I loved the worldbuilding and the headstrong, powerful loose cannon of Nahri, as well as the Middle Eastern fantasy setting. I found myself yearning for the expert pacing, intrigue setup, and rich character development of my beloved Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by the same author. Nahri makes a living on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, skillfully thieving and honing her skills as a con artist. The only thing that isn't a lie is her mysterious ability to instinctually, instantaneously heal others and herself. During a con she accidentally summons a djinn warrior, Dara, and the two must flee across the desert to Daevabad, a magical city whose most powerful citizens rely on fire. But the city is split between two groups, those holding the throne and palace and those eking out a living on the streets. Centuries-old resentments and conflicts threaten to bubble up into war--and Nahri and Dara's arrival only serves to feed the flames of conflict. I loved the headstrong, powerful but untrained main character Nahri, the complex cultural backgrounds clashing in the book, and the Middle Eastern-based, fantastical worldbuilding. I was in for the political inrigue, mythology, magic, and battles--but I'm not sure I fully grasped the intricacies of the political histories, conflicts, and intentions; the Nahri-Dara relationship felt difficult for Nahri to settle into, and therefore left me uncertain as well; and the pacing left me feeling somewhat unsettled, moving from event to event without gaining steady footing. I listened to The City of Brass as an audiobook. It's the first in a trilogy, followed by The Kingdom of Copper  and The Empire of Gold . More Chakraborty love Chakraborty is also the author of the wonderful novel The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi , the first in the series of the same name; she published that book under the name Shannon Chakraborty. I listed Amina in the Greedy Reading List Six Four-Star (and Up) Science Fiction and Fantasy Reads I Loved in the Past Year .

Killers of a Certain Age was darkly funny, action-packed, feminist, and friend-focused. I love the second installment's return to my favorite aging assassins and their quick-thinking, spry, deadly answers to those who have broken moral codes--and who have our protagonists in their sights. You could get a real job instead of this endless loop of make-believe, this merry-go-round of cover stories and covert assignments. But you don't. Because the person you're supposed to kill has been chosen for a good reason. Whatever contract exists between human beings, a contract of decency and common humanity, they've broken it. The first installment of Deanna Raybourn's Killers of a Certain Age series was a fun, darkly funny, feminist story about a retiring female team of elite assassins. It 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. Book two picks up when our main characters, having laid low and lived their own lives for a year, are contacted by the Museum, the elite assassin organization they used to work for. An Eastern European gangster has obtained the names of agents who have stood in his way over the years, and our aging assassins seem likely to be next on his hit list. They must figure out who's turned traitor on the Museum and shared this information--and stay alive long enough to bring them to justice. I remain fully invested in this premise of aging elite assassins who feel deep affection for and, at times, annoyance with each other. Their age plays into their potential disguises (and the ribbing they give each other about vanity or work they've had done), but generally they remain mentally and physically spry enough to think several steps ahead and to move lithely and with deadly precision (whew, that train ride!). Somebody has to put the chessboard to rights, pick up the wrecked pieces and set it back at the start. So you pick up your bag and you close the door behind you, just like you've closed a hundred other doors. And you know that every time you do, you've left another piece of you behind. Kills Well with Others sometimes feels a little bit as though Raybourn is gamely giving her readers what they want (more Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, Natalie--and Tanner!) rather than writing a book she felt compelled to put out into the world. But I'm one of those who are eager for more time with these clever, sometimes grumpy, often spontaneous, satisfyingly quick-thinking assassins who are loyal to each other above all. The mind-bending examinations of what other characters might be up to and the combat and narrow escapes keep the pacing lively and engaging. In between, Raybourn allows friendships and love to grow and change. If Raybourn keeps writing this series, I'll read every last installment. I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley. More Deanna Raybourn love Raybourn is also the author of the wonderful Killers of a Certain Age , which was the first in the Killers of a Certain Age series. And I loved A Curious Beginning , the first book in Deanna Raybourn's feisty Veronica Speedwell series of historical fiction mysteries, as well as the sequels A Perilous Undertaking , A Treacherous Curse , A Dangerous Collaboration , and A Murderous Relation . (There are currently nine books in the series.)

In Hall's Broken Country , characters do their duties, find wondrous love, feel heartbreak, suffer tragedies, sometimes act impulsively, and reel from the consequences of all of the above. A mystery surrounds a deadly moment, and the book ends with a hopeful, imperfect, heartbreaking way forward. Beth and her kind husband Frank live and farm outside the small English village where they grew up. They love each other, but they are able to stay married only because they push down the memories of tragedies that could haunt them, and because secrets from the past stay buried. But when Frank's brother shoots a dog going after the family's sheep, the gunshot sets into motion events that will change everything. The dog belonged to Gabriel Wolfe, Beth's childhood love, and his return to town brings back long-suppressed complications around jealousies, love, choices, and the weighty consequences of the past. I love a farm-life novel, and in Broken Country , Hall creates a background of relentless care, feeding, planting, harvesting, repair, routines, life, and death. Against the straightforward, duty-driven work, Hall sets a complex, twisted set of past affections, heartbreak, vulnerability, and hurt, then offers up faulted, broken, hopeful, impulsive characters who are at times wondrously stoic, and at other times act against their best interests, complicating everything and potentially destroying everything in their wake. Broken Country is a study of an extreme, life-and-death-stakes fallout after heartbreaking tragedy, but it's also a story of young love blossoming, then shriveling under the first pressures of the outside world; it's a mystery in which duty overpowers the difficult truth; and it's a hopeful view of how an imperfect set of characters can find their clumsy, sometimes beautiful, way forward. I read this immersive story in a flash. More books about forbidden love I received a prepublication edition of Broken Country  courtesy of Simon & Schuster and NetGalley. For more books about forbidden love, check out the titles at this link .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's upcoming novel, Dream Count ; I'm listening to the first in S. A. Chakraborty's Daevabad fantasy trilogy, The City of Brass ; and I'm reading Olivia Hawker's upcoming historical fiction, The Stars and Their Light . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Dream Count , Chiamaka, a Nigerian travel writer living in the US, is living through the pandemic alone. She considers her past loves as well as the lives, choices, and challenges of three strong women in her life: her best friend Zikora, a successful lawyer who must regroup after devastating heartbreak; Omelogor, Chiamaka's loud, confident cousin in Nigeria, professionally fulfilled but in a crisis of identity; and her housekeeper Kadiatou, sacrificing so much to raise her daughter in America but facing grueling hardship. I received a prepublication edition of this title, to be published April 1, courtesy of Knopf and NetGalley. Adichie is also the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, and Americanah . 02 The City of Brass (Daevabad #1) by S. A. Chakraborty Nahri makes a living on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, skillfully thieving and honing her skills as a con artist. The only thing that isn't a lie is her mysterious ability to instinctually, instantaneously heal others and herself. During a con she accidentally summons a djinn warrior, Dara, and the two must flee across the desert to Daevabad, a magical city whose most powerful citizens rely on fire. But the city is split between two groups, those holding the throne and palace and those eking out a living on the streets. Centuries-old resentments and conflicts threaten to bubble up into war--and Nahri and Dara's arrival only serves to feed the flames of conflict. I'm listening to The City of Brass as an audiobook. It's the first in a trilogy, followed by The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold . Chakraborty is also the author of the wonderful novel The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi , the first in the series of the same name; she published that book under the name Shannon Chakraborty. 03 The Stars and Their Light by Olivia Hawker It's 1947, and Sister Mary Agnes is in Roswell, New Mexico, to establish a monastery. The effort is in direct response to the reported crash of an unidentified craft in the area--and the area's ensuing, growing crisis of faith and turning to the stars for divine guidance. Drawn to locals like high schooler Betty Campbell, who is physically and psychologically changed after the event, and handyman Harvey, who witnessed the crash, Mary Agnes aims to draw those in doubt back to the church. But she experiences a wavering and changing faith of her own. Olivia Hawker is also the author of October in the Earth , The Fire and the Ore , The Ragged Edge of Night , and One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow , which I mentioned in the Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American West . I received a prepublication edition of this title, scheduled for publication April 1, courtesy of Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley.

My very favorite Bossy March reads! I'm taking a break from social media for Lent, and while I love to talk books on Instagram and Facebook and to peruse other people's reads, it's no surprise that I've been loving putting my extra time into reading great books. Here are six of my March favorites. If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! And I'd also love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads? 01 Time of the Child by Niall Williams Time of the Child  feels like poetry in prose form, and Williams richly shapes a small-town Irish community's everyday and extraordinary events in this poignant, gorgeous literary fiction novel. In 1962 in the small Irish town of Faha, it's Christmastime, and Dr. Jack Troy and his oldest daughter Ronnie are coping with complicated family dynamics in their drafty, rural Irish home when an unexpected discovery turns everything upside down. During the annual, chaotic community fair preceding this holidays, which this year is a rainy business full of haggling, disappointments, and triumphs, an infant is left by the church gates. Young Jude and Faha's grown twins, Tim and Tom, bring the baby girl to Dr. Troy and Ronnie, believing her dead but not sure what else to do. And she does seem to have passed on to another realm, until Dr. Troy is able to revive her. In an impulsive pact, the four men agree not to share the news of the baby with anyone. Meanwhile Ronnie quickly falls in love with the infant girl, who she begins to call Noelle, and Jack opens his heart with the same devotion to the baby. As weeks go on the two of them care for her and go to extremes to try to keep Noelle's existence a secret. When her presence is revealed, they form desperate plans to keep her. But an unwed mother in that time and place has little chance of keeping a child once the Church has a hold of it. What really shines in Time of the Child  is the power of the small-town Faha community--gossipy and desperate for dirt as its citizens may largely be. The miracle of unity brought about by a baby's presence is poignant without feeling too easy. This story is beautiful and powerful. Williams's writing feels like a poem in prose structure; no word is wasted, and I read this novel slowly in order to savor the world the author so gorgeously created. For my full review of this book please see Time of the Child . 02 Show Don't Tell: Stories by Curtis Sittenfeld In Curtis Sittenfeld's wonderful second short-story collection, we meet imperfect characters, often fortysomething women, in moments large and small that push them to determine what they're made of as they consider friendship, betrayal, fear of failure, the power of memory, art, parenthood, and more. In Curtis Sittenfeld's first short-story collection, You Think It, I'll Say It , she offered ten stories of fully realized, fascinating characters that stuck with me. I loved it and rated the collection five stars. In her second fantastic short-story collection, Curtis Sittenfeld explores middle age, fame, friendship, artistry--and "Lost but Not Forgotten" is a story featuring Lee Fiora, a character from Sittenfeld's novel Prep , in which Lee attends an alumni event at her boarding school. My favorite writing often turns expectations on their heads, and In Show Don't Tell , Sittenfeld draws us into crucial stages of faulted characters' lives, in which they figure out what they're made of. Throughout the book, characters, often middle-aged women, consider art, expression, love, respect, friendship, and limitations as they live their fascinatingly imperfect lives. This is more excellent Curtis Sittenfeld; I'm a forever fan. You can click here for my review of Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy , here for my Bossy take on American Wife , and here  for You Think It, I'll Say It: Stories . If you enjoy short story collections, you might like to check out Six Short Story Collections to Wow You  and Six More Short Story Collections I Loved . Click here for my full review of Show Don't Tell . 03 Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live by Susan Morrison Lorne is a thorough, 650-page look at Michaels's creation of and steering of SNL . What I found most fascinating were the behind-the-scenes peeks at assembling a cast; the show's evolving vision, sketches, and position in society; and the incredibly hectic manner in which a weekly show is put together and performed live. Susan Morrison was given unfettered access to Lorne as well as SNL  and its past and present players, and in Lorne , she shares the deeply researched story of how Lorne Michaels developed SNL , his ups and downs, his vision, and how he created the institution that would change comedy forever. I was intrigued by Michaels's role in creating SNL , growing it, and adapting it, as well as his taste-making, often inspired casting, hands-on production--and hands-off avoidance of many interpersonal conflicts. But Lorne's fascination with his celebrity friends came off as somewhat insufferable, then kind of tiresome, and ultimately so intertwined with his manner and lifestyle that I became resigned to the incessant name-dropping as just how Michaels is. The fascinating behind-the-scenes peek at a week shaping a show (Jonah Hill is the host for the featured episode) are interspersed with past evolutions of the show, its cast, and Lorne's personal life. After five decades, it feels surprising that the hectic schedule and method by which the show's sketches are discussed, tinkered with, tried out, shortened (or abandoned) in dress rehearsal, then finalized just before air  continue to occur so seemingly haphazardly and last-minute, yet a show always comes out of the mayhem. Please click here for my full review of Lorne . 04 Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce In Kristy Boyce's young-adult charmer, high schoolers Riley and Nathan, coworkers who have nothing in common, end up in a fake-dating drama as they try to win over their love interests. High schooler Riley has a grand plan to become a Broadway director. But the always-epic school musical has been canceled because the school thinks there isn't enough support for it. So first she wants to get the spring musical set, then she'll mastermind her future. But when she borrows her mom's car without permission (to go see Waitress  out of town with her best friend, so: worth it) and gets grounded, she suddenly has to spend afternoons working at her father's game store instead. Determined not to give up on the musical, Riley sneaks and works on a master plan for a performance--and talks her unfriendly teen coworker, Nathan, into making his gamer crush jealous by doing some convincing flirting with him. Meanwhile, she agrees to take part in some nerdy game play. But role-playing in Nathan's Dungeons & Dragons game turns out to be...fun. And liking Nathan is starting to feel like less of an act than simply a reality. I love a fake-dating premise, and the Nathan-Riley setup is irresistible. I was hooked on their ups and downs--and the reasons for their "downs" are plausible enough that I loved rolling with them. The supporting characters and their side plots are funny and oddball and cute. This was a sweet world that I loved spending time in, and the fact that absolutely everything works out is immensely satisfying. For my full review of Dungeons and Drama , please check out this link . 05 The Favorites by Layne Fargo I loved the behind-the-scenes peeks at the drama, punishing hard work, sequins, and mind games of competitive figure skating. The backdrop for Kat and Heath's tumultuous mutual obsession was a series of destructive forces trying to tear them apart. The interview format and multiple perspectives add to the layers of the story. Young Katarina Shaw always felt that she was meant to become an Olympic champion. Heath Rocha was stuck in the foster care system. When he and Kat met, they made a connection that first built into a best-friendship between two lost young people, then love. Their mutual obsession ultimately translated into a powerful partnership on the ice, and when they eventually advanced to the Olympics, a dramatic event stopped their journey to the gold medal--and broke them up for good. Ten years later, we join the voyeuristic public and the insider news bursts in exploring what really happened years earlier. The delving into the past draws Kat and Heath back into each others' orbits--and reveals secrets they never could have imagined. The Favorites  is heavy on the skating--which I loved. (The prominent sports element reminded me of the tennis-focused novel Carrie Soto Is Back .) I love a peek behind the scenes, and I loved the politics, rivalries, determination, mind games, and sabotage in the story. The relentless pacing, romantic obsession, twists and turns, dramatic setbacks, exhilarating success, and sometimes over-the-top sabotage within The Favorites is immersive and irresistible. Johnny Weir is a standout audiobook narrator in the role of Ellis Dean, a mischievous rival of Kat and Heath's and an attention-grabbing behind-the-scenes reporter with redemptive, golden moments of loyalty. For my full review please check out The Favorites . 06 Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister The author of the fantastic Wrong Place, Wrong Time  is back with a smart, twisty mystery that's wonderfully heavy on character development and a story that hooked me. Famous Last Words  is another smart, twisty mystery from Gillian McAllister. Camilla is a new mother who has just dropped off her baby for her first day of daycare when the police arrive at her London office. It seems that her fun, carefree ghostwriter of a husband is involved in a hostage situation--as the one wielding the gun. Camilla, shocked, mostly cooperates with the police and the negotiator--until the hostages are shot and her husband escapes--then disappears. But in the ensuing years, Camilla can't stop obsessing over the unusual aspects of the siege: the violence is so out of character for Luke, the hostages are never identified, and Luke was behaving strangely beforehand and left her a cryptic note the morning of the horrifying events. Are the strange coordinates she's receiving on her phone after seven years a message from Luke? And if they are and could lead her to Luke, would her love possibly overcome her devastation at knowing that somehow her beloved partner became a coldhearted killer? McAllister's Wrong Place, Wrong Time  relied on an intriguing time-travel element as its twist. I thought that element would crop up and be in play here too, and I set myself on some early and wild mental goose chases trying to figure out how. But Famous Last Words  doesn't use--or require--that structure; the twist is largely internal. I loved this smart mystery that relies heavily on character development and mental agility for our narrator. I saw some plot points coming but not others, and a couple of essential details worked quite conveniently, but I didn't mind. The ending offers answers and resolution. Sign me up for all the Gillian McAllister books, please. Camilla is a literary agent, and I loved her escapes into books and her love for them. For my full review, please see Famous Last Words .

Gagne never experienced emotions the way other kids did, and when she grew older, while acting out, lying, stealing, and fighting violent impulses, she self-diagnosed herself as a sociopath. This is a fascinating peek at her motivations, impulses, discoveries, and self-discovered coping mechanisms--which she now uses as a therapist for others with sociopathy. I don’t care what other people think. I’m not interested in morals. I’m not interested, period. Rules do not factor into my decision-making. I’m capable of almost anything. Patric Gagne always knew she didn't experience emotions the way other people did. She wasn't concerned with consequences, danger, or other people's feelings. When she was a girl, she adhered to her mother's rule of always telling her the truth--but the truth seemingly made her mother (and everyone else) upset. So she began to keep secrets--because she was stealing loved ones' treasured possessions, breaking into homes, lying, and frequently fighting the urge to inflict violent harm on others. All I knew was that I didn’t feel things the way other kids did. I didn’t feel guilt when I lied. I didn’t feel compassion when classmates got hurt on the playground. For the most part, I felt nothing. And I didn’t like the way that “nothing” felt. So I did things to replace the nothingness with…something. During college, Gagne self-diagnosed herself as a sociopath. (The DSM-5 uses the term "antisocial personality disorder," but Gagne explains why this does not seem to properly capture her condition.) Frustrated by depictions of sociopaths as villains in the media and by the prospect of there being no treatment and little knowledge of how to manage sociopathy, Gagne examined herself, went to therapy, continued her studies, and researched everything she could. Meanwhile she introduced the topic of her sociopathy promptly upon meeting people, she reconnected with her teenage love, and she tried to shape a future knowing that little guidance existed regarding sociopaths' leading successful lives. Gagne often seems stuck; she wants others to immediately know of her sociopathy, but doesn't want to be reduced to only her mental health condition. She explains that she does not love or feel the way others do, so she mimics body language and borrows others' caring words--but she doesn't want to be discounted or perceived as unable to be a fulfilling partner, parent, or daughter. I was fascinated by the author's in-depth explorations of her motivations, triggers, abilities, needs, and fight for control. Her self-examination leads her to shape her life's work toward helping those who share her experiences and struggles. The memoir is structured with the engaging pacing of a novel--danger, discovery, redemption, and hope. Gagne asserts that she and others with sociopathy feel very little, don't adhere to societal safety standards or moral codes, and do not experience remorse or fear consequences. They may intrude in others' lives, take unwanted liberties, steal, lie, and experience a desperate, ongoing yearning to exert violence on others. Yet she seems to be frustrated and indignant that those without her mental health condition would be concerned about sociopaths' sense of nothing to lose--and that others would be concerned about suffering the consequences of sociopaths' impulsive, potentially destructive, behavior. This felt like a repeated disconnect for me. The author acknowledges her position of privilege, which certainly benefited her while she figured out how to assimilate into society while acting out in dangerous, illegal, and socially unacceptable ways. Those without her resources and safety net could (and likely do) very well have had their story cut short and end in a dramatically different fashion. I was fascinated by her one-woman trial and error method of determining her triggers, impulses, and coping mechanisms. The epilogue offers additional context for her current-day life and adds to my curiosity about her husband, who has lived beside her and within this whirlwind for many years as she has acted out, lied, and entered into danger, and who is now parenting along with Gagne. I listened to Patric Gagne read Sociopath as an audiobook; it's an upcoming read for my book club. More memoir love If you're looking for more Bossy reviews of memoirs--which I almost always listen to as audiobooks read by the author--please check out these books .

Mayer's memoir focuses on straddling two cultures without feeling fully integrated into either; the various frustrations, injustices, and wrongdoings she witnesses in the world; and her zigzagging path to feeling autonomous and in control. Youngmi Mayer is a stand-up comedian and podcast host, and she is intrigued by dark humor, aiming to inject it into her memoir I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying . She notes that she and her mother particularly leaned on laughing and joking during bleak moments. Mayer tracks her parents' mental illness as well as the complications of her combined Korean heritage and that of her white GI father. Regarding race, she specifically explores white people's involvement in the oppression of women in Korea, the Korean hierarchical views of white race, and mutual Japanese-Korean contempt. With the basis of not feeling as though she belongs fully in each culture, Mayer explains her zigzagging path to where she is now, through drugs, danger, demeaning situations, a disinterest in success, low self-esteem, and more. Her stint of involvement in the restaurant business was particularly interesting. I haven't heard Mayer's stand-up comedy, and this book is not humorous--nor is it somber. Mayer's tone is conversational and frank (her repeated mentions of "hairy buttholes" were jarring although these seemed intended to serve as funny illustrations of her white legitimacy?). Much of the book feels like a series of heartfelt tirades and they're presented without a clear path to answers. At the book's end the author directly acknowledges the circular nature of her topics and arguments. Mayer's own mind doesn't seem entirely clear on these often messy, complex, difficult matters, which may make it difficult for her to provide clarity for the reader. But clarity doesn't seem to be the point. The author is evolving in her views on the world, and while becoming a mother brought spotlight focus to her commitment to her son, she, like most of us, otherwise seems to be a work in progress. I listened to I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying as an audiobook. Bossy memoir love Youngmi Mayer is a standup comedian and host of the podcasts Feeling Asian and Hairy Butthole . For more memoirs I've loved, check out the titles and Bossy reviews at this link .

Lorne is a thorough, 650-page look at Michaels's creation of and steering of SNL . What I found most fascinating were the behind-the-scenes peeks at assembling a cast; the show's evolving vision, sketches, and position in society; and the incredibly hectic manner in which a weekly show is put together and performed live. Lorne Michaels has been at the head of Saturday Night Live  for the vast majority of its 50 years on air (he stepped away for a few years; this is detailed in the book). He comes across to observers as dry, but he is exceptional at identifying funny talent and shaping casts for the entertaining, silly, sometimes outrageous, and often subversive live weekly performances that have captured the attention of audiences since 1975. Susan Morrison was given unfettered access to Lorne as well as SNL  and its past and present players, and in Lorne , she shares the deeply researched story of how Lorne Michaels developed SNL , his ups and downs, his vision, and how he created the institution that would change comedy forever. Despite having been the one who requested a copy of this title, I (possibly unfairly) at times wondered, do I really need this much information about Lorne Michaels? His youth and background are thoroughly explored, and these illustrate how Michaels was shaped, but the Saturday Night Live -focused elements were far and away the most intriguing parts of the book for me. I was intrigued by Michaels's role in creating SNL , growing it, and adapting it, as well as his taste-making, often inspired casting, hands-on production--and hands-off avoidance of many interpersonal conflicts. But Lorne's fascination with his celebrity friends came off as somewhat insufferable, then kind of tiresome, and ultimately so intertwined with his manner and lifestyle that I became resigned to the incessant name-dropping as just how Michaels is. The fascinating behind-the-scenes peek at a week shaping a show (Jonah Hill is the host for the featured episode) are interspersed with past evolutions of the show, its cast, and Lorne's personal life. The structure works well to tell this story. The adoration of Lorne by so many former SNL cast members is a tribute to what a formative figure he is; when he believes in someone, he supports their projects and creative efforts even against logic and financial responsibility. His loyalty to not just the show but his cast and writers is powerful. (But his bristly breaks with those he feels haven't left in the right way or paid the proper respect to Lorne are chilling.) After five decades, it feels surprising that the hectic schedule and method by which the show's sketches are discussed, tinkered with, tried out, shortened (or abandoned) in dress rehearsal, then finalized just before air  continue to occur so seemingly haphazardly and last-minute, yet a show always comes out of the mayhem. More memoir love I received a prepublication edition of the 656-page Lorne courtesy of Random House and NetGalley. For more memoirs you may like, please check out the reviews of various titles at this link .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading an upcoming mystery set in glamorous Capri by Katy Hays, Saltwater ; I'm listening to standup comedian Youngmi Mayer's memoir, I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying ; and for my book club I'm listening to Patric Gagne's memoir, Sociopath . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Saltwater by Katy Hays Thirty years ago, Sarah Lingate was found dead under suspicious circumstances below the cliffs of Capri, leaving behind her young daughter Helen--and a host of relatives who might have wanted Sarah dead. Each year, the wealthy, powerful Lingate family returns to Capri as thought to quash rumors about Sarah's mysterious death. But this year, the family arrives at the villa to find a haunting relic from the past: the necklace Sarah was wearing when she died. Helen, determined to get to the bottom of her mother 's death, begins to dig into the truth, uncovering danger and beginning to fear that not everyone in her family may leave Capri alive. I received a prepublication edition of this title, to be published March 25, courtesy of Ballantine Books and NetGalley. Hays is also the author of The Cloisters . 02 I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying: A Memoir by Youngmi Mayer Youngmi Mayer is a standup comedian and podcast host, and she is intrigued by dark humor, aiming to inject it into her memoir I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying . She tracks her Korean heritage and her white GI father's complicated connection as part of the white oppression of women in Korea; explores issues of race; and explains her zigzagging path to where she is now, through drugs, danger, demeaning situations, a disinterest in success, low self-esteem, and more. So far her tirades feel heartfelt but without a clear path; I'm interested to find out where this is going. I'm listening to I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying as an audiobook. 03 Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne I don’t care what other people think. I’m not interested in morals. I’m not interested, period. Rules do not factor into my decision-making. I’m capable of almost anything. Patric Gagne always knew she didn't feel emotions the way other people did. She wasn't concerned with consequences, danger, or other people's feelings. When she was a girl, she adhered to her mother's rule of always telling her the truth--but the truth seemingly made everyone upset. She began to keep secrets--because she was stealing loved ones' treasured possessions, breaking into homes, lying, and frequently fighting the urge to inflict violent harm on others. All I knew was that I didn’t feel things the way other kids did. I didn’t feel guilt when I lied. I didn’t feel compassion when classmates got hurt on the playground. For the most part, I felt nothing. And I didn’t like the way that “nothing” felt. So I did things to replace the nothingness with…something. But during college, Gagne self-diagnosed herself as a sociopath. Frustrated by depictions of sociopaths as villains in the media and by the prospect of there being no treatment and little knowledge of how to manage sociopathy, Gagne examined herself, went to therapy, continued her studies, and researched like crazy. Meanwhile she introduced the topic of her sociopathy very quickly upon meeting people, she reconnected with her teenage love, and she tried to shape a future knowing that little guidance existed regarding sociopaths' leading successful lives. I'm listening to Sociopath as an audiobook; it's an upcoming read for my book club.

Six More Great Bossy Historical Fiction Reads It's March, and I'm still spending Fridays obsessing over my favorite reads of the past year in different genres. I loved so many historical fiction books last year, this is my second list of favorite reads. You can find the first list of favorites here . If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite historical fiction reads? 01 Miss Morgan's Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles This historical fiction story in two timelines introduces the little-known real-life figure of librarian Jessie Carson, who traveled from the NYPL to war-torn France and introduced a novelty to communities there during World War I: children's libraries. I love a book about scrappy librarians , and Janet Skeslien Charles's novel Miss Morgan's Book Brigade takes that setup farther into favorable Bossy territory by sending an idealistic, headstrong young librarian from the US to Europe and into a World War I setting. The story is told in two timelines. The past timeline is based on the real-life NYPL librarian Jessie Carson, and Charles tracks Carson's journey to work for the American Committee for Devastated France, funded by billionaire heiress Anne Morgan . In France, Carson not only helps rebuild communities destroyed by war, but along with her ambitious, inspired team of women, establishes something never before seen in France: children's libraries, where kids in war-torn communities can dream, lose themselves in fictional worlds, and try to recapture some carefree hours of their youth. The more modern timeline introduces Wendy, a NYPL librarian in the 1980s. In a book-within-a-book structure, the aspiring author Wendy is searching for a book topic when she stumbles upon the bare-bones story of Jessie and the Cards, as the group of women working in France were informally known. The more recent timeline allows for context for Jessie's story--little known and not well documented--beyond our reading of the original sequence of events, but the more recent story otherwise feels somewhat thin. Much of it centers around Wendy's falling in love with her vivacious coworker Roberto. I listened to Miss Morgan's Book Brigade as an audiobook. Charles is also the author of The Paris Library . Click here   for my full review of Miss Morgan's Book Brigade. 02 The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen Pylväinen's novel explores the cooperation and conflict among cultures in a mid-nineteenth century community in the Arctic Circle, immersing the reader in a cold, unforgiving climate and in the long-held traditions of its varied characters. ...she wondered, was this what love was, to persist when you didn't want to, to try for patience another time.... In Hanna Pylväinen's The End of Drum-Time , it's 1851 in the Arctic Circle, and a small community of reindeer herders, a minister's family and his flock of followers, and a local shop owner whose greatest profit comes from liquor are all trying to get through the winter. In their remote location in the Scandinavian tundra, they're each carving out lives shaped by the unforgiving snow and cold. Their cultures are sometimes mysteries to each other, and at times conflict greatly with others' traditions. I was fascinated by Pylväinen's explorations of how the old ways and new ways pushed against each other, as did the Finn, Lapp, Sámi, Swedish, and Russian influences of the region. Religion is a particular conflict in the novel, with the Christian characters proving themselves to be naïve, rigid, judgmental, greedy, vain, and foolhardy. The End of Drum-Time  was intriguing and kept me interested throughout; it was brutal and frustrating (these foolish men--!) but its setting was beautifully crafted. For more cold-setting stories, check out my Greedy Reading List Six Books with Cold, Wintry Settings to Read by the Fire . For my full review of this book, please see The End of Drum-Time . 03 Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles Amor Towles revisits a character from the wonderful Rules of Civility  and also offers multiple New York-set tales. Towles's evocative stories drew me in, sometimes made me uncomfortable, and illuminated characters' true natures. In Table for Two: Fictions , Amor Towles offers six short stories set in New York City and a novella featuring a beloved Towles character that's set in the Golden Age of Hollywood. (The novella's historical fiction setting is what earned Table for Two a spot on this list.) In the novella Eve in Hollywood , Towles imagines the events following Rules of Civility , which ends with Evelyn Ross's departure from New York in 1938 and the train journey she extends to Los Angeles. The six New York-set stories all take place around the year 2000, and they consider the impacts of chance encounters, the complications of modern marriages, and more. Towles's writing is so lovely, I'm willing to follow his stories and his characters anywhere. This one took me a while to finish, but I savored each word. Amor Towles is also the author of The Lincoln Highway , A Gentleman in Moscow ,  a book I really liked, and Rules of Civility ,  which I was even more taken with--the old NYC setting was so vivid, it felt like its own character. Please click here for my full review of Table for Two . 04 The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang Quinn and Chang share an adventure- and danger-laden story of women artists, women of color, and women of various social classes--as well as their determination to find justice--in San Francisco just before the Great 1906 Earthquake. In 1906 San Francisco, two very different women seek new beginnings: Gemma is a gifted soprano whose career is in need of an overhaul, while Suling is an embroideress in Chinatown who is set against entering into the marriage that's been arranged for her. Henry Thornton is a wealthy railroad magnate and owner of the mysterious Phoenix Crown, an artifact legendary because of its origins in Beijing's Summer Palace. Thornton draws both Suling and Gemma into his world by offering to be their patron. But Thornton isn't a selfless, kind benefactor--he's a cruel, cutthroat, flighty villain holding deadly secrets. When San Francisco is devastated by an earthquake and the widespread destruction of its aftermath, Thornton disappears--and the Phoenix Crown with him. At times the story felt as though it was shifting into overly dramatic soap-opera territory for me, and while I understood the buildup to the earthquake, I didn't enjoy the interjections of multiple omniscient countdowns to the event. Yet I loved the rich early-1900s San Francisco setting, the focus on the arts, the strong women characters, and the varied representation of classes and circumstances, so I was willing to go wherever Quinn and Chang were taking me. It's evident that the authors exhaustively researched the era, prominent figures, and circumstances within San Francisco for women, artists, people of color, and others. For my full review, please see The Phoenix Crown . Kate Quinn is the author of the fantastic titles The Diamond Eye , The Huntress , The Rose Code , and The Alice Network. 05 Maria: A Novel of Maria Von Trapp by Michelle Moran I was hooked on the behind-the-scenes feeling of Moran's historical-fiction conversations between Maria von Trapp and an assistant to Oscar Hammerstein. In Michelle Moran's novel Maria , she uses two timelines to shape the story of the real woman behind Julie Andrews's legendary depiction in The Sound of Music . In the past, richly built period, we track Maria's path from the nunnery to her position at the heart of the von Trapp family. In the 1950s timeline, Oscar Hammerstein is striving to bring Maria's story to life on the stage--but is tempted to rework some of the facts to heighten its impact. The demanding, exacting, elderly Maria insists that the depiction track more closely with her real life, and she furiously shares detailed notes with Fran, an up-and-coming young assistant in Hammerstein's office. I was fascinated by the script and production's departures from the facts within the story--most of which track with the movie version--which Maria highlights in her conversations with Fran. For example, the depiction of the Captain in the script at hand is as the family disciplinarian, but Maria asserts that she was the more strict and demanding parent. The family's singing is romanticized, but Maria reveals that one daughter had extreme anxiety about performing, and that while the singing was well received by the American public, the grueling touring schedule was rooted in a desperate bid to put food on the table for the family when few other prospects existed. This is compelling reading, and for all who consider The Sound of Music  sacred holiday viewing (and an essential singalong opportunity) like I do, it's irresistible to learn more about Maria through the "behind the scenes" feeling of the book. I listened to Maria as an audiobook. For my full review, please see Maria . 06 Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh I loved each of the historical fiction story's two timelines--following a stewardess on board The Titanic  as well as a British spy working with the WWII French Resistance--and the details of life in each time, but I found the ending's resolutions too easy. The book's past timeline is set in the early 20th century, as Violet, a young ship's stewardess bent on providing for her family after her father's death and mother's onset of illness, works aboard ships including, as the story sweeps along, The Titanic . I love a ship-life story, and I was taken with the details of Violet's caring for the elite passengers. The story's later timeline takes place in the time of World War II as Daphne, an intelligent and educated young woman who is emotionally closed off and desperately trying to impress her estranged, famous father, serves as a spy assisting the French Resistance. Throughout Unsinkable , Daphne and Violet fought through unimaginable difficulties, focused on their duties at the expense of their romantic happiness, witnessed various horrors, and yet recognized and cultivated an unlikely spark of hope for themselves and their futures that felt hard-won and intriguing. The final scenes felt oddly clean and neatly wrapped up with a bow as though according to a formulaic "happy ending" equation, and I found this shift from the appealingly messy, imperfect, wonderful, adventurous, tragic lives shown in the bulk of the book to a smooth, no-loose-ends set of outlandish coincidences and resolutions jarring rather than wholly satisfying. Please click here for my full review of Unsinkable .

The author of the fantastic Wrong Place, Wrong Time is back with a smart, twisty mystery that's wonderfully heavy on character development and a story that hooked me. Famous Last Words  is another smart, twisty mystery from Gillian McAllister. Camilla is a new mother who has just dropped off her baby for her first day of daycare when the police arrive at her London office. It seems that her fun, carefree ghostwriter of a husband is involved in a hostage situation--as the one wielding the gun. Camilla, shocked, mostly cooperates with the police and the negotiator--until the hostages are shot and her husband escapes--then disappears. But in the ensuing years, Camilla can't stop obsessing over the unusual aspects of the siege: the violence is so out of character for Luke, the hostages are never identified, and Luke was behaving strangely beforehand and left her a cryptic note the morning of the horrifying events. Are the strange coordinates she's receiving on her phone after seven years a message from Luke? And if they are and could lead her to Luke, would her love possibly overcome her devastation at knowing that somehow her beloved partner became a coldhearted killer? Niall, the single-minded, lovable oaf of a hostage negotiator reels after the siege. While Camilla struggles to manage her single-parenting life and career after the tragedy, Luke's disappearance, and the surrounding scandal that pushes its ugly fingers into any peace she finds, we track Niall's life as his obsession with work upends his marriage, then as his failure in bringing out Luke and the hostages unharmed during the siege destroys his career. On separate but essential tracks, Niall and Camilla begin to piece together the truth of what happened that long-ago day in June--and then to work together. McAllister's Wrong Place, Wrong Time relied on an intriguing time-travel element as its twist. I thought that element would crop up and be in play here too, and I set myself on some early and wild mental goose chases trying to figure out how. But Famous Last Words doesn't use--or require--that structure; the twist is largely internal. Does Camilla believe in the Luke she knew? Does she trust that what doesn't add up could shape a new narrative around the events of that fateful day, one in which things aren't at all what they appeared to be? I loved this smart mystery that relies heavily on character development and mental agility for our narrator. I saw some plot points coming but not others, and a couple of essential details worked quite conveniently, but I didn't mind. The ending offers answers and resolution. Sign me up for all the Gillian McAllister books, please. Camilla is a literary agent, and I loved her escapes into books and her love for them. I listened to an audiobook edition of Famous Last Words courtesy of HarperAudio and Libro.fm . More Gillian McAllister love Gillian McAllister is also the author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time , a book I loved and not only listed in my Greedy Reading List Six More Time-Travel Stories to Explore , but included as one of my favorite books of the year  when I read it.

In Curtis Sittenfeld's wonderful second short-story collection, we meet imperfect characters, often fortysomething women, in moments large and small that push them to determine what they're made of as they consider friendship, betrayal, fear of failure, the power of memory, art, parenthood, and more. How did I think for so long that the tidbits my mother shared didn't contain lessons? I see in retrospect that they were nothing but lessons. As you make your way through the world, you will feel bewildered, appalled, and charmed by other people. In Curtis Sittenfeld's first short-story collection, You Think It, I'll Say It , she offered ten stories of fully realized, fascinating characters that stuck with me. I loved it and rated the collection five stars. In her second fantastic short-story collection, Curtis Sittenfeld explores middle age, fame, friendship, artistry--and "Lost but Not Forgotten" is a story featuring Lee Fiora, a character from Sittenfeld's novel Prep , in which Lee attends an alumni event at her boarding school. My favorite writing often turns expectations on their heads, and In Show Don't Tell , Sittenfeld draws us into crucial stages of faulted characters' lives, in which they figure out what they're made of. In "A for Alone," a married artist seeks to disprove the "Mike Pence Rule" (which actually did not originate with him; it asserts that married men should not meet with women alone, even in a work setting) by meeting with male acquaintances, friends, and coworkers from various points in her life and documenting the experience. The project shifts her thinking in unanticipated ways. In another story, a white woman makes racial assumptions, is caught on camera, and faces the consequences. Throughout the book, other characters, often middle-aged women, consider art, expression, love, respect, friendship, and limitations as they live their fascinatingly imperfect lives. This is more excellent Curtis Sittenfeld; I'm a forever fan. I received a prepublication version of this book courtesy of Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley. More Bossy Curtis Sittenfeld (and short-story) love You can click here for my review of Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy , here for my Bossy take on American Wife , and here  for You Think It, I'll Say It: Stories . If you enjoy short story collections, you might like to check out Six Short Story Collections to Wow You  and Six More Short Story Collections I Loved .

I loved the behind-the-scenes peeks at the drama, punishing hard work, sequins, and mind games of competitive figure skating. The backdrop for Kat and Heath's tumultuous mutual obsession was a series of destructive forces trying to tear them apart. The interview format and multiple perspectives add to the layers of the story. Young Katarina Shaw always felt that she was meant to become an Olympic champion. Heath Rocha was stuck in the foster care system. When he and Kat met, they made a connection that first built into a best-friendship between two lost young people, then love. Their mutual obsession ultimately translated into a powerful partnership on the ice, and, with scrappy Kat at the helm of their ambition and Heath a willing participant, they found unlikely avenues to training, and their connection, hard work, and talent combined into success. When they eventually advanced to the Olympics, a dramatic event stopped their journey to the gold medal--and broke them up for good. Ten years later, we join the voyeuristic public and the insider news bursts in exploring what really happened years earlier. The delving into the past draws Kat and Heath back into each others' orbits--and reveals secrets they never could have imagined. The Favorites is heavy on the skating--which I loved. (The prominent sports element reminded me of the tennis-focused novel Carrie Soto Is Back .) I love a peek behind the scenes, and I loved the politics, rivalries, determination, mind games, and sabotage in the story. Side note: Kat is said to be quite naturally talented; it felt awfully convenient in light of Heath's devotion to Kat that hard work was able to lead him to the level of success that was required for the story to proceed around their partnership. The couple's dramatic emotional turmoil and external sources of conflict (when they're advised to "trust no one," they would have been wise to follow the suggestion, phew) pushed any reasonable bounds of reality, but I didn't mind and was hooked on the roller coaster of a story, wondering what the heck would happen next. The events after Kat and Heath's later reunion push limits (Heath's modern-day betrayal of Kat feels potentially unforgivable; their return to success certainly feels implausible because of their ages alone), and again I was up for the disasters, the blood (!), sweat, and tears, and the appealingly messy second-chance attempts at being true to themselves and finally finding professional and personal satisfaction. The relentless pacing, romantic obsession, twists and turns, dramatic setbacks, exhilarating success, and sometimes over-the-top sabotage within The Favorites is immersive and irresistible. Johnny Weir is a standout narrator in the role of Ellis Dean, a mischievous rival of Kat and Heath's and an attention-grabbing behind-the-scenes reporter with redemptive, golden moments of loyalty. I received an audio version of this book courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio and Libro.fm . More Bossy love for multiple narrators The list of narrators is extensive; the many points of view used to offer varied perspectives to past events beg comparisons to Daisy Jones and the Six  ( a title I included in the Greedy Reading List Six Rockin' Stories about Bands and Music ).

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading the recently published Kills Well with Others , the newest novel in Deanna Raybourn's irresistible Killers of a Certain Age series about aging, sassy female assassins; I'm reading Karen Russell's recently published, intriguing magical-realism historical fiction set during the Dust Bowl, The Antidote ; and I'm listening to Gillian McAllister's newest twisty, smart mystery, Famous Last Words . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Kills Well with Others (Killers of a Certain Age #2) by Deanna Raybourn The first installment of Deanna Raybourn's Killers of a Certain Age series was a fun, darkly funny, feminist story about a retiring female team of elite assassins. It 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. Book two picks up as our main characters, having laid low for a year, are contacted by the Museum, the elite assassin organization they work for. An Eastern European gangster has obtained the names of agents who have stood in his way over the years, and our aging assassins seem likely to be next on his hit list. They must figure out who's turned traitor on the Museum--and stay alive long enough to bring them to justice. I received a prepublication edition of this title, published March 11, courtesy of Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley. Raybourn is also the author of the wonderful Killers of a Certain Age , which was the first in the Killers of a Certain Age series. And I loved A Curious Beginning , the first book in Deanna Raybourn's feisty Veronica Speedwell series of historical fiction mysteries, as well as the sequels A Perilous Undertaking , A Treacherous Curse , A Dangerous Collaboration , and A Murderous Relation . (There are currently nine books in the series.) 02 The Antidote by Karen Russell A terrible dust storm is raging through the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska, but the Great Depression and Dust Bowl are far from its only grave problems. The Antidote tracks multiple characters to tell a story of caution, folly, and redemption: a Prairie Witch who holds others' memories and secrets, a Polish farmer who hoards his wheat, his orphan niece who is apprenticing under the Prairie Witch in between basketball sessions, a New Deal photographer, and a talking scarecrow. I received a prepublication edition of The Antidote , published March 11, courtesy of Knopf and NetGalley. Karen Russell is also the author of Swamplandia! 03 Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister Famous Last Words is another smart, twisty mystery from Gillian McAllister. Camilla is a new mother who has just dropped off her baby for her first day of daycare when the police arrive at her London office. It seems that her fun, carefree, ghostwriter of a husband is involved in a hostage situation--as the one wielding the gun. Camilla, shocked, mostly cooperates with the police and the negotiator--until the hostages are shot and her husband escapes--then disappears. But in the ensuing years, Camilla can't stop obsessing over the unusual aspects of the siege: the violence is so out of character for Luke, the hostages are never identified, and Luke was behaving strangely beforehand and left her a cryptic note the morning of the horrifying events. Are the strange coordinates she's receiving on her phone after seven years a message from Luke? And can her love overcome her devastation at knowing that somehow her beloved partner became a coldhearted killer? Gillian McAllister is also the author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time , a book I loved and not only listed in my Greedy Reading List Six More Time-Travel Stories to Explore , but included as one of my favorite books of the year when I read it. I'm listening to an audiobook edition of Famous Last Words , published February 25, courtesy of HarperAudio and Libro.fm.

Whitehead, inspired by a real-life reform school that abused and terrorized boys for over a century, shares a tale of racial injustice, abuse and horrors, terrible fear, and the very real threat of death at the hands of openly, willfully cruel white men. We must believe in our souls that we are somebody, that we are significant, that we are worthful, and we must walk the streets of life every day with this sense of dignity and this sense of somebody-ness. Elwood Curtis is a promising young man in 1960s Tallahassee. But when he hitchhikes with the wrong guy to his first day of scholarship university classes, he's unfairly sent to a boys' reform school, The Nickel Academy. The "Nickel Boys" endure endless injustices, abuse, and horrors, including the looming threat of being "disappeared" out back, never to be heard from again. But as naive as it may be, Elwood persists in pursuing justice and clinging to the moral high road just like his idol Martin Luther King, Jr., and he is unwavering in his ideals regardless of the dangers. His best friend Turner is more savvy, careful, and jaded, while loyal to Elwood. If everyone looked the other way, then everybody was in on it. If he looked the other way, he was as implicated as the rest. That's how he saw it, how he'd always seen things. In the midst of becoming pawns in the crooked trading away of the school's supplies to line the pockets of the corrupt men in charge, Elwood and Turner form a friendship that has repercussions for the rest of their lives. The Nickel Academy is based on a real-life reform school that, horrifyingly, abused boys for 111 years. The Nickel Boys doesn't shy away from infuriating, relentless, insidious, damaging, often deadly racial injustice and cruelties. I felt a little manipulated regarding the "twist" Whitehead introduces late in the book, but the living out of an identity and living into an envisioned future is a powerful element. I listened to The Nickel Boys  as an audiobook. For more fiction and nonfiction books about race Colson Whitehead is also the author of The Underground Railroad . For other titles that center around race, please check out the books at this link . For more nonfiction titles that focus on race, please click here .

Jonathan Haidt's examination of the power of smartphones and social media may feel logical and disturbingly unsurprising, but he offers valuable points for discussion and practical measures that could benefit our children. The subtitle of Jonathan Haidt's nonfiction title The Anxious Generation  is How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness . Haidt explores the explosion of smartphones and social media along with the decline of play-based childhood, and he links this combination to the current mental health epidemic in young people. Haidt's book offers parents an opportunity to examine their own and their children's screentime and social media habits. He points to the harmful effects of excessive screentime, such as distraction and harmed attention spans as well as social comparison and perfectionism, and he offers suggestions of widespread measures and family-based changes that can help push back the control smartphones and social media have on our kids. I recently heard the author speak online at the Tennessee Symposium for Online Health and Safety. I was able to do so courtesy of The Goldfinch Foundation , which was formed in honor and in memory of Owen Willers, and which shines a light on the importance of mental wellness and invites young people to lead efforts toward change. The content of the book is interesting and valid, and while it doesn't feel revolutionary, for me its greatest worth is in providing a framework for community discuss ion--and through that, hopefully, the adoption of some of the proposed measures. I'm in weekly discussions of The Anxious Generation  with a group of parents and youth leaders at church. More nonfiction inspiration Jonathan Haidt is also the author of   The Righteous Mind : Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion . For more Bossy nonfiction reviews, please check out the titles at this link .

In Kristy Boyce's young-adult charmer, high schoolers Riley and Nathan, coworkers who have nothing in common, end up in a fake-dating drama as they try to win over their love interests. High schooler Riley has a grand plan to become a Broadway director. But the always-epic school musical has been canceled because the school thinks there isn't enough support for it. So first she wants to get the spring musical set, then she'll mastermind her future. But when she borrows her mom's car without permission (to go see Waitress out of town with her best friend, so: worth it) and gets grounded, she suddenly has to spend afternoons working at her father's game store instead. Determined not to give up on the musical, Riley sneaks and works on a master plan for a performance--and talks her unfriendly teen coworker, Nathan, into making his gamer crush jealous by doing some convincing flirting with him. Meanwhile, she agrees to take part in some nerdy game play. But role-playing in Nathan's Dungeons & Dragons game turns out to be...fun. And liking Nathan is starting to feel like less of an act than simply a reality. I love a fake-dating premise, and the Nathan-Riley setup is irresistible. I was hooked on their ups and downs--and the reasons for their "downs" are plausible enough that I loved rolling with them. The supporting characters and their side plots are funny and oddball and cute. This was a sweet world that I loved spending time in, and the fact that absolutely everything works out is immensely satisfying. I received an electronic edition of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press. More rom-com love! For more Bossy reviews of rom-com stories I've loved, please check out the titles at this link . The second book in this series is Dating and Dragons .

"I’d long since learned that if you plan to survive in the Arctic, you must choose one of two paths: emulate the bear...by holding fast to yourself as the last reliable chunk of ice.... Or choose the fox instead: ...learn fast. Dig a hole and cling tightly to those who can stand you." "For now, take stock of yourself. This is the chance you waxed about so long ago. Listen for the voice that speaks when all others go silent. Be alone--be entirely alone. I am not saying you will find anything of worth there--certainly no cosmic truth--but maybe you will begin to feel as pared down, efficient and clean as a freshly whittled stick." It's 1916, and Sven Ormson has left the bustle of his life in Stockholm for solitude and quiet in the Arctic. In his self-banishment in remote Svalbard, his only company is the haunting, beautiful Northern Lights. “…Fate is empty. Any Arctic explorer or common sailor can tell you this. So you must make the best choices you can, knowing they may lead you astray, but proceeding boldly lest your life become one long monotonous drift between death and your last interesting choice.” Letters from family and friends get him through multiple winters--until an unexpected visitor changes everything, opens up Sven's world, and shows him a life and a future he could never have imagined or hoped for. The pacing of The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven is measured, as befits a story that is largely about daily life in the unforgiving, brutal cold and wild. There's a minor, secondhand, yet powerful focus on the brutality and destruction of war, but also significant attention to unspoken bonds, deep and unorthodox friendships, makeshift families, legendary dogs, and strong emotional ties to nature and the rhythms of the seasons. “Dogs are like children." He gazed down at Skuhl. "Terrible beasts, universally reviled, until you find a good one. This is a good one. It has spirit.” Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven is Nathaniel Ian Miller's first novel. If you like books set in the unforgiving cold, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Books with Cold, Wintry Settings to Read by the Fire .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading the recently published Red Dog Farm , Nathanial Ian Miller's fiction about a young man growing up in Iceland; I'm listening to Colson Whitehead's fiction based upon a real-life boy's reform school, The Nickel Boys ; and I'm reading Laila Lalami's recently published literary fiction that explores technology, freedom, privacy, and vulnerability, The Dream Hotel . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Red Dog Farm by Nathaniel Ian Miller Young Orri has grown up on his family's cattle farm in Iceland, appreciating the beauty of nature, the relief in green shoots after a stark winter, and quiet joys like his trusty farm dog and his steadfast parents. But he yearns to see more of the world, and after he journeys to Reykjavik to study at the university, his existence expands--until his father needs him back on the farm. Torn between two lives, he falls back into home life but misses the city. He must make a difficult choice: family and familiarity, or uncertainty and new adventures? I received a prepublication edition of this title, published March 4, courtesy of Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley. Nathaniel Ian Miller is also the author of The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven . 02 The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead Elwood Curtis is a promising young man in 1960s Tallahassee. But when he hitchhikes with the wrong guy to his first day of scholarship university classes, he's unfairly sent to a boys' reform school, The Nickel Academy. The "Nickel Boys" endure endless injustices, abuse, and horrors, but Elwood persists in pursuing justice, and he is unwavering in his ideals. His best friend Turner is more savvy and jaded, while unfailingly loyal to Elwood. The Nickel Academy is based on a real-life reform school that abused boys for 111 years. I'm listening to The Nickel Boys as an audiobook. 03 The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami Sara is returning from a work trip when the Risk Assessment Administration determines that, based upon her recent dreams, she is in danger of harming her husband and must be kept under observation for 21 days. Sara is detained along with other women who are desperately asserting their innocence. The center's managers keep changing the rules so that he women's stays are prolonged--until a new inmate shakes up everything and becomes the women's biggest hope of escape. Lalami explores issues of technology, privacy, freedom, and our vulnerability to faulted systems. I'm reading a prepublication edition of The Dream Hotel , published March 4, courtesy of Pantheon and NetGalley.

Six Great Bossy Literary Fiction Reads I read so many read literary fiction books last year, I'll need another best-of-the-year list. But for now, here are six of my favorites. In my mind, literary fiction focuses on realistic characters and themes, the author's writing style is showcased, plot takes a backseat, and you're never assured of a resolution or happy ending. A couple of these titles might stretch the definition because they don't adhere to real-world elements, but I am bossily including them. If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite literary fiction reads? 01 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney Intermezzo is one of my favorite Rooney novels yet, exploring complicated families, grief, unconventional relationships, forgiveness, and possibilities that once seemed impossible. In the wake of their father's death, two brothers reel from the loss in his own way. They clash, hurt each other deeply, and wonder if they can ever reconcile. The men's methods of coping with their grief often test the line between hopelessness and possibility. Each of their romantic relationships is unconventional, and various players involved struggle to let go of societal expectations in favor or what feels real and meaningful and what makes them happy. Through it all, both Ivan and Peter are repeatedly forced to consider their place in the world and what the future might hold. But wars are being waged, and Rae quickly figures out that she's not the heroine of the story. She's the villain. And only she can organize the rest of the plotting, dark, moody, sometimes exasperating bad guys (and girls) in an attempt to change all of their futures. I'm such a greedy reader, it's been a while since I've slowed down to savor a book the way I felt compelled to do while reading Intermezzo . I was invested in the characters and their messy methods of coming to terms with death and with seizing control of their own lives. The prose in Intermezzo is gorgeous and often feels poetic--in fact, many of the notes in the back matter credit poems as the source of some of the references on these pages. Rooney is also the author of Normal People , Conversations with Friends , and Beautiful World, Where Are You . Please click here to see my full review of Intermezzo . This book was one of My Very Favorite Bossy 2024 Reads . 02 Wellness by Nathan Hill Flawed main characters Jack and Elizabeth try to find their way back to an emotional connection in this literary fiction work. Wellness is wry and poignant, and the absurdities of modern life that Hill explores sometimes feel disconcertingly on point. Jack and Elizabeth are strangers living across an alley in a gritty artists' area of 1990s Chicago, and they're immediately and powerfully drawn to each other. As they grow older, their mutual rejection of societal expectations begins to soften. They marry, have a baby, and aim to own a house. But somewhere along the way, they lose sight of each other--and of themselves. Nathan Hill pokes fun at the absurd extremes of the search for modern wellness and the manipulative power of social media and the order of internet searches. We learn about Elizabeth and Jack's histories and motivations, their stunted emotional statuses and the deep hurts inflicted upon them. They must dive into their own secrets, trauma, career weaknesses, faulted parents, and fractured families if they have any hope of salvaging their own marriage. Wellness is darkly funny, intriguing, and, at times, poignant. I was frequently uncomfortable reading the grim truths about our world that Hill lays bare, but I smiled at the wry humor here as well. I listened to Wellness  as an audiobook. For my full review, please see Wellness . 03 In Memoriam by Alice Winn Alice Winn's account of the unrelenting slog of World War I and the beautiful young men set against each other in the trenches serves as a backdrop for a tentatively begun, deep love story born in a British boarding school and blossoming amid the cruelties and horrors of battle. Alice Winn's gorgeous, brutal, captivating historical fiction In Memoriam  is set during World War I. Henry Gaunt, Sydney Ellwood, and their classmates came as young boys to their sometimes claustrophobic, cruel, and lonely English boarding school; now that they're close to the end of their schooling, they are playful, treasuring each other's friendships. But by 1914, World War I is drawing most of these young boys into a swirl of wartime horrors. They trade their hesitant confidences and youthful search for comfort and affection within an unforgiving school environment for the cruelties of battle. Characters struggle with vulnerability and to allow feelings to grow, and all is shaped by the constancy of life-and-death danger and the deep-seated fear of destroying a friendship that both young men cling to more deeply than living itself. In Memoriam is beautiful, frequently painful, and offers a layered, complicated version of happy ever after. I loved this. I listened to In Memoriam  as an audiobook. For my full review, please see In Memoriam . This book was one of My Very Favorite Bossy 2024 Reads . You might also be interested in these Bossy reviews of books set during World War I . 04 You Are Here by David Nicholls David Nicholls's characters, some of whom are strangers to each other, meander through the English countryside on a days-long jaunt--and along the way allow long-held vulnerabilities to fall away in this beautiful, heartbreaking, heartwarming story. In David Nicholls's You Are Here , a small group of Sophie's friends, along with her teenage son, assemble to "walk" (hike) through the hills and moors of northern England for several days. After meeting for the first time, Michael, a recently divorced teacher, studious and thoughtful, and Marnie, a playful copy editor who prefers solitude after her own divorce, fall into a companionable rhythm and, to their surprise, begin to seek out each other's company in an extended hike toward the coast. We see the disconnect between Marnie and Michael's inner selves and their unsure, sometimes awkward acts and words, and it's deliciously heartbreaking to be privy to their insecurities and fears as well as their soaring hopes--and their crushing attempts to reign them in, in case their feelings aren't reciprocated and their fragile hearts can't take another round of loss. I loved this literary fiction--the increasing vulnerability and search for connection after heartache, the vivid descriptions of English countryside, and the small moments that mean everything. Click here   for my full review of You Are Here . This book was one of My Very Favorite Bossy 2024 Reads . 05 Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang In the dystopian food desert of the future, a desperate chef is enlisted to create elaborate dishes for the wealthiest elite on a lush mountaintop compound, and she loses more and more of herself and her morals with each passing day. In C. Pam Zhang's slim dystopian novel Land of Milk and Honey , an unnamed chef in a polluted, dying city flees to a mountaintop retreat--and finds that fresh food, clear air, and lush opportunities for pleasure abound for the most wealthy elite. The faulted, privileged few are terrifying in their elaborate, exclusive plans, which exclude all but a fraction of humanity. Money talks--and money is the only thing that buys food in a smog-ruined world. The chef finds herself forced to ignore her training and knowledge of how to treat ingredients in order to preserve her own safety and adhere to the base wishes of her benefactor and controlling group. But when the boss's daughter begins tinkering with precious resources, our main protagonist is swept up into a relationship she never anticipated--the cooking and romance and gross negligence all tied up in one giant, guilty wonder of a mess. This was an interesting dystopia and premise, and the writing about food is rich and captivating, but it took me foreeeeever to read this one. Zhang is also the author of How Much of These Hills Is Gold? For more dystopian stories, check out Six Fascinating Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels  and Six More Fantastic Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels . Click here   for my full review of Land of Milk and Honey . 06 Good Material by Dolly Alderton Alderton's literary fiction rom-com is a funny, poignant, and sometimes frustrating deep dive into the emotionally stunted main protagonist's extended heartache and the rehashing of key moments of his recent relationship. Andy and Jen were in love and living together. But now Andy, a struggling stand-up comedian, is left reeling, trying to figure out what went wrong. He's obsessed with trying to figure out why Jen broke up with him, and no amount of rehashing, deception regarding the manipulation of mental-health professionals, or mining for information is too much, in Andy's mind. The breakup came out of the blue. He and Jen had just gone to Paris--they were blissfully happy! Weren't they? Much of the story is told from Andy's point of view, and his capability for emotional growth is...limited. Baby steps are hard-won progress for the often-clueless main protagonist. He begins a Reasons Why I Loved Being with Jen list as well as a list of reasons why he's glad their relationship is over--tracing the funny, silly, nitpicky, ridiculous, and poignant moments they shared. The reader sees what a mismatch Jen and Andy are, despite their real affection for each other, but the clarity about their incompatibility is longer in coming to Andy, who remains wistful, hopeful, and heartbroken for much of the book. I listened to Good Material  as an audiobook. Please click here for my full review of Good Material .

Taylor Jenkins Reid offers the story of a band, its making, and its unmaking, through interviews with various characters that illuminate the mysterious breakup as well as the characters' complexities, love, conflict, creative inspiration, and heartbreak. “You have these lines you won’t cross. But then you cross them.... You’ve taken a big, black, bold line and you’ve made it a little bit gray. And now every time you cross it again, it just gets grayer and grayer until one day you look around and you think, There was a line here once, I think.” In Daisy Jones & the Six , Reid offers a fictionalized account (written as fictional interviews) of the meteoric rise of a 1970s band, their mesmerizing lead singer Daisy, the group's complicated interpersonal conflicts, and the band's mysterious breakup, which broke hearts around the world. I thought the interview format might possibly get tiresome, but Reid skillfully builds the story, the complex relationships, and the pushes and pulls of the characters’ lives. The structure allowed for fascinating point of view shifts, subtleties, and humor. Daisy Jones & the Six  explores multiple layers of love and heartbreak, all against a fantastic backdrop of rock and roll and the bonds and stresses of a band and a relentlessly grueling tour life. I adored Camila and her love and faith and outlook on life, and I loved this book. More Taylor Jenkins Reid Love Taylor Jenkins Reid is also the author of Carrie Soto Is Back , The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo , Malibu Rising , and other books. I mentioned Daisy Jones & the Six in the Greedy Reading List Six Rockin' Stories about Bands and Music . The story has been adapted into one season of a television series.

In Kelly Link's wonderfully oddball debut novel The Book of Love , she uses every bit of the book's 640 pages to build realities, possibilities, magical developments, quirky fun, deep connection, and second chances you'll be cheering for. In Kelly Link's strange, intriguing debut novel, The Book of Love , teenagers Mo, Daniel, and Laura have tragically disappeared from their hometown of Lovesend, Massachusetts, and have been presumed dead. One year later, they find themselves sitting in a fluorescent-lit classroom in their seaside town with Mr. Anabin, their high school music teacher, before them. He is, as always, wearing a corny, optimistic motto on his T-shirt. But they soon realize that Mr. Anabin is capable of powerful magic, that he knows where the teens have been trapped for the past year and why, and he's advising them on what to do next. Along with a quirky, sassy magical being whose intentions are unclear, Mr. Anabin offers them a chance to compete in magical tasks in order to reclaim their lives. Meanwhile, mysterious forces with dangerous plans converge upon Lovesend, drawn by the resurrection of the kids and the hope of regaining a key that will allow access to dark places and big magic. Their friends and family all believe the three teenagers have been in Ireland at a music program--but can't shake a vague sadness lingering from the real grief they've been experiencing for a eyar. The teens are trying to come to terms with what their existences might look like now, and their families are still reeling from their loss. Plus, Mo is falling for a new guy in town who might or might not be real, Daniel is trying to remember why he broke up with Laura's sister Susannah before he died, Laura is determined to use logic to figure out what's happening, and music seems to be instrumental (see what I did there?) to the whole situation. The kids will need to remember what happened the night they died and figure out the reason for their disappearance--and their return--if there's any hope of a future for them. I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, but I also appreciate that Link didn't take an easy way out in which the teens and their allies fix everything, voila! Some aspects are resolved, while others are left in a limbo that feels appropriate in its uncertainties and dark shadows. This is twisty and odd, quirky and fun, and has lots of heart. At almost 650 pages long, there's enough page time for Link to build various realities, tear them down, and reimagine new ones while the reader scrambles to keep up. The Book of Love explores reality, connections, loyalty, possibilities, and second chances. I was hooked. I received a prepublication edition of this book (which was published this time last year, oops!) courtesy of NetGalley and Random House. More Bossy love for oddball novels and second-chance stories For more oddball novels, check out the titles at this link . And for Bossy love for alternate realities, check out these books .

Time of the Child feels like poetry in prose form, and Williams richly shapes a small-town Irish community's everyday and extraordinary events in this poignant, gorgeous literary fiction novel. In 1962 in the small Irish town of Faha, it's Christmastime, and Dr. Jack Troy and his oldest daughter Ronnie are coping with complicated family dynamics in their drafty, rural Irish home when an unexpected discovery turns everything upside down. Ronnie, a single and dutiful daughter, has grown up in the shadow of her father, who has long been set apart from the community where he was born and grew up because of his role as the area's physician. She is capable and smart, and assists at the front desk in his in-home clinic, but she feels she has more to give. Her books, secret writing of stories and accounts, and daily cycling trips around the area aren't fulfilling her anymore. Ronnie once kept company with a young man who's now living in America--but her father disapproved, and now it seems she will live in Faha forever. Unbeknownst to Ronnie (she and her father live together but rarely communicate) her father is feeling remorse about his reserve regarding the young man. He's also bemoaning his own chance at love; as a widower he worked with Annie Mooney at the pharmacy, but never told her about his feelings for her before Annie died. During the annual, chaotic community fair preceding this holidays, which this year is a rainy business full of haggling, disappointments, and triumphs, an infant is left by the church gates. Young Jude and Faha's grown twins, Tim and Tom, bring the baby girl to Dr. Troy and Ronnie, believing her dead but not sure what else to do. And she does seem to have passed on to another realm, until Dr. Troy is able to revive her. In an impulsive pact, the four men agree not to share the news of the baby with anyone. Meanwhile Ronnie quickly falls in love with the infant girl, who she begins to call Noelle, and Jack opens his heart with the same devotion to the baby. As weeks go on the two of them care for her and go to extremes to try to keep Noelle's existence a secret. When her presence is revealed, they form desperate plans to keep her. But an unwed mother in that time and place has little chance of keeping a child once the Church has a hold of it. What really shines in Time of the Child is the power of the small-town Faha community--gossipy and desperate for dirt as its citizens may largely be. The miracle of unity brought about by a baby's presence is poignant without feeling too easy. This story is beautiful and powerful. Williams's writing feels like a poem in prose structure; no word is wasted, and I read this novel slowly in order to savor the world the author so gorgeously created. More Irish story love Time of the Child  is set in the same village as Williams's novel This Is Happiness . You can find Bossy reviews of other novels set in Ireland here and more reviews of literary fiction titles here .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading The Anxious Generation , nonfiction by Jonathan Haidt that explores technology and an explosion of mental illness in young people; I'm reading an upcoming novel about secrets, past love, and dangerous revelations in a small village, Broken Country ; and I'm reading Layne Fargo's novel about young ice dancing champions who dramatically split--until a documentary tell-all comes back to tell their story, The Favorites . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt The subtitle of Jonathan Haidt's nonfiction title The Anxious Generation is How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness , and in this book, Haidt explores the explosion of smartphones and social media and links it to the mental health epidemic in young people. I recently heard the author speak at the Tennessee Symposium for Online Health and Safety. I was able to do so (online) courtesy of The Goldfinch Foundation , which was formed in honor and in memory of Owen Willers, and which shines a light on the importance of mental wellness and invites young people to lead efforts toward change. I'm reading The Anxious Generation with a group of parents and youth leaders at church. Jonathan Haidt is also the author of The Righteous Mind : Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion . 02 Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall Beth and her kind husband Frank live in a small village, and they are able to stay married only because secrets from the past stay buried. But when a local farmer shoots a dog going after his sheep, the gunshot sets into motion events that will change everything. The dog belonged to Gabriel Wolfe, Beth's childhood love, and his return to town brings back long-ago jealousies, love, choices, and their weighty consequences. I received a prepublication edition of Broken Country courtesy of Simon & Schuster and NetGalley. 03 The Favorites by Layne Fargo Young Katarina Shaw has always felt that she was meant to become an Olympic champion. Heath Rocha is stuck in the foster care system, and when he and Kat meet, they make a connection that translates into a powerful partnership on the ice. The two become childhood sweethearts and, ultimately, advance to the Olympics as ice dancers. But a dramatic event stops their journey to the gold medal--and breaks them up for good. Ten years later, a documentary exploring those events draws Kat and Heath back into each others' orbits--and reveals secrets they never could have imagined. I received an audio version of this book courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio and Libro.fm. The list of narrators is extensive; the many points of view may explain some comparisons of this book to Daisy Jones and the Six ( a book I included in the Greedy Reading List Six Rockin' Stories about Bands and Music ).

My very favorite Bossy February reads! February is the shortest month, but I squeezed in some great reading: compelling historical fiction based on a real-life figure; a beautiful, haunting story told in three timelines; a captivating celebrity memoir from a larger-than-life performer; a comedian's funny memoir; a fast-paced WWII-set mystery for young readers that came out of a writing collaboration; and historical fiction with a touch of magical realism about a brave young enslaved woman in the South. If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! And I'd also love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads? 01 Isola by Allegra Goodman Isola , based upon the story of a real-life sixteenth-century woman, shifts between details of a life of moneyed ease and an abandonment on an unforgiving, uninhabited island after our main protagonist falls in love with the wrong person. Marguerite is heir to a fortune, but after she is orphaned, she grows into a young lady while her guardian Roberval squanders her inheritance. As Marguerite enters into her early teens, she begins to fear that her cousin views her as a creepy match for himself. At the very least it becomes clear that he will pay no dowry in order to make another match for her. Instead, in a somewhat shocking turn of events, he forces her to sail with him to New France. But on the way, Marguerite falls for her guardian's servant. When their relationship is discovered, Roberval cruelly punishes them by abandoning them on an uninhabited island to perish. Marguerite, once a privileged, protected child of wealth and opportunity, must learn to survive in the wild. I was fascinated by each aspect of this tale, and Goodman transported me into the details and (often infuriating) dynamics of life at the time. Isola  is inspired by the story of the real-life sixteenth-century heroine, Marguerite de la Rocque de Roberval. For my full review of this book please see Isola . 02 There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak There Are Rivers in the Sky  weaves together three stories set in three timelines, featuring disparate characters, to explore interconnectedness, the power of water, echoing tragedies, and the timelessness of the written word. Water remembers. It is humans who forget. In 1840 in London, young Arthur lives near the sewage-filled River Thames, desperate to escape poverty and his abusive household. In 2014 Turkey, ten-year-old Narin is living near the Tigris and is affected by a disorder that will cause her to go permanently deaf. And in 2018 London, Zaleekah, a hydrologist, moves into a houseboat on the Thames when she and her husband break up, but she can't shake her thoughts of suicide. Shafak makes what could have been an unwieldy or disjointed-feeling set of complex situations into a tragically beautiful intertwined novel that shines a light on weighty issues at three points in space and time. I was haunted by this and fascinated as well. Elif Shafak also wrote the lovely The Island of Missing Trees . Click here for my full review of There Are Rivers in the Sky . 03 Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher Cher's lack of agency in her relationship with Sonny Bono came through in passive, reactive behavior, but as she grew older, she found her voice, rode a roller coaster of personal and professional adventures, overcame difficulties, and set her sights on an even bigger, more fulfilling life than ever. I'm alllll in for book two. Early on, the memoir felt like more of a factual account of what occurred in her life than it felt like illuminating self-examination. I was curious to find out if Cher would provide more reflection around events as she grew older and more emotionally mature within her own story. Her relationship with Sonny Bono (eleven years older) began when she was a teenager, and his control over her professional and personal life grew stronger and stronger without Cher's recognizing her limitations, her lack of knowledge about finances and business, and her squashed self-esteem about her performance ability. As she recounts the ups and downs of her early relationships and rides the roller coaster of success and failure, Cher begins to want to express her own voice and to become assertive, and this is when she starts to show more vulnerability and growth--and when I felt drawn into her story. This is part one of two, and toward the end of this installment she has made her way through the nurturing link with David Geffen, her complicated relationship with Gregg Allman, as well as her connection to her children, her career, and her creativity. She has her eye on diving into becoming a serious actress. And I am hooked . Please click here for my full review of Cher: The Memoir . 04 What in the World?! A Southern Woman's Guide to Laughing at Life's Unexpected Curveballs and Beautiful Blessings by Leanne Morgan Comedian Leanne Morgan's memoir traces her path from an attention-seeking, beloved young girl to a young adult facing missteps and disappointment, through her unlikely journey to stand-up, to the embracing of her Southern mama persona and her wild success. Leanne Morgan hit it big as a middle-aged comic from rural Tennessee talking about her kids' T-ball, her adoration of her grandchildren, and her big, comfortable panties. Her voice is a striking, uniquely nasal Southern drawl, and her Netflix special "I'm Every Woman" features Morgan's signature plaintive looks at the audience, accompanying stories that sometimes end in such mock-despair that she says she just "wanted to take to the bed." (She also steals the show in a supporting role in the recent movie starring Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, You're Cordially Invited .) What in the World?!  offers current-day takes on her life that will feel familiar to fans--I'd already seen online video clips of stand-up versions of a few of the anecdotes shared here. But her memoir also traces her youth (when she imagined that she would find fame in some way), her first, brief marriage, her emotional growth, her grit, and, ultimately, her second, steady relationship and marriage to her current husband, the birth and joy of her kids, her rocky start in entertainment--and the world-rocking entrance of her grandbabies. I was particularly intrigued by the fits and starts of Morgan's younger years, her struggles to find her way, and her unlikely path to fame. I love to hear people's stories, and I found all of this endearing. I listened to What in the World?!  as an audiobook. 05 The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin This middle-grade writing collaboration inserts a clever young protagonist into the behind-the-scenes World War II British codebreaking of Nazi messages, along with a rich back story and mysterious elements, adventure, and intrigue. I loved this. I love a World War II story, and in this middle-grade collaborative work by Ruta Sepetys (Salt to the Sea) and Steve Sheinkin (Bomb), the young protagonist Lizzie Novis becomes an unlikely asset to the British wartime codebreaking center of Bletchley Park. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis is engaged in top-secret work alongside other bright minds, trying to crack the Nazi Enigma code. But after his younger sister Lizzie evades her grandmother's attempts to bring her from England to the United States to avoid the Nazis' nearing destruction, there's nowhere for Lizzie to stay but with her big brother. When Lizzie finds a secret notebook of her mother's, she becomes more determined than ever to solve the mystery of her disappearance. But a suspicious, tenacious MI5 investigator arrives at the Novises' boarding house, demanding to know everything about their mother--and implying that she had been a double agent betraying England. The Sepetys-Sheinkin writing venture felt seamless, with adventure, interesting detail, wonderful character dynamics, and intrigue. The authors included real-life figures like Alan Turing and shaped a fascinating scenario for the Novis kids' mother--as well as what felt like plausible, valuable roles in the Bletchley efforts for the children themselves. This was enjoyable, interesting, well paced, and charming. I loved it. I listened to The Bletchley Riddle  as an audiobook. For my full review please check out The Bletchley Riddle . You can find my reviews of other World War II-focused books here , and you can also check out my review of Kate Quinn's great codebreaking historical fiction for adults, The Rose Code . 06 Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine Erin Crosby Eckstine's richly detailed historical fiction explores the life of Junie, an enslaved young woman in rural Alabama haunted by her sister's speaking, demanding ghost while she dares to dream of love and maybe even a life of freedom. The Civil War is looming, and Junie is a sixteen-year-old who has spent her whole life enslaved on an Alabama plantation. She works alongside her family, caring for the plantation owners' daughter Violet, who is her own age, and gaining cursory exposure to Violet's studies of poetry and knowledge. But Junie wanders restlessly at night, haunted by her sister Minnie's sudden death not long ago and by Minnie's ghost, which is demanding that Junie complete dangerous tasks and face truths she never imagined. Erin Crosby Eckstine balances the horrors of living in an enslaved situation with the complex interpersonal relationships Junie forges. Without shying away from the often hopeless lack of autonomy, lack of power, and lack of say-so and constant fear of the enslaved, Eckstine builds a rich story of detail of life at the time. She also explores the complicated Violet-Junie dynamic, in which Junie is Violet's only company for many years, yet is at her mercy for all opportunities to learn, explore, and pause from backbreaking work. For my full review, please see Junie .

Cher's lack of agency in her relationship with Sonny Bono came through in passive, reactive behavior, but as she grew older, she found her voice, rode a roller coaster of personal and professional adventures, overcame difficulties, and set her sights on an even bigger, more fulfilling life than ever. I'm alllll in for book two. In the first installment of Cher's two-part memoir, she traces some of her ancestors' pivotal stories, putting heavy emphasis on her mother's unusual, difficult childhood and youth--before sharing the personal impact of her mother's many marriages and their family's resulting moves, vacillation between poverty and extreme wealth, and her mother's general inability to consider others' situations and difficulties because of her own tough past. Early on, the memoir felt like more of a factual account of what occurred in her life than it felt like illuminating self-examination. I was curious to find out if Cher would provide more reflection around events as she grew older and more emotionally mature within her own story. Her relationship with Sonny Bono (eleven years older) began when she was a teenager, and his control over her professional and personal life grew stronger and stronger without Cher's recognizing her limitations, her lack of knowledge about finances and business, and her squashed self-esteem about her performance ability. As she recounts the ups and downs of her early relationships and rides the roller coaster of success and failure, Cher begins to want to express her own voice and to become assertive, and this is when she starts to show more vulnerability and growth--and when I felt drawn into her story. This is part one of two, and toward the end of this installment she has made her way through the nurturing link with David Geffen, her complicated relationship with Gregg Allman, as well as her connection to her children, her career, and her creativity. She has her eye on diving into becoming a serious actress. And I am hooked . I listened to Cher as an audiobook. Cher reads the beginning of each chapter herself, before bowing out due to the strains of reading with dyslexia. Then Stephanie J. Block (who won a Tony for portraying Cher in the musical The Cher Show , and who has a somewhat similar voice), reads the rest. This is very minor, but Block's occasional emphasis on certain words and infrequent, but present, perplexing pauses threw me off at times. Memoir love For more Bossy reviews of memoirs I've loved--and there are a lot of titles on this site, my friends--please check out the books at this link .

Cynthia and Sanford Levinson, a noted children's author and a constitutional scholar, have created a fascinating nonfiction book for young people--useful to readers of any age--that considers how the constitution was shaped, factors that continue to push its evolution, processes that guide our governance and laws, stumbling blocks toward progress, and how we can improve our guiding principles as our nation's needs continue to grow. Cynthia has extensive experience authoring about big issues and making them feel accessible and understandable (she's a former teacher and educational policy consultant), such as Who Owns the Moon? and We've Got a Job . Teaming up with Sanford, a legal scholar, professor, and author of several books about the Constitution, has resulted in the valuable, needed book Fault Lines in the Constitution . Designed for young people, Fault Lines is illuminating for anyone looking to get up to speed on the Framers' considerations, why the Constitution was shaped the way it was, its evolution, the possibilities and barriers in place regarding changing it, our current, growing needs, and how all of this affects our day-to-day leadership, rights, and lives. Is a book for young people about the Constitution possibly the extent of the scope of my own current abilities to understand the ins and outs of all of this? Possibly, yes. Do the Levinsons' clear content along with the engaging book design (with graphics, examples from the past and present day, and plain language around challenges and opportunities) make for informative, entertaining, important reading? Yes. And does grasping the information contained in Fault Lines feel more relevant and essential than ever, as the current administration--and its unelected influencers--challenge and disregard the power of the Constitution and its impact on our lives in large-scale, destructive, and often terrifying ways? Definitely. By explaining decisions formed in 1787 and how they impact us today, the Levinsons lay out the ins and outs of voters' rights, the Electoral College, gerrymandering, representation across states, vetoes, term limits, pardons, succession, emergency powers, and amendments. Fault Lines considers what might need to develop in order to best serve and reflect the realities of our present-day nation, finishing with a grade for each aspect of the Constitution and a tone of empowerment for change. More nonfiction love Note that a new edition of this title is in the works that will reflect relevant factors and events through early 2025. For more Bossy nonfiction book reviews and love, please check out the books at this link .

Erin Crosby Eckstine's richly detailed historical fiction explores the life of Junie, an enslaved young woman in rural Alabama haunted by her sister's speaking, demanding ghost while she dares to dream of love and maybe even a life of freedom. The Civil War is looming, and Junie is a sixteen-year-old who has spent her whole life enslaved on an Alabama plantation. She works alongside her family, caring for the plantation owners' daughter Violet, who is her own age, and gaining cursory exposure to Violet's studies of poetry and knowledge. But Junie wanders restlessly at night, haunted by her sister Minnie's sudden death not long ago and by Minnie's ghost. She fears that Minnie's death is her fault, and when Minnie asks her to complete three mysterious, questionable-feeling tasks, Junie feels compelled to do so. When a potential suitor for Violet and his sister come for an extended stay, he makes known his casual cruelty toward Junie as well as toward his own enslaved servants--meanwhile, Junie is falling for his right-hand man, Caleb, and is finally letting down her guard with him. When there is talk of Violet's engagement and pending marriage, Junie realizes that this shift would throw her own position into jeopardy. She feels torn by serving her sister's ghost when she wants to explore possibilities with Caleb, and she must determine how far she's willing to go to try to find freedom and autonomy in her life. Erin Crosby Eckstine balances the horrors of living in an enslaved situation with the complex interpersonal relationships Junie forges. Without shying away from the often hopeless lack of autonomy, lack of power, and lack of say-so and constant fear of the enslaved, Eckstine builds a rich story of detail of life at the time. She also explores the complicated Violet-Junie dynamic, in which Junie is Violet's only company for many years, yet is at her mercy for all opportunities to learn, explore, and pause from backbreaking work. The slow pace of uneventful Alabama life shifts dramatically when guests come to stay, and the story's events and the book's pacing begin snowballing in urgency as the story draws to its end. More books about the Civil War I received a prepublication edition of Junie courtesy of Random House-Ballantine Books and NetGalley. For more Bossy reviews of books about the Civil War, please check out this link .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to Cher , the first in Cher's planned two-part memoir; I'm reading an upcoming science-fiction novel about interspecies relations and conflicts, The Fourth Consort ; and I'm reading Curtis Sittenfeld's soon-to-be-published short-story collection (her second), Show Don't Tell . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher In the first of Cher's two-part memoir, she traces some of her select ancestors' intriguing stories, moving into heavy emphasis on her mother's unusual, difficult childhood and youth before sharing the personal impact of her mother's many marriages and moves, poverty and extreme wealth, and inability to consider others' difficulties because of her own. I'm curious to find out if Cher will provide more illumination around events as she grows older and more emotionally mature. So far the memoir feels focused on more of an account of what occurred, with emotional confusion and vulnerability (I'm up to the late Sonny Bono years), than it seems intended to offer extensive self-reflection. I'm listening to Cher as an audiobook. Note that Cher reads the beginning of each chapter herself, before, due to the strains of reading with dyslexia, bowing out. Then Stephanie J. Block (who won a Tony for portraying Cher in the musical The Cher Show , and who has a somewhat similar voice), reads the rest. Block's occasional emphasis on certain words and infrequent, but present, perplexing pauses is at times throwing me off. 02 The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton Dalton Greaves is a celebrated envoy to Unity, a pan-species confederation aimed at bringing all sentient creatures together into a cooperative coalition. He's one of the first humans to be sent to Unity. At least, that's what he was told. But Dalton and the only two other envoys he's met (a giant snail and his human sidekick) soon realize that Unity isn't the group aiming to create a peaceful brotherhood--that one's called Assembly, and Assembly detests Unity members. Especially humans. After an encounter between Assembly and Unity members ends in a dangerous standoff, Dalton must navigate obtuse political maneuvering, a bizarre love triangle, and life-and-death proposals in order to survive. I received a prepublication edition of this science fiction title courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. Edward Ashton is also the author of Mickey7 , the inspiration for the motion picture Mickey 17 . You can find Bossy reviews of other science fiction novels here . 03 Show Don't Tell: Stories by Curtis Sittenfeld In her second short-story collection, Curtis Sittenfeld explores middle age, fame, friendship, artistry, and a story featuring Lee Fiora, a character from Sittenfeld's novel Prep , in which Lee attends an alumni event at her boarding school. I received a prepublication version of this book courtesy of Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley. You can click here for my review of Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy , here for my Bossy take on American Wife , and here for You Think It, I'll Say It: Stories . If you enjoy short story collections, you might like to check out Six Short Story Collections to Wow You and Six More Short Story Collections I Loved .

Six Great Bossy Mystery Reads I didn't read as many mysteries last year as I typically do, but here are six of my favorites. I'm hoping to up my mystery and suspense reading this year. If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite mystery or suspense reads? 01 The God of the Woods by Liz Moore I loved this summer-camp setting, the slow build of mystery in two timelines, the privilege and working class disparities, the eventual revelations concerning the disappearances of both Van Lear children, and the beautifully wrought tragedy and redemption. In August 1975, a teenage girl disappears from her Adirondack summer camp. But the girl isn't just any camper. She's Barbara Van Lear, the daughter of the owners of the camp where many local residents work. Oddly, her brother Bear, beloved by all who knew him, disappeared fourteen years earlier. He was never found. A frantic search takes place, and as the locals look for Barbara, various Van Lear secrets come to light. The split between the largely blue-collar area and the privileged Van Lear family is shown to be stark and significant. I love love love a summer-camp story, and I loved The God of the Woods . I was intrigued by the mysteries and their layers, which are continually revealed, and while I usually feel more invested in one timeline over another, with The God of the Woods , I was equally interested in both timelines. Liz Moore is also the author of Long Bright River  as well as Heft and The Unseen World . For my full review of this book, please see The God of the Woods . 02 Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll Knoll's novel was inspired by real events; Bright Young Women  traces a serial killer targeting young women and in the character of Pamela, offers a no-nonsense, brilliant nemesis who won't let up until she brings the criminal to justic e. Jessica Knoll's novel Bright Young Women  is inspired by real-life events: the targeting of a sorority by the first "celebrity serial killer" in his final killing spree. But when the studious, responsible Pamela stays home from a party and investigates a strange noise in the sorority house, she discovers a horrible tragedy--two of her sisters (one, her best friend) are dead and two others are maimed. And in her shock and horror, Pamela spied the culprit as he skulked away. In Seattle, Tina Cannon is trying to figure out what happened to her dear friend Ruth, who disappeared from a nearby state park. When she hears about the horrifying events in Tallahassee, she becomes convinced that what happened to Ruth is linked to the Florida sorority attack, and she travels to Florida, determined to get to the bottom of the crimes. I expected the novel to feel more salacious, and I was thankful that it did not. I found it satisfying to read about Pamela's growing contempt for The Defendant, her long-term commitment to prosecuting him, and her mission to find peace for his victims. The friendships and love interests--which were powerful enough to overshadow the book's dysfunctional families and painful relationships--were welcome distractions from the horror at the heart of this story. I read Bright Young Women  for my book club. For my full review, check out Bright Young Women . 03 Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera Listen for the Lie  offers a fascinating story structure, dark humor, and deeply flawed characters as main protagonist Lucy works to resolve her memory loss surrounding the events leading to her best friend's death. Twentysomething Lucy is found wandering the streets of her small Texas town, covered in her best friend Savvy's blood. But Lucy suffered a head wound the night of Savvy's death and now she can't remember anything about the night Savvy was murdered. Everyone assumes she killed Savvy, and Lucy can't escape the suspicions and resentment surrounding the mysterious conditions of Savvy's death. I was hooked on the structure of the story and the way the truth is gradually revealed; the information is illuminating as it creeps out but Tintera's tone is never teasing. The author doesn't throw in red herrings, and she doesn't manipulate the facts in order to spring a surprise on the reader. The podcast element was engaging--I loved how it allowed for layers of interpretation, revelation, and intrigue. I loved listening to this as an audiobook. For my full review of this book, please see Listen for the Lie . 04 None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell Lisa Jewell's haunting psychological thriller centers around birthday twins, an unreliable narrator, disparate lifestyles, and dark secrets that emerge. In Lisa Jewell's psychological thriller None of This Is True , successful podcaster Alix Summer is celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at the local pub when she meets a strange woman, Josie, also celebrating her birthday. Her "birthday twin" begins popping up where Alix is, and she's got a strange, disturbing life story to share. Tempted by Josie's intriguing tales, Alix begins interviewing her for the podcast, despite feeling unsettled by her increasingly frequent presence. But Josie has been keeping dark secrets, with horrifying details and impact beyond anything Alix could imagine. And they're all beginning to come out. I enjoyed peeking at Alix's fabulous lifestyle and also the making of a podcast. The story is dark and haunting, with intriguing, unreliable narrating; smaller mistakes that have enormous consequences; and nightmarish choices that are so upsetting, they're tough to read about. I listened to  None of This Is True  as an audiobook. For my full review, please see None of This Is True . Lisa Jewell is also the author of The Family Upstairs . Other books that center around a podcast are Listen for the Lie   (reviewed above) and also the Good Girl's Guide to Murder  series (featuring a favorite character of mine, Pippa Fitz-Amobi). 05 The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean I'm a big fan of Emiko Jean's writing. The Return of Ellie Black  was a disturbing setup followed by a somewhat too-easy-feeling reveal, but in between, I was captivated by the ride. I'm fascinated by a missing-persons story . In Emiko Jean's The Return of Ellie Black , Detective Chelsey Calhoun is shocked by the reappearance of Ellie Black, a young girl who's been missing for two years. Chelsey is especially invested in the case because her own sister Lydia went missing years earlier--before falling victim to a tragic murder-suicide carried out by her boyfriend. The story takes us inside the claustrophobic, twisted, abusive, extremely disturbing compound where Ellie is kept prisoner--and she's not the only girl being kept against her will. When she comes home alive, only Chelsey finds it strange that Ellie has left her captor and remains alive. Has Ellie been released, rather than escaped? The reveal of the true story behind the abductions, cruelties, and murders seemed far-fetched (every one of the elements--motivations, participants, delusions--were linked to close-to-home situations). But as always, I enjoyed Jean's writing, and I couldn't wait to find out who was behind the infuriating, extremely disturbing kidnappings and why. Emiko Jean is also the author of the great young adult stories Tokyo Ever After  and Tokyo Dreaming  and Tokyo Forever , as well as Mika in Real Life , Empress for All Seasons , and other books. Click here   for my full review of The Return of Ellie Black . 06 Sleeping Giants by Rene Denfeld I was taken with the main characters of the past storyline here: a young boy at a children's home and his unlikely best friend. When his sister tries to solve the mystery of his death, she and her own unlikely companion unravel secrets and danger. Almost thirty years ago, Dennis, a young boy from a children's home, washed away in the rough waves of an Oregon beach, and his body was never found. His sister Amanda and Larry, her new local friend, believe that Dennis had an unorthodox friendship with a custodian at the boys' home, but can find out little else about Dennis's short life. Disturbing facts begin to emerge regarding the horrifying behavioral modification methods used at the home--and those who enacted them. Amanda and Larry are closer than ever to uncovering the whole, heartbreaking truth. At times, particularly in the middle of the story, things felt disjointed to me and jumped around in a way that I found jarring. While I enjoyed the trip to Alaska (I love an Alaska storyline) and the polar bear-focused parts of the story, it felt far afield from the main plot. I didn't suspect that Amanda was coping with cognitive challenges until late in the book when multiple mentions were made regarding this; maybe I simple missed the earlier clues? Things wrap up in quite neat fashion at the close of the story, but I didn't mind because of the justice being served and the mysteries' resolution. I mentioned Rene Denfeld's great book The Child Finder  in the Greedy Reading List Six Chilly Books to Read in the Heat of Summer . Click here   for my full review of Sleeping Giants.

Eowyn Ivey is masterful at intertwining fantastical elements with the grounding of the vivid details of nature. To the Bright Edge of the World explores desperate survival, indigenous peoples' connection to the natural world, and mysterious forces at play. There is a mythical element to our childhood, it seems, that stays with us always. When we are young, we consume the world in great gulps, and it consumes us, and everything is mysterious and alive and fills us with desire and wonder, fear, and guilt. With the passing of the years, however, those memories become distant and malleable, and we shape them into the stories of who we are. We are brave, or we are cowardly. We are loving, or we are cruel. To the Bright Edge of the World  is a story of discovery, adventure, tedious slogging, danger, and self-revelation in the wilds of nineteenth century Alaska, interspersed with scenes from a home life on a military base in Washington Territory--and a surprisingly meaningful modern-day correspondence linked to it all. Ivey's fantastical elements are inspired by Native American folklore and stories, and they work well here, causing the characters to broaden their views of the great unknown world, but without overshadowing the detailed, vibrant descriptions grounded in exploration and nature. More Eowyn Ivey Love I'm currently reading Ivey's newest novel, Black Woods, Blue Sky . I included To the Bright Edge of the World in the Greedy Reading List Six Chilly Books to Read in the Heat of Summer . Ivey also wrote The Snow Child , a book I listed in the Greedy Reading List   Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups Will Love .

In the third book in the series, the significant romantasy elements take a back seat to quests for knowledge and cures, attempts to locate a species of dragon, and a large-scale, high-stakes conflict involving action-packed battles and scheming. Violet Sorrengail has been training as a dragon rider for 18 months at Basgiath War College, but a real-life, high-stakes battle is coming, and she'll need to find out what she's made of in the life-and-death conflict that is certain to affect everything and everyone she knows. She and her fellow riders set out on an unsanctioned quest to faraway lands to try to secure allies, armies, and knowledge. But the mysteries surrounding the power of their enemies, her own dragon, and the future of her beloved Xaden threaten to upend everything. I appreciated the continued, if brief, references to Violet's chronic illness and accommodations, which were introduced and highlighted in book one of the series. I also liked the increased focus on large-scale conflict and strategies, the search for knowledge (about dragons, a cure for Xaden's condition, and Violet's own fate), and the increased page time spent on Violet's relationship with her siblings. There were a handful of the now-familiar, highly specific Yarros sex scenes involving detailed logistics of particular body parts and passionate comments between Violet and Xaden about how superlative the experience is. What I found most distracting in this book, as in the first two, is the heightened drama around their relationship and their blind commitment to what feels like an increasingly broken situation. They endanger their teams, their communities, and their dragons--which are bound to them for life--as well as their own lives. This makes the angsty romance at the heart of the book feel like reckless ridiculousness rather than a devotion worth striving for, and Violet and Xaden's blind dedication to each other feels toxically obsessive. Dramatic declarations abound, often indicating their disturbing inability to be on their own and their dogged dedication to their destructive pairing; one example reads “I’m jealous of the armor that holds you when I can’t, the sheets on your bed that caress your skin every night, and the blades that feel your hands.” Hmmm. On a more minor note, t he tendency of Violet and Xaden to call each other "Love" feels like a middle-aged Britishism. And I continue to feel that it's lazy to rely so frequently on "f*ck" and "f*cking" to indicate passion or emphasis. This installment of the series offered less page time to the dramaaaatic elements, but there's no denying that this series is romantasy--and for me, the romantasy pieces are the least intriguing elements. I'm in this story for the teamwork, vengeance, friendship, quests, danger, strategy, character conflict, and dragons. The urgent search for a cure for Xaden takes an oddly backseat position for much of the book, and the loss of a key dragon to another community is sudden, halfheartedly heartbreaking, then glossed over for much of the book. The ending leaves us on another cliffhanger and sets up potentially intriguing, mysterious conflicts for book four. I listened to Onyx Storm  as an audiobook. More dragon stories You can click here for my review of Fourth Wing  and here for my Bossy take on Iron Flame . And for Bossy reviews of other books about dragons, you can click here .

Ann Liang's trading-places young adult story allows faulted, imperfect Jenna Chen to live as her perfect, beautiful, Harvard-bound cousin Jessica for a time, pressure and expectations and all--before having to choose which existence she wants to live out forever. In Ann Liang's newest young-adult novel, Jenna Chen has always been a disappointment, at least when compared to her perfect cousin Jessica. Jessica is a top student, so beautiful that others stop to openly admire her, and the most high-achieving and most beloved student at a cutthroat high school. Jessica and Jenna's immigrant parents hope that their daughters will exceed all expectations, and Jessica always seems to. Meanwhile Jenna is artistic and average, and her desperate wish is to be Jessica. When Jenna finds out she didn't get into Harvard (or any Ivy League schools--side note: her strong but not remarkable school performance doesn't seem to align with expectations around this) and suffers through a celebratory dinner for her cousin, who is Harvard bound, it feels like the last straw. Even Jenna's art--which is her escape and her gift--drives her crazy, and she destroys her self portrait in a fit of disappointment. When she wakes, she finds to her confusion and elation that her wish has come true: Jenna has somehow taken over Jessica's body and life. But while she looks like Jessica, she has retained her own average academic abilities and her own thoughts and personality--and unlike Jessica, Jenna is not desperate to please others. She quickly realizes that being a top student at a competitive school and having others distracted by your good looks, desperate for your attention, and jealous of your achievements doesn't make for as joyful a life as Jenna would have thought. And while Jenna muddles through Jessica's carefully scripted and scheduled life, everyone seems to be forgetting that Jenna herself ever existed. Then a boy from Jenna and Jessica's past returns to town, and he seems to realize "Jessica" is not herself--but is his interest in Jenna or in Jessica? I really liked the revelations (which come through reading Jessica's diary, eek) regarding Jessica's frustrations and fears, as well as Jenna's acceptance of her own strengths. Because Jessica's body is usurped so quickly in the story, we don't get a chance until the very end to really grasp the cousins' dynamic together. Jessica isn't shown to be a complex, surprising character--more of a high-achieving, gorgeous robot. And I wanted more conflict and more self-realization from Jenna than the clarification that she doesn't want to abandon her life forever (or abandon Jessica's soul; the essence of Jessica seems to disappear altogether during Jenna's body-swapping) by living as Jessica. Yes, the boy likes Jenna for Jenna, and they're adorable together--although the barrier to their being together left me wishing for more plausibility. I found myself wanting to understand more about what shifted in Jenna's thinking about all of her long-held, outrageous aspirations, her parents' pressures on her (I found myself wanting more clarification around their constant, long-term, destructive comparisons of Jenna to Jessica), and her understanding of fulfillment and happiness for her . But I love love love a trading-places premise and how it allows peeks behind the scenes at another life and the literal walking in the shoes of another person. And I love Ann Liang's writing and her books--I'll read every one. I received a prepublication edition of I Am Not Jessica Chen courtesy of HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley. More Ann Liang love I fell in love with Ann Liang's fake-dating young adult novel This Time It's Real , read it in one rainy afternoon, and included it in my Greedy Reading Lists Six of My Favorite Light Fiction Reads from the Past Year , Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading , and My Bossy Favorite Reads of Summer  the year I read it. You can find my review of Liang's great young-adult rom-com I Hope This Doesn't Find You   here  and my review of Liang's young-adult historical fiction fantasy novel A Song to Drown Rivers   here .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Lorne , the biography of Lorne Michaels, released as Saturday Night Live turns 50; I'm reading Niall Williams's literary fiction set in a small Irish village in the 1960s, Time of the Child ; and I'm listening to the third in Rebecca Yarros's romantasy series featuring dragons, their riders, adventure, angst, and drama, Onyx Storm . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live by Susan Morrison Lorne Michaels has been at the head of Saturday Night Live for the vast majority of its 50 years on air (he stepped away for a few years at one point). He may come across to observers as dry, but he is exceptional at identifying funny talent and shaping casts for the entertaining, silly, sometimes outrageous, and often subversive live weekly performances that have captured the attention of audiences since 1975. Susan Morrison was given unfettered access to Lorne as well as SNL and its past and present players, and in Lorne , she shares the deeply researched story of how Lorne Michaels developed SNL , his ups and downs, his vision, and how he created the institution that would change comedy forever. I received a prepublication edition of Lorne , which is scheduled for publication February 18, courtesy of Random House and NetGalley. 02 Time of the Child by Niall Williams In 1962 in the small Irish town of Faha, it's Christmastime, and Dr. Jack Troy and his oldest daughter Ronnie are coping with complicated family dynamics when an unexpected event turns everything upside down. Ronnie has grown up in the shadow of her father, who has long been set apart from the community where he was born and grew up because of his role as the area physician. Ronnie regrets having missed out on love--and having missed out on leaving Faha. But then an infant is left in the care of father and daughter, and as the winter progresses, Jack and Ronnie's roles shift and their lives change significantly because of the baby's presence. Time of the Child is set in the same village as Williams's novel This Is Happiness . You can find Bossy reviews of other novels set in Ireland here . 03 Onyx Storm (The Empyrean #3) by Rebecca Yarros Violet Sorrengail has been training as a dragon rider for 18 months at Basgiath War College, but a real-life, high-stakes battle is soon to be upon them all, and she'll need to find out what she's made of in the life-and-death conflict that is certain to affect everything and everyone she knows. She and her fellow riders set out on an unsanctioned quest to faraway lands to try to secure allies, armies, and knowledge. But the mysteries surrounding the power of their enemies, her own dragon, and the future of her beloved Xaden threaten to upend everything. So far there's lots of action, some humor, healthy amounts of dragon page time, and far less angst and gasping drama than in the prior two books, all of which suits my taste perfectly. I'm listening to Onyx Storm as an audiobook. You can click here for my review of Fourth Wing and here for my Bossy take on Iron Flame . And for more Bossy takes on books about dragons, you can click here .

Six Great Bossy Historical Fiction Reads I loved so many historical fiction books last year. Here are just six of my favorite reads--some of which cross genres into mystery, science fiction (time travel), fantasy (legends) and literary fiction. Please stay tuned for more lists of Bossy historical fiction favorites! If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite historical fiction reads? 01 A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang I love Liang's books, and this departure from her romantic comedies is inspired by the Chinese legend of Xishi. It's full of danger, deceit, noble sacrifice, bravery, and love. I would light the fire. I would heat up this whole room. And when that didn't work--I would burn this kingdom down to ashes, turn all its men into smoke. I would, I would. Xishi is a beautiful young woman who makes her village in the region of Yue proud, for she will almost certainly make a good marriage match. But she catches the eye of the well-known young military advisor Fanli, and as she becomes trained in playing music and hiding her emotions, she becomes the key to an elaborate, traitorous plan: to overturn the kingdom of Wu, empower her own people, and avenge her sister's death. She rises through the ranks of palace concubines and gains almost unfettered access to the king, all the while well aware that if she is revealed to be a traitor, not only she and Fanli but their homeland will be destroyed. I love Liang's characters and their voices, and I was intrigued that A Song to Drown Rivers  was a reworking of an early writing piece of hers. The ending is fanciful and strange; the tone of the book doesn't seem to be leading to a too-convenient happy ending, and as expected, Liang provides a complex set of conflicts to consider at the story's close: duty, corrupt power, the suffering of the common people, regret after retribution, and life-and-death struggles that don't always end well. Click here   for my full review of A Song to Drown Rivers --and for links to my Bossy reviews of other Ann Liang books. 02 Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs #1) by Jacqueline Winspear Maisie Dobbs is a formidable, dogged, whip-smart investigator working to ferret out the truth in the aftermath of World War I in this irresistible first installment of Winspear's 18-book historical fiction series. She knew she was out of bounds, but this was nothing new to her. She had spent much of her life out of bounds, living and speaking where, according to some, she had no business. Maisie Dobbs begins Winspear's series as a thirteen-year-old servant in a Belgravia mansion, but Maisie ultimately trains as a psychologist, with a World War I wartime interlude serving as a nurse, before turning her fascination with humans and her keen eye for detail to becoming an investigator--despite the fact that a female entrepreneur investigator is an unheard-of position for the time. The mystery of the book centers around a post-war haven for soldiers mentally and physically harmed by The Great War. But the mystery takes a back seat in the book to Maisie's explorations of human motivations, her interest in others' behavior, and her unorthodox methods of ferreting out the truth. I was dissatisfied with (and didn't fully buy into) the ending of the book, but I loved Maisie's overall headstrong manner and her rejection of societal limitations. I look forward to reading the next books and to seeing where Maisie goes next. Check out this Greedy Reading List for Six Historical Fiction Mysteries to Intrigue You . Click here   for my full review of Maisie Dobbs . 03 The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn The Whalebone Theatre  begins with offbeat children's performances on a lazy, decadent English estate in the 1920s and builds to the young-adulthood of each of three characters, which are deeply shaped by World War II. The war and all its deprivations seem relentless, but for Cristabel, there is a strange and guilty thrill running through it, for it is exactly this thinning of the ordinary that allows the unordinary through. Joanna Quinn's debut novel is a hefty 558 pages, and the story sweeps through time from the 1920s malaise of the children and the excess of the adults on a secluded English estate, Chilcombe Manor, on to World War II, as experienced by a community of family and friends. The beginning of the book moves quite slowly, which is fitting for the decadent, ongoing series of lavish dinner parties, hangovers, persistent hangers-on, and malaise occurring for the adults, who are largely without pressing business or life missions where they might direct their generational wealth. The children are largely unattended during this time, but their bonds to each other are solidified. The pacing of the story picks up, appropriately, when World War II begins to shift the world, exerting changes that finally trickle down to Chilcombe and its inhabitants. I loved reading as the children come into themselves--in fits and starts--as young adults, and I came to care deeply about them, their roles in the wartime efforts, and their potential for various happy-ever-afters. Click here for my full review of The Whalebone Theatre . 04 The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley This captivating story involves time travel, but it's primarily about deep human connections, complete with fantastic, funny banter; awkward adjustments to the time period; and love and deep heartbreak. The ending is wonderful. In a world of the near future, a young (unnamed) woman is one of several civil servants offered a mysterious job: she'll be a handler for expats--and paid very handsomely for her work. But the expats the government is gathering aren't necessarily from another country. They're from other times in history. The main protagonist's focus in her work is Commander Graham Gore (a character based upon a real figure from history), who has been whisked from a desperately failed expedition in 1847 to the book's future setting. In order to be a "bridge" for Gore between his past and the present, she'll have to explain why she's showing so much skin, why it's not healthy to smoke all day, and what a washing machine is. But the bridge and her client are building bonds deeper than either could have imagined; the love story between the bridge and Gore is strange, heartwarming, steamy, fraught, and just lovely. For my full review, please see The Ministry of Time . 05 Rednecks by Taylor Brown In this mix of fictional and fascinating historical elements, Brown crafts a character-driven story of the shocking, widespread, deadly West Virginia Mine Wars and thousands-strong labor uprising that took place in 1920 and 1921. In Rednecks , Taylor Brown presents a historical novel centering around the real-life events of the 1920 and 1921 West Virginia Mine Wars. Ranging from the Matewan Massacre through the Battle of Blair Mountain, which pitted 10,000 desperate, fed-up miners against greedy, ruthless coal operators, state militia, and the U.S. government. What brings the book to life are versions of the real-life figures of Mother Jones (the elderly woman once called The Most Dangerous Woman in America) and the sharpshooter Sid Hatfield; and characters like Doc "Moo," a Lebanese-American doctor (inspired by Taylor Brown's great-grandfather); Big Frank, a black World War I veteran fed up with fear and intimidation; and Frank's feisty grandmother Beulah. The true events that inspired the book are shocking and often read like fiction--the cutthroat, sometimes deadly efforts of coal-company enforcers to subdue rebellion; the years of suffering for thousands of vulnerable mining families; and the hopeless trudge forward in a cycle of poor health, hunger, too-little pay and carefully orchestrated poverty, extremely dangerous work, and, often, death. By the time the uproar and intensive violence that shook West Virginia begin to take shape, Brown has laid the groundwork for the uprising. For my full review of this book, please see Rednecks . 06 We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein Grodstein tells a poignant, powerful story of the Warsaw Ghetto--of making a life within its prison walls and of finding resistance and even love in the face of despair. As Lauren Grodstein's We Must Not Think of Ourselves  begins, it's November 1940, and Adam Paskow is one of the thousands of Jews newly imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto. He teaches English to children and adjusts to the shock of living in a flat with many other people--and understanding that this is his new reality. The heart of this story was i nspired by the real-life project aimed at preserving the testimonies of Jews in the Ghetto, code named Oneg Shabbat. S tories of various characters are interwoven through the historical fiction novel and add depth to the story. Adam finds love in unlikely places, recalls his life, and finds ways to try to make a difference in the face of despair. Grodstein presents this incredibly difficult situation through various characters' attempts to accept impending doom, their wavering hope, and the incredibly powerful bonds they build to each other. I listened to We Must Not Think of Ourselves  as an audiobook. Click here   for my full review of We Must Not Think of Ourselves.

I had unreasonable hopes for gaining compassionate understanding of disparate political views through reading Haidt's book. I was interested in the theories he explores but was left feeling that the 2012 work couldn't have predicted--and therefore doesn't address--our current era of willful misinformation, and that factor is essential to the present climate of outrageous claims, bluster, and active lying. I...began to think about liberal and conservative policies as manifestations of deeply conflicting but equally heartfelt visions of the good society.... It felt good to be released from partisan anger. And once I was no longer angry, I was no longer committed to reaching the conclusion that righteous anger demands we are right, they are wrong. I was hoping for a similar revelation while reading Jonathan Haidt's 2012 book The Righteous Mind . He uses his decades of research into moral psychology to explore a timely, potent issue: the power in conflicting opinions on politics and religion between friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. And while an attempt to understand the underpinnings of these conflicts feels more timely than ever, I did feel while reading this book that in terms of the intensity of present-day vitriol, misinformation, antagonism, dismissiveness, and mutual contempt, 2012 Haidt couldn't imagine what was to come. Haidt explores why gut feelings and intuition often drive moral judgments, and why liberals, conservatives, and libertarians may use the same facts to come up with vastly different conclusions. Liberalism seemed so obviously ethical. Liberals marched for peace, workers' rights, civil rights, and secularism. The Republican Party was (as we saw it) the party of war, big business, racism, and evangelical Christianity. Haidt works to answer questions such as "Why do rural and working-class Americans generally vote Republican when it is the Democratic Party that wants to redistribute money more evenly?" He tracks historical concerns, ways of thinking, and trends in political parties. "Democrats often say that Republicans have duped these people into voting against their economic self-interest. But from the perspective of Moral Foundations Theory, rural and working-class voters were in fact voting for their moral interests." I was particularly interested in the history of political leanings and the reasoning for the entrenched views of and essential issues for those in different political parties. I was intrigued by Haidt's explanation of theories like Care/harm foundation, the Liberty/oppression foundation, and Moral Foundations Theory. I also found it illuminating to consider his rider and elephant analogy to understand how my impulses to feel strong opinions (these are the elephant) might lead me to think through and sometimes rationalize justifications (as the rider) for holding those opinions. The author examines "how moral diversity can so easily divide good people into hostile groups that do not want to understand each other." (Because "morality binds and blinds.") Yet Haidt acknowledges that "the country now seems polarized and embattled to the point of dysfunction." When people work together on a task, they generally want to see the hardest workers get the largest gains.... When a few members of a group contributed far more than the others--or, more powerfully, when a few contributed nothing--most adults do not want to see the benefits distributed equally. Within a section about when regulation really may solve major problems, Haidt notes a fascinating theory that the EPA's 1970s elimination of lead resulted in dramatic drops in 1990s crime through improvements in neural development of a new generation of young men. (Others might put forward different factors as key to this.) But despite its multiple gems of insight, I often found the book clunky, with extensive forays into so many topic areas, the key points felt obscured. I also didn't feel as though the summary recaps were efficient or that they reflected what seemed to me to be the essential elements, I was hoping to find within The Righteous Mind  reasons to feel more compassion and understanding toward those on the other end of the political spectrum from me. But things have become more charged and more complicated since the book's publication. The current political climate feels so devoid of checks and balances, level-headed thought, care, compassion, and reason, and so full of destructive pride, cruel and limiting actions, performative shows of force, nonsensical declarations, and willful ignorance, I didn't experience the revelation of understanding I had perhaps irrationally hoped for while reading the book. The key aspect of all of this mess and conflict that 2012 Haidt didn't address is one he could likely not have anticipated--our current-day shocking lack of truth-telling and accountability, so that any repeated bluster of lies is likely to be supported by those already inclined to sympathize with the speaker, without consequences for malicious consequences. When misinformation, censorship, bullying, and active lying rule the day, there's no potential for finding common ground around reason. After all, who can identify reason anymore? I alternated between reading a physical copy and listening to The Righteous Mind  as an audiobook. Jonathan Haidt is also the author of The Anxious Generation .

This slim, debut novel about a small-town community in northern Maine introduces various faulted, interconnected characters making their way through joys and tragedies over the course of a year. I'll definitely read the second in the series. It's 1990 in small-town Dalton, Maine, and an interconnected group of neighbors, friends, spouses, and acquaintances support each other, sometimes struggle, and intersect with each other's lives. Rose works at the diner, hiding her fading bruises and supporting her two young sons after her husband abandons them. Dr. Richard Haskell ventures in for more and more greasy breakfasts and lunch specials to keep an eye on her. That way his thoughts stray less often to his wife Trudy and her best friend Bev, who are undeniably in love. Golden boy Nate grew up to become a police officer and marry his high-school sweetheart. He and his wife Bridget, daughter of the wealthiest family in town, welcomed their new baby earlier than expected, after a terrible accident. But while everyone thinks they've dodged the danger, Bridget secretly struggles with deep postpartum depression. The tone of the book shifts from an interconnected, charming small-town tale to feeling as though a dark pall shrouds it all when a horrific tragedy takes place. The loss impacts almost every member of the community, and secrets come to light that affect many in the town. Early in the story we learn about Bev and Trudy's longtime and somewhat surreptitious love. We also meet young Gregory, a promisingly complex character and unlikely hero who uses food as a crutch to coping with his emotions. His lifelong friendship with Angela is compromised when handsome Henry captures her attention--but Gregory is drawn to Henry as well. It's a poignant and layered love triangle that fizzles and reforms into unexpected bonds. The story progresses to focus on Nate and his troubles, as well as the middle-aged men of the story and their plodding despair, struggles, and general inability to articulate their feelings or needs. In some cases, their clumsy but big-hearted attempts to stand tall for those around them feel all the more heartbreakingly noble because of their limited emotional range. In this debut novel, which runs just 250 pages, Shannon Bowring dives into the small town's complex, faulted characters as they make their way in northern Maine over the course of a difficult year. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this book! Check out   this link  for more Bossy reviews of book set in Maine. Shannon Bowring is also the author of Where the Forest Meets the River (Dalton, Maine #2). The third book in the series, In a Distant Valley , is scheduled for publication in 2025.

Comedian Leanne Morgan's memoir traces her path from an attention-seeking, beloved young girl to a young adult facing missteps and disappointment, through her unlikely journey to stand-up, to the embracing of her Southern mama persona and her wild success. Leanne Morgan hit it big as a middle-aged comic from rural Tennessee talking about her kids' T-ball, her adoration of her grandchildren, and her big, comfortable panties. Her voice is a striking, uniquely nasal Southern drawl, and her Netflix special "I'm Every Woman" features Morgan's signature plaintive looks at the audience, accompanying stories that sometimes end in such mock-despair that she says she just "wanted to take to the bed." (She also steals the show in a supporting role in the recent movie starring Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, You're Cordially Invited .) What in the World?!  offers current-day takes on her life that will feel familiar to fans--I'd already seen online video clips of stand-up versions of a few of the anecdotes shared here. But her memoir also traces her youth (when she imagined that she would find fame in some way), her first, brief marriage, her emotional growth, her grit, and, ultimately, her second, steady relationship and marriage to her current husband, the birth and joy of her kids, her rocky start in entertainment--and the world-rocking entrance of her grandbabies. I was particularly intrigued by the fits and starts of Morgan's younger years, her struggles to find her way, and her unlikely path to fame. I love to hear people's stories, and I found all of this endearing. I wasn't sure the "guide" element referenced in the subtitle felt particularly on target, as Morgan's brief forays into offering life advice felt less potent than her accounts of her personal missteps, frustrations, disappointments, perseverance, and gratitude. This is a relatively short memoir, and if you're already a fan of Leanne Morgan's, you'll likely enjoy hearing her back story. I listened to What in the World?!  as an audiobook read by the author. It felt important to be able to picture her likely and funny facial expressions as I heard her read this aloud. I suspect that being familiar with Morgan's persona adds significantly to the fun here. Are you a fan of memoirs? What about celebrity memoirs? You can find Bossy reviews of other memoirs--and Greedy Reading Lists of my favorites by theme-- here .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Black Woods, Blue Sky , literary fiction about a single mother and mysterious man in the Alaskan wilderness by a favorite author, Eowyn Ivey; I'm listening to Southern comic Leanne Morgan's memoir, What in the World?! ; and I'm reading Death at Morning House , a stand-alone young-adult mystery by the author of the Truly Devious series, Maureen Johnson. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey Birdie's a single mother to Emmaleen and a waitress in a small Alaskan town. She's not perfect, but she's getting by. Yet she often yearns for her more carefree youth and connection to nature. Arthur, a recluse who only comes into town at the change of seasons--and who others avoid as actively as he avoids them--saves Emmaleen from being lost in the wilderness. Birdie is drawn to his capable outdoorsmanship, and against the advice of everyone she knows, she and Emmaleen move out to his remote home to live off the grid. But Arthur is mysterious, and he's not who Birdie thought he was. Has she traded her safety and Emmaleen's for the false promise of an idyllic life immersed in the natural world? Eowyn Ivey is also the author of To the Bright Edge of the World , which I listed in the Greedy Reading List Six Chilly Books to Read in the Heat of Summer , and The Snow Child , which I included in the list Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups Will Love . I received a prepublication edition of Black Woods, Blue Sky courtesy of Random House and NetGalley. 02 What In the World?! A Southern Woman's Guide to Laughing at Life's Unexpected Curveballs and Beautiful Blessings by Leanne Morgan Leanne Morgan hit it big as a middle-aged comic from rural Tennessee talking about her kids' T-ball and her granny panties. Her Netflix specials feature her plaintive looks at the audience and stories that sometimes end with such mock-despair she says she just "wanted to take to the bed." What in the World?! offers current-day takes on her life that will feel familiar to fans, but her memoir also traces her youth ( when she imagined that she would find fame in some way), her first, brief marriage and mindset, her second, steady relationship to her current husband, the birth and joy of her kids, and her rocky start in entertainment. I'm listening to What in the World?! as an audiobook. You can find Bossy reviews of other memoirs here . 03 Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson Marlowe Wexler didn't mean to start a fire at the home she was housesitting. But now everyone thinks she's an arsonist, and the girl she was trying to date won't give her the time of day. Now she's glumly working at the historic Morning House, giving tours and talking about Prohibition, stained glass, and the Roaring Twenties. The biggest danger seems to be exposure to dust. But the person who brought her to the house has disappeared, and Morning House has a gruesome history that's coming to light. Can Marlowe solve the mystery of what happened there before she is targeted as the next victim? This is a stand-alone young adult novel by Maureen Johnson, who is also the author of the Truly Devious series .

Six Great Bossy Contemporary Fiction Reads I loved a range of great books last year, and these were six of my favorite contemporary fiction reads. If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite contemporary fiction reads? 01 Sandwich by Catherine Newman Sandwich is beautifully wrought story of complications and familial adoration from Catherine Newman, with the unapologetically contradictory and menopausal Rocky at the heart of the messy, wonderful extended family. Rocky's family has been vacationing in Cape Cod for twenty years. She's built years of happy memories in their low-key beach house rental. This year, she's sandwiched between her half-grown children and her aging parents. And the carefree vacations of the past feel light years away, because Rocky's menopausal rage threatens to undo any joy she might gain from spending time in her favorite place. To save their treasured family time together, Rocky may have to share secrets she never intended to reveal. Sandwich made me laugh, twisted my heart, and kept me interested throughout. I just adored all of the heart and humor in Sandwich . Catherine Newman is also the author of other books I love: We All Want Impossible Things , Waiting for Birdy , and How to Be a Person: 65 Hugely Useful, Super-Important Skills to Learn Before You're Grown Up. For my full review of this book, please see Sandwich . 02 Burn by Peter Heller I love Peter Heller's books, and Burn offers a wonderfully complicated friendship, meaningful connections to nature, momentous secrets, and looming danger. But the lack of resolution at the end of the novel left me feeling unsatisfied. Jess and Storey are childhood friends who spend their summer adventures exploring striking, remote areas of the U.S. This summer they head to Maine to camp, fish, and hike. Maine, like other states across the country, has been swept by a secession movement, but Jess and Storey assume the conflicts and political upheaval won't touch them out in the wild, and they figure that the charged friction might even die down while they're in the woods. After weeks in the wild, they're shocked to come upon a town that's been blown apart. The bridge has burned, cars along the road are black and smoking, and shells of buildings teeter. The friends soon realize that conflicting political ideologies have led to this horror here and elsewhere in the country--and that they must use their wilderness expertise and dodge armed men (militia or U.S. military; they're unsure) in order to make it out to safety. Jess and Storey's situation becomes more and more complicated as they encounter survivors--some with deadly intentions, some needing life-saving help. And all the while, Jess and Storey are considering the worth of their own lives--and keeping enormous secrets from each other. I love Peter Heller's books--the connection to the wilderness, the layered friends-like-family relationships, the looming danger. I'll read anything Heller puts down on paper. But the lack of resolution involved in Burn 's (non-)ending here made me crazy with frustration. I felt like the fascinating build-up in so many areas of the story warranted much more at the novel's close. Heller is also the author of The Last Ranger , The Guide , The River , and The Painter , as well as the stellar novel The Dog Stars . For my full review of Burn , please check out this link. 03 Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe Thorpe's irresistible character of 19-year-old Margo discovers her strength, drive, creativity, and vulnerability after becoming pregnant. She defies societal expectations to provide for her baby and to find fulfillment in her personal and professional life. Margo is a 19-year-old community college student having an affair with her married professor. When she finds that she's pregnant, she begins a winding path to figuring out her life that mainly entails defying most of the stereotypes of a young single mother. She is told she will receive zero support from the baby's father; she loses two roommates due to the baby's crying; she receives little practical help from her mother; and she loses her job. Yet she finds a true friend in her last remaining roommate, who until then seemed primarily a source of rent; she finds a strange and fulfilling new relationship with her estranged father, a former professional wrestler; and she dives into an unorthodox new profession in order to secure a financial future for her family. Thorpe offers lots of joy and offbeat fun, yet doesn't shy away from weighty conflicts between classes, genders, ages, education levels, and levels of wealth or poverty. Margo butts up against--and at times, dismantles--frustrating societal expectations and double standards related to sex, desire, body autonomy, and freedom. The story and its characters feel unexpected and fascinating; Margo's Got Money Troubles  is an edgy contemporary novel with a wonderfully oddball premise and a captivating amount of depth. For my full review, check out Margo's Got Money Troubles . 04 Family Family by Laurie Frankel Frankel's story of a nontraditional, loving, zany family flips traditional views of unplanned, young pregnancy through the view of a main protagonist who refuses to fear, feel shame, or to regret the sometimes complicated occurrences in her life. India Allwood is a successful actor who's supposed to be doing the publicity for her new movie, which exploits the heartbreak of giving a baby up for adoption. When she shares her frank thoughts about the complex issues surrounding unplanned pregnancy, a storm of publicity explodes around her. Her precocious ten-year-old kids secretly reach out to family for help--but even India doesn't realize the ripple effect of the contact her beloved children are making. Family Family  offers varied love and acceptance, discovery, and renewed connection. I also loved the peek at a celebrity's home life. You can see the rough sketches of where the novel is going, but the extended, loving, odd, sometimes zany family was unexpected in its makeup and irresistible in its existence within this charming story from Frankel. Click here for my full review of Family Family . 05 The Wedding People by Alison Espach Espach layers complex emotional challenges like suicidal thoughts, grief, and loneliness with funny, quirky, poignant moments in this charming, heartwarming novel. Phoebe arrives at the decadent Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, wearing a green dress and heels, and she's quickly mistaken for one of the "wedding people." But Phoebe is having a crisis, and she's latched onto being at the site of her former dream vacation--which she'd envisioned visiting with her now-ex-husband--as the answer to her problems. Lila has planned her million-dollar wedding down to the last detail, and Phoebe's depression and her very presence are throwing her for a loop--only the wedding people  were meant to have rooms at the inn, and Lila isn't used to having her plans go awry. Phoebe and Lila are unlikely confidantes and even more unlikely friends. But as the wedding week goes on, each woman is surprised by what she discovers about herself and the truths she is forced to confront. I loved the tone of this novel. Espach writes a playful, poignant, often funny novel while anchoring the characters in complex emotions: suicidal thoughts, grief, loneliness, and despair. I was struck by the balance of depth and humor, and I was hooked throughout. For my full review of this book, please see The Wedding People . 06 Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty I loved this dive into the repercussions of a seemingly psychic woman's predictions of demise for her fellow passengers on a flight. Characters scoff, become resigned, or work to control their futures as they face issues surrounding their mortality. An elderly woman is causing a major disruption on an airline flight. She's going through the plane as if in a trance, announcing expected ages of and causes of death for each person aboard. From the overworked dad trying to make it home in time for his daughter's musical, to the mother of two young, crying children, to a spry older couple, to Allegra herself, the Death Lady (as she is later called) announces a prediction of each person's age of and cause of demise. Here One Moment  traces what begins to happen as the first of the Death Lady's predictions seem to come true and each passenger considers the prospect of their own immortality--and for some, what seems to be their imminent death. Here One Moment tracks many characters' subsequent dilemmas and decision-making, in a few cases delving back into their past to set a stage for current-day events--and building a rich story of the life of the Death Lady herself. I love a book that considers life and death and inspires me to do the same, and Moriarty shapes each character's path forward in varied ways. They are thoughtful, dismissive, daring, resigned, afraid, negligent, or determined; they defy their prediction, or try to control their fate, or recognize how they most want to live out their days and make new choices. I listened to Here One Moment as an audiobook. Please click here for my full review of Here One Moment .

This middle-grade writing collaboration inserts a clever young protagonist into the behind-the-scenes World War II British codebreaking of Nazi messages, along with a rich back story and mysterious elements, adventure, and intrigue. I loved this. I love a World War II story, and in this middle-grade collaborative work by Ruta Sepetys ( Salt to the Sea ) and Steve Sheinkin ( Bomb ), the young protagonist Lizzie Novis becomes an unlikely asset to the British wartime codebreaking center of Bletchley Park. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis is engaged in top-secret work alongside other bright minds, trying to crack the Nazi Enigma code. But after his younger sister Lizzie evades her grandmother's attempts to bring her from England to the United States to avoid the Nazis' nearing destruction, there's nowhere for Lizzie to stay but with her big brother. Their father died long ago, and Lizzie just couldn't stand to leave the last country where they saw their mother a year prior. She's sure she'll turn up again, despite the fact that she disappeared into what quickly thereafter become Nazi territory, and her United States Embassy coworkers believe that she is dead. When Lizzie finds a secret notebook of her mother's, she becomes more determined than ever to solve the mystery of her disappearance. But a suspicious, tenacious MI5 investigator arrives at the Novises' boarding house, demanding to know everything about their mother--and implying that she had been a double agent betraying England. Lizzie's impetuous, clever, observant nature leads to somewhat of a collaboration between her and the Colonel, a high-ranking figure in Bletchley. The Sepetys-Sheinkin writing venture felt seamless, with adventure, interesting detail, wonderful character dynamics, and intrigue. The authors included real-life figures like Alan Turing and shaped a fascinating scenario for the Novis kids' mother--as well as what felt like plausible, valuable roles in the Bletchley efforts for the children themselves. This was enjoyable, interesting, well paced, and charming. I loved it. I listened to The Bletchley Riddle  as an audiobook. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts! You can find my reviews of other World War II-focused books here , and you can also check out my review of Kate Quinn's great codebreaking historical fiction for adults, The Rose Code .

Isola , based upon the story of a real-life sixteenth-century woman, shifts between details of a life of moneyed ease and an abandonment on an unforgiving, uninhabited island after our main protagonist falls in love with the wrong person. Marguerite is heir to a fortune, but after she is orphaned, she grows into a young lady while her guardian Roberval squanders her inheritance. The unfolding of this continued theft and this absurd man's greedy, gratuitous mishandling of funds--which he legally pursues as a male distantly related to her, ugh--was enough to make my blood boil, but things deteriorate much further from there. As Marguerite enters into her early teens, she begins to fear that her cousin views her as a creepy match for himself. At the very least it becomes clear that he will pay no dowry in order to make another match for her. Instead, in a somewhat shocking turn of events, he forces her to sail with him to New France. But on the way, Marguerite falls for her guardian's servant. When their relationship is discovered, Roberval cruelly punishes them by abandoning them on an uninhabited island to perish. Marguerite, once a privileged, protected child of wealth and opportunity, must learn to survive in the wild. Chapters are preceded by tips from Anne of France to her daughter (from Lessons for My Daughter ) urging constant preservation of reputation, exuding modesty, maintaining a paralyzing fear of making errors, and striving for perfection in the form of delicacy and beauty. These prescribed behaviors suggest a goal of women's disappearing into the background, serving as beautiful, silent, ghostlike creatures. The highly controlled, minutiae-filled advice contrasts more and more starkly with Marguerite's desperate situation on the island and her necessary rejection of even the most basic societal expectations for her status (wearing shoes, using utensils, living a life without work, not developing freckles in the sun, and not dirtying her hands, much less killing, skinning, and processing animals) in order to cling to life. Her slowly deteriorating social and financial standing early in the book gives way to a fascinating, unforgiving stretch of life lived on the rocky island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, bounded in part by Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Labrador Peninsula. As Marguerite taps into her inner strength, she builds a resolve to get home again. But if she is saved and delivered safely back, where will she make her home? How will she secure a future for herself? If her guardian is living, how will she remain safe from him? After a harsh winter, her guardian's ships sail by again, but veer away after spying her. But Marguerite won't give up hope. Now she knows she can see her way through any adversity. I was fascinated by each aspect of this tale, and Goodman transported me into the details and (often infuriating) dynamics of life at the time. Isola  is inspired by the story of the real-life sixteenth-century heroine, Marguerite de la Rocque de Roberval. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! I first read Allegra Goodman's work 25 years ago, when I enjoyed her novel Kaaterskill Falls . Since then she has published many more novels, including Sam . I received a prepublication edition of Isola courtesy of Random House and NetGalley.

There Are Rivers in the Sky weaves together three stories set in three timelines, featuring disparate characters, to explore interconnectedness, the power of water, echoing tragedies, and the timelessness of the written word. Water remembers. It is humans who forget. In 1840 in London, young Arthur lives near the sewage-filled River Thames, desperate to escape poverty and his abusive household. In 2014 Turkey, ten-year-old Narin is living near the Tigris and is affected by a disorder that will cause her to go permanently deaf. And in 2018 London, Zaleekah, a hydrologist, moves into a houseboat on the Thames when she and her husband break up, but she can't shake her thoughts of suicide. There Are Rivers   in the Sky traces the stories of these three disparate characters living alongside rivers in three different times, interconnected by a single drop of water and "the Epic of Gilgamesh," an ancient poem that may have the power to change each of their lives. Later, when the storm has passed, everyone will talk about the destruction it left behind, though no one, not even the king himself, will remember that it all began with a single raindrop. Shafak uses the life-giving--and at times, through flood or pollution, life-taking--waters of the Tigris and the Thames to help shape this story in three timelines. Through Zaleekah's 2018-set story we explore climate change, pollution, and the consequences of abusing natural resources, as well as the questionable morality of private or museum ownership of other cultures' precious artifacts. Yet the river is a backdrop to her reimagined future, her newfound inner strength and search for love, and her renewed hope in life. Narin's story, aside from modern modes of travel and communication, feels like a tragedy pulled from deep in the past--and, in fact, it is said that the Yazidi people have been endlessly beaten down and massacred over and over again since ancient times. In a shockingly speedy escalation of force, Isis brings centuries-old hatred to trap and murder innocent Yazidis, eradicating communities in relentless genocide. And clever Arthur slowly pulls himself out of a London slum by lucking into an apprenticeship at a printing shop with nurturing mentors. His curiosity about antiquities leads him to the British Museum and, eventually, a key role in deciphering tablets, then a formative trip to the Middle East and Nineveh, which will be the source of his one true love and also his undoing. Shafak makes what could have been an unwieldy or disjointed-feeling set of complex situations into a tragically beautiful intertwined novel that shines a light on weighty issues at three points in space and time. I was haunted by this and fascinated as well. I received a prepublication edition of There Are Rivers in the Sky  courtesy of Knopf and NetGalley. I'd love to hear your bossy thoughts about this book. Elif Shafak also wrote the lovely The Island of Missing Trees . Shafak is a British-Turkish author of seventeen books, including eleven novels.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading a historical fiction story set just before the Civil War, about a young enslaved woman haunted by her sister's ghost, Junie ; I'm listening to middle-grade historical fiction from Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, set during World War II in the heart of British codebreaking, The Bletchley Riddle ; and I'm reading feminist activist Mona Eltahawy's nonfiction work The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls , which encourages women to be loud, strong, and free of shame and self-doubt in order to create a more appropriately prominent and autonomous space for themselves in this patriarchally driven world. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine The Civil War is looming, and Junie is a sixteen-year-old who has spent her whole life enslaved on an Alabama plantation. She works alongside her family, also caring for the plantation owners' daughter Violet and gaining cursory exposure to Violet's studies of poetry and knowledge. But Junie wanders restlessly at night, haunted by her sister Minnie's sudden death and by Minnie's ghost. When there is talk of Violet's engagement and pending marriage, Junie realizes that this shift would throw her own position into jeopardy. She desperately wakes her sister's ghost, and she must determine how far she's willing to go to try to find freedom and autonomy in her life. I received a prepublication edition of Junie courtesy of Random House-Ballantine Books and NetGalley. Junie is slated for publication on February 4. 02 The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin I love a World War II story, and in this middle-grade collaborative work by Ruta Sepetys ( Salt to the Sea ) and Steve Sheinkin ( Bomb ), the young protagonist of Lizzie Novis becomes an unlikely asset to the British wartime codebreaking center of Bletchley Park. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis is engaged in top-secret work alongside other bright minds, trying to crack the Nazi Enigma code. But after his younger sister Lizzie evades her grandmother's attempts to send her from England to the United States to avoid the Nazis' nearing destruction, there's nowhere for Lizzie to stay but with her big brother. Their father died long ago, and Lizzie just couldn't stand to leave the last country where they saw their mother a year prior. She's sure she'll turn up again, despite the fact that she disappeared into what quickly thereafter become Nazi territory. When Lizzie finds a secret notebook of her mother's, she becomes more determined than ever to solve the mystery of her disappearance. I'm listening to The Bletchley Riddle as an audiobook. You can find my reviews of other World War II-focused books here , and you can also check out my review of Kate Quinn's great codebreaking historical fiction The Rose Code . 03 The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls by Mona Eltahawy Feminist activist Mona Eltahawy encourages women and girls to practice an out-loud version of owning their power, by committing the seven taboo "sins" for women: being angry, ambitious, profane, violent, attention-seeking, lustful, and powerful. Eltahawy points to examples of her own life that illustrate the broken system of patriarchy women exist within--stories many women will easily relate to--and also includes inspiring stories from women of all walks of life around the globe who are speaking up against a destructive power structure. By illustrating her points with facts about racism, misogyny, capitalism, and homophobia, Eltahawy urges readers to abandon shame and self-doubt in favor of embracing truth and speaking out in a fierce call to action and an effort to dismantle the patriarchy .

My very favorite Bossy January reads! This month my favorite reads consisted of multiple fantasy reads, aka escapes from reality--one magical mystery on a ship, an adventure that toggled between layers of time and reality, and a couple of unlikely heroes' magnificent quests alongside wonderful supporting characters--as well as a romantic story that tackled weighty issues (my favorite kind), and a historical fiction story that made me buy into a body-snatching storyline . If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! And I'd also love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads? 01 Voyage of the Damned by Frances White Frances White's debut is a locked-room mystery on a magical ship full of uncertain alliances, deadly vendettas, and a sassy and flamboyant main protagonist who just might become an unlikely hero and save the kingdom. To honor Concordia's thousand years of peace between its twelve provinces, the emperor's ship sets out on a voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountain. The twelve heirs of Concordia are aboard, each with a special magical power (a Blessing). All except one, that is. Ganymedes Piscero is, as always, a general disappointment: a class clown lacking in magical ability. But he's determined to keep that fact secret. Various characters aren't who they seem, sometimes impersonating others, which makes it difficult to identify what's occurring (and requires a lot of retroactive explanation), and the story's tension loses some of its power because it's so prolonged. But t he LGBTQ love is lovely. The friendship between Ganymedes and dark-humored 6-year-old Grasshopper is funny and sweet, and I loved his unexpected-hero emergence and his role as unlikely savior. A multi-phased surprise ending is satisfying. For my full review of this book--and for links to my reviews of other fantasy books--please see Voyage of the Damned . 02 My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan My Oxford Year  takes a light, romantic tone and within it, explores weighty issues like serious illness, loss, grief, vulnerability, and offers a suitably complicated ending that doesn't wrap up life's messy loose ends in an unrealistically neat bow. American Ella Durran has had a plan for her education and career sine she was 13: to study at Oxford. Now she's 24, she's just as driven, and she's finally at Oxford. In addition to branching out into studying literature across the pond, Ella has agreed to be an education policy consultant for a potential presidential candidate back home, which means she's on call at all hours. Her phone is always at hand, and if her bosses call, she drops everything to pick up and be a sounding board or a problem-solver. Her propensity for remaining emotionally closed off free up a lot of time. She's never been in a serious relationship and has no interest in one--she doesn't have time for frivolity when she's chasing so many goals. The happy ending that the tone of the novel seems to be assuring readers at the beginning morphs into a far more complex version of a resolved story by the end, with significant pain and yet glimmers of hope that transcend the immediate situation. I loved the facing of mortality in the story--as well as the focus on literature and its power. Click here for my full review of My Oxford Year . 03 The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap Dunlap's debut novel explores early Edinburgh surgical schools, questionable methods of obtaining study subjects, a main protagonist's surprisingly believable entrée into body snatching, a forbidden love, and serial killers, and I was in for it all. Dunlap's debut novel is dark, twisty, gothic, and it's set in 19th-century Scotland as fictionalized versions of real-life serial killers Burke and Hare are terrorizing Edinburgh. James Willoughby is a na ï ve young medical student whose family fortunes have taken a negative turn, leaving him with a passion for studying medicine but no resources to pursue schooling. He becomes drawn into the underworld of body snatching when he seeks paid work to fund his studies--and begins to understand (and assist with) the process of obtaining cadavers for his surgery study. Ultimately, terrifyingly, his activities lead him to run into the cadaver-producing killers Burke and Hare. Dunlap does a wonderful job of bringing a spooky, fascinating underworld of Edinburgh to life, while also exploring the burgeoning surgery and medical school experience, and, against all odds, building the somewhat-reasonable-feeling case for James's horror-turned-acceptance on the subject of mining graveyards for bodies to study. I love Dunlap's writing and the way the author crafted this story. I'm definitely in for reading this author's future books! Please click here for my full review of The Resurrectionist . 04 The Last Hour Between Worlds (Echo Archives #1) by Melissa Caruso I may not have followed all of the echoes in time, creatures convincingly impersonating other creatures, or protagonists' complex, evolving motivations, but I adored the characters, their connection, their banter, and the amount of heart in the story. Kembral Thorne, expert investigator, is on leave and bleary-eyed from single-parenting her newborn, and she's questioning why she agreed to come to a work New Year's Eve party in the first place. But when people start dropping dead around her, she realizes that someone is plunging the party down through layers of reality, through echoes of time in which strange events loosely repeat themselves--and seem to be building in intensity. In fact, the whole world seems to be in terrible danger. It looks like Kembral will have to work tonight after all--and, even worse, she'll need to cooperate with her nemesis Rika Nonesuch, the cat burglar, in order to try to save the world. I love Caruso's writing style, her character-building, and the way the characters relate to each other. The hard-fought connection between Rika and Kembral (and the rich past that's revealed) had me swooning, and their banter is sometimes grumpy, hesitantly vulnerable, and often darkly funny. I predict that I'll be reading all of Caruso's other books as well. I listened to The Last Hour Between Worlds  as an audiobook. For Bossy reviews of many other books that play with time--this is one of my favorite elements--you can check out the books and lists at this link . 05 Spellslinger (Spellslinger #1) by Sebastian de Castell Kellen begins as a principled, headstrong young man lacking in the magic crucial for power, familial stability and social standing in his world. By the end of the book he is satisfyingly resolved, stronger, and accepting of his complicated fate. “I’m a woman, kid. You probably haven’t met one before, coming as you do from this backward place, but it’s like a man only smarter and with bigger balls.” Kellen is struggling in his mage's trials aimed at earning him a name among his privileged people, the Jan'Tep. And the struggle feels even worse because his younger sister is living up to the family's powerful name by demonstrating more powerful magic than any student in their school. But Kellen's magic hasn't come in--and he fears that it never will. But as he uses his smarts, his unlikely allies, and his loyalty to get by, he finds himself discovering uncomfortable truths about his family and his community--and questioning everything he thought he knew. I loved the characters' dynamics, the outsider Ferius Pargosi who becomes a mentor and deeply loyal friend, the quest, the uprising of the downtrodden, and the setup to book two, Shadowblack , which I definitely want to read. I also appreciated witnessing Kellen's tough road to self-acceptance--particularly in light of his discovery that his parents have hidden, tamped down, and diminished his particular type of magic, deeming it destructive to Kellen and to the family's status. I can't wait to see him come into his own in book two. For my full review please check out Spellslinger . 06 Blood of the Old Kings (Bleeding Empire #1) by Sung-Il Kim In this first installment of The Bleeding Empire, Kim sets three characters on paths to discover their worth, their purpose, and their power. When the protagonists' journeys intersect, the story ramps up in intensity and in epic scope. In Blood of the Old Kings , dead sorcerers power the empire, which has long been run on a system of necromancy and sacrifice. Arienne knew since she was a young girl that because she was born with magic, her future would end with her locked in chains in a casket, an essential, dark end used to benefit others by generating immense power. But when a long-dead sorcerer takes the shape of a voice in her head and pushes her to question the rules she's always lived by, Arienne dares to dream of defying her fate. Cain is savvy, street-smart, and living in the capital. When his best friend goes missing, he'll do anything to find out what's happened to her. Loran is a brokenhearted widow and a skilled swordswoman willing to make deep sacrifices to ally with the fated, powerful, dangerous dragon who might empower her and save them all. This three-character-driven plot sets the scene by exploring the unrest within the empire, the desperate struggles of its people; and the dark intents of those ruling it all. Each of the three main protagonists begin to understand their own power--and when their paths intersect, they realize that together, they are more formidable than they could have ever imagined. For my full review, please see The Blood of the Old Kings .

Nonie is the young protagonist of this stark climate-change dystopian future, in which her small community fights to survive and to preserve history--from the roof of the American Museum of Natural History--before a horrific storm sends them fleeing up the Hudson, encountering kindness and nefarious groups in their quest for a new home. In a dystopian future in which the glaciers have melted, Nonie, a young girl with a gift for feeling the water, coming storms, and weather, lives in a largely deserted New York City with her family. Their settlement is on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH, or "Amen), and they hunt and gather in Central Park. They must be careful, as packs of feral dogs--and packs of desperate humans, the Lost--will try to take what they can get to survive. Along with her parents' researcher friends, her family helps try to save and further the exhibits of human history and science. The scenes of Nonie and her sister Bix, who have long been trapped in a confined boundary of existence, wandering the partially destroyed museum and wondering at the history and the world are particularly captivating. I was also struck by the haunting moments of grown-ups sharing the old stories: what it was like to swim (when waters were not deadly with pollution), to pick wild berries, to fly in an airplane, to have easy access to medicines, and more. But a superstorm (which they deem a "hypercane") floods the city further, and the group must escape up the Hudson. Nonie and her group carry a book holding precious history preserved from Amen, and on their journey they encounter a few communities, each of which has adapted to survive. Some try to help, while others have nefarious intent. It's sometimes tough to tell which is which until it's too late. The climate-change novel is powerful, disturbing, and, starkly lovely in its stripped-away love and loyalty. The story keeps in the forefront the looming dangers, the fear of disease and ill intent, and the bone-weary fatigue involved in simply fighting to survive--and I couldn't ever forget that the enemy, the deadly monster here, is the human race that destroyed its planet. The found-family element is a favorite of mine, and the makeshift nature of Caffall's imagined future necessitates crafting a family from like-minded survivors. This story was upsetting, fascinating, and wonderfully shaped. I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. Have you read other climate-change books that have captivated you? Land of Milk and Honey , The Great Transition , and The Light Pirate are three that I found fascinating.

Kellen begins as a principled, headstrong young man lacking in the magic crucial for power, familial stability and social standing in his world. By the end of the book he is satisfyingly resolved, stronger, and accepting of his complicated fate. “I’m a woman, kid. You probably haven’t met one before, coming as you do from this backward place, but it’s like a man only smarter and with bigger balls.” I loved so much of this book, particularly the early parts . Sebastian de Castell's worldbuilding is fascinating, the magic-school setting is a favorite, and the cast of characters is irresistible. The dark humor is fantastic. Kellen is struggling in his mage's trials aimed at earning him a name among his privileged people, the Jan'Tep. And the struggle feels even worse because his younger sister is living up to the family's powerful name by demonstrating more powerful magic than any student in their school. But Kellen's magic hasn't come in--and he fears that it never will. “First thing you learn wandering the long roads, kid. Everyone thinks they're the hero of their own story.” But as he uses his smarts, his unlikely allies, and his loyalty to get by, he finds himself discovering uncomfortable truths about his family and his community--and questioning everything he thought he knew. I loved the characters' dynamics, the outsider Ferius Pargosi who becomes a mentor and deeply loyal friend, the quest, the uprising of the downtrodden, and the setup to book two, Shadowblack , which I definitely want to read. I also appreciated witnessing Kellen's tough road to self-acceptance--particularly in light of his discovery that his parents have hidden, tamped down, and diminished his particular type of magic, deeming it destructive to Kellen and to the family's status. I can't wait to see him come into his own in book two. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this book or other fantasy books you've loved! Sebastian de Castell is the author of 16 novels, including 6 in the Spellslinger series and 4 in the Greatcoats series--plus prequels and extras.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading the story of an heiress turned abandoned orphan, based on a real-life sixteenth-century heroine, Isola ; I'm reading I Am Not Jessica Chen , Ann Liang's newest young-adult novel, about an unassuming young woman whose wish to become her gorgeous, high-achieving, Harvard-bound cousin comes true; and I'm reading Jonathan Haidt's nonfiction work The Righteous Mind , about why people develop disparate, powerful views on religion and politics. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Isola by Allegra Goodman Marguerite is heir to a fortune, but when she is orphaned, her guardian squanders her inheritance and makes her come with him to New France. On the way, Marguerite falls for her guardian's servant. When their relationship is discovered, they're cruelly punished by being abandoned on an island with little chance of escape. Marguerite, once a privileged, protected child of wealth and opportunity, must learn to survive in the wild. Isola is inspired by the story of a real-life sixteenth-century heroine. I received a prepublication edition of Isola courtesy of Random House and NetGalley. 02 I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang In Ann Liang's newest young-adult novel, Jenna Chen has always been a disappointment, at least when compared to her perfect cousin Jessica. Jessica is a top student, so beautiful that others stop to openly admire her, so high-achieving that she got into Harvard. Jenna is artistic and average, and her desperate wish is to be Jessica. When her wish comes true, Jenna wakes up as Jessica. But being a top student at a competitive school and having others distracted by your good looks doesn't make for as joyful a life as Jenna would have thought. And everyone seems to be forgetting that Jenna Chen ever existed. I received a prepublication edition of I Am Not Jessica Chen courtesy of HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley. I fell in love with Ann Liang's fake-dating young adult novel This Time It's Real , read it in one rainy afternoon, and included it in my Greedy Reading Lists Six of My Favorite Light Fiction Reads from the Past Year , Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading , and My Bossy Favorite Reads of Summer  the year I read it. You can find my review of her great young-adult rom-com I Hope This Doesn't Find You   here and my review of Liang's young-adult historical fiction fantasy novel A Song to Drown Rivers here . 03 The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt Jonathan Haidt uses his decades of research into moral psychology to address the reasoning between a timely, potent issue: the power in conflicting opinions on politics and religion between friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. Haidt explores why "gut feelings" and intuition often drives moral judgments, and why liberals, conservatives, and libertarians use the same facts to come up with such different conclusions. I'm alternating between reading a physical copy and listening to The Righteous Mind as an audiobook. Jonathan Haidt is also the author of The Anxious Generation .

Six Great Bossy Fantasy Reads I read some entertaining, imaginative, sometimes funny, fantastic fantasy in the past year--enough to make up multiple Greedy Reading List roundups. You can find other lists of favorite fantasy reads from past years here . And you can c lick here for other science fiction and fantasy books that I've reviewed on Bossy Bookworm. If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite fantasy reads? 01 The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn #1) by John Gwynne Gwynne's epic, Norse-inspired saga tracks three fascinating main protagonists through battles, shifting alliances, strengthened resolve, and revenge journeys. I loved this. In John Gwynne's Norse-inspired saga The Shadow of the Gods , it's been a century since the gods battled themselves into extinction. Only their bones hold power now--for those brave enough to seek them out. There is talk of war's return, and three warriors will shape the future of the land of Vigrid: Elvar, a noblewoman searching for fame through battle; Orka, a huntress on a quest filled with danger; and Varg, a servant who joins the mercenaries called the Bloodsworn so that he may seek revenge. The three stories run along with plenty of steam, centered around violent battles, brutal revenge, extended searches for loved ones, and the carving out of new futures by our main protagonists. The story is always shifting--shaped by betrayals and the flipped script when fate and destiny aren't what the characters thought and they must come into their own. This is epic but never melodramatic, and I was hooked on the Viking-esque elements, the badass women who find their strength, and the perfect balance of resolution and cliffhanger to build anticipation for book two. Spoiler: a dragon appears at the very end of the book, laying the groundwork for more dragon page time in subsequent books. I listened to The Shadow of the Gods  as an audiobook. Please click here for my full review of The Shadow of the Gods . 02 A Power Unbound (Last Binding #3) by Freya Marske Marske's quirky, funny, richly imagined magical world, complex character-building, relationship exploration, and storytelling continues in this third and last installment of the Last Binding series. Jack Alston (Lord Hawthorn) swore that he was finished with magic for good after his twin sister Elsie died. But when a dangerous ritual threatens the safety of all the magicians in Great Britain, he reluctantly dives back into the world to try and help procure the Last Contract to keep safe his remaining loved ones--and the public at large. An unlikely (and wonderfully mischievous and complementary) group of allies fights to reveal the source of the evil at work, and favorite characters (and villains) from past books are present throughout. Through unexpected attractions to each other and the uncovering of weighty secrets, the group works to unravel the mysterious roots of British magic once and for all. In A Power Unbound , Marske also explores class divides, gender-power imbalances, LGBTQ love, and the difficulty in--and sometimes necessity of--breaking long-held, outdated traditions. The friends-like-family element and deep loyalty is strong among the members of Jack's group, and the magic of the situation is wonderfully imagined and rich in detail. There's danger, and justice served, and imperfect solutions, and compromise, and Marske's storytelling is yet again charming, funny, sometimes dark, and always fantastic. Marske is also the author of A Marvellous Light  and A Restless Truth . For my full review, check out A Power Unbound . 03 The Stolen Heir (Stolen Heir #1) by Holly Black In this return to the world of Elfhame (Folk of the Air trilogy), Holly Black takes us deeper into the story of characters Wren and Oak as they determine whether they can trust each other as they attempt to save Madoc. As a child, Wren read lots of fairy tales. That’s why, when the monsters came, she knew it was because she had been wicked. In The Stolen Heir , the first book in Holly Black's Stolen Heir duology, the story returns to the world of Elfhame. (It's important to first read the Folk of the Air trilogy--see link below in order to understand the plot and character development). Suren (Wren), changeling child queen of the Court of Teeth, is forced to band together with the charming, untrustworthy Oak (fae brother of Jude), to try to save Madoc from Lady Nore's Ice Needle Citadel. Wren and Oak were once betrothed, and Wren isn't sure how much of Oak's appealing vulnerability and honesty is real--or if she's being played for a fool. But Wren isn't content to let her fate be shaped by a beautiful, magical prince. She's going to need to wrest control of her own destiny. I didn't feel particularly drawn in by Wren, who feels lost throughout much of the story, and I didn't feel as though Oak was as fully developed as I wanted him to be. I loved the return of the storm hag Bogdana! Click here for my review of Black's The Queen of Nothing ; I mentioned the great Folk of the Air trilogy in the Greedy Reading List Six Royally Magical Young Adult Series . For my full Bossy review of this book, check out The Stolen Heir . 04 Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan Sarah Rees Brennan offers a funny, dark, clever story within a story in which the heroes and villains are redefined, redemption is always possible, revenge is sweet, and rewriting the story doesn't always shift the plot in the way you'd expect. I love a story that flips a traditional setup, and Long Live Evil  is my newest favorite in the Villains Are People Too book trend (check out two of my other recommendations in this vein below). Rae has always taken comfort in books. But now she's dying, and in a panic, she makes a magical deal in which she lives on...in the world of her sister's favorite fantasy series. But wars are being waged, and Rae quickly figures out that she's not the heroine of the story. She's the villain. And only she can organize the rest of the plotting, dark, moody, sometimes exasperating bad guys (and girls) in an attempt to change all of their futures. When Rae begins tinkering with characters, trying to shift the plot--posing as a prophet telling the future--she figures out that she's not the only one who came from the "real world" and has infiltrated the story. And she also realizes she may not be helping; she may be making everything worse. This is so funny, sometimes dark, and it has lots of heart. I adore all of the twists on the heroine-villain setup. I listened to Long Live Evil  as an audiobook courtesy of Libro.fm . For other books that take a sympathetic, darkly playful view of a villain, check out Hench and Starter Villain . Sarah Rees Brennan is also the author of the fantastic character-driven young-adult fantasy In Other Lands . Please click here to see my full review of Long Live Evil . 05 A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal The first installment in Faizal's Blood and Tea series offers intriguing secrets, a swirling mystery, terrible betrayal, heartwarming found family, steady action--and vampires. "It's teatime, scoundrels." In the first book of Hafsah Faizal's Blood and Tea series, A Tempest of Tea , Arthie Casimir collects secrets--and by doing so, amasses enough power to become a criminal mastermind, exerting her influence within the city's dark underbelly. Her exclusive tea room becomes a posh hangout for vampires each night, but when her bloodhouse is threatened, she must work with one of her enemies in order to protect her livelihood and power. A Tempest of Tea  layers heartwarming found family, heartbreaking emotional barriers, and reluctant vulnerability to build characters that I cared about, funny gems, tantalizing moments, and an intriguing build-up to the books to come in this series. For my full review, check out A Tempest of Tea . 06 Bride by Ali Hazelwood Ali Hazelwood brings her wonderful banter and an intriguing mystery to this steamy interspecies romance that has lots of heart and kept me hooked throughout. Misery Lark is the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre in the region, and she'd prefer to literally and figuratively stay in the shadows--but she's been called to take part in the building of a peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and the Weres--in the form of an arranged marriage between Misery and a Were. Lowe Moreland is the Alpha of the Weres, and he's as unpredictable, volatile, and unforgiving as any Were stereotype Misery has ever heard. As a child, Misery was given up by her family and community as collateral to keep the peace. But Misery has her own reasons for willingly entering into this marriage--her best friend's safety may be on the line--and she's willing to do anything to get her questions answered. I forgot how steamy Hazelwood's books are, and Bride and its interspecies love is no exception. I listened to Bride  as an audiobook. Ali Hazelwood is also the author of Love, Theoretically  and other books. Click here   for my full review of Bride.

The debut novel from one of my favorite authors tracks a horse thief and an orphan who bond and find love amid the turmoil and destruction of the final year of the brutal Civil War. “You like to think that people, in general, and I mean on the scale of generations, are learning from their mistakes, getting better. But with what all I seen, I don't know if I could believe that.” Taylor Brown's debut novel Fallen Land is set in the final year of the Civil War. Callum, an Irish horse thief, fled to America an orphan at fifteen years old. Ava's family is gone, killed by war. The young couple find one another and bond to each other in their desperate run to escape the devastated South. They encounter the fiery ruin of Sherman's March on their way to safety and a new life, and their love is one beautiful light in the darkness of the country's ravaging war. “You die down there, you better hope I live a real long time. Because that's all the goddamn peace you're gonna get.” I was soooo stressed reading Ava and Callum's circumstances, but the preciousness of lives lived moment by moment (while the characters fight for survival--and also attempt to live as good people and find love and joy) was wrought beautifully by Brown. Their perspective of coming upon the devastation immediately after Sherman's March through Atlanta was particularly shocking and affecting. This is a rough yet sometimes tender story set at the end of the Civil War, amid the confusion and desperation and cruelty and kindnesses of that time. I love Taylor Brown's books! I included this book in the Greedy Reading List Six Historical Fiction Stories about the Civil War . Brown also wrote the wonderful novels Gods of Howl Mountain , Wingwalkers , and Rednecks .