Wild Dark Shore

In this speculative climate fiction by Charlotte McConaghy, the story takes place on the sub-Antarctic island of Shearwater, home to the world' largest seed storage vault. Modeled on the actual island of Macquarie Island, located halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica, which does have a similar research station but no light house. The Salt family--father Dom, oldest son Raff, daughter Fen and youngest son Orly--are the caretakers of the island and have been ordered to prepare for evacuation as increasingly violent storms and rising sea levels are rapidly eroding the shoreline and taking the research facilities with them. During the worst storm they have ever experienced, they find a woman, Rowan, washed ashore and barely alive. As she is nursed back to health and becomes more integrated into the routine life of the family and the island, she forever alters the family dynamics. But everyone in this story is keeping secrets, secrets that may tear apart their newfound sense of hope. We don't get all the answers until the very end of the book. A predictable romance arises between widower Dominic and Rowan, but the ending is a surprise. The book is filled with delightful bits of obscure knowledge about plants and animals compliments of avidly curious Orly, and each member of the cast contributes their own viewpoints and experience in dedicated chapters. 

Library Journal closes their review with "As lush as it is taut with tension, this novel is filled with both the joys and ravages of nature." Publishers Weekly offers this: "McConaghy ratchets up the tension as the characters' paranoia and mutual suspicion increases and their motives are revealed,...McConaghy blends entertainment with a sobering message about conservation and the impacts of geographic isolation. Readers of climate fiction ought to check this out." The New York Times focuses on this observation: "In 'Wild Dark Shore,' we’re shown why a person might withdraw from the messiness of life after tragedy and trauma...The novel also offers its injured characters a path back to connection and community, a risk McConaghy argues must be worth taking, no matter how fraught the future, no matter how temporary the family. As Rowan reflects later in the novel: 'What is the use of safety if it deprives you of everything else?'" Kirkus opens their laudatory review with this, "The reality of climate change serves as the pervasive context for this terrific thriller..." and concludes by noting "While McConaghy keeps readers guessing which suspicions are valid, which are paranoia, and who is culpable for doing what in the face of calamity, the most critical battle turns out to be personal despair versus perseverance. McConaghy writes about both nature and human frailty with eloquent generosity. Readers won’t want to leave behind the imagined world of pain and beauty that McConaghy has conjured."

How the Penguins Saved Veronica

I've read so many good things about this 2nd novel from Hazel Prior that I was pleased when one of my book groups picked it to be on our reading list this year. Also my sisterhood fellowship decided to read it together as well. It was slow to start but then you definitely come to care for the characters and, of course, for the Adelie penguins in Antarctica. Veronica McCreedy has hardened her heart after a life full of heartbreak and loss. She is financially secure thanks to a short earlier marriage but is now alone in the world with no known living relatives. When her housekeeper, Eileen, suggests she use a service to track down possible relatives, Veronica discovers she has a here-to-fore unknown grandson, Patrick. Who turns out to be a slovenly, shiftless, drug using disappointment--or so it appears upon their initial meeting. While watching her favorite nature show on the telly one night, Veronica becomes enthralled with the threatened existence of Antarctic penguis--the Adelies. She decides she will leave her legacy of several million pounds to the research and conservation effort but first wants to see first hand what she's giving her money to. Through Eileen, she lets the small science station on Locket Island in the Antarctic Shetlands know that she is coming to visit. And she does make the long arduous trip from Scotland, in spite of the scientists attempts to discourage her. She falls in love with the penguins "joie de vivre" and then falls particularly hard for an orphaned chick which she convinces the others to take in and care for.

Booklist closes their review by saying, "A charming journey of a stubborn old lady hoping to counter her many hardships with an altruistic act...Prior's done her homework on Adélie penguins and Antarctic research conditions, immersing readers in a captivating world that's otherwise hard to reach." Kirkus offers this: "Prior...has written a story about the importance of family and love and how memories might remain long buried but, once they surface, can be just as distressing or joy-inducing as when they first occurred. The narrative, partially told by Veronica, partially by Patrick, and partially via emails, blog posts, and diary entries, explores the complicated emotions that guide people’s decisions, in both good and bad ways. Drug use, addiction, and depression are touched on, but Prior ensures that readers understand the underlying goodness of her characters and their ability to survive despite loss. While some might view the story’s proselytizing about climate change and the redemptive love of animals onerous, others will agree wholeheartedly. A light but enjoyable, optimistic tale." 

Definitely an encouraging story in these dismal times.

The Darkest Evening

This 9th installment in Ann Cleeves' "Vera Stanhope" series includes a lot of information about Vera's background since the murder occurs on the grounds of the Stanhope estate, the property of her dead father's older brother, which is now inhabited by his widow, daughter and son-in-law. This is a part of Vera's family that she only sees for weddings and funerals. Vera's father, Hector, was the black sheep of the family and on the few occasions that they visited, "the family had been unfailingly polite. That branch of the clan used politeness as a weapon of mass destruction." I'd love to have had a map of the estate with its tenant farms and tied cottages. 

Caught in a blizzard while driving home one night, DI Stanhope misses a turn  and comes across a car on the side of the road with the driver's door still open and a toddler in the back seat. She assumes the driver has gone looking for help after sliding off the road so she leaves a note, takes the little boy, and starts looking for the nearest signs of life and cell reception. That just happens to be the Stanhope home, Brockburn, where her father grew up. Inside, the son-in-law is entertaining potential donors for a theatre start-up. When the body of a young woman--the abandoned car's driver-- is shortly discovered by a tenant farmer coming to retrieve his daughters who are filling in as wait staff, Vera realizes that she has a murder on her hands. "...a second murder spurs Vera and her team to investigate a tangled web of family connections and buried secrets'" (Kirkus). "Vera... comes to realize that the 'whole case... was about families, about what held them together and what ripped them apart" (Publishers Weekly).

As is to be expected, the characters are well-developed, the settings rich and the plot twisty with a number of red herrings thrown in. Still, Publishers Weekly concludes, "This fair-play mystery brims with fully developed suspects and motives that are hidden in plain sight. Skillful misdirection masks the killer's identity. This page-turner is must reading for fans as well as newcomers." Kirkus likewise closes their review with "Fans will enjoy matching wits with Cleeves’ eccentric sleuth right up to the dangerous surprise in her denouement." Highly recommended

The Spellman Files

Lisa Lutz has written several stand-alone novels as well as six books in the "Spellman Files." She has won an Alex Award for this book (best adult novel with appeal for young adults), awarded by a division of the American Library Association, and has been nominated for an Edgar. This is the debut novel (2006) in the "Spellman Files" series; I read a review of a later installment but wanted to start at the beginning to get a flavor for the characters.  I think the author herself offers a wonderful overview:

"In THE SPELLMAN FILES you first meet Isabel Spellman, private investigator. This twenty-eight-year-old may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism; she may be addicted to Get Smart reruns and prefer entering homes through windows rather than doors—but the upshot is she's good at her job as a licensed private investigator with her family's firm, Spellman Investigations. Invading people's privacy comes naturally to Isabel. In fact, it comes naturally to all the Spellmans. If only they could leave their work at the office. To be a Spellman is to snoop on a Spellman, tail a Spellman, dig up dirt on, blackmail, and wiretap a Spellman."

Kirkus calls this book a "spirited, funny debut from screenwriter Lutz that mixes chick-lit, mystery and a dose of TV nostalgia." The protagonist is addicted to Get Smart re-runs.They continue, "It’s all casual, swift and hip. But an underpinning of reality, the complex emotions of growing up and letting go, shows through occasionally, warming up this hilarious debut." Publishers Weekly offers, ""Cracking the case can get complicated and outrageously wacky when a family of detectives is involved, but Lutz has a blast doing it in her delicious debut...Can the family that snoops together stay together? Stay tuned as a dynamic new series unfolds."

The Lost Man

As with Jane Harper's previous 2 books, The Dry and Force of Nature, I found myself drawn in to this book, both intrigued and repelled by the setting in the Australian outback, which plays an enormous role in this story. I'm so far behind on posting my reading, that I will shamelessly allow one of the book's reviewers, Publishers Weekly, to do the plot legwork for me.

"Australia's outback, with its brutal climate and equally bruising isolation, looms as large as any character in this stark standalone ... For years, the three Bright brothers-divorced dad Nathan, the eldest; family man and everybody's favorite, middle child Cameron; and the mentally challenged youngest, Bub-have maintained an uneasy equilibrium on adjacent cattle ranches. That flies out the window the week before Christmas when Cameron goes missing; his desiccated corpse is subsequently discovered a few miles from his perfectly operational truck in the shadow of the eerie headstone known as the stockman's grave. Absent any clear indications of foul play, the local authorities undertake a perfunctory investigation, leaving a troubled Nathan to start asking questions that no one wants to answer. In the grim journey that follows, the surviving members of the Bright family must confront some devastating secrets. Harper's sinewy prose and flinty characters compel, but the dreary story line may cause some readers to give up before the jaw-dropping denouement."

Kirkus calls the book "A twisty slow burner by an author at the top of her game." The Guardian says of her characters that they provide a "small but fully realised cast." Booklist concludes their review: "The atmosphere is so thick you can taste the red-clay dust, and the folklore surrounding the mysterious stockman adds an additional edge to an already dark and intense narrative... a surprising ending that reveals how far someone will go to preserve a life worth living in a place at once loathed and loved." Library Journal favorably notes, "the Australian landscape looms large, and it's difficult to imagine the events in this novel playing out the same way anywhere else. Even if readers guess why Cam died, they're likely to be kept guessing the how and the who until the end."

The Christmas Murder Game

In Alexandra Benedict's very tricky mystery, our protagonist, Lily Armitage, has been estranged from most of her family ever since her mother died --supposedly by suicide-- 21 years ago. She hates the stately home, Endgame House, where the aunt who raised her still lives. When her Aunt Liliana sends Lily an invitation to the annual Endgame House Christmas Game, which this year will award the winner ownership of the house itself, Lily has no interest in returning to, much less owning, Endgame House. But Liliana has also promised to reveal secrets to Lily about the house and about Lily's mother's death. When Lily arrives, she finds her aunt has died but has left their attorney specific instructions and daily clues for the Christmas game which lasts for the 12 days of Christmas. Lily will be confined with her estranged cousins and the housekeeper/cook for the duration without any outside communication. An untimely and sever snowstorm insures that no one will be leaving anytime soon. Lily has always been the cleverest one who could solve the clues in the game, but she doesn't want the house, only the clues. So she solves the riddles but gives the keys to her favorite cousin. However, one by one, her cousins or their partners begin to die and it's clear that--unless an unlikely stranger braved the storm and broke into the house--one of her family members is responsible. 

Publishers Weekly describes the book as a "fun contemporary British country house mystery..." and recommends "Puzzle-loving readers will enjoy searching for anagrams of the gifts mentioned in "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and for the titles of 12 of the author's favorite country house mysteries embedded in the text." Kirkus concludes that the puzzle-full mystery is "Super brainy in an appropriately superficial way."

Payback's a Witch

This book by Lana Harper was just pure entertainment. Harper (pseudonymn for Lana Popović) has written several YA witchy novels, but this is her first novel targeted to adults. Emmy Harlow is a witch coming home to fulfill familial obligations in the magical town of Thistle Grove, IL (near Carbondale!!). She has been living in Chicago for the last 9 years, ever since the handsome scion of the Blackmoore family seduced her and then dumped her when they were in high school.  Moving away from the town meant that she eventually lost her magical powers, which emanate from Lady Lake on a hill outside Thistle Grove. The town was founded by four powerful witches, who are also the ancestors of the four magical families that still live there: the Harlows, the Blackmoores, the Thorns, and the Avramovs. Once a generation, the scions from each family--except the Harlows-- come together to compete in a series of magical challenges, the Gauntlet of the Grove. The winning family of the Gauntlet, for which the Harlows have traditionally served as Arbiters and record keepers, not only get the trophy, but accrue greater magic, wealth and influence. The Blackmoores have won so many times that they are now the richest family in town with an entertainment empire pandering to tourists seeking supernatural and horror thrills. The fortunes of the remaining families, especially the Thorns and Avramovs, are waning. Add to that, the  man who broke Emmy's heart, did the same to her best friend Linden Thorn and to the scion of the Avramovs, gorgeously dangerous Talia. Talia and Linden come to Emmy with a proposition; they want to make sure the Blackmoores do not win this tournament. As Arbiter, Emmy cannot be partial, but she can guide them to stay within the Guidelines of the The Grimoire, which controls the behavior of the magical families. Emmy and Talia ignite a passionate sexual relationship as Emmy continues to struggle with whether or not she wants to return to her "real life" in Chicago or re-embrace her magic, her family, her friends, and her home. Some sexually explicit descriptions are included.  

Publishers Weekly calls this "a queer rom-com that bewitches from the very first page...[the]magical joyride manages to feel both vibrantly current and timelessly mystical while avoiding the typical queer rom-com stereotypes."
Kirkus also raves, "the author’s writing shines in the small moments, particularly in the lush language used to capture the enchanting, autumnal atmosphere of quaint Thistle Grove and its supernatural allure. Readers are sure to fall under the magic spell of Thistle Grove and its inhabitants."

The Survivors

This is Jane Harper's 4th mystery and it was one I started in one day and finished late at night. The title refers to a memorial statue to the survivors of an old shipwreck off the coast of Tasmania, but the reader will also realize soon enough that it refers to those who survived a much more recent trauma when a freak storm killed two young men in the small coastal tourist town of Evelyn Bay. On that same day, a 14-year old girl disappeared and was never seen again, although her backpack turned up on the beach several days later. Many in town hold Kieran responsible for the deaths of his brother and his best friend's brother on the boat that ostensibly came to rescue him from a dangerous perch above some caves that were only accessible during low tide. Kieran has failed to realize the severity of the storm that was approaching and got caught while he was trying to get back above the water line. Traumatized by guilt, Kieran moved away to Sydney where he graduated from university as a physiotherapist, parnered with a woman 4 years his junior, Mia, who was also from Evelyn Bay, and they now have a 3 month old daughter.  Kieran and Mia have returned to Evelyn Bay to help Kieran's mother, Verity, move her husband into a memory care unit and herself into a smaller house. Kieran's dad, Brian, has developed severe dementia and his occasional wanderings have made him a person of interest in a murder that occurs shortly after Kieran and Mia arrive in town. The other person of interest in the murder is Liam, the son of the other man who died in the failed rescue attempt. But as the police investigate the contemporary murder, questions about the earlier disappearance of 14-year-old Gabby also are renewed and the town begins to turn on itself. Mia was Gabby's best friend; Brian was the last person known to have seen Gabby alive; and Olivia, Gabby's older sister, has never revealed her involvement in the tragic deaths 12 years ago. When a police investigator from the nearest large town arrives to help with the investigation, new facts emerge that will totally change the narrative of what happened that fateful day.

Kirkus says Harper is a "master at creating atmospheric settings" and has created a "layered and nuanced mystery." Publishers Weekly says Harper creates a "distinctively Aussie array of stoic characters who are weathered, and in some cases warped, by their uncompromising environment" and "expertly weaves past guilts with present grief." The New York Times says "Evelyn Bay, utterly dependent on the sea, is a character of its own. As always, Harper skillfully evokes the landscape as she weaves a complicated, elegant web, full of long-buried secrets ready to come to light."

All the Devils are Here

Louise Penny never disappoints and this latest installment in the "Inspector Gamache" series is totally engrossing plot wise, with rich description of settings and satisfying development of characters and relationships. Gamache and wife, Reine-Marie, have come to Paris to await the arrival of their daughter Annie's 2nd child. Annie's husband, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, was formerly Gamache's second in command at the Sûreté du Québec when Gamache was Chief Superintendent. He now works for an engineering firm. The Gamache's son Daniel and his family also live in Paris; Daniel is in venture capital at a large bank. On their first day, Gamache reunites with his godfather and surrogate parent, Stephen Horowitz, for a stroll down memory lane to the Rodin sculpture garden. The family and Stephen dine together that evening, but while walking home, Stephen is injured in a life-threatening hit-and-run, which Gamache is sure was not accidental. When Gamache and Reine-Marie visit Stephen's Paris apartment the next day, they find it ransacked and they also find a dead body. Gamache has a long-time professional acquaintance with the Prefect of Police in Paris, but as time goes on, Gamache comes to think his old friend may be involved in the secrets behind the attempt on Stephen's life. Everyone in the family becomes involved. Reine-Marie's skills as a research librarian and archivist help to uncover planted clues. Daniels does his own research on Stephen's recent financial maneuvers, and Gamache, as usual, tries to plumb the hearts of  those involved, including his son's. Gamache's relationship with Daniel, which has been strained for years, is tested in extraordinary ways, and Gamache faces the possibility of losing not only his friend Stephen, but also his son. 

Kirkus advises, "If you're new to Penny's world, this would be a great place to jump in. Then go back and start the series from the beginning." The NY Journal of Books says, "...the combined mystery—tension—stakes—people—place are drawn so well that it’s nigh impossible to put the book down...The rest of the story is a deep dive into human psychology and the eternal battle between good and evil." The NYT call's this Penny's "most haunting novel yet," and goes on to say, "Although Penny touches on a wide range of subjects in this expansive story, her main concern is with the sacrifices we make for those we love." Highest recommendation as for all her books.

Run Away

I have read and blogged about a number of Harlan Coben's thrillers (search his name in my blog). They are always rich with well-drawn characters and often very twisty plots.
Here is the  basic story line from Booklist:
"Coben, once again, shows a well-constructed, lucky life blown open by fate. Financial analyst Simon Greene and his wife, a pediatrician, are well-off Manhattanites with three children. The chasm in their lives was caused by their 21-year-old daughter, Paige, being seduced into drugs and a vagrant lifestyle by a man 10 years older. Simon discovers Paige panhandling in Central Park one day, tries to talk with her, punches her slimy boyfriend, and is arrested and charged with assault. This starts the suspense spiral of the book, which only grows more tense when the boyfriend is found murdered, and Simon becomes the chief suspect."
Simon is determined to find his daughter, who disappears after this encounter. What he finds instead is a string of murders that all seem to be tied to his daughter, or at least to her drug dealing boyfriend Aaron Corval. There are two additional story lines, one involving a professional assassination team and the second follows a private detective, also looking for a different missing person. To get more detail on all the story lines, see the review from The New York Journal of Books. Intricate plot with  two big surprises at the end. Totally engrossing read for those who enjoy thrillers.
More reviews available from Publishers Weekly,  Kirkus, and USA Today.

The Bad Daughter

This is the book chosen for my mystery book group's next read. I have not previously read anything by Joy Fielding but she is a prolific author, having written over 2 dozen suspense novels. The author says in her website bio that she focuses on character, even though thrillers are more typically plot driven.
In this book, two estranged sisters, Robin and Melanie Davis, are forced into a reunion when their father and his new family are shot in what appears to be a home invasion. Their father, Greg, was a highly successful developer and a serial philanderer;  his new wife, Tara, is Robin's former best friend and her brother's former fiancée. Tara's daughter from an earlier, abusive marriage was living with them in an ostentatious new house in the small town of Red Bluff, California. Melanie always tormented Robin, their mom's stated favorite child, and has a teenage son who is autistic; she has never left Red Bluff due to lack of education and the burden of caring for her son. Robin herself left home as soon as she could, got a college degree, became a therapist in Los Angeles, and is now engaged to a successful attorney, Blake, who is--she initially thinks--having an affair with his legal assistant. Robin has suffered from debilitating anxiety attacks in the past, which re-emerge when she gets the call from Melanie about the shooting. When Robin comes back to Red Bluff, she is confronted with all her old feelings of insecurity, guilt and anger. She still feels betrayed by Tara for dumping her brother, Alec, and marrying their father. Her perpetually angry sister still never misses an opportunity to criticize Robin's behavior and life choices. 
Robin is surprised to find that the sheriff is treating this as something other than a home invasion. Greg Davis had no end of enemies due to his extra-marital activities, and Tara may have had some deadly secrets as well. When both Melanie's 18-year-old autistic son, Landon, and the sisters' brother, Alec, become "persons of interest" in the sheriff's investigation, Robin feels she has to find the real killers or risk losing her brother. So just who is the bad daughter? Is it Robin, who left even though their mother was dying of cancer, or Melanie, who has the world's biggest chip on her shoulder and pisses off everyone she meets? The ending surprised me. 
I would describe the writing as very competent and the characters as well developed. The plot line dragged a bit in places but was sufficiently engaging to make me want to find out what really happened. That being said, I would not seek out her other books, nor would I turn one down if it came my way. Favorable review from Kirkus, and a more lukewarm review by Publishers Weekly.

My Sister, the Serial Killer

This somewhat tongue-in-cheek novel by Nigerian author Oyinkan Braithwaite is really more about sisterly dynamics than it is about serial murder."One sister is a nurse. The other is a murderer." (NYT)
Ayoola is the favored daughter, the golden child of perfect looks and perfect temperament, according to their mother. Korede is the older sister, practical, smart and always charged with looking after her younger sister. Now that their father is dead (murdered?) the sisters live with their mother in the family estate that they cannot afford. Korede is a nurse at St. Peter's Hospital in Lagos and it is only there, in her job, that she gets any credit. Recognized for her competence and compassion, she'll soon be appointed as head nurse. Most of her colleagues are slackers, but Korede takes her job very seriously, especially because she has been secretly in love with Dr. Tade Otumu for several years and she keeps hoping he will finally figure out that they should be together.
When Ayoola calls on Korede for the 3rd time to help clean up one of her messes, i.e., a dead boyfriend, who she admits killing but totally in self-defense, Korede begins to realize that something is seriously askew in her sister. Still she cleans the scene, disposes of the body, and keeps quiet about what she knows--except to confide in a hospital patient who has been in a coma for several months. He is like her therapist--someone to talk to who does not judge. On impulse, Ayoola comes to visit Korede at work to invite her out to lunch. There she meets the kind and handsome Dr. Tade and he is smitten, later asking Korede for Ayoola's phone number. Talk about fraught love triangles! Now what will Korede do, protect her little sister or the love of her life? Darkly humorous, well written with vivid characters and setting. You get an accessible tour of urban life in Nigeria. A quick and engaging read. Rave reviews aplenty: New York Times, The Guardian, the Washington Post,  and Kirkus, plus a short interview with Scott Simon on NPR.

When We Left Cuba

Like her previous book about Cuba, Next Year in Havana, Chanel Cleeton's sequel deals with the overthrow of Batista, the rise to power of Fidel Castro and the situation for those who subsequently fled. At the center of the story, once again, is the Perez family; although, this time we follow Beatriz, the one who was considered the wildest of the 4 sisters, the one who chafed most at the life intended for her as a wife and mother. She was also the twin of Alejandro, who was murdered by the revolutionary forces when they drove out Batista, even though he was a student revolutionary himself. It was intended as an unambiguous message that the revolutionaries were coming for her family, whose wealth had been built on a generations-long sugar empire. All that Beatriz wants now is to get revenge on Fidel Castro, the man she believes murdered her brother.  So when her brother's best friend, Eduardo, comes to her with a proposition to meet with someone from the CIA, who also wants Castro gone, 22-year old Beatriz becomes a spy. First, she is sent to New York City when Castro comes to address the United Nations. He is a known womanizer, and Beatriz is, by general agreement, a beautiful woman. She attends a dinner, is introduced, and he appears interested, asking her to sit beside him on the podium. But eventually, she cannot follow through with any sort of liaison and returns home to Palm Beach.  She is then tasked with infiltrateing a local group of Communists/ Castro supporters.  Meanwhile, Beatriz has fallen in love with a Senator and would-be president from a politically powerful family who are closely aligned with the Kennedys. He is already engaged, but they are irresistibly attracted to one another and eventually begin an affair. Any plans to get Beatriz close enough to Castro to assassinate him are derailed when there is a fatally flawed attempt to oust Castro by exiled Cubans at the Bay of Pigs. Then Russia ship nuclear missiles to Cuba, precipitating a barricade by the U.S., which is eventually successful in deterring delivery. Finally Beatriz gets her chance. But she has also been betrayed by members of the small Communist cell she was monitoring, two brothers who are Castro's spies in the exiled Cuban community. Her cover blown, Beatriz is still considered useful and spends the rest of her life as an asset of the CIA. She and her lover have been apart all the intervening years; he married, had a family, and stayed in politics. When his wife dies, he comes back to find the woman he loved most in the world. Once again, this is a revealing look at a turbulent time in Cuba's history as well as in the relationship between Cuba and the U.S. The U.S. does not come off looking like the good guys in either book, but neither does Castro. One's sympathies are exclusively for the people exiled from the country they love, ever hopeful to return home.
Glowing reviews from The Washington Post and Publishers Weekly.

This is How It Always Is

This book by Laurie Frankel has a rather unexciting premise as its foundation, but I read it because my friend Joan Ward recommended it to me. It is the story of how one family copes when their youngest child decides at age 3 years that he would rather be a she. But that fails to convey what a beautifully written, loving, and compelling story this is.  You struggle along with the parents and the siblings as well as Claude/Poppy in trying to find the best path forward in a society that sees only "either/ or" rather than "and."
Rosie and Penn have a magical love for one another that seems to have begun before they even met. When first they get together, Penn is a struggling writer and Rosie is an ER resident. Penn sits in the ER waiting room every time Rosie has a shift--for hours at a time--just so he can talk with her on her breaks. He's working on a novel. When they marry, he becomes the stay-at-home parent. They have one boy, then two, and then four when twins are born, and in one final attempt for a daughter, they get Claude. But Claude really loves girl things--clothes, cooking, girlfriends--and Rosie and Penn are determined that they will support their wonderful child no matter what, so eventually he goes to pre-school in a skirt, wearing a pair of wings, and after some push back from his teacher, settles into being a girl with a penis. The other kids just don't care much at this stage. But of course that can't last. When a transgender college student is brought into the ER beaten and stabbed and dies, Rosie panics and decides Madison is not safe and they move to Seattle. Poppy becomes best friends with Aggie next door, and although Aggie's parents know about Claude/Poppy, they ask Rosie and Penn not to say anything to Aggie. And so the entire family guards this secret until it is no longer a secret. The next step Rosie takes to help her youngest is more dramatic. She volunteers to work at a clinic in rural Thailand and takes Claude/Poppy with her. Penn is the steady anchor at home, telling all his children a never ending Sheherazade-like fairy tale full of lessons for life. Their conversations and struggles as they try to figure out how best to help Claude/Poppy are achingly realistic. You will absolutely love every member of this family. Don't miss this thought provoking story. Reviews from The New York Times, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and the Star-Telegram. Received numerous best book of the year awards. Here is an interview with Laurie Frankel on NPR about being the parent of a transgender child.