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In Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest work of fiction, Alma Whittaker is born in 1800 to her parents, Henry and Beatrix, who are themselves interesting characters. Henry grew up poor and very resentful of this fact, although his father did teach him the one thing that changed his life, which was botany. Henry is a self-made man and is now one of the wealthiest men in America. Both he and Beatrix are very unconventional parents. Scientific in nature, they encourage their daughter to explore their large estate—as long as she is doing something to further her intellect.
The Girl You Left Behind is broken into two time periods: the first in 1916 with Sophie Lefevre struggling to keep herself and her family alive in a German-occupied town in France. Her beloved husband Edouard, a French artist who studied under Matisse, is fighting at the Front.
Altered picks up immediately where Crewel left off. Adelice, Jost and Erik are on Earth and searching for a way to get back to Arras to save the ones they left behind and overthrow the Guild. They find themselves in the middle of a rebellion they never knew existed nor truly wanted to join. All three characters have their own motivations and secrets that they are hiding from each other, and very quickly the reader realizes that this will not be a smooth or safe journey.
What would you do if you found out that your father, grandfather, or great-uncle was responsible for the murder and torture of thousands of men, women, and children? Would you change your name? Live in isolation? Deny what your family members had done? This dilemma has been faced by the descendants and relatives of Hitler’s top officials.
In Hitler’s Children, Hermann Goring's and Heinrich Himmler's great-nieces, Hans Frank's son, Rudolf Hoess’ grandson, and others discuss how their lives have been impacted by having such infamous relatives.
Love this author – love this illustrator – love this author and illustrator combo – love this book. That’s a lot of love, but if you read this book I think you’ll agree with me. I don’t remember how I came across the illustrator Mark Hearld, but my guess (and hope) is that we will be seeing and hearing a lot more from this talented British artist. His mixed media work reminds me of Eric Carle, but colorful and vibrant in a fresh new way.
Aimee Leduc, private investigator, starts the novel with her longtime partner Rene Friant absent and out of the country. Already concerned about running Leduc Detective on her own, matters grow exponentially worse when her friend Saj hits and possibly kills a Serb with Rene's car. Soon, the accident is tangled up in the mysterious death of a Russian bookbinder, a missing painting that could be nearly invaluable, and even Aimee's own mother, who's been missing for many years.
Soren Bearskin has grown up in a United States colonized by the Vikings rather than the Puritans, a country where trolls hide in the mountains and Norse gods walk the land, where children learn how to sword-fight in school and every year the land is renewed by the god of light, Baldur, as he is resurrected from his winter death. Except this year, Baldur fails to appear. A search is begun, a boon is offered by Odin to whomever can return his missing sun, and Astrid Glyn, the daughter of the most famous seer in New Asgard, convinces Soren that it is their fate to find Baldur. 
In the vein of Laura Moriarity’s The Rest of Her Life or Chris Bojhalian’s The Buffalo Soldier, Hilderbrand puts normal, everyday people under a microscope after throwing a terrible tragedy at them.
Duck! Rabbit! is a funny Easy Fiction story that challenges you to see images in a different way, similar to an optical illusion, it is a great way to involve everyone in the story. A wonderful childrens' librarian once used American Sign Language signs for "duck" & "rabbit" which allows everyone to participate in the story and extends their experience. This is one of my favorite books because it is fun, silly and a nice ongoing discussion about whether it is a duck or a rabbit.
This was a very engaging, interesting read. I especially appreciated the unusual point of view; this story was narrated by the disease itself. At first, the narrator was mildly suggestive: eat this, not that; run just a little further. As the anorexia began taking over, it became more and more demanding and controlling until it directed every aspect of 15 year old Mike's life. When he tried to make a decision that did not further the purposes of the disease, the anorexia talked to him, tricked him into believing that another choice was better.
