read the premise of Cherie Dimaline's VenCo, I may have actually squealed in delight. (No pressure to live up to my significant internal hype, Dimaline!) Young Métis Lucky St. James is on the verge of snapping--and that's before she finds out she's going to be evicted from her Toronto apartment. Then a mysterious power begins calling to her. She breaks into the wall to find a silver spoon, engraved with the word SALEM. Unlikely as it may seem, this spoon connects her to a vast network of witches and her ancestors--through a front company, VenCo (an anagram of "coven"). Dimaline's VenCo offers witch hunters, a best-friend road trip, the dark magic of New Orleans, feminism, and a dramatic showdown. I received a prepublication audiobook version of this book courtesy of Libro.fm and HarperAudio. VenCo is scheduled for publication February 7. If you like stories about witches, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Wonderfully Witchy Stories and Six More Wonderfully Witchy Stories to Charm You. 02 Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall It all comes down to having the right to make the choice. Every child a wanted child, every mother a willing mother. Looking for Jane is a story of three timelines linked through decades by a mysterious letter and enormously important recurring dilemmas for women through the ages: unexpected pregnancies; searches (and fights) for bodily autonomy and securing their health; and weighty choices with repercussions that reverberate. Looking for Jane is Heather Marshall's debut novel. It's scheduled for publication February 7. I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Atria Books. 03 Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora Solito is one of my book club's reads for this spring, and I'm listening to it as an audiobook. In Solito, the poet Javier Zamora shares the story of his grueling journey from El Salvador to the United States at age 9. His loving grandfather shakily sends him off on a planned two-week trip through Central America and Mexico to meet up with his parents. The trip lasts seven weeks and involves challenge after challenge. Solito includes hired "coyotes" with dubious experience and intentions; groups of fellow journeyers who betray, bond, or simply disappear; hours and days of desperate thirst and hunger; brushes with death; the hollowing, youthful loneliness of being away from family; and the bright danger of guns and detention centers--and the constant pressure of remembering to keep up ongoing deceptions to avoid them.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading a novel by the wonderful Catherine Newman about love and loss, We All Want Impossible Things; I'm listening to Jen Beagin's recent (public February 7) darkly funny contemporary fiction, Big Swiss, about a sex therapist transcriptionist who falls for a client on the page and then in real life; and I'm reading Maria Dong's suspenseful novel that explores mystery and mental illness, Liar, Dreamer, Thief. What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman In Catherine Newman's novel We All Want Impossible Things, Edith and Ashley have been best friends for more than four decades. They've shared the good, bad, and the ugly; painfully mundane and thrilling cliffhanger moments; love, and loss; disappointment and victory; and everything in between. But now the unthinkable is happening: Edi is dying from ovarian cancer and living out her days in a hospice near Ash. Ash is struggling with her own imperfections as a mother, wife, and friend as she tries to figure out how to say goodbye to her longest, best friend in the world. I loved Newman's nonfiction book about motherhood, Waiting for Birdy. 02 Big Swiss by Jen Beagin Greta sits in her 1700s Dutch farmhouse in Hudson, New York transcribing sessions for a sex therapist who calls himself Om. She begins to fall for a stoic female client who Greta affectionately thinks of as Big Swiss (she is tall and originally from Switzerland). The woman's graceful ability to cope with her past trauma and dark history inspires Greta, who struggles to deal with her own trauma and past. When Greta recognizes Big Swiss's voice at the dog park and the two accidentally meet, Greta keeps her profession secret. The two begin a passionate affair. Despite Greta's secrets, she is as emotionally open and honest as she's ever been. Beagin offers comic contemporary fiction that promises to be wonderfully eccentric and unexpected. I'm all in on this oddball novel so far. I received an audiobook edition of this book, published February 7, courtesy of Libro.fm and Simon & Schuster Audio. 03 Liar, Dreamer, Thief by Maria Dong Katrina Kim is broke, feeling unhinged, and obsessed with her coworker Kurt. Along with number rituals and frequent mental images of scenes from her favorite children's book, tracking Kurt is one of her coping mechanisms. But she's no stalker. As she traces Kurt's comings and goings, she witnesses a tragic event in his life, which he blames upon her. Then Katrina realizes that while she was following Kurt, he was following her back. A deadly event means Katrina must face the secrets of her own hidden past. Maria Dong's exploration of mental illness is also a suspenseful page-turner, as Katrina follows various clues to try and resolve the menacing, mysterious events that have occurred.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Nocturne, Alyssa Wees's fantasy novel about a prima ballerina in 1930s Chicago and her mysterious benefactor, to be published tomorrow; I'm listening to Rebecca Makkai's novel I Have Some Questions for You (also to be published tomorrow), about a mysterious death at a boarding school and a return to the case and all the past issues it raises; and I'm reading the newest mystery from Stacy Willingham (A Flicker in the Dark author), All the Dangerous Things. What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 Nocturne by Alyssa Wees In Alyssa Wees's slim (it's 240 pages) fantasy novel Nocturne, set in the Little Italy of 1930s Chicago, promising young dancer Grace dreams of becoming a success as a prima ballerina. As the Depression rages, orphaned Grace rises through the ranks of the Near North Ballet Company--losing friends, becoming more jaded, and ultimately gaining a valuable, secretive benefactor--but he may not be what he seems. As Italian immigrant Grace is faced with compromises and tradeoffs, she'll have to decide her own loyalties and determine how far she's willing to go to grab hold of her long-held dream. I received a prepublication edition of this book, scheduled for publication Feburary 21, courtesy of NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine. 02 I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai I'm listening to the audiobook of Rebecca Makkai's upcoming (to be published February 21) I Have Some Questions for You, narrated by Julia Whelan and JD Jackson. I've been eagerly awaiting the release of this story--part whodunit, part boarding school novel. Bodie Kane is a professor and podcaster, and she has left firmly in the past the events of her boarding school years, when her roommate Thalia was murdered--and the school's athletic trainer was convicted of the crime. But when her alma mater invites her to return to teach a course, Bodie is drawn back to the case, its shoddy investigation, its faulty conclusions--and to wondering who really killed Thalia. I received an audiobook edition of this book courtesy of Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group. 03 All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham A year ago, Isabelle Drake's toddler son was taken from her. She can't rest until Mason is returned to her, so she says yes when a true-crime podcaster offers to interview her and get the story out so Mason may be more likely to be found. But her own pain and delirium make her wonder if she's paranoid, or if the podcaster is taking too deep of an interest in Isabelle's own past. She begins to wonder if she's an unreliable source of memories surrounding Mason's death--but she can't stop searching for her son. I have a tough time reading missing-children stories, and somehow I missed that key aspect of Willingham's newest mystery, but I feel like I'm in good hands with Willingham, and I'm hooked on the story.. Willingham is also the author of A Flicker in the Dark.

I was hooked on Willingham's past and present storylines and by her unreliable narrator Isabelle, who is desperate to find her missing son--even if it means facing the painful truth of her own traumatic history. A year ago, Isabelle Drake's toddler son was taken from her. She can't rest until Mason is returned to her (she's not sleeping except for catnaps, and she's starting to fall apart physically and mentally), so when a true-crime podcaster offers to interview her and get the story out so Mason may be more likely to be found, she says yes. Isabelle can't stop searching for her son, but she begins to wonder if she's an unreliable source of memories surrounding Mason's death. Her own pain and delirium make her wonder whether her lost child, estranged husband, estranged parents, her other heartbreaking losses, her unaccounted-for hours sleepwalking, and others' mysterious reactions to her mean she's somehow to blame for the ruins of her life. Or does she continually have bad luck and understandably shuts down her connections to others to avoid further heartbreak? Is she paranoid, or is the podcaster taking too deep of an interest in Isabelle's personal past rather than trying to solve the mystery of Mason's disappearance? I have a realllly tough time reading missing-children stories, and somehow I missed that key plot point of Willingham's newest mystery before settling in to read it, but I felt somewhat confident that I was in good hands with Willingham and that things might turn out all right--if not neatly, then without unimaginable horrors coming to light. I like the way Willingham builds tension and offers twists without making me feel manipulated by shifty details. I was hooked on both the past and present timelines of this story. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Willingham is also the author of A Flicker in the Dark. Click here for Bossy reviews of more mystery and suspense books.

Newman offers a heartbreaking and heartwarming tribute to friendship that centers around witty dialogue, unconventional arrangements, coping with an excruciating, looming end, and above all else, love. Every year, ever since the girls were born, I have blown out the candles on my birthday cake and wished for just this. Everything I have already. No loss. I can't spare anybody is what I always think. But then, people must be spared. That is the whole premise of this life, of this time we have with each other. In Catherine Newman's novel We All Want Impossible Things, Edith and Ashley have been best friends for more than four decades. They've shared the good, bad, and ugly: endless painfully mundane or thrilling moments; love and loss; disappointment and victory; and everything in between. But now the unthinkable is happening: Edi is dying from ovarian cancer and living out her days in a hospice near Ash. Ash is struggling with her own imperfections as a mother, wife, and friend as she tries to figure out how to say goodbye to her longest, best friend in the world, the person who makes Ash who she is. Newman's lets the reader into Edi and Ash's rabbit warren of private jokes and moments and memories, and she made me feel a part of it all. The dialogue is exceptional in how real it feels--funny, heartbreaking, and sometimes realistically meandering and without resolution. Ash's immediate family is loving and accepting above all else. The shape of her household is unconventional--she is estranged from her lovely, sometimes flaky, big-hearted husband, yet he is a constant part of daily life and of The Edi Situation as well. For some reason I didn't completely believe in Ash's frequent sexcapades with various people she meets, yet I recognize that people of course have individual reactions to such a state of grief and might be inspired to cope in varied ways. And at any rate, I loved the low-key thread of the premise that a strong middle-aged woman can find moments of sexual satisfaction with a range of others as often as she wishes, matter-of-factly, and that in doing so she gains human connections that are fleeting, without boundaries, and comforting in a time of need. I find myself drawn to books that explore mortality. We All Want Impossible Things is heartbreaking and wonderfully strange, funny and full of love, and a tribute to deeply loving friendships and families. I loved this. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I fell in love years ago with Newman's blog about her life, family and kids, Ben and Birdy, and I loved Newman's nonfiction book about repeat motherhood, Waiting for Birdy. We also own How to Be a Person: 65 Hugely Useful, Super-Important Skills to Learn Before You're Grown Up.

Jen Beagin's literary fiction novel is consistently bizarre, at times base, and often darkly funny as her characters alternately dive into and avoid facing the implications of their past traumas, stunted emotional states, vulnerabilities, lies, and sexual exploration. Greta sits in her 1700s Dutch farmhouse in Hudson, New York transcribing sessions for a local New Age sex coach (his credentials are suspect) who calls himself Om. She begins to fall for a stoic female client Greta affectionately thinks of as Big Swiss (Greta gathers from Om's awkwardly admiring chatter that the client is tall and originally from Switzerland). The woman's matter-of-fact approach to life and her graceful ability to cope with her significant past trauma and dark history inspires Greta, who struggles to deal with her own trauma and past. When Greta recognizes Big Swiss's voice at the dog park and the two accidentally meet, Greta panics and lies about her name and her profession, and the two begin a passionate affair. Greta dives into her affair with Big Swiss, and their sex life is full of unflinching detail about desire, repulsions, particular personal requirements for satisfaction, awkward logistics of sex and of finding places to have sex, and their bodies' unique features and each other's obsessions with them. Meanwhile, everything else Greta's life seems to symbolize her brokenness. The home she shares with eccentric Sabine is returning to the wild as various creatures take it over, sometimes in revolting fashion; her body is increasingly unreliable and uncomfortable (with bleeding, itching, and other problems building as the story progresses); and she engages in what may turn out to be either full-fledged denial or what may turn out to be a circuitous route to facing her past traumas and taking responsibility for her impulsive decision-making and the repercussions of her committedly closed-off emotional state. Twisted humor and awkwardness constantly underlie the situation as Greta continues regularly listening to and transcribing Om's confidential sessions with Big Swiss, then not very convincingly pretending she was previously unaware of Big Swiss's revelations when Big Swiss is vulnerable enough to share them with Greta in person. Greta's lies and her inability to be open with Big Swiss are threatening to upend the truest connection she's known--yet the relationship is based upon a web of lies from both women. Big Swiss is lying to her husband by not admitting her affair, while Greta is lying to Big Swiss about her own biographic information and also omitting any mention of her secret knowledge of Big Swiss. Yet in a twisted fashion, these lies seem to free her to be honest about everything else. Despite Greta's secrets, she is as emotionally open and honest as she's ever been. The dialogue is witty, odd, and often both cringe-inducing and darkly funny. Some of the metaphors felt heavily hammered home, but I didn't mind. I was intrigued by the intersection of the women's personalities and lives, and Beagin kept me consistently hooked with this offbeat novel. I received an audiobook edition of this book, published February 7, courtesy of Libro.fm and Simon & Schuster Audio. The story was wonderfully narrated by Rebecca Lowman, Carlotta Brentan, Stephen Graybill, Joy Osmanski, and Matt Pittenger. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Jen Beagin is also the author of Pretend I'm Dead and Vacuum in the Dark.

Six Favorite Fiction Reads I recently posted about Six Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year, Six More Four-Star Mysteries I Loved Last Year, Six Four-Star Historical Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year, and Six Four-Star (And Up) Science Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year. (And check out My Very Favorite Bossy 2022 Reads for my overall favorite reads from last year.) Here are six of my favorite fiction reads from last year--with more lists to come. If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! I'd also love to hear about some of your favorite fiction reads, from last year or from this one so far. 01 Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart Young Mungo offers a striking story of disappointment, abuse, Protestant-Catholic conflict, and a young, gay love forged in the intensely unforgiving climate of working-class Glasgow. In his second novel, Young Mungo, Douglas Stuart offers the story of a working-class Glasgow family and particularly the life of sensitive, kind, dreamy Mungo, who was named for a saint. The story of Young Mungo largely alternates between an intensely disturbing, extended situation involving abuse, neglect, and danger and the blossoming of a forbidden young love, exploring the vulnerability of allowing one's self to be seen for the first time, overcoming lifelong Protestant-Catholic conflicts, and forging a meaningful connection. Young Mungo explores ideas of masculinity and loyalty, a gay relationship forged in an intensely unforgiving social climate, brutality, and revenge, and it offers surprises as well. Douglas Stuart is also the author of Shuggie Bain. For my full review, check out Young Mungo. 02 Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson Kevin Wilson's wonderfully odd 1990s coming-of-age novel centers around teens Frankie and Zeke, their mysterious artistic creation, and the work's ripple effect, which reaches well beyond what they ever could have imagined. Sixteen-year-old aspiring writer Frankie is just trying to get through a late 1990s summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, where she's lived all her life. Despite her noisy, raucous household (she has triplet brothers and a busy single mom), she's used to being a loner. But then a new kid, Zeke, moves into his grandmother's house with his mom, who's in Coalfield nursing a heartbreak. Zeke is an artist, also a loner, and he's fascinating to Frankie. Frankie and Zeke want to create something--something strange, something people will notice, yet something that is all their own. They come up with an original enigmatic phrase and add attention-getting artwork, then spread mysterious posters of their creation far and wide--causing speculation, alarm, and repercussions far beyond what they could have predicted. As he did in a different way in his novel Nothing to See Here, in Now Is Not the Time to Panic, Wilson creates a fascinatingly odd situation, then offers characters' vulnerabilities and imperfections to bring the story to life. For my full review, check out Now Is Not the Time to Panic. 03 Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid In Taylor Jenkins Reid's newest novel, Carrie Soto is unapologetically driven and determined. I loved the tennis focus, the fast pacing, and the father-daughter relationship that drives the story. Tough, talented Carrie Soto retired from tennis at the top of her game as the best player in the world and the greatest of all time. Her cutthroat desire to win didn't make her the most popular player in the world. But Carrie and her father, her longtime coach, sacrificed everything to get her to the top, setting records that have cemented her place in tennis history. Now retired, Carrie is a spectator at the US Open when she sees her record challenged by a young upstart. No one returns to tennis at age 37. But with her fierce determination, her (rusty) skills, and her desire to be the best, Carrie is the perfect person to defy the odds. Carrie Soto is back. I was curious about how Reid would craft the ending of this one, and I was satisfied with the character growth, the trajectory she sets up, and also with how in the end, nothing felt too easy. I flew through this story--it was solidly a "right book at the right time" for me, and I also loved that the book's release coincided with the start of the US Open. I loved this one. For my full review, check out Carrie Soto Is Back. 04 Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel Vaishnavi Patel's debut is a captivating retelling of the Indian epic Ramayana, with immersive details and an irresistible feminist main character fighting for a voice and for power in a man's world. In Vaishnavi Patel's debut novel Kaikeyi, the author reimagines the life of a fabled queen from the Indian epic Ramayana. The retelling swirls with family drama, intrigue, bravery--all centered around a young woman determined to make her mark in a world run by men. In an era when noblewomen are expected to submit to arranged marriages, endless needlework, and polite silences and averted eyes, Kaikeyi is an uncontainable force. She is smart, eager, passionate, and determined--and an irresistible main protagonist. Kaikeyi turns to ancient texts for guidance, discovers magical abilities, and begins to understand that the gods' favor--endlessly important to each person's productivity, health, and blessings--will never be with her. She must forge her own path and find her own inner strength. Patel's immersive detail of Indian fabrics, landscapes, and sights and sounds kept me enthralled. I found some of the final portion of the book's unraveling of who could be trusted, what would come to pass, and what the real story was to read somewhat slowly compared to the energetic pacing of the rest of the book. But the epilogue was gorgeous and a fitting bookend to the story. For my full review, check out Kaikeyi. 05 The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin Cronin's debut novel explores mortality, vulnerability, surprising moments of joy and reflection, an irresistible young protagonist, and a wonderful array of friends who are like family. Lenni and Margot was one of my top twelve reads of last year. Seventeen-year-old Lenni Pettersson lives in the terminal ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Her life expectancy isn't long, but Lenni still has a lot she wants to do and be. In the hospital's arts and crafts class, she meets 83-year-old Margot, a spirited, rebellious new friend. Collectively they've been around 100 years, but this just doesn't feel like enough, and they each want to leave their mark on the world. With the help of Father Arthur, the hospital chaplain, and a kind palliative care nurse, the friends make a plan to create one hundred paintings, one to represent each of their years of life. This goal adds structure to the novel, but the story is far richer than the characters' mission to create art. If you're interested in books that explore mortality, you might want to check out Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality. Another novel I loved that involves a precocious, wise, reflective, tough young protagonist is This Is All He Asks of You. Click here for my full review of The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot. 06 The Change by Kristen Miller The Change explores the power of menopausal women and the poignant strength of friendship; supplies satisfying revenge fantasies and camp; and winds it all through our middle-aged heroines' satisfying solving of a disturbing set of mysteries. In Kristen Miller's novel The Change, set in Mattauk, Long Island, three women cope with various challenges surrounding aging, change, and unexpected new beginnings. Nessa, Jo, and Harriet work together and use their newfound abilities to try to solve the mystery of a missing girl, along the way uncovering dark, disturbing patterns of abusive power and shining a light on the horrifically effective shields provided by money and privilege. The tone of The Change is largely campy, as middle-aged women heroines unite against the book's sometimes caricature-like, purely evil bad guys by using their new-found fantastical powers. The revenge-fantasy element is particularly satisfying. But what I loved most about The Change was the unapologetic embracing of the frequently fraught menopausal stage of life. Miller allows the frequently dreaded and bemoaned middle-aged shifts and changes to lead her female characters to realize their terrific strengths. Separately they're formidable, but together, they build a collective power that is the community's only hope to right terrible, horrible, longstanding wrongs. Click here for my full review of The Change.

The sequel to Long's young adult fantasy/science fiction debut Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves takes Remy and Sena to a storm-wracked planet where they search for allies and fight against the corrupt, greedy establishment that has risen to power. Meg Long's first novel was Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, a science fiction novel about Sena, a tough young female protagonist on a bitterly cold and unforgiving planet, and her desperate journey across the ice along with Iska, her formerly feral wolf, and a ragtag group of makeshift allies. The setting was powerful enough to feel like its own character, and I was immersed in Sena's story. This sequel, Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame, is told from the point of view of one of Sena's loyal friends from book one, the genetically modified fighter with heightened senses and abilities, Remy. Along with Sena and Iska, Remy crashes on her own home planet--and the group immediately finds itself under attack. Years earlier, Remy failed to protect her young charge, and now she's determined to locate the grown-up young woman and secure her safety. But Remy's former partner Kiran, genetically engineered like Remy, betrayed Remy and threw her to the enemy when she last saw him. She's also on the hunt for him--and when she finds him, she's going to make him pay. Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves offered high-stakes action, intrigue, shifting alliances, a powerful emotional arc, and more in a brutally cold, vividly described landscape. I didn't feel the same connection to the characters in Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame. The prospect of creating a powerful emotional arc for a brainwashed and artificially engineered Remy is inherently challenging, and I never felt invested in Remy or her concerns the way I did with Sena's desperate search for answers and an escape in book one. The storm-wracked, hot, jungle-filled planet of this book didn't feel as vividly wrought as the unforgivingly cruel ice of the first book, and I found myself missing the richness of that earlier world. Much of the page time is spent on considering potential alliances, recounting past political and military motivations and moves, considering shifts in loyalty that may have occurred since Remy was last here, and explaining past events. All of this dramatically slowed the pacing of the story. One important plot point related to a key character revolves around a twist that feels unbelievable: a conveniently overlooked set of clues that is right under Remy's nose. And the interruptions that prevent Kiran from speaking about important context felt unlikely and eventually somewhat irritating in their frequency. The book ends with indications that the fight for justice and the push to right wrongs is far from over, seemingly laying groundwork for a third book. I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? The first book in this series from Meg Long was Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves. You might like other young adult books I've reviewed on the site; you can check them out here.

Marshall's debut historical fiction centers around women's searches for body autonomy in three timelines of interconnected characters and their stories. It all comes down to having the right to make the choice. Every child a wanted child, every mother a willing mother. Looking for Jane is a story of women living in three timelines who are linked through decades by a mysterious letter--and by enormously important, recurring dilemmas for women through the ages: unexpected pregnancies; searches (and fights) for bodily autonomy and securing their health; and weighty choices with repercussions that reverberate. In this historical fiction, Marshall explores the goings-on at 1960s unwed mothers' homes in Canada--based upon actual first-person accounts of practices, cruelties, and secrets and lies at such homes in the U.S. and Canada. The female characters' stories are deeply intertwined; I saw some of the events coming but not others, and I didn't mind predicting portions of where the story was going. But the broader story here is about body autonomy, women's rights, dangerously powerful social perceptions, men's lack of equivalent responsibility for the activities of their sperm as compared to women and their eggs', and females' age-old, often fearful, sometimes deadly searches for freedom of choice and self-determination. The three timelines allow Marshall to showcase how situations have changed through the decades for women seeking options after pregnancy, while her author's note references recent rollbacks in US women's legal abilities to control what happens to their bodies. Through it all, Marshall sets up realistic emotional barriers for characters who have had to hide parts of themselves away; she doesn't shy away from sharing the sometimes-tragic outcomes of pregnant women's desperate searches for a say-so in their fates; and she places each story within the events and details of its timeline. I received a prepublication edition of this book, published February 7, courtesy of NetGalley and Atria Books. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Looking for Jane is Heather Marshall's debut novel. For more books I've Bossily reviewed featuring strong women, please click here.

Kapoor's gritty New Delhi-set novel explores brutal violence and cruelties in an exploration of class divides and the destructive power of corruption and wealth, with tragic outcomes. The city is bad, they say, it’s full of con men, criminals, it’s ugly and dirty, it’s no good, only rich people do well, everyone else suffers. Deepti Kapoor's Age of Vice shifts through time and points of view to explore outrageous wealth, ruthless business deals, class divides, violence, and political corruption in contemporary India. From bustling New Delhi to dusty small towns, Kapoor's story tracks intertwined stories of servants, heirs, gangsters, and journalists in this story, which is both a gritty thriller and also a story of loyalties and families upended by greed, betrayal, and trauma. Kapoor dives into the outrageous reach of control, money, and privilege of the power players in New Delhi and frequently contrasts it with the haunting desperation, uncertainty, and hunger of the poor classes. To say Age of Vice is gritty is putting it mildly; there are repeated instances of rape, killing, various avenues of widespread and destructive corruption, human trafficking, and prison perversions. Characters frequently abuse drugs and alcohol and pursue self-destructive patterns that ruin the lives of the vulnerable in their orbits. Privileged protagonists display cruelty and a disassociation from morality. There are few direct consequences. Tragically misplaced loyalty and love--or what passes for it--hurt those who dare to show vulnerability. The story spins maniacally toward a crescendo of tragedy in Kapoor's long, often brutal tale (the print book is 544 pages; the audiobook is 19.5 hours long). India's capital city serves as an important main character here, and in Age of Vice, New Delhi's cacophony of sights and sounds--as well as the starkness of its class divides--serves as a constant backdrop to a story that hinges on: broken leadership and citizens who suffer deeply because of it; hopes for a glittering future and the poor who are pushed out or destroyed in pursuit of modernity; and the terrifying marriage of political corruption and the criminal underworld that funds the area's development and crooked dealings. As the book went on, I found myself regularly cringing over what horror might possibly come next, and at times it felt as thought the violence were gratuitous, but the strong sense of the city and the explorations of societal divides kept me interested in the outcomes for various players. I received an audiobook edition of this novel courtesy of Libro.fm's Audiobook Listening Copy (ALC) program and Penguin Random House Audio. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Click here to find my Bossy reviews of other novels set in India.

Six More Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Mystery Reads "Is she going to just keep rehashing all the big hits of her past year of reading?" YES. Yes, she is! I love a Favorites list, and now that I've got a spreadsheet (ahem!) of my favorite reads of the past year by genre, the hits are going to keep coming! So buckle up, buttercups! I recently posted about Six Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year. This list highlights six more of my very favorite mystery reads of last year (Check out My Very Favorite Bossy 2022 Reads for my overall favorite reads from last year.) If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! You can click here for other mysteries I've reviewed on Bossy Bookworm. And here's a list of Six Historical Fiction Mysteries I Loved, if you like the melding of those two genres like I do. What are some of your favorite mystery titles or mystery genres? 01 A Restless Truth (Last Binding #2) by Freya Marske The second book in Marske's series is an irresistible queer magical mystery thriller with Edwardian England details, racy encounters, vulnerability and love, and witty banter on a ship bound for England. A Restless Truth is the second in Freya Marske's queer fantasy mystery Last Binding trilogy that began with A Marvellous Light. In A Restless Truth, the character of Maud Blyth (Robin's sister, introduced in book one) expects adventure when she agrees to help save the magical world by serving as companion to an elderly magician on an ocean liner. By doing so, Maud aims to help her beloved older brother resolve a magical mystery that's been decades in the making. But when her charge drops dead on day one, Maud must identify the murderer, try to get her hands on a magical object essential to untangling the mystery at hand--and try to survive the voyage without being murdered herself. Like A Marvellous Light, Marske's A Restless Truth was full of details of life in Edwardian England, gay love, mystery, magic, wonderful dialogue, and plenty of heart. I adored it. For my full review, check out A Restless Truth. 02 The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh In The Love of My Life, Rosie Walsh offers a contemporary fiction thriller with twists that centers around a fascinating cast of characters, their heartbreak, and their hope. Emma is a marine biologist who's devoted to her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby. Emma finds herself fighting aggressive lymphoma, and Leo, an obituary writer, privately copes with his pain by writing about Emma. Emma is recovering. But as Leo continues to dig into his wife's past to confirm details, he finds that the facts his beloved wife has told him don't add up. He doesn't want to upset Emma, so he does something he's never done: he goes behind her back, speaking to people from her past who can fill in the gaps. And he finds that almost everything Emma has ever told him about herself has been a lie. The tone of this is more toward contemporary fiction, and the book offers satisfying character development, but The Love of My Life is also a psychological thriller with twists and turns. Without melodrama or a manipulative-feeling big reveal, Walsh surprised me with the real story and the reasons Emma kept her secrets. This wonderfully wrought page-turner is heartbreaking, hopeful, and masterfully crafted. For my full review, check out The Love of My Life. 03 A Study in Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock #1) by Sherry Thomas This first book in Sherry Thomas's gender-flipped Sherlock Holmes mystery series offers not only an irresistible heroine, but a fascinating examination of gender in Victorian society--and what happens when women blow up expectations. A Study in Scarlet Women, the first in her Lady Sherlock series, presents Charlotte Holmes, a clever, forward-thinking, independent woman trapped in the Victorian age, a time in which women have little choice and even less of a voice. When she pushes against her restrictions in a brilliant yet shocking manner in order to shift her future, she goes so deeply against the standards of the time that she is shunned from society. It seems Charlotte may have created a situation in which she has fewer options than her constrained existence as a lady would have afforded. Then a series of unusual events lead to Charlotte's assuming the identity of a made-up detective, Sherlock Holmes, and putting to good use her powers of observation and her astute reading of people's motivations and secrets. Along with her scandalous elderly sidekick, the former actress Ms. Watson (who has a keen mind and an ability to play roles as well as facilitate meetings and encounters), Charlotte reimagines what a Victorian woman may be able to achieve. Click here for my full review of A Study in Scarlet Women. 04 Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier Hillier's thriller jumps back and forth in time, deftly weaving a web of secrets and lies, daring escape, broken trust, revenge, and things that aren't quite as they seem. Paris Peralta is arrested in her home bathroom. She's holding a straight razor and covered in blood, and her celebrity husband Jimmy Peralta, a 68-year-old comedian who's been making a recent comeback--is dead in the bathtub with a cut across his femoral artery. Paris loved her husband, and she's shocked and grieved that he's dead. But she's also alert enough to know that because of the inevitable publicity, the fiction of her current life--a peaceful, comfortable life that she spent so long cultivating--is about to be upended, and her safety along with it. Because when photos surface of Paris being taken away in handcuffs, she knows that dark forces from her past will almost certainly come calling. Jennifer Hillier weaves a gripping story that jumps back in forth in time from when Paris was a young victim to her present, in which she's taken charge of her life and controls her destiny--or so she thought. Things We Do in the Dark involves mistaken identities, betrayals, secrets and lies, fierce loyalty between friends who are like family--and horrific cruelties enacted by blood relations. For my full review, check out Things We Do in the Dark. 05 The Maid by Nita Prose Nita Prose offers a surprising amount of heart and a unique main protagonist in this lighthearted murder mystery, her debut novel. In Nita Prose's recent novel The Maid, main protagonist Molly finds a hotel guest dead in his room, and her access to the room, her eccentric manner, and other's manipulations of her innocent vulnerability may mean that she's the prime suspect. Prose has built an interesting premise with Molly as an unreliable main protagonist. I was concerned that Molly's unique set of idiosyncrasies might allow for too-easy deception, and also that seeing others take advantage of Molly's innocence would make for nerve-racking, uncomfortable reading. But Prose allows for some surprises, and Molly seems more than capable of extricating herself from suspicion by using the very same personal qualities that have led others to underestimate her. For my full review, check out The Maid. 06 Quantum Girl Theory by Erin Kate Ryan In Erin Kate Ryan's historical fiction mystery, she uses a fascinating story structure to explore different potential paths for interlinked young women in the Jim Crow South. Mary Garrett focuses on finding missing girls, and she keeps her own past, her secrets, and her emotions about all of it penned up tightly. When she arrives in the Jim Crow South to investigate a girl who has disappeared, she finds that two Black girls have gone missing as well, but local law enforcement didn't put resources into finding them. As Mary's search for all three girls intensifies, we find that Mary herself was a "missing girl," Paula Jean Welden, who vanished one night in 1946. Ryan explores alternate histories and life tracks for Paula Jean while "Mary" digs more deeply into the circumstances surrounding the modern-day disappearances of the Southern girls. I was hooked on this book and fascinated by what felt like multiple genres in one story, with unexpectedly deep dives into Quantum Girl Theory's various characters. Mary was a captivating main protagonist--alternately desperate and hopeful, but always dogged in her search, even as it threatened to destroy her. The title and cover made me think "science fiction," but Quantum Girl Theory is rooted in historical fiction and offers a solid, twisty mystery as it moves through fascinating potential realities that might have been. For my full review, check out Quantum Girl Theory.

If you can focus on the good qualities of the prominent (and giant...and talking) creepy-crawlies in this middle-grade novel, you'll find a noble quest, unlikely heroes, a mysterious dark land, chilling betrayals, humor, and lots of heart. Gregor had thought the bats were like horses, but now he could see they were equals. Did they talk? “Greetings, Overlander,” said Euripedes in a soft, purring voice. Yeah, they talked. I tried to get my oldest to read Gregor the Overlander with me after the glorious Harry Potter Era and the exciting Hunger Games Period, but I wanted it too badly and the child was like a cat, solidly rejecting my overzealous interest for years. I set the book out and suggested it so often, Gregor became a joke between us--and remained unread. Enter: a second child without any Gregor baggage or knee-jerk reactions to it, who was willing to dive in and who would maybe just maybe love this series that I was sure I was going to love too. Gregor falls through a vent in his New York City laundry room while trying to keep his sister from doing the same--and they both end up in a dark, strange world, the Underland. We laughed and cringed and sometimes held our breath while reading--even though we felt confident that things would work out for our hero. Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games series) offers a unique setting while doing something fascinating: turning the most detested and feared "Overland" pests (giant, talking cockroaches, rats, and bats) into essential allies and loyal partners in the Underland. I Bossily suggest that you don't focus on the creepy-crawlies throughout this story and instead delight in the humor, the noble quest, the unlikely heroes, the familial loyalty, and hope in the darkness. Gregor the Overlander is full of adventure, dialogue that made us laugh, gross-out moments, and heart. We're in for reading book two. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? You might like the books I included on the Greedy Reading List Six Royally Magical Young Adult Series.

Sex educator Nagoski offers a practical, science-based, informative, nonjudgmental exploration of various women's experiences with their bodies and sexuality as well as underlying context, perceptions, and thinking processes that may affect them. I am done living in a world where women are lied to about their bodies; where women are objects of sexual desire but not subjects of sexual pleasure; where sex is used as a weapon against women; and where women believe their bodies are broken, simply because those bodies are not male. And I am done living in a world where women are trained from birth to treat their bodies as the enemy. Come As You Are is fascinating nonfiction from sex educator Dr. Emily Nagoski about the way women's sexuality works and why. Nagoski builds her book around science and groundbreaking research to debunk myths about women's sexuality; to detail why there is no "pink pill" for women that correlates with Viagra for men; to explore how feelings are at the center of women's sexuality; and to explain how women's experiences of sexuality are as varied as their fingerprints. The problem here is that we've been taught to think about sex in terms of behavior, rather than in terms of the biological, psychological, and social processes underlying the behavior. The empowering text introduces and reinforces easily understood and reinforced concepts such as "accelerator and brakes," "tend and befriend," and "no two alike" in a nonjudgmental exploration of various sexual and emotional responses to try to counterbalance "...a cultural pigeonholing of experience shaped by...three messages--Moral, Medical, and Media." Nagoski's writing is accessible and her examples come from years of experience with clients and their varied dilemmas, mysteries, frustrations, and wonder. The author points out that "for a long, long time in Western science and medicine, women's sexuality was viewed as Men's Sexuality Lite--basically the same but not quite as good," and explains why particularly for women, "context--your external circumstances and your present mental state--is as crucial to your sexual well-being as your body and brain." Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? The practical, fascinating, science-based Come As You Are text reminded me somewhat of a more general book about women's bodies that I read and loved many years ago, Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier. Another nonfiction, engaging book I loved that is about the human body and how it works is Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson.

Zamora's memoir of his grueling journey from El Salvador to the United States without family at age nine keeps the reader within each immediate, breathless, uncomfortable, fear-filled moment through and to the unknown. Solito is one of my book club's reads for this spring, and I'm listening to it as an audiobook. In Solito, the poet Javier Zamora shares the story of his grueling journey from El Salvador to the United States at age nine. His loving grandfather shakily sends him off on a planned two-week trip through Central America and Mexico to meet up with his parents. The trip lasts seven weeks and involves challenge after challenge. Solito includes hired "coyotes" with dubious experience and intentions; groups of fellow journeyers who betray, bond, or simply disappear; hours and days of desperate thirst and hunger; brushes with death; the hollowing, youthful loneliness of being away from family--and the bursts of danger of guns and detention centers as well as the constant underlying pressure of remembering to keep up ongoing deceptions to avoid them. Zamora keeps us in his nine-year-old perspective, which also serves to keep us focused on moment-by-moment sensations and concerns and makes the memoir feel immediate and breathless. Physical discomfort (he is tired, cold, hot, burned, thirsty, hungry), emotional turmoil (he feels loneliness, fear, concern, disconnectedness), and yearning (he is desperate for trust, for assurances, for safety and security, for reunification) are at the forefront. Zamora takes us through what often feels like his literal step-by-step journey, without summarizing or skipping over impactful moments of need and want and despair. Yet he doesn't mine the difficult situation in an effort to build drama; his account feels honest and without emotional manipulation. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? You might also like the books I listed on the Greedy Reading List Six Fascinating Books about the Immigrant Experience.

Six Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Historical Fiction Reads Historical fiction is one of my very favorite genres, and I loved my historical fiction reads in 2022. Here are six of my very favorite historical fiction reads of last year--with another list to come! (Check out My Very Favorite Bossy 2022 Reads for my overall favorite reads from last year.) If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! You can click here for other historical fiction books I've reviewed on Bossy Bookworm. I'd love to hear: what are some of your favorite historical fiction reads? 01 Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese Hester is richly imagined historical fiction with connections to themes and characters from The Scarlet Letter. It's magical and intriguing, and I loved it. In Hester, Laurie Lico Albanese reimagines the woman who inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter as recent Scottish immigrant Isobel Gamble. Talented needleworker Isobel and her husband leave Scotland for America in the early 1800s. But when her addict of a husband abruptly leaves her penniless and alone, jumping on a ship departing Massachusetts shortly after they arrive, Isobel is desperate and must make her way in an unfamiliar country all alone. As she hides the vivid colors she has always seen associated with letters, voices, and emotions--which she has always been told to ignore, for fear of being branded a witch like her great grandmother, also named Isobel--she encounters Nathaniel Hathorne, a romantic, aspiring author who is struggling to cope with his family's dark legacy of having sent suspected witches to the gallows in generations past. The two enchant each other within an unconventional, unacceptable relationship and a swirl of irresistible connection. Isobel's needlework and the colors she sees in the world are captivatingly described, and the tenuous situation for a woman at the time without a man in the household is conveyed in chilling fashion. I loved the connections to The Scarlet Letter and the book within a book, the witchy focus, the renegade feminism, and the details of life at the time. For my full review, check out Hester. 02 The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan Mark Sullivan explores a gripping, detailed, life-and-death period in the life of an ethnically German family at the end of World War II in this historical fiction inspired by a true story. In The Last Green Valley, Mark Sullivan, author of Beneath a Scarlet Sky, tells a tale of a family's incredible bravery and determination in the waning, cruel days of World War II. It's 1944, and Stalin's forces are rolling through the Ukraine, leaving destruction and horrors in their wake. In order to escape and survive, Emil Martel makes a haunting deal in order to keep his beloved wife, sons, and extended family safe under the umbrella of the retreating Nazi's power. When Emil suffers beyond what he could have imagined, he undergoes a gradual, grudging transformation in which he finds faith in unexpected places. Sullivan doesn't flinch from the difficulties this family undergoes, but I had faith that he would give me roughly the ending I was desperately hoping for. (In fact, there was more wrap-up than I personally needed at the end, but I was game for it.) Sullivan built this historical fiction around the true story of an ethnically German family running from the Ukraine at the end of World War II, filling in gaps with researched, plausible, but imagined--and captivating--details and events. Click here for my full review of The Last Green Valley. 03 Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson Atkinson's newest mystery is set in vivid Roaring Twenties London as Nellie Coker struggles to hold on to her empire of clubs while mysterious dark undercurrents threaten stability throughout the city. It's 1926 in London, and recovery from the Great War inspires many in the city to dive into the wild nightlife scene and revel in the frenzy of the Jazz Age. Nellie Coker is fresh out of jail and ready to jump back into the action, masterminding moves to increase her family's power, influence, and riches. But not everyone she's paying off can be trusted, some of her six children are undermining her, and goings-on in the dark undercurrents of Soho could shake Coker's hold on her empire--and upset her ambitious dreams. On the other side of the Shrines of Gaiety story line is Detective Frobisher, an upstanding outlier in the largely corrupt police force, and his unlikely assistant in investigating Ma Coker, former librarian Gwendolen Kelling. I was particularly hooked by the intersection of Gwendolyn and Ma Coker's golden child, her eldest son Niven--along with the mystery of missing girls across Roaring Twenties London, plus deadly high stakes, the dealings of various crooks, and significant double-crossing throughout the story. Click here for my full review of Shrines of Gaiety. 04 The Saints of Swallow Hill by Donna Everhart This Depression-era-set historical fiction story tracks characters in intensely difficult situations as they successfully fight for justice, peace, love, and forgiveness in a satisfying story arc that captivated me. The Saints of Swallow Hill traces the paths of Rae Lynn and Del, disparate characters in Depression-era Georgia who have two important things in common: each of their searches for food, shelter, and survival is becoming more desperate; and each of them is running from dark secrets that threaten to destroy them. Everhart includes one of my favorite setups, in which a woman dresses as a man in order to achieve some end. Here, Rae Lynn seeks an escape from danger and needs to earn a wage, but unwittingly places herself in greater jeopardy. As I read the first pages of this book, I admit that I was fairly hesitant--the tone felt increasingly bleak, and I wasn't sure if Everhart was going to revel in creating further mishaps and disasters for her characters. I was grateful when she laid out not only a tale of intense hardship, bad luck, and rough circumstances in a difficult period of our nation's history, but also a captivating story of determination, struggles for improvement, deep human connection, justice, love, and hope. I'm so very glad I stuck this one out so I could see these characters through and witness their journeys' ends. For my full review, check out The Saints of Swallow Hill. 05 The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell I was hooked on the captivating details of Renaissance life, masterfully paced swirling danger and paranoia, and richly developed major and minor characters in The Marriage Portrait. In The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O'Farrell turns her attention to Renaissance Italy to tell a historical fiction story of a precocious third daughter of the grand duke of Florence. But when young Lucrezia's older sister dies suddenly before her scheduled marriage to the ruler of Ferrara, the men of the families involved and their advisors are quick to thrust the preteen into her sister's place. Her trusted nurse and former milk-mother Sofia does her best to delay plans to wed the slight young girl to an older duke, but ultimately Lucrezia is offered as a substitute. O'Farrell masterfully balances the reader on a tightrope, wondering how much of the potential danger Lucrezia perceives is imagined and how much is real. Lucrezia's shrinking world made me feel claustrophobic on her behalf and paranoid about everyone's potential intentions. The Marriage Portrait offers wonderful details--of food, palace life, clothing, and art--as well as a shocking ending. O'Farrell presents a fascinating Author's Note about the real figures and circumstances that inspired this book. Maggie O'Farrell is also the author of Hamnet, I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Instructions for a Heatwave, This Must Be the Place, and others. For my full review, please check out The Marriage Portrait. 06 The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson Kim Michele Richardson's historical fiction offers a 1936 Appalachian setting, the magic and unassuming power of a rural librarian, and the exploration of a rare genetic condition. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek was a winning read for me. Appalachian setting? Check. Tough female protagonist? Check. Rural librarian? Check. Fascinating implications of a rare genetic condition? Check. I'm not sure why it took me so long to read Kim Michele Richardson's The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, except for pre-reading anxiety that it might not live up to my sky-high expectations. But this is a solid historical fiction story that I loved. Bluet is a librarian through the Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky, and she rides her mule Eugenia through all the hollers and up through the mountains, delivering sought-after newspapers and practical and fanciful books to families who rarely emerge from deep in the woods and for whom the written word is a window to the greater world. Richardson offers a satisfying ending that's not without an edge or imperfections. I listened to this as an audiobook, and I found narrator Katie Schorr's reading of the story wonderful. For my full review, please click here.

Jessica George's debut Maame takes on big issues of race, culture, and the challenges of growing up between two cultures while shining in its details: wonderful dialogue, messy moments, and the main character's hard-won self-discovery and growth. Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman. Young adult Maddie's life in London is exhausting. She's the primary caregiver for her father, who has Parkinson's disease; she pays the bills; her mother spends the majority of her time in Ghana yet manages to micromanage Maddie's religious faith and life from across the globe; her older brother never seems to be around to help; and she's the only Black person at work with a boss who shifts all of the blame and none of the accolades her way. Her nickname, Maame, has long conveyed upon her a womanlike responsibility about which she has mixed feelings, when she stops to think about it. But there's little time for introspection when so much needs doing day to day. When her mom shows up from Ghana, Maddie jumps at the chance for some independence; a late bloomer, she finds a flat share and revels in finally being on her own. Maddie is inexperienced and has been somewhat isolated in her caregiver role (although she has close friends, who are wonderful characters in the story), so she's got a lot of learning to do and mistakes to make. But she seems destined to be continually pushed around and taken advantage of--by her family, her boss, her flatmate, and her love interest. That is, until she decides that she simply isn't going to take it anymore. Tragedy, misfortune, and a passionate desire to take charge of her life together spur a satisfying turnaround--with plenty of realistic missteps--and show Maddie her own inner strength. Jessica George offers a wonderful story with messy moments of love, some humor, big issues of race, loss, anger, lies and betrayal, and underneath it all, the constant, stressful push and pull between Maddie's two cultures. Maame explores Maddie's search to establish herself in the world, and I loved rooting for her the whole way. I received a prepublication copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? This is Jessica George's first book. I can't wait to read what she writes next. The issues of race and of young-woman Maddie making her way in the world in London in Maame reminded me somewhat of Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo's interconnected stories about Black women in contemporary Britain.

Book two of the series continues to be playful, mischievous, wonderfully detailed about Victorian life, and full of supernatural creatures and clever plotting. I loved the first book in Gail Carriger's five-book (plus a prequel short) Parasol Protectorate series, Soulless. I also included it in the Greedy Reading List Three Offbeat Series I Just Started and Love. But after raving about it for two years it seemed time to stop letting this second installment languish on my unmanageable to-read list and get on with it! The series takes place in 1870s London, and in book two as in book one, the immensely appealing, practical, fearless character of Alexia Tarabotti (now married to Lord Maccon, a werewolf) navigates danger and helps achieve justice by using her smarts, eschewing societal tradition and limits on women, and demonstrating her ability to neutralize the supernatural abilities of werewolves, vampires, and other creatures. She is a preternatural--a human without a soul--serving on Queen Victoria's somewhat secret advisory committee, which affords her a certain power, and she is also the Alpha female of her husband's pack, which affords her a very different one. When her husband disappears, Alexia tracks him to Scotland, where all manner of badly behaving creatures await, she needs her incredibly handy parasol, her unshakable nerve, some savviness, and the armor of the latest fashions in order to fight off danger, uncover dastardly plots, discover the power plays at work, and save her own life. This installment involves technology of the time, ancient Egyptian artifacts, revelations about Alexia's mysterious father (and about her husband's centuries of history that predate her), more racy moments and attractions, and dirigibles! I am in for all of these books and laughed out loud at the dialogue, Alexia's abrupt manner, and the delightful oddities in Changeless. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? My only issue here is personally logistical--my library doesn't own a copy of the next book in the series, Blameless. Carriger is the author of many series; this is the only one I've dug into so far.

This is a funny, light, self-deprecating peek into Kaling's single motherhood, dabbling in Hinduism, love of brunch, life as a producer, and love for her friend B.J. Novak. "She's worked hard her whole life. It's good she has such nice things." It was the most Indian thing I'd ever heard. Fun fact: I first saw Mindy Kaling in an off-Broadway play she'd written with and was starring in with Brenda Withers called "Matt & Ben" in the early 2000s. Mindy played the role of Ben Affleck and Brenda played Matt Damon, and in the play the script for Good Will Hunting literally falls from the sky into the boys' dumpy apartment, at which point the two realize they're being tested by a higher power and debate whether to pretend it's their own creation. It was clever and hilarious, and I loved it. I promise I'm going to talk about this book, but first let's talk audiobooks for a second. I'm usually an all-Libby (library app; free) audiobook listener, but I wanted to read Michelle Obama's newest book The Light We Carry without waiting to move up the sizable library wait list, so I listened to my audiobooks via an Audible trial for a month. (Note that Nothing Like I Imagined seems to be only available through that app as an Amazon-only offering.) But, dear reader, I've now incorporated Libro.fm into my book-devouring system--and Libro supports independent bookstores, ding ding ding! Anyway, let's talk about this book! Nothing Like I Imagined is a short (118 pages, if you're reading; 1 hour 22 minutes if you're listening) series of essays with Kaling at her witty, self-deprecating, funny best. Her "kind of Hindu" exploration is as emotionally deep as things get here, but I'd be happy to sit around for much longer than an hour listening to Mindy Kaling talk about brunch, a strange evening and an accosted thief, the perks and frustrations of her single parenthood, her obsession with Coach Taylor, persistent social awkwardness, Conan O'Brien's Christmas party and facing an unnamed action-movie hero she had talked (deserved; minor) trash about, her search for (just a few) effortless friendships, her love for her best friend B.J. Novak, and more. Mindy Kaling is so irresistibly appealing to me, I am in for this and anything else she wants to put out into the world. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Mindy Kaling is also the author of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) and Why Not Me?

My very favorite Bossy January reads! I'm a little early with this one since the month doesn't end until Tuesday, but I like my Greedy Reading Lists to come out on Fridays. If a book blows my mind over the weekend, I will come forward with my formal regrets! Anyway, here are my six favorite (and varied!) reads of the first month of 2023. I've had a fantastic reading month. If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! And I'd also love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads? 01 Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn This fun, darkly funny, feminist story about a retiring female team of elite assassins was the right book at the right time for me: entertainment in the perfect combination of action and suspense, loyal friendship, clever plotting, and the promise of love. The Museum is an organization that operates outside of governmental control, relying on various trained elite killing forces. Originally formed in order to hunt down and rid the world of lingering Nazis, the Museum's mission has evolved to focus on taking out carefully chosen bad guys of all stripes--drug dealers, human traffickers, arms dealers, and the like. After four decades of successfully ridding the world of cruelty and destruction one person at a time, the Sphinxes (Billie, Natalie, Helen, and Mary Alice) are set to retire. They're not sure what they'll do with themselves once the work that has shaped them into who they are--both separately and together--is over, but they're getting used to the idea of collecting their pensions and figuring out the rest. But when the four friends are sent on an all-expenses-paid vacation to mark their retirement, a Museum associate attempts to do them in. The women realize they may know too much about where the bodies are buried--literally--to be allowed to drift away into the world without a fight. In Killers of a Certain Age, Raybourn has crafted an irresistibly fun, clever, feminist caper that had me hooked the whole way through. I loved the women's complicated bonds, their crafty planning, their fights for justice, and their ability to remain flexible and reinvent themselves. I love a spy/assassin book and a book that treats dark subjects playfully without being silly. For my full review, check out Killers of a Certain Age. 02 Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro In Signal Fires, Dani Shapiro offers characters and consequences that connect through time and in unexpected ways. The loss and redemption here are tragic and beautiful. Signal Fires begins with three teenagers drinking in 1985, a car accident, a young doctor Ben Wilf, who comes upon the wreck and whose family is involved, and a haunting secret. Time passes, and a young family moves onto Division Street. Their astronomy-obsessed young son Waldo befriends the retired Dr. Wilf, whose wife is losing her memories at the same time vivid memories of past events come rushing back to Ben with uncomfortable impact. “If only time could be seen whole, then you could see the past remaining intact, instead of vanishing in the rearview mirror.” Signal Fires is about brokenness and the consequences of secrets and mistakes. But it is also largely about overcoming thwarted emotional connection and forging new ways of coming together through and after tragedy. I love Shapiro's writing and how she conveys the tragic beauty of human weakness and the relentless, if sometimes seemingly ill-advised, nature of hope. I adored the way the character of Waldo served as an unlikely conduit to wonder and how he bridges enormous barriers of all kinds. I listened to Signal Fires as an audiobook. Click here for my full review of Signal Fires and a link to my review of Shapiro's fascinating book Inheritance. 03 Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Kingsolver offers an epic story of a faulted, unlikely hero in danger of being crushed by exceptionally difficult circumstances. His golden heart and grit allow him to keep fighting through brokenness, pain, and disappointment in rural Virginia. The newest Barbara Kingsolver book, which has been called an Appalachian David Copperfield, is epic. It's 560 pages and driven by the unique voice and gritty, heartbreakingly hopeful, broken voice of Demon (named Damon, a redhead, hence the "Copperhead"). Charles Dickens's experience with extreme poverty in Victorian England inspired him to highlight its cruel impacts on children in his story David Copperfield. That book inspired Demon Copperhead, in which Kingsolver showcases the invisibility of the rural poor in Appalachia as well as a tragic cycle of poverty, drug dependence, and death--with signature Kingsolver characters who have unique voices and are complex, flawed, and irresistible. The downward spiral kept going and going, and its grimness took my breath away. Yet Kingsolver keeps Demon's voice strong even as he falters and as everything he has counted on seems swept away. His rock-bottom--it isn't a moment; it feels as though he drags the bottom for years--sets up a situation in which he seems washed clean for some version of a new beginning. The prospects for Demon's future seem far from neat and perfect, but by the end of the book there are glimmers of hope for our faulted hero. Click here for my full review of Demon Copperhead. 04 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan Keegan's slim book may seem cozy and quiet at first, but she beautifully illuminates tiny moments alongside momentous decisions and explores how together, they form a person and make up a whole life. When Bill, a good-hearted coal merchant, discovers something shocking while making his regular delivery to the local convent, he must decide whether to carry on his way or to consider the uncomfortable implications of the Catholic church's deep influence on the community. Similarly, when he stumbles onto a truth about his own mysterious heritage--a mystery he felt he had made peace with--he must decide whether it changes his feelings about his childhood and his identity. The two issues are intertwined, and it's a joy to watch the manner in which Bill copes with both instances. The story comes alive through the little moments Keegan highlights; while she explores decisions often determined by instinctual black-and-white, right-and-wrong judgments, she also digs into the intense struggle involved in reaching out from comfortable safety and taking a risk in order to do what feels right. Keegan takes the small moments, impulses, generosities, omissions, and aversions that make up a day, a week, and a month and lays them alongside Big Moments of Realization--which often require grace and forgiveness, other times action and defiance--and with all of this in hand, she paints a picture full of the nuances choices, self-reflection, and possibilities that form the basis of a life. Please click here for my full review of Small Things Like These. 05 The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama I listened to this audiobook and highly recommend immersing yourself in Michelle Obama's voice as she shares calm, wise, funny, or poignant reflections, personal practices, and gems of advice regarding retaining hope and being your best self. Rather than pretending there are quick fixes for life's challenges and difficulties, Obama opens up her "toolbox" of emotional, meditative, and optimistic methods of coping, reminding herself of what's what, and ways in which she carries on in the face of adversity. While her White House circumstances are unusual and some of her related recollections are unique, her methods translate to the rest of us and daily life. She builds her book around pivotal encounters with others or aims to answer questions that have been frequently posed to her, along the way sharing more of the story of her family, marriage, political life, friendships, frustrations, hopes, goals, and joys. I didn't necessarily come away with new approaches (aside from entertaining the idea of incorporating a version of her friend's "Hey, Buddy!" morning self-greeting), but I thoroughly enjoyed and felt calmed by listening to this wise, kind, savvy woman read her gorgeously written thoughts and well-crafted reflections. Her writing--deep self-reflection with sometimes poetic phrasing--is just beautiful. I loved reading this and spending time with Michelle Obama. For my full review, please check out The Light We Carry. 06 As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #3) by Holly Jackson Jackson doesn't skimp on heart-pounding pacing, captivating character development, and dark turns in this third book in her young adult mystery series. I never would have predicted the twists. Sign me up for all Pippa Fitz-Amobi books, forever, please. As Good As Dead is the final book in A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, a series I've loved, and I've been delaying reading this third and final installment due to my willful denial that the series is ending, my intense love for the characters of Pip and Ravi, and Holly Jackson's smart, sassy, irresistible storytelling. Ever since Pip's book two detective work ended in an important resolution, she's been coping with the significant trauma of that case's dramatic final events. She's in danger of being sued for libel by Max Freaking Hastings, who Pip knows is a terrible person who has done terrible things--which is why she said so, passionately, on her podcast. And she can't shake a general sense of unease, as though she's missing something. The direction the book takes is fascinating. Jackson does not let off the gas pacing-wise. The unexpected twists and turns kept me riveted while Pip's unfailing bravery and her hero's struggles and emotional turmoil threatened to break my heart. For my full review (and links to my reviews of the other books in this series), check out As Good As Dead.

Young offers a brutally honest behind-the-scenes look at the systematic abuse she suffered in The Children of God cult and a front-row view of the misogyny and gaslighting she experienced in the military in this powerful memoir of resilience, reflection, and self-discovery. Daniella Mestyanek Young grew up the daughter of high-ranking members of The Children of God cult in Brazil. Her mother was forced to marry the cult's leader when she was thirteen and worked as secretary for "The Family" for many years. While in the cult, Daniella was physically, emotionally, and sexually abused, while being told these acts reflected God's love. She was not allowed to attend school. Young doesn't flinch away from sharing the grueling details of the generational abuse, hunger, male-dominated power structures, and various methods of deprivation that kept her and other cult members under control of the Uncles, as the group called the men in charge. At age 15, after years of excruciating systematic suffering, Young escaped to Texas, enrolled in school, and made a new life for herself. After various naïve missteps during her entry into a more typical American life, she graduated and gravitated toward the armed forces in intelligence. She spent years fighting against destructive misogynistic power structures and making her way, struggling with mental health issues, and trying to establish an identity within a constrictive, gaslighting environment. I'm fascinated by a peek into a secret scene, and cults and the military each fit the bill. Young's pain in both avenues is substantial and horrifying, and she is brutally honest. Yet Uncultured is primarily an affecting account of Young's impressive perseverance, hard-fought growth, personal reflections, and significant strength. I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? For more more more memoirs that you might want to try, check out these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality

Addison Allen's magical realism story is set on an island off the coast of South Carolina and offers lots of heart, interactive ghosts, and friends like family. "There are birds, and then there are other birds. Maybe they don't sing. Maybe they don't fly. Maybe they don't fit in. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be an other bird than just the same old thing." Addison Allen's Other Birds is set on an island off the coast of South Carolina as main protagonist Zoey comes to take ownership of her deceased mother's apartment. After Zoey's beloved mother died, Zoey's father and stepmother prioritized her stepsiblings emotionally and in every other way. Yet Zoey is without bitterness, and she is eager to experience the world and become independent. (An inherited apartment and money she has gained access to at age 18 help.) Zoey shows her kind and delightfully unguarded nature as she befriends her mother's neighbors and begins working for the charming complex's owner, all the while cultivating her obsession with a reclusive, mysterious local author whose magical story or personal generosity seems to have affected every person on Mallow Island. When one neighbor in the condo complex dies suddenly, Zoey embarks on a search for answers that leads her to the heart of the island. Other Birds is big-hearted story with magical realism, ghosts that haunt or help, earnest sweetness, a little wholesome romance, and a cute small-town setting. The friendships that are forged into a sort of family were lovely. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Sarah Addison Allen is a North Carolina author. Other Bossy reads with magical realism (you can find reviews for each of these on this site) include Thistlefoot, What You Can See From Here, The Harpy, The Impossible Destiny of Cutie Grackle, The Light Pirate, and The Water Dancer.

Newman's recollections and insights are brutally honest and unforgiving. Interviews with family, friends, and coworkers shed light on the ups, downs, and various factors behind the scenes of Newman's life. While I was waiting for the audiobook version of The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man to be available through my library, I started watching The Last Movie Stars, a six-part documentary about Newman and Joanne Woodward. The weekend we got engaged in New York City, we sat near Paul and Joanne at Sam Shepherd's play True West. (Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly were two weeks into the several months they spent alternating the roles of Lee and Austin each night, and the performances were incredible.) Anyhoo, Paul was wearing the ugliest sweater with abstract stripes across it, and Barbara Walters came over and they and Joanne had the zaniest, most animated chitchat, I loved the whole vibe. (Obviously I just wanted to work into this review the not-quite-anecdote of sitting two rows behind Paul Newman over twenty years ago. Thank you for your patience.) Despite the promise of a future friendship between us that was born from our proximity in that theatre lo those many years ago, until recently, I didn't know much about Paul Newman beyond the most well-documented aspects of his life (blue eyes, movie career, wife Woodward, car racing, and his food product line and altruism with its proceeds). Early on, the television series The Last Movie Stars interviews children from Newman's first marriage (he had three; he was unfaithful to his first wife for an extended period with Woodward, and there is an unhappy abandonment reaction expressed by his daughter--I can't recall if both daughters were interviewed or only Stephanie--that persisted for me through this account of events). This setup negatively colored my view of Newman. Add to that the self-deprecating nature he displays in the interviews that make up the television documentary (an attitude also present early on in and throughout the audiobook) and his repeated assertion (I'm paraphrasing) that he's really a simple, relatively uninteresting person without a lot of complex thoughts or particular talent. He was so convincing, when I was a third of the way through the audiobook, I was still questioning whether I was interested in investing time in listening to his story and whether there would be very much to it. But a memoir, read by the author? I typically can't say no. I'm interested in a vulnerable laying-bare of emotions and an offering of behind-the-scenes insights. Paul allowed his best friend to interview him over a period of years--the recordings that, along with key asides from family and friends to add context to Newman's recollections and reflections, became this book--with one stipulation: that he and everyone involved must be brutally honest. The insights reflect what seems to be these subjects' unvarnished memories and thoughts. Newman's dogged insistence that he is not special seems to have stemmed somewhat from the volatile, emotionally unstable, neglectful home life his parents created. His resulting lack of personal expectations paired with his passion for exploration--and for passion itself--became a foundation for his life in all areas: professional, romantic, personal, hobby, and altruistic. Jeff Daniels's reading of the interviews imbues the audiobook with Newman's vulnerability and also his fiery nature. I was intrigued by Newman's straightforward approach to outlining what he feels were his faults, his greatest joys, his missteps, and his moments of earned pride. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? If you love memoirs, you might like some of the books on my many Bossy lists of favorites: Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into, Six Illuminating Memoirs to Check Out, Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore, Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore, Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite, and Six Musicians' Memoirs that Sing.

Six Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Science Fiction Reads I realize I just said this last week regarding mysteries, but really, doesn't the cold winter also feel like the perfect time to cozy up with a science fiction story with fantastic characters and some space adventure or other-world escapism? Here are six of my favorite science fiction reads of last year--with another list to come! Two of these share one of my favorite setups (a ragtag crew with heart has adventures in space; The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and Activation Degradation), and I've included a thought-provoking robot-focused story (A Psalm for the Wild-Built), the newest novel by the fantastic Blake Crouch (Upgrade), a strange, dark, captivating sequel (Harrow the Ninth), and one of my top favorite reads from last year (Project Hail Mary). I rated each of these books four Bossy stars or more. (Check out My Very Favorite Bossy 2022 Reads for all my best-of reads from last year.) If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! You can click here for other science fiction and fantasy books that I've reviewed on Bossy Bookworm. I'd love to hear: what are some of your favorite science fiction reads? 01 The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers Chambers's science fiction is full of heart, heartbreak, and hope--with a fascinating backdrop of space travel and interspecies relations. This is one of two Becky Chambers books on this short list. In The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, the first science fiction title in Becky Chambers's Wayfarers series, young Rosemary feels lucky to have landed the job of clerk for the quirky, ragtag, but welcoming crew of the Wayfarer ship. The group is made up of various creatures from around the galaxy, and they've already built bonds through working together for ages. Yet they make room in the mix for Rosemary, who's grateful--and who's frankly glad to leave her significant personal troubles behind. Chambers's story is science fiction that's full of heart, heartbreak, and hope. The book feels much more focused on the characters--with a backdrop of space travel and otherworldly creatures--than on exploration or adventure. Much of the story is about acceptance and openness and finding ways to get along. Interspecies relations are prickly, comfortable, romantic, puzzling, or all of the above. I love that the crew of the Wayfarer feels like a close-knit group of summer camp counselors somehow, palling around, sometimes irritating each other, each with special gifts and the ability and desire to help crewmates reach their full potentials, emotionally or otherwise. I just adored this. For my full review, check out The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. 02 Activation Degradation by Marina J. Lostetter Lostetter's standalone science fiction is a story about robots, a ragtag space crew, friends like family, and reimagining one's place in the universe. Activation Degradation begins with Unit Four's initial activation. It has just become sentient, and like its robot sisters, it has been programmed to fight the aliens currently attacking its ship. But whether it's a glitch or instincts that shouldn't be possible, Unit Four realizes that the situation as its handler has explained it doesn't quite add up. When Unit Four is taken onto the enemy alien ship as a prisoner and is unable to communicate with its handler, it begins to understand that all is not black and white, and that it may need to rethink all it has been taught to believe. Lostetter's book started off with a lot of logistics that slowed things for me, but as of page 66 the action and character development and exploration of morality and friendship and life purpose began clicking along. Activation Degradation explores what makes a person worth saving--or simply existing--as well as unconventional love and relationships, personal responsibility, sacrifice and bravery, and staying open to revolutionarily new ideas and ways of looking at the world--and the universe. Click here for my full review of Activation Degradation. 03 Upgrade by Blake Crouch Main protagonist Logan was hard for me to emotionally connect to, but I was hooked by the heart-pounding action, the fascinating imagined power and scope of gene engineering, the world on the verge of collapse--and the most intense, high-stakes sibling rivalry imaginable. Upgrade presents a future version of our world in which humans are teetering closer than ever to extinction because of a crumbling environment. SoHo and southern Manhattan are underwater, eating synthetic meat is the norm, and geneticists who have tried tinkering with the human state in a desperate attempt to shift the future of homo sapiens have largely been punished and jailed. Logan Ramsey is in charge of investigating suspected gene scientists who are up to illegal activity, and while investigating a suspicious situation, he is injured by an odd explosion. In the hospital he has headaches, a fever, and body aches, then his symptoms subside. The stakes couldn't be higher for Crouch's protagonists--pending global destruction and the elimination of the human race. So everything that occurs is a Big Deal, and Upgrade offers detailed, heart-stopping chases; the most intense sibling rivalry imaginable, interesting scenes of superhumans' outsmarting each other; and noble desires to "save the world" that conflict with others’ similar desires in crucial ways--and with potential global consequences. You can find my review of Blake Crouch's Recursion (mentioned in the Greedy Reading List Six Riveting Time-Travel Stories to Explore) here and my review of Dark Matter here. Click here for my full review of Upgrade. 04 Harrow the Ninth (Locked Tomb #2) by Tamsyn Muir This sequel to Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth is a complex, fascinating, gruesome story full of action and shifts in reality as well as endless bad language, wicked barbs, and dark-as-night humor. At the start of Harrow the Ninth, Harrowhark Nonagesimus, the last necromancer of the Ninth House, wakes disoriented and without her full powers on the Emperor's space station. Trapped in the eerie space station with three grumpy, unwilling teachers trying to prepare her for the battle of all battles (which by all accounts will be unwinnable), Harrow has to determine whether someone is trying to kill her--and to figure out what she has to live for anyway. This is dark dark dark, with death, nefarious plotting, and gleefully gruesome elements (bone work, etc.). But Harrow the Ninth also offers fantastically bratty episodes on the parts of various characters; frenzies of double-crossing, long-term plans for destruction, and evil impulses; and endless moments of silly and dark humor that made me laugh. The strong, ruthless, intelligent women in Harrow the Ninth absolutely steal the show--which is saying something, since God of the Universe is a character in the story. For my review of the first book in this series, Gideon the Ninth, check out this link. (Gideon was also mentioned in my Greedy Reading List Six More Postapocalyptic and Dystopian Favorites.) The third book in this series, Nona the Ninth, was published in 2022, with the fourth book, Alecto the Ninth, to follow in fall 2023. For my full review, check out Harrow the Ninth. 05 Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir In one of my favorite overall reads of last year, Andy Weir offers the fascinating story of a desperate space mission, creative innovation, and enduring optimism, with an enormous amount of heart that surprised me. Ryland Grace wakes up as the sole survivor of a last-chance effort to save Earth and its inhabitants. But he doesn't know that yet. He seems to be in space and isn't sure what has happened, and not only does he not remember his own name or where he's from, he also doesn't remember his scientific expertise or anything else that could help him survive and succeed in his quest. The memories are beginning to slowly shift back into focus, but he needs them now. He's millions of miles from Earth, and he's got two dead crewmates, a chatty AI robot caregiver, a lot of complicated equipment, and a mysterious mission whose purpose and execution he'll have to unravel if he's to possibly survive--much less save humanity. In Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir has created another irresistible story of hope, resilience, wonder, and discovery. Andy Weir is also the author of The Martian and Artemis. One of my reading regrets from last year is not listening to this as an audiobook. For my full review, please check out Project Hail Mary. 06 A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk and Robot #1) by Becky Chambers Chambers's slim book explores a man's search for meaning--and how a robot's simple questions about maintaining the status quo might open up a world of new possibilities. Is this a second book by Becky Chambers on one short Greedy Reading List? Yes, yes, it is. In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, the robots vanished from Panga centuries ago, and accounts of a world where they existed are beginning to feel more and more like folklore. But tea monk Dex finds himself wandering and yearning--for long-lost crickets' nighttime noises, and for some deep connection he can't quite identify. When Dex wanders into the forest and encounters a robot, the traditional exchange must occur, of checking in, and the robot asks: What do humans need? Dex can't imagine being able to answer this enormous question, but the robot wonders if the matter is really so complicated after all. The story is full of heart and strange, captivating details of Chambers's imagined world--and of an unorthodox friendship that could save both monk and robot. For my full review of A Psalm for the Wild-Built, please click here. If you're interested in books about robots, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Great Stories about Robots, Humans and Alien Life, and AI.

Chakrabarti offers characters with complex struggles, hopes, and haunting memories who work to form deep, heartwarming connections in this luminously written debut novel. "For family you must fight like a tiger," Misha once told him. Chakrabarti's A Play for the End of the World takes place in 1970s New York and in rural India, with key characters dipping into each disparate world--and finding to their surprise that they have connected with a place, with its pace, and with the patterns of its people. A survivor of the World War II Warsaw Ghetto (haunted by ghosts from his childhood and the desperate measures he took to cling to life), Jaryk Smith has made a life for himself in New York City. He explores his Jewish faith, forms a community of friends, ponders life, then falls in love with a Southern woman, Lucy Gardner, who is from Mebane, North Carolina. When Jaryk learns that his like-a-brother friend Misha from his childhood orphanage has died under mysterious circumstances while in India (on a trip he had wanted Jaryk to accompany him on), Jaryk travels there to collect his ashes. With his last tie to Poland gone--without Jaryk having entrusted him with the truth of his escape from the train that took the rest of his orphanage to a cruel death--Jaryk is deeply shaken. While Lucy is in New York City reflecting on their relationship, he becomes drawn into a bare-bones yet complicated Indian production of a play--the same play his orphanage director and father figure, Pan Doktor, once put on with the children in the Warsaw Ghetto in an effort to introduce the concept of death before the tragic end he foresaw. This has been the question on his mind--how do you protect a child in a world that means to malign, trade suffering for suffering? Lucy seeks him out with important news, and Jaryk finds himself stuck between past and present and struggling to hold on to a promise of a future for himself and his love. Jaryk unwittingly, then uncomfortably, then somewhat resignedly, becomes tangled in the complicated politics of the time in West Bengal. The building of tensions during this significant portion of the book had me nervously dreading the tragedy that was surely coming next. (It wasn't what I had feared.) The unlikely Jaryk-Lucy connection captured my heart, the Misha-Jaryk friendship was fantastic, and Chakrabarti's writing--about New York's bustle, small-town Indian life, the power of music and art, and a yearning for love and acceptance while fearing rejection and not feeling worthy--is luminous. This was my book club's first read of the year. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? A Play for the End of the World is Jai Chakrabarti's first novel. You might also like some of the other books with Indian settings I've reviewed on this Bossy site.

Jackson doesn't skimp on heart-pounding pacing, captivating character development, and dark turns in this third book in her young adult mystery series. I never would have predicted the twists. Sign me up for all Pippa Fitz-Amobi books, forever, please. “Or, you know, instead of revenge plots, we could focus our energy on going off to university in a few weeks," he said brightly. "You haven’t even picked out a new duvet set; I’m told that’s a very important milestone.” Where are all of my fellow Pippa Fitz-Amobi superfans? As Good As Dead is the final book in A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, a series I've loved, and I've been delaying reading this third and final installment due to my willful denial that the series is ending, my intense love for the characters of Pip and Ravi, and Holly Jackson's smart, sassy, irresistible storytelling. Ever since Pip's book two detective work ended in an important resolution, she's been coping with the significant trauma of that case's dramatic final events. She's in danger of being sued for libel by Max Freaking Hastings, who Pip knows is a terrible person who has done terrible things--which is why she said so, passionately, on her podcast. And she can't shake a general sense of unease, as though she's missing something. Pip is supposed to be out buying new sheets and a shower caddy for college, which starts in a few weeks. She's in love with Ravi and should be soaking up her last summer days with him. She's going to miss her family terribly, but she can't focus on quality time with them either. Because now she also seems to have a stalker--and not just any stalker, one who may have unnerving similarities to a local serial killer caught years ago. She's starting to wonder: could the wrong person be in jail for those crimes? It's becoming clear to Pip that it's imperative for her to identify her stalker--before she ends up as his next murder victim. It's essential to recall the details of past book events in order to grasp the fascinating changes here, and Jackson's recaps are skillfully interwoven into the story on the perfect need-to-know schedule. A bratty, nitpicky editorial issue: various characters were said to take part in frequent (disdainful) sniffing, particularly in the second half of the book, and I found the repetition of this striking habit distracting. Similarly nitpicky: the use of "round" instead of "around" throughout the book read as distinctly British to me and didn't seem to fit. However, I was completely hooked not only by Jackson's story but by the character evolution, the loyal friendships, the adorable relationship growth between Ravi and Pip--and particularly by this book's dark shift in Pip's approach to detective work and to ensuring that justice is served. We begin by witnessing the unraveling of Pip's controlled manner, her desperate attempts to cope with significant past trauma, and her (justified) intense feelings of responsibility for being the one to not only find elusive answers to various mysteries at hand, but singlehandedly ensuring the safety of the whole region. She's poring through files, making spreadsheets (and predicting Ravi's teasing about them), interviewing neighbors and jailed criminals, and tracking down leads, all the while realizing that justice is often not served and fighting against time to save her own life. If someone had laid out the events of this book before I could read the story as presented by the talented Jackson, I might have thought the plot sounded potentially outrageous in light of the previous books...but Jackson builds a case for the book's incredibly dark turns. The direction the book takes is fascinating. Jackson does not let off the gas pacing-wise. The unexpected twists and turns kept me riveted while Pip's unfailing bravery and her hero's struggles and emotional turmoil threatened to break my heart. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Book one in the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (AGGGTM) series is A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and book two is Good Girl, Bad Blood. Holly Jackson is also the author of Kill Joy (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #0.5) and Five Survive.

I listened to this audiobook and highly recommend immersing yourself in Michelle Obama's voice as she shares calm, wise, funny, or poignant reflections, personal practices, and gems of advice regarding retaining hope and being your best self. Many of us, I think, puzzle out our identities only over time, figuring out who we are and what we need in order to get by. We approximate our way into maturity, often following some loose idea of what we believe grown-up life is supposed to look like.... We make mistakes and then start over again.... We sample and discard different attitudes, approaches, influences, and tools for living until, piece by piece, we begin to better understand what suits us best, what helps us most. I read Michelle Obama's wonderful book Becoming, but after my wise friend Katherine mentioned having listened to it, I immediately wished I had heard Michelle's calming voice read it to me too. So I decided to listen to The Light We Carry and was instantly sure audiobook was the right format for me. Rather than pretending there are quick fixes for life's challenges and difficulties, Obama opens up her "toolbox" of emotional, meditative, and optimistic methods of coping, reminding herself of what's what, and ways in which she carries on in the face of adversity. While her White House circumstances are unusual and some of her related recollections are unique, her methods translate to the rest of us and daily life. She builds her book around pivotal encounters with others or aims to answer questions that have been frequently posed to her, along the way sharing more of the story of her family, marriage, political life, friendships, frustrations, hopes, goals, and joys. It sounds unfairly simplistic to summarize her practices with the short, catchy phrases she builds upon: "starting kind," "when they go low, we go high," and forming a "kitchen table" of friendships. While the ideas aren't complicated--which is the point of this book, after all: offering meaningful ways to be and to keep hope and be a light in the world--there are emotionally revealing stories and shining gems to dig into here. I didn't necessarily come away with new approaches (aside from entertaining the idea of incorporating a version of her friend's "Hey, Buddy!" morning self-greeting), but I thoroughly enjoyed and felt calmed by listening to this wise, kind, savvy woman read her gorgeously written thoughts and well-crafted reflections. Her writing--deep self-reflection with sometimes poetic phrasing--is just beautiful. I loved reading this and spending time with Michelle Obama. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Michelle Obama is also the author of Becoming and American Grown.

Six Four-Star Bossy Mystery Reads Doesn't the cold winter feel like the perfect time to cozy up with a mystery that hooks you with its twists and turns? Here are six of my favorite mystery and suspense reads of last year--with another list to come! A couple of these are historical fiction mysteries, one was jointly written by two authors, one was set in London, two have contemporary settings--and I rated each of these books four Bossy stars or more. If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! And I'd also love to hear: what are some of your favorite mystery reads? 01 A Marvellous Light (Last Binding #1) by Freya Marske The first book in Marske's duology is full of Edwardian England detail, gay love, mystery, magic, wonderful dialogue and banter, and plenty of heart. I adored it. A Marvellous Light starts with a devastating ending (the demise of a character, caused by nefarious magicians) and a less-than-promising beginning. Robin is trying to keep the household afloat after the deaths of his parents, to support his bright, ambitious younger sister, and to date some handsome men along the way. Marske offers immersive Edwardian England detail in this adorable, captivating, queer book that involves elaborate magical schemes and evil plots. Robin and Edwin's love is romantic and sweet and heartbreaking and sexy; the mystery at the heart of the book seems only to be solvable by the biggest book nerd in existence; and the story's magical details are fascinating and odd. I was completely hooked by A Marvellous Light, and I tried to slow down my reading to make it last. The amount of heart in this book was exquisite. Stay tuned for my rave review of the sequel! For my full review, check out A Marvellous Light. 02 Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner Faulkner's debut mystery is twisty and turny, with various potential bad seeds and complications--and it ends in a satisfying whirl of revelation and resolution. Helen lives in her dream home, an old Victorian beauty where she grew up, with her architect husband, who has masterminded plans to change the house and make it even more grand. Her brother and sister-in-law live nearby, and when Helen becomes pregnant with a long-desired baby and her brother's wife announces she's pregnant as well, Helen feels sure that her life couldn't be any more full and happy. But when she meets Rachel, a single mother-to-be in her prenatal class, Helen begins to feel unsettled. The unpredictable Rachel is spontaneous and fun, but she seems to know things about Helen's life and family that she shouldn't. When she alludes to mysterious connections between the women--and a long-ago crime--her persistent presence threatens to unravel the rest of the group's perfect lives forever. An unreliable narrator setup can be hit or miss for me, but in this case, I felt Faulkner deftly crafted Helen as naive, overwhelmed, lonely, and, at times, medicated. Therefore the omissions and confusion on her part--which allow the tricky situations at the heart of the book to be revealed slowly--aren't too convenient, and they add layers to the mystery of who exactly the nefarious force in the story may be. Click here for my full review of Greenwich Park. 03 The Box in the Woods (Truly Devious #4) by Maureen Johnson The fourth mystery in Johnson's Truly Devious series delivers more smart, creative sleuthing from Stevie Bell and the gang, great dialogue, twisty events, unsolved elements from the past and present, and a denouement I didn't predict. “...hear me out. This whole thing is ticking a lot of the horror movie boxes. Murder at a sleepaway camp. A serial killer. A final girl. A kid who died because some teenagers were being irresponsible.” The Box in the Woods is another smart, funny, intriguing young adult mystery from Maureen Johnson. This stand-alone novel from the author of the Truly Devious trilogy (Truly Devious, The Vanishing Stair, and The Hand on the Wall) follows the irresistibly single-minded, gifted, wonderfully oddball Stevie Bell as she takes her sleuthing skills outside of Ellingham Academy for the first time. Johnson sets up a premise in which a number of Stevie's friends from Ellingham are reunited to work at the camp and be together. This allows for the cooperative problem-solving that I adore in the rest of the series. Her friends' talents and support buoy Stevie's unique ability to piece together details and see the truth. (And Nate might even be writing again, if his irritating young superfan camper Lucas has anything to do with it.) The secondary characters of Lucas(!), Allison, Nate, Janelle, and David--and their dialogue--are fantastic as always. Click here for my full review of The Box in the Woods. 04 Alias Emma by Ava Glass Alias Emma is a fast-paced cat-and-mouse chase across hidden London, led by Emma Makepeace, a resourceful, tough, new spy determined to thwart the Russians' deadly plans. Emma Makepeace, a brand-new British spy, is jumping into duty--and danger--with both feet. Barely out of basic training, she has just twelve hours to deliver her asset across London to safety--without being spotted by the Russians who have hacked the city's thousands of cameras, and their assassins, who are out to eliminate the person she has sworn to protect. And Emma would very much like to make it out of this alive as well. This fast-paced thriller tracks Emma and Michael, the distractingly handsome son of Russian dissidents who she has pledged to protect, on the longest night of their lives as they work to evade the thousands of cameras documenting London citizens' every move. I read this start to finish during a flight (and delay), and I loved Glass's cat-and-mouse chase through side streets and underground rivers in a peek at hidden London that's detailed and gritty and gripping. I was so happy to realize this is the first in a planned series. Sign me up for every bit of this! For my full review, check out Alias Emma. 05 What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline Scottoline's suspenseful mystery offers surprising depth in exploring grief while the main protagonist takes justice into his own hands to bring peace to his family. Jason Bennett is a suburban dad whose life takes a horrific turn when his car is hijacked–and his family with it. The FBI tells Jason he’s stumbled into the crosshairs of a drug-trafficking organization. Agents advise the family to enter witness protection immediately in order to save their lives. But Jason can't shake the fact that they've done nothing wrong, and the witness protection program is for criminals who have turned on those around them--not for law-abiding citizens who stumble into a sinister situation. I'm up for a renegade story and a good-over-evil, noble quest. But What Happened to the Bennetts is more than a suspense story. Scottoline offers surprising depth, particularly while exploring the bone-shaking grief that lies at the root of this story. Her treatment of this delicate issue within a solid, suspenseful mystery cemented my interest in reading more of her books. The mystery within What Happened to the Bennetts is twisty without being manipulative, and the denouement felt satisfyingly layered and complex. For my full review, please check out What Happened to the Bennetts. 06 State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny This suspenseful collaboration between Clinton and Penny kept me on the edge of my seat through heart-stopping political conflicts, betrayals, suspicions, and discoveries. A new United States administration has been sworn in after a period of upheaval and upset. The shift has made for strange bedfellows—and a prickly partnership between our main protagonist, Ellen Adams, former multinational media conglomerate head and new secretary of state, and the president, a politician Adams has long criticized. Then a hastily sent, coded message comes through to an underling in the Oval Office--and it seems linked to violent terrorist attacks that soon begin taking place around the world. Who sent the message and why, and who is responsible for the attacks? I loved how Clinton and Penny made me question the loyalty and intentions of almost everyone in State of Terror while still making me feel invested in the story, Adams's family, and the ins and outs of the various complicated political conflicts, double-crossing players, grave American dangers, and immense potential worldwide effects. For my full review of State of Terror, please click here.

As with book one in the Arthur Less series, I was pleasantly surprised by the heart and vulnerability beneath the absurdities and funny moments of Arthur's escapist journey--this time across the United States--in Less Is Lost. In Andrew Sean Greer's (Pulitzer-Prize-winning) novel Less, we met the character of Arthur Less as he was about to turn fifty and was facing his status as a novelist of limited acclaim. When his ex sent him a wedding invitation, Arthur panicked. He felt that he couldn't possibly attend, but that he couldn't stay home, either. He decided to accept all of the random literary event invitations he'd received for the coming months and to put together a makeshift tour of the world, putting thousands of miles between himself and his problems. ...novelists, with their love of structure and language and symmetry in novels, are frequently mistaken about the people who inhabit the actual world.... In book two, Less Is Lost, Arthur faces the death of a former lover as well as a financial crisis--and again turns to the distracting schedule and constant movement of a literary tour to attempt to run from coping. Yet despite himself, he continually runs up against himself in unexpected, clarifying moments that reinforce who he is, has been, and wants to be. There's even an ongoing identity confusion subplot to really underline this element. We could invent a time machine, my Walloon, and go back and never choose each other. We could go back further still and try it all over again with what we know; try to be young together and in love, the way hardly anybody gets to be. Young and foolish and happy. But I have an easier solution: Just take the ordinary time machine. And try to grow old. Old and foolish and happy. I wondered if Less Is Lost would rely heavily on the context of the first book, and after reading it, I'm not certain this one can stand on its own, because it felt that it built on the story in Less with more of Arthur's often emotionally stunted encounters and his frequent inability to accept and address complicated realities. I was distracted at first by the shifts in points of view and by Freddy's omniscient role here--and I felt a little disappointed that the long-distance, repeatedly-thwarted reunions between the lovers didn't allow for the story to build their in-person connection. But the separation allows them to grow as individuals--and staying in Freddy's point of view allows his character to display interesting layers that worked to develop him more fully. But as with Less, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth that crept up on me here. Less's mishaps, assumptions, wrong turns, and excruciatingly slow growth in emotional maturity lead to appealing vulnerability, lots of funny moments, a building, brave resignation, adventurous departures from the expected, poignant heartbreak, and redemption. I do take some issue with the elderly descriptions of Less (one example: "Less's [hair], of course, has faded to an abbot's tonsure..."). He later reveals that he is not yet 55! Ouch. The story takes on somewhat of an evaluation of "the state of the United States" as Greer uses Less's encounters with various colorful characters to inject hope regarding the state of our country and grace for those with different manners of facing the world as best they can. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Check out this link for my review of Andrew Sean Greer's Less, a book that was the right one at the right time for me. I loved being surprised by the depth beneath Arthur's sometimes absurd take on the world in each of these books.

This fun, darkly funny, feminist story about a retiring female team of elite assassins was the right book at the right time for me: entertainment in the perfect combination of action and suspense, loyal friendship, clever plotting, and the promise of love. “Forty years ago, Constance Halliday set us on this road and created her squad of Sphinxes. It hasn’t been exactly what any of us expected. But we have done our best, and we will make her proud. She challenged us to make justice our priority, and tomorrow, justice will be done.” The Museum is an organization that operates outside of governmental control, relying on various trained elite killing forces. Originally formed in order to hunt down and rid the world of lingering Nazis, the Museum's mission has evolved to focus on taking out carefully chosen bad guys of all stripes--drug dealers, human traffickers, arms dealers, and the like. After four decades of successfully ridding the world of cruelty and destruction one person at a time, the Sphinxes (Billie, Natalie, Helen, and Mary Alice) are set to retire. They're not sure what they'll do with themselves once the work that has shaped them into who they are--both separately and together--is over, but they're getting used to the idea of collecting their pensions and figuring out the rest. But when the four friends are sent on an all-expenses-paid vacation to mark their retirement, a Museum associate attempts to do them in. The women realize they may know too much about where the bodies are buried--literally--to be allowed to drift away into the world without a fight. Pulling together as a team once more, they realize they've been set up--someone has convinced the higher-ups that the women have been taking lucrative hit jobs on the side and thereby betraying the Museum and its founding principles. The cardinal rule of the Museum was that freelancing was strictly forbidden. It’s one of the things that separated us from hired guns. We killed to order only, targets that had been scrupulously vetted and chosen because their deaths would benefit humanity as a whole. It's kill or be killed, and the seasoned women have to use their years of niche expertise, optimistic resilience, laser focus, and broad experience to escape the hits out on each of them. In Killers of a Certain Age, Raybourn has crafted an irresistibly fun, clever, feminist caper that had me hooked the whole way through. I loved the women's complicated bonds, their crafty planning, their fights for justice, and their ability to remain flexible and reinvent themselves. I love a spy/assassin book and a book that treats dark subjects playfully without being silly, and I loved this combination in Killers of a Certain Age. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I loved Raybourn's A Curious Beginning, the first in her Veronica Speedwell series, which I can't wait to continue reading. The fantastic blend of feminist sass and clever problem-solving is as evident in this book as it is in Killers of a Certain Age. While this book is a standout for me, you might also enjoy a different book about aging women taking back their power, The Change, or other campy books about unlikely killers like Finlay Donovan Is Killing It and Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead.

Keegan's slim book may seem cozy and quiet at first, but she beautifully illuminates tiny moments alongside momentous decisions and explores how together, they form a person and make up a whole life. It seemed both proper and at the same time deeply unfair that so much of life was left to chance. What is it about stories set in an Irish village and how much I love them? I've had Small Things Like These on my to-read list for a while, but after recently talking to my friend Jamie about it I moved it way up. Keegan's Small Things Like These is a slim novel about a small Irish town in the weeks leading up to Christmas 1985. When Bill, a good-hearted coal merchant, discovers something shocking while making his regular delivery to the local convent, he must decide whether to carry on his way or to consider the uncomfortable implications of the Catholic church's deep influence on the community. Similarly, when he stumbles onto a truth about his own mysterious heritage--a mystery he felt he had made peace with--he must decide whether it changes his feelings about his childhood and his identity. The two issues are intertwined, and it's a joy to watch the manner in which Bill copes with both instances. The story comes alive through the little moments Keegan highlights; while she explores decisions often determined by instinctual black-and-white, right-and-wrong judgments, she also digs into the intense struggle involved in reaching out from comfortable safety and taking a risk in order to do what feels right. Small Things Like These illustrates how a series of what may seem like largely inconsequential moments and one's reactions to them can together form the framework that makes up a person's sense of self. Keegan takes the small moments, impulses, generosities, omissions, and aversions that make up a day, a week, and a month and lays them alongside Big Moments of Realization--which often require grace and forgiveness, other times action and defiance--and with all of this in hand, she paints a picture full of the nuances choices, self-reflection, and possibilities that form the basis of a life. The worst was yet to come, he knew. Already he could feel a world of trouble waiting for him behind the next door, but the worst that could have happened was also already behind him; the thing not done, which could have been--which he would have had to live with for the rest of his life. The quiet main protagonist Bill is a hero; he musters forgiveness for painful events in his past while developing a mounting unwillingness to look the other way in the face of injustice. His grace and empathy guide him in all, and his story is beautiful to read. I listened to Small Things Like These as an audiobook. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Claire Keegan is also the author of Foster, Antarctica, Walk the Blue Fields, The Forester's Daughter, and So Late in the Day.

Kingsolver offers an epic story of a faulted, unlikely hero in danger of being crushed by exceptionally difficult circumstances. His golden heart and grit allow him to keep fighting through brokenness, pain, and disappointment in rural Virginia. Like every boy in Lee County I was raised to be a proud mule in a world that has scant use for mules. The newest Barbara Kingsolver book, which has been called an Appalachian David Copperfield, is epic. It's 560 pages and driven by the unique voice and gritty, heartbreakingly hopeful, broken voice of Demon (named Damon, a redhead, hence the "Copperhead"). Charles Dickens's experience with extreme poverty in Victorian England inspired him to highlight its cruel impacts on children in his story David Copperfield. That book inspired Demon Copperhead, in which Kingsolver showcases the invisibility of the rural poor in Appalachia as well as a tragic cycle of poverty, drug dependence, and death--with signature Kingsolver characters who have unique voices and are complex, flawed, and irresistible. "Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out, win or lose." Demon Copperhead is about a young boy born in a rural area of southern Virginia to a teenaged single mom in a single-wide trailer. She is an addict reliant on the wrong men for security and self-esteem. Demon's father is long dead (the circumstances surrounding his death have never been made clear to Demon), and he has little more than a growing, fierce desire for survival, his dad's red hair, and his biting humor to see him through. Demon's vividly described rural Lee County, Virginia, world is made up of close-knit, imperfect families (with holes in the family tree where various members have died or are in prison), and many branches come with shocking stories that make up the patchwork of family folklore. The nearby Peggott family is crucial to Demon's life; the extended family includes Demon's best friend, his surrogate grandparents, an aunt he has a crush on but also counts on as a mother figure, and her adopted daughter (her niece), who he adores. Yet when tragedy strikes the last of his own shaky family, they're unable to take him in and he's sent into foster care, beginning years of hunger, relentless work, the beginnings of his cycle of drug use for escapism, and the destructive impact of general, shocking neglect. I thought about what Rose said, wanting to see the rest of us hurt, because she was hurting. You have to wonder how much of the whole world's turning is fueled by that very fire. Glimmers of hope appear from time to time in the form of tragically small, thrilling amounts of money that could offer temporary food security; seemingly reliable sleeping conditions for a time; or the promise of outside figures who might extend a helping hand. But luck is fleeting, and disappointment seems to always come roaring back to cut Demon off at the knees. Any support feels conditional, and Demon learns to mistrust others and to doubt his own worth. Addiction begins taking over both the story and Demon's life, and Demon Copperhead digs in deeply to explore the destructive trap of oxycodone, meth, and other drugs--the cycle of poverty, addiction, the lure of zonking out, the physical dependence, the desperation of achieving a fix, and the death and destroyed families left in the wake of it all. Everything I looked at made my eyes water. It felt like being in love with somebody that's married. I could never have this. Staying here, alone and sober, was beyond my powers. And I still wanted it with all my hungry parts. Those around Demon (June, Angus, Emmy, Tommy) see the golden heart inside him even as he is unaware of his promise and his best qualities. I love that their optimistic views of him persist and seem to push through into his consciousness in tiny ways, even in moments when he feels most unlovable and worthy. What matters in a story is the heart of its hero. Demon Copperhead is full of unforgettable, broken characters, both likable and not; a richly built, unforgiving, starkly beautiful setting of small-town southern Virginia; and a commentary on poverty, addiction, and greed. Demon's story arc reaches from the legendary conditions of his birth through brushes with death and destruction through to the book's ending. If you're standing on a small pile of shit, fighting for your one place to stand, God almighty how you fight. The downward spiral kept going and going, and its grimness took my breath away. Yet Kingsolver keeps Demon's voice strong even as he falters and as everything he has counted on seems swept away. His rock-bottom--it isn't a moment; it feels as though he drags the bottom for years--sets up a situation in which he seems washed clean for some version of a new beginning. The prospects for Demon's future seem far from neat and perfect, but by the end of the book there are glimmers of hope for our faulted hero. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Barbara Kingsolver is also the author of The Poisonwood Bible, Prodigal Summer, The Lacuna, Unsheltered, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and other books.

The past timeline explores creativity, love, betrayal, and unexpected loops of consequence--which are echoed hauntingly in the present timeline as Chess and Emily's desire for success tests the bonds of their volatile decades-long friendship. The Villa is the newest novel (published January 3) by Rachel Hawkins, author of The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls. The Villa is gothic suspense told in two timelines, both at the same Italian villa, where dark mysteries and wicked turns abound. Emily and Chess were childhood friends and were once as close as sisters--sisters who fight and snarkily undermine each other, then unfailingly reunite. Beautiful, flighty Chess is a popular, single self-help author and influencer, while Emily, who is emerging from a mysterious long-term illness and in the middle of a contentious divorce, is the author of a successful series of cozy mysteries--but she just can't get her tenth book going. The stresses and pulls on their time have caused them to grow apart, so a writing vacation together at Villa Aestas sounds like the perfect way to reconnect. But Emily is immediately reminded how often Chess leaves her in the lurch, and if she's honest with herself, she's not sure she can truly trust her. As Emily digs into the villa's complicated and dark history and delves into the past, the growing tensions between Emily and Chess threaten their bonds of friendship. Hawkins takes us back and forth from the decades-old mystery and deaths at the villa to the growing unease in the present between two women whose relationship seems destined to end in terrible consequences. I was more solidly hooked on the past timeline because Mari felt like the most well-developed character in the book. As in Hawkins's Reckless Girls, I found myself disliking many of the characters, and this seems to be deliberate on the author's part, as the characters' various destructive, silly, and dangerously selfish behaviors lead to Big Trouble in both timelines here. The "She is inevitable" references unfailingly reminded me of bad-guy Thanos's catchphrase "I am inevitable," and the Marvel mental images jarred me from this story each time that line appeared. The end portion of the book introduces doubts about the facts as presented and offers haunting, unexpected consequences. I received a prepublication copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? You can read my review of The Wife Upstairs here, and you can check out this link for my review of Hawkins's Reckless Girls.

In Signal Fires, Dani Shapiro offers characters and consequences that connect through time and in unexpected ways. The loss and redemption here are tragic and beautiful. Signal Fires begins with three teenagers drinking in 1985, a car accident, a young doctor Ben Wilf, who comes upon the wreck and whose family is involved, and a haunting secret. Time passes, and a young family moves onto Division Street. Their astronomy-obsessed young son Waldo befriends the retired Dr. Wilf, whose wife is losing her memories at the same time vivid memories of past events come rushing back to Ben with uncomfortable impact. “If only time could be seen whole, then you could see the past remaining intact, instead of vanishing in the rearview mirror.” Signal Fires is about brokenness and the consequences of secrets and mistakes. But it is also largely about overcoming thwarted emotional connection and forging new ways of coming together through and after tragedy. I love Shapiro's writing and how she conveys the tragic beauty of human weakness and the relentless, if sometimes seemingly ill-advised, nature of hope. I adored the way the character of Waldo served as an unlikely conduit to wonder and how he bridges enormous barriers of all kinds. I listened to Signal Fires as an audiobook. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I mentioned Dani Shapiro's fascinating memoir Inheritance in the Greedy Reading List Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In. Shapiro is also the author of Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage; Devotion: A Memoir; and other books.

My very favorite reads this year! I post my favorite reads each month, and I was having such a great reading year, in late spring I posted My Favorite Reads of the Year So Far. (Three books from that list made it to my final Favorites list here.) I read so many fantastic books this year, I was considering another 29 titles for this Bossy Best of 2022 list (including I'm Glad My Mom Died, Carrie Soto Is Back, Lessons in Chemistry, Sparks Like Stars, Horse, and others). If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! What were some of your favorite reads of the year? Let's do some Bossy book talking! 01 In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom Amy Bloom writes with brutal honesty about her heartbreak and her determination to support her husband Brian Ameche's desire to end his life on his own terms. In her memoir In Love, author Amy Bloom shares the story of an impossible situation: how she faced the pending loss of her husband Brian Ameche, first mentally and then physically, to Alzheimer's disease. Ameche begins showing cognitive loss, and when a diagnosis is established of Alzheimer's disease, he considers the cases of those he has known who suffered for many years from the disease--and their caregivers alongside them. He becomes determined to participate in an assisted suicide program while he is still showing enough cognition to enter into the agreement. Bloom details the reasoning behind his decision and explores the importance to him of taking an active role in determining the time and place and conditions of his death. She considers how she can best support his wishes, even as doing so will take him away from her. Bloom is also the author of the wonderful White Houses and other books. I listed other heartbreaking and beautiful memoirs about facing death and loss in the Greedy Reading List Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality, and Kate Bowler's No Cure for Being Human is another gorgeous book about facing mortality that also appears on this list. For my full review, check out In Love. 02 Wingwalkers by Taylor Brown Brown's signature immersive details and wonderfully imagined, rich characters bring Depression-era scenes to life against an irresistible backdrop of swooping, soaring, daring aviation in Wingwalkers. What is it about aviation stories and my being so in love with them? In Taylor Brown's recently published historical fiction novel Wingwalkers, Zeno, a former World War I ace pilot, and Della, his daring wingwalking wife, travel Depression-era America, wowing audiences and inspiring hope in a dark, sober time. Zeno and Della are vagabonds, putting on shows for small bills and change, scrambling to make enough to fuel their plane, feed their dog, and to hopefully have enough left over to eat meager meals, just enough to keep them going. They're daring, sometimes haunted, broken, in love, and irresistible to read about. Wingwalkers swoops and soars yet grounds the reader in wonderfully imagined (and researched) details that bring the story to life. I loved this book! Taylor is also the author of Gods of Howl Mountain, a book I loved and gave five stars, Pride of Eden (a book still on my to-read list that looks wonderful), and Fallen Land, a title I loved and included in the Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Stories about the Civil War. (If you’re not on the Taylor Brown train yet, may I strongly suggest you join me?) Click here for my full review of Wingwalkers. 03 The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin Cronin's debut novel explores mortality, vulnerability, surprising moments of joy and reflection, an irresistible young protagonist, and a wonderful array of friends who are like family. Seventeen-year-old Lenni Pettersson lives in the terminal ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Her life expectancy isn't long, but Lenni still has a lot she wants to do and be. In the hospital's arts and crafts class, she meets 83-year-old Margot, a spirited, rebellious new friend. Collectively they've been around 100 years, but this just doesn't feel like enough, and they each want to leave their mark on the world. With the help of Father Arthur, the hospital chaplain, and a kind palliative care nurse, the friends make a plan to create one hundred paintings, one to represent each of their years of life. This goal adds structure to the novel, but the story is far richer than the characters' mission to create art. If you're interested in books that explore mortality, you might want to check out Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality. Another novel I loved that involves a precocious, wise, reflective, tough young protagonist is This Is All He Asks of You. Click here for my full review of The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot. 04 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin A book about childhood friends making a video game is an unexpected, captivating setup for this wonderfully deep, epic look at creativity, tragedy, and love. Childhood friends Sam Masur and Sadie Green are brilliant, creative collaborators and a wonderfully complementary pair since their chance meeting in childhood--and they're also (sometimes) full of love for each other. Reunited in college, Sam and Sadie come together to try to create a masterpiece: a video game unlike any that has come before. Something immersive, something fascinating, something irresistible. Their wild success and their devastating lows--individual and collective--test their loyalty, offer joy and unexpected stress, and push the limits of their connection. A book about longtime friends creating a video game feels like an unusual vehicle for delivering the beauty and depth Zevin builds into each page. But Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is an epic view of a lifetime of friendship and love, tragedy, renewed faith in others, overcoming incredible hardship...and a captivating account of the making of a video game, love for other games, and the power of games to bring people together. I just loved this book. For my full review, check out Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. 05 Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams Williams's historical fiction mystery--based on real-life double agents in the Cambridge Spy Ring--is vividly set in Europe and Russia and was a rare five-star read for me. In Beatriz Williams's historical fiction, Our Woman in Moscow, it's 1948, and Iris Digby, her American diplomat husband Sasha, and their two children have disappeared overnight. Those who knew and worked with them are shocked. Were the Digbys abducted by Soviet agents...or did they make their way by choice behind the Iron Curtain with a suitcase of American secrets to trade? I loved this. Every heart-stopping moment; every exquisite detail; the characters' growth, emotional distance, and unforeseen connections to each other; the trick of teasing out what was actually happening; the characterization; the machinations--all of it. I loved Williams's immersive story so much, I was in for all of Our Woman in Moscow's elements: Russia, family, spies, crossing/double-crossing, finding common ground, bravery, and illogical and irresistible love. For my full review, check out Our Woman in Moscow. 06 This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub Straub offers a story that plays with time, explores sentimental moments, offers do-overs, and sweeps the reader into a love-filled, hopeful heartbreaker of a tale. On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s job, apartment, and love life are solidly okay. The only dark spot in her life is her father’s grave illness. When she wakes up the next morning...it’s her 16th birthday again. And it isn't just that being in her teen body again shocks her, or that seeing her high school crush is jarring. It's incredible to see her healthy, vital, young dad. I am a huuuuuuge fan of books that play with time, and Straub offers up all the best parts of a time-travel book in This Time Tomorrow. This Time Tomorrow indulged my own personal desire for sentimentality, while also emphasizing the value of cutting to the heart of a situation without wasting time. The story offers up lots of loving moments as well as perfectly imperfect decisions and mistakes. The story is heartbreaking and lovely in its ultimate insistence that one must let go of the past. If you like books that play with time, you might also enjoy the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Second-Chance, Do-Over, Reliving-Life Stories. Click here for my full review of This Time Tomorrow. 07 No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) by Kate Bowles Touching, honest, raw, funny, and full of gritty reflections about life and faith, this was a read that I absolutely adored and gave five Bossy stars. THIS BOOK! Reading memoirs centered around cancer is not always a go for me, but this book was special. Divinity professor Kate Bowler offers meaningful insight, gritty truth-telling, and wry humor as she shares her experiences surrounding facing stage 4 colon cancer. I finished No Cure for Being Human in one evening, tabbed many, many passages, immediately bought my own copy, re-tabbed everything, and would have been perfectly willing to read the book again in its entirety right away. So many moments struck me, surprised me, or touched me as I read this lovely work, including Bowler's exploration of how our lives are largely shaped by choices out of our control and her reckoning with the way in which she considers her body after cancer treatment ("Who would fault a body that has survived so much and asked for so little?"). No Cure for Being Human is beautiful, funny, heartwarming, practical, and Kate Bowler is so wise and wonderful, I hugged this book to my chest when I finished reading it. For my full review, check out No Cure for Being Human. 08 How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying) by Cristina Fernandez How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying) is a charming, irresistible young adult story about superheroes, villains, a crushing premed course load--and the everyday bravery involved in being vulnerable with friends and in falling in love. I adored this and am in for all future books by Fernandez. Columbia premed undergrad Astrid is dating Max Martin, a sweet, nerdy boy she knew back in high school. Astrid is always on time. And her sense of what it's possible to achieve within windows of time is practically her superpower. On the other hand, Max is always crashing in late for their dates and dashing off abruptly in the middle of their time together. And it seems like trouble gravitates to him--he's always in the middle of some kind of Life-and-Death Problem. When a supervillain breaks into Astrid's apartment to kidnap her--she has organic chemistry to study for and she really does not have time for this!--she has to face facts: It really seems undeniable that Max...is a superhero. How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying) is a wonderfully romantic story about finding your own true self, listening to your gut, finding the strength to put yourself on the line for other people, the bravery of falling in love, and the importance of treasuring every day. Cristina Fernandez has crafted an irresistibly charming story that I absolutely adored. For my full review, check out How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying). 09 Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Andy Weir offers the fascinating story of a desperate space mission, creative innovation, and enduring optimism, with an enormous amount of heart that surprised me. Ryland Grace wakes up as the sole survivor of a last-chance effort to save Earth and its inhabitants. He's millions of miles from Earth, and he's got two dead crewmates, a chatty AI robot caregiver, a lot of complicated equipment, and a mysterious mission whose purpose and execution he'll have to unravel if he's to possibly survive--much less save humanity. Weir provides Grace with unexpected company, fascinating collaboration, fantastic interpersonal relationships (Rocky!), incredible innovation, and wonderfully big-hearted moments. The present-day story alternates with peeks back in time to life before this space mission, which show Grace as an interestingly faulted but incredibly valuable team member on the project of a lifetime. As in his book The Martian, significant page time in Weir's Project Hail Mary is spent on creative problem-solving, particularly scientific experimentation and high-stakes trial and error, and while it slowed the pace of the story, it felt warranted--and I was hooked by all of it. For my full review, check out Project Hail Mary. 10 The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin This World War II-set novel is a love letter to books, to looking out for others, to forming friends-like-family connections, and to continuing to put one foot in front of another with hope for the future. The Last Bookshop in London was inspired by the true story of one of the last bookstores to survive the Blitz. Along with her best friend Viv, whose parents want her to marry and settle down (something she has no interest in), main protagonist Grace heads to her deceased mother's old friend in London to take refuge as World War II begins to rock Europe. The young women's wartime experiences take Viv to glamorous Harrod's, settle Grace in a dusty old bookshop, shakes their makeshift household and family, and results in unexpected joys and love among the many tragedies and dark days. The Last Bookshop in London is never sentimental but very powerful, and I was brought to tears while listening to it. I love a World War II-set book, and I adored The Last Bookshop in London. If you like World War II stories, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Great Stories about Brave Women During World War II. Click here for my full review of The Last Bookshop in London. 11 The Rose Code by Kate Quinn Kate Quinn makes the urgency of World War II code breaking come alive through the stories of three young women and their interconnected destinies in The Rose Code. The Rose Code is a wonderfully spun historical fiction story of three very different women who answer the wartime call to England's top-secret Bletchley Park in order to break the military codes of the Axis powers. I love a World War II story about strong women making a difference, but I admit that I was curious about how even a historical fiction storytelling master like Kate Quinn could craft compelling storytelling around the potential tedium at the heart of code breaking. Quinn offers plenty of interpersonal conflict, romance, suspected double-crossing, and details of life within both timelines, and in her hands, the descriptions of code-breaking mechanisms and the detailed, complicated, elusive process of figuring out messages were captivating. For my full review, check out The Rose Code. 12 The Humans by Matt Haig The Humans is about mathematics, aliens, and shape shifters, but at its heart it's about a hurting family and an unimaginable, shocking, heartwarming chance at a new beginning. This was fascinating, sometimes funny, thoughtful, and lovely. In Matt Haig's The Humans, an extraterrestrial arrives on Earth with a mission: to kill the man who has achieved a mathematical discovery considered beyond what is appropriate for humans and for the planet. Horrified by the appearances of the humans, confused by their disgusting obsessions with wearing clothing and drinking coffee, and pitying of their limited brain capacities and lack of special powers, the visitor nevertheless assumes the appearance of Professor Andrew Martin and clumsily takes on the man's life for a time. Through New Andrew's alien eyes we see the contradictory, beautifully messy, infuriating, wondrous aspects of the human condition. Haig handles the complexities and challenges of the bizarre situation with heart, some wry humor, and with thoughtfulness. The Humans is funny, strange, deep, and lovely. I loved it. Click here for my full review of The Humans.

My very favorite December reads! Here are my six favorite reads of the past month: a book that plays with time, a book that plays with memory, a musician's memoir, Roaring Twenties-set historical fiction, postapocalyptic fiction, and the newest in a young adult mystery series. This feels like the most representative mix of Bossy Favorite Genres ever! If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! And I'd also love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads? 01 Lost in Time by A.G. Riddle A.G. Riddle's time-travel story centers around reconciling the inability to change what has already occurred with the necessity of doing so to save loved ones. With a twist! I love a time-travel book (see lists of some of my favorites, linked below). In A.G. Riddle's 450-page multiple-timeline story Lost in Time, a group of scientists have developed a device called Absalom. First intended to revolutionize shipping, its limitations and its vast possibilities lead to a new purpose: to send dangerous criminals back in time. When Sam, one of the creators of the system, is framed for the murder of another creator, he finds himself about to be sent back in his own creation as punishment. But his physicist friends are determined to try to get him back to the present again somehow. I was a little uncomfortable with what seemed like the characters' inability to consider that human life always ends, that that is what makes it precious, and that actively manipulating outcomes related to life and death on the scale presented in the story might be problematic and irresponsible. I did not see the fascinating twist of the book coming, and it's laid bare for the reader relatively early. I don't pretend to have succeeded in comprehending the heart of the time-travel premise here, but it was all interesting to contemplate. For my full review, check out Lost in Time. 02 The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton This was my favorite read of the month! This gorgeously written postapocalyptic climate-fiction story offers up a future in which civilization buckles to the destructive power of weather and ocean while certain species thrive in the extreme changes and shifted conditions. This is a beautifully written novel with a haunting postapocalyptic tone and vivid setting. The shadow of real-life global warming and weather changes add to the power of the story, and the touch of magical realism is both essential to the plot and a lovely element. The characters of Frida and neighbor Phyllis are irresistible, and I loved the ways in which they adjust, adapt, grieve, press on, and form a makeshift family out of friendship. The way the sea persistently erodes all evidence of civilization kept reminding me of the Talking Heads song "Nothing But Flowers," and Brooks-Dalton's climate fiction descriptions of living with water, exposed to weather, and within the parameters of extreme heat and the safety of darkness were striking. The Light Pirate offers unexpected redemption, tragedy, and some beautiful resolutions. Click here for my full review of The Light Pirate. 03 The Box in the Woods (Truly Devious #4) by Maureen Johnson The fourth mystery in Johnson's Truly Devious series delivers more smart, creative sleuthing from Stevie Bell and the gang, great dialogue, twisty events, unsolved elements from the past and present, and a denouement I didn't predict. “...hear me out. This whole thing is ticking a lot of the horror movie boxes. Murder at a sleepaway camp. A serial killer. A final girl. A kid who died because some teenagers were being irresponsible.” The Box in the Woods is another smart, funny, intriguing young adult mystery from Maureen Johnson. This stand-alone novel from the author of the Truly Devious trilogy (Truly Devious, The Vanishing Stair, and The Hand on the Wall) follows the irresistibly single-minded, gifted, wonderfully oddball Stevie Bell as she takes her sleuthing skills outside of Ellingham Academy for the first time. Johnson sets up a premise in which a number of Stevie's friends from Ellingham are reunited to work at the camp and be together. This allows for the cooperative problem-solving that I adore in the rest of the series. Her friends' talents and support buoy Stevie's unique ability to piece together details and see the truth. (And Nate might even be writing again, if his irritating young superfan camper Lucas has anything to do with it.) The secondary characters of Lucas(!), Allison, Nate, Janelle, and David--and their dialogue--are fantastic as always. Click here for my full review of The Box in the Woods. 04 Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin Harkin's fascinating debut speculative fiction considers a memory clinic that erases and reinstates memories at clients' requests, the impact of painful experiences on building the self, and the potential repercussions of tinkering with your recall of the past. In Jo Harkin's debut novel world, many have elected to have the company Nepenthe remove traumatic or upsetting memories through a relatively new procedure. The key memory and all connected elements are eliminated, presumably allowing these individuals to plow back into their lives unencumbered by upsetting past mistakes or experiences. But some clients are beginning to have flashes of their erased memory, "traces" that disturb and confuse them, and the company providing the service seems to be keeping secret some highly negative effects on some patients. Secrets and lies swirl throughout this book and the plot zings along. Harkin digs into her characters and their brokenness, heartache, and mistakes, but also their love, joy, resilience and ability to transcend tragedy, and persistent hope. I love fiction about memory and how it shapes us, and I thought Harkin's Tell Me an Ending was wonderful. I was captivated by the various situations, secrets, how memory is connected to a sense of self, and the complicated web of memories, experience, personality, and hopes and dreams that make us who we are. Please click here for my full review of Tell Me an Ending. 05 Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson Atkinson's newest mystery is set in vivid Roaring Twenties London as Nellie Coker struggles to hold on to her empire of clubs while mysterious dark undercurrents threaten stability throughout the city. It's 1926 in London, and recovery from the Great War inspires many in the city to dive into the wild nightlife scene and revel in the frenzy of the Jazz Age. Nellie Coker is fresh out of jail and ready to jump back into the action, masterminding moves to increase her family's power, influence, and riches. But not everyone she's paying off can be trusted, some of her six children are undermining her, and goings-on in the dark undercurrents of Soho could shake Coker's hold on her empire--and upset her ambitious dreams. On the other side of the Shrines of Gaiety story line is Detective Frobisher, an upstanding outlier in the largely corrupt police force, and his unlikely assistant in investigating Ma Coker, former librarian Gwendolen Kelling. I was particularly hooked by the intersection of Gwendolyn and Ma Coker's golden child, her eldest son Niven--along with the mystery of missing girls across Roaring Twenties London, plus deadly high stakes, the dealings of various crooks, and significant double-crossing throughout the story. For my full review and for links to Bossy reviews of other Atkinson books, please check out Shrines of Gaiety. 06 Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono Thoughtful, self-deprecating, earnest, and honest, Surrender is a captivating peek into the four decades (and counting) of U2. Bono explores his faith, family, loyalty, musical inspirations, and important activism efforts. I prefer listening to my memoirs read by the author, and I loved hearing U2's songwriter and lead singer Bono take us through the stumbles, pain, joy, and faith that have inspired his music and shaped his life. From treasuring friends he's had since childhood (one of whom was the inspiration for the song "Bad"), to exploring "growing up in Ireland in the seventies with my fists up (musically speaking)"; from digging into the difficult relationship with his father to sharing how he attempted to cope with the loss of his mother decades after the fact, Bono's Surrender is beautifully honest, self-deprecating, and fascinating. Details of Bono's activism make up much of the second half of the book. He is interested in the potential power of his celebrity to do good, in learning about worthwhile issues without ego, and in being actively involved in improving the lives of others around the world. For my full review (and for links to other musicians' memoirs I've loved), check out Surrender.

I was hooked on the gritty details of mining camp life, particularly as contrasted with the excesses in the mine owners' mansion. The author build characters and events around some of her own ancestors in Colorado in the early 1900s. There in the sharp teeth of the Gilded Mountains, where the snow and murderous cold conspire to ruin a woman, I lost the chance to become a delicate sort of lady.... Instead, I got myself arrested as a radical and acquired a fine vocabulary.... And I'm not sorry, for it was all of my education in those two years, about right and wrong. Kate Manning's Gilded Mountain is set in early 1900s Colorado as Sylvie Pelletier leaves her family's mountain cabin to work for the affluent Padgetts, who own the marble-mining company that employs Sylvie's father and many other men in the small town of Moonstone. Sylvie is quickly shocked by the excesses she sees--and by the sometimes stark disconnect between what the family members say and what they do. However, she is also captivated by the family's wealth and comfort--and by extension, her own. She feels guilty at her deep fascination with various fancy foods and dress. She also finds herself taken with Jace, the treasured son of the Padgett family, who is himself torn between family duty, secrets, and doing "one right thing," a way of navigating the world that Sylvie has learned from her mother. Yet at the same time she becomes fascinated by George--the rough union organizer who flits in and out of town--and the trouble that seems to follow him. Some lies we tell to make them true, like wishes. All is well. Then there are the lies laid carefully on top of lies, sediment hardening to stone, covering shame and secrets. The Padgetts' abominable treatment of their workers draws the attention of union organizers, a brutally honest newspaper editor, and Sylvie herself. With her own family's livelihood--and the local industry--in the Padgetts' hands, tensions threaten to explode the community. Strikes are all the same. Same songs. Same reasons. Same hope and rage. In those years it was struggle and strife all over the mountains. I was taken with the details of mining-company life and the contrast against the lush life of excess in the Padgett mansion. Sylvie's torn feelings and warring sense of duty and desire for youthful joy and carefree moments felt real and brought me into the story. The tough newspaper owner K.T. was a great character and mentor for Sylvie, and I loved the accounts of reporting and printing on a printing press as well as the conflicts and resilience of reporting contentious occurrences. Later in the story, events surrounding marble mining and workers' conditions (strike, resistance, destruction, scabs, complicated negotiations, and broken promises) and in Sylvie's life (mixed emotions, attraction, confusion, lies, and secrets) make for jumbled-feeling pacing, and the end of the book involves a significant amount of summary as later events are recounted and as issues such as money, secrets, and retribution are resolved. I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of Scribner and NetGalley. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I love a Western-set story. If you also like stories like this, you might enjoy the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American West.