When Trent Powers relocates his family to Arkansas from California for a last-ditch coaching job, things aren't rosy. Local folks live and breathe football, and a big win is within their grasp. However, a hardscrabble existance makes life tough for a star runningback, and in his efforts to help the boy, Powers encounters complications he may not be equipped to manage. A combination of Friday Night Lights and The Blind Side, plus a heavy dose of Agatha Christie makes this story hum right along.

There is no way you can read this book and not feel frustrated, disheartened, and all the other somber words the thesaurus can throw at you. I kept finding myself mired down by all the gloominess and futility of the penal system and how aberrant it is, and wanting some kind of handhold to grasp. A solution of sorts--something. As horrific as the constant barrage of negativity was regarding the whole shebang of arrest, trial, imprisonment, and then parole, I suppose the real horror is that this system runs so deep in the fiber of our culture I don't know if there is an answer. The author deftly and effectively makes his point here, and it's a heavy one. The fallout from this systemic imprisoning machine ultimately affects all of us.

This teeny-tiny book says, in simple terms, why feminism is important for all of us, and how training girls and boys to realize this could make the world a better place. You'll breeze through this in one short sitting, but think about it long after.

Family quirks and imperfections take center stage in this beautiful tale. From the four Padavano sisters, to their parents, to Will, the loner who married into the fray, author Ann shies away from nothing. Mental illness, single parenthood, alcoholism, estrangement and forgiveness are all here. Although that may sound like a giant cry-fest, the overarching sentiment was one of hope and healing. I found this book sublimely readable and thought-provoking.

Growing up gay in a conservative area would be daunting, and this book tells yet another sad story about that difficult journey. North Dakota isn't known for its forgiving nature, be it weather, terrain or culture. Taylor gives a very detailed description of living life on an oil-producing prairie. He knows a lot about oil and the process of its creation, and definitely shares it in this book. While in that culture, approved masculine pastimes appear to be narrowly defined, the deep dive into oil production was a bit more than necessary to make his point. His story has moments of joy but many of disappointment and sadness. Some editing would have improved this one for me.

Just when Leah Fern decides she's had it with this world, a stranger knocks on her door and derails her exit plan. A loner by circumstance saddled with deep abandonment scars, Lea sets out with hopes of discovering where her long-lost mother has been all these years. She discovers much more than that along the way. Very readible--a little on the mystical side for me, but a lovely book nevertheless, with some great messages for all of us.

This teeny-tiny book caught my holiday eye and I had to have it. Apparently, a past tradition was to read a spooky story on Christmas Eve. So I did. Well, this master of the eerie, Shirley Jackson, delivers a moody, interesting tale about a girl who visits her friend's family on a boarding school break and meets her brother. Or does she?

This tiny book endeavors to tell the reader about the value of love and family. I guess it does, but it was all a little too precious for me. If you happen upon it, it's a really quick read, but let's just say I won't be combing through the shelves for other books by this author.

I love a mystery in which the murderer is one of "us", and this one delivers, albeit in a meandering way. Although it'll keep you guessing until the end, some editing would have been beneficial. There is some pertinent backstory to Roz, a former detective heading on a trip to reconcile with her soon-to-deliver daughter. Wouldn't you know it . . . a huge storm, a murder (or murders?) and other catastrophes derail the trip. Stuck in a freezing train with no help in sight, what is a detective to do, but solve the murder herself?

This exhaustively researched book tells you all (and I mean all) about the British Arctic Air Route Expedition (B.A.A.R.E.), with a goal to explore, of course, but also to make air travel possible over the Arctic between the United States and England/European the 1930s. The spearheading wunderkind of this endeavor was Henry George Watkins ("Gino"), the rakish, devil-may-care phenom who seemed to be oblivious to fear or limitations. He (and his crew) were truly amazing, brave (or foolish, depending on one's mindset) and creative. I enjoyed learning about their incredible resourcefulness, and some of the truly amazing miracles that took place during their treks, but there was a lot of detail. A lot. I guess maybe that's important for feeling the feeling of being trapped in a tent in the Arctic for months, waiting for salvation . I surely felt the loneliness and dull panic. But I also looked longingly at my other books, hoping one of them would rescue me too. A great book for natural history and exploration buffs. For the rest of us, good information, but maybe take a speed reading class first.

Bill Bryson could write about garbage and I would read about it. Not that this is remotely like garbage. But one assumes that, having lived in a body for, well, all of one's life, we'd know a little more about it. That's where Bill comes in and debunks your assumption. This book is jam-packed with fascinating facts about the shells that carry us around in spectacular fashion and all written in typical Bryson-esque . You'll have lots more respect for the sophistication of all your body does for you after reading this!

This book started out quirky and endearing, and ended up annoying me. Ellie is the only child of a marriage that didn't last due to her father's repeated dalliances. With such a messy wake behind him, his tradition is to celebrate all holidays with his varied children in the off-months so they can be together as a patched-together family, these children of a few different women. Therefore, the childrens' relationships with each other are thin and situational, and it seems that they're all somewhat jockeying for the attention of the most charismatic member of the family, dear old dad. When he dies unexpectedly, it throws Ellie into a turmoil that she can't reconcile. The tchotchke that he leaves her in his will not only makes her feel like he didn't love her as much as she thought, but was almost an insult. The author can write, and weaves the story together pretty well, but I just didn't like the main character at all. I found her frustratingly self-centered and of dubious integrity. The mystery of the bequest threaded through the story gets explained at the end--but by that time I didn't much care.