Systemic classism and racism are alive and well in Mississippi. If you have any doubt about this, read this book. It tells the true and horrific tale of how the criminal justice system in that state collaborated with two self-serving medical professionals, a pathologist and a dentist, churned victim after victim into prison with their "expert" testimonies. Suffice it to say that they could not have achieved what they did without the complete support of a system that wanted to keep a specific type of person behind bars, truth be damned. Sheds a lot of light on the happenings of the day.

Stories of seafaring daredevils in the days of yore have always fascinated me; consequently I was delighted to get this book as a gift. It didn't disappoint. Taking place in the mid-17th century, this tale chronicles the true events of the British ship the Wager, part of a small fleet of warships tasked with chasing down a treasure-laden Spanish galleon. Sounds like something from a Disney ride, but not so much. Pretty much every step of this journey spelled doom for these sailors. Robinson Crusoe meets Castaway, meets Lord of the Flies is the best way I can describe it. Well-written and riveting.

How many people have been passed over, misunderstood, maligned, underestimated or even vilified for being neurodiverse? We didn't even have that term when I was a kid, and I shudder to think of the judgment that was passed on people who didn't fit the "norm" back then. Turns out being differently wired is lots more common that one would think. What is normal anyway? As I read this book I realize that there is, indeed a spectrum, and we're all somewhere on it, but it seems like more of a spiderweb design than linear when you get right down to it. There are so many things that deviate from typical, and is that so bad? Do we want to be like Pringle-like humans? These unique folks are the ones who create, invent, perfect and streamline. In Differently Wired, Deborah celebrates diversity and gives practical, sensitive advice to those who are close to someone for whom the descriptor applies.

A Jewish girl is squirreled away at the home of a former family employee after her father dies at the onset of WWII. As she navigates the nuances of learning to pass as Catholic, answer to a new name, and readily recall a fictitious family history, she becomes one of the family. She makes friends. She learns to love the people she lives with. She even learns to trust a German soldier. With the benefit of history, it's easy to believe we know what we would do in a situation in which the world is falling down around us. But do we really know? Are we a dog? Or maybe a wolf?

Mental illness does not preclude intelligence, as this book illustrates. One of the main contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary, a herculean task taking decades to complete, was an inpatient at a mental hospital for the criminally insane for the majority of his life. It was there that he learned of the opportunity to submit definitions and quotations for consideration. I'd read another book on this topic, but felt this one was more thorough in fleshing out Dr. Minor's life behind the veil of the dictionary. Interesting and honestly, heartbreaking.

Okay, first of all, this is a book for 12 and up. So if you think it's beneath you, move along. But if you want a fun mystery to spice up your evening, here you go! A group of kids and their advisor are traveling to a state drama competition find themselves battling a snowstorm, so they pull off the freeway when they see an option. When another group of high schoolers and their advisor turn up at the hotel, the kids all decide to play Two Truths and a Lie, to spice up their hungry and cold evening. Someone's slip of paper confesses a love of watching people die. Naturally this is the creepiest and most rambling of hotels, with a history of double murder. Is it one of the teens? An advisor? The weirdo hotelier or his sidekick maintenance man? The truck driver? While the cast of characters is trying to survive the power outage, people are disappearing, one by one. No, you won't impress your friends by reading this book. But come on, you wanna see who the villain is, too, doncha?

Imagine being in your elder years and suddenly being thrust into the role of guardian of a 10 year old, distant relative. That's the premise of this book. Through no fault of his own, this poor kid needs someplace to live, and the sometimes-crusty great uncle, Noah, is the only option outside of foster care. The unlikely duo embarks on a trip to France, the place of Noah's birth and very early childhood. While there, he digs up information on his mom, esoteric at best and suspicious at other times. Why did she voluntarily send her son to the U.S. and stay behind during WWII? Noah suspects the worst, and bravely pushes on to find out if he is right. The relationship between the two characters was charming and engaging, but the book spent much of its time in idle. Coulda chopped out 100 pages, easily, and had the same story.

What is it about pirates that makes us love them? Despite their errant ways, they have tunneled into our hearts. This book won't change that. It's about a group of buccaneers in the 1680s and their adventures in the seas and coastal towns off/of South America. As the noose tightens, this amazing tale of scaliwags and survivors becomes more and more riveting. But as with everything else, all things must come to an end, and I found myself hoping that a British trial wouldn't result in the gallows for those who were ultimately caught. In this wonderfully researched book, you'll feel the humidity, and sweat the sweat of the chased. Yo-ho hurry up and read it!

In this fiction story (but based on true events, go figure), a journalist travels from Detroit to Birmingham to find out what events preceded her great grandfather's murder there in 1929. Moving back and forth between 2019 and the year of her great grandfather's death, we learn about the rampant racism of . . . well, just that. Rampant racism. Although there are plenty of disappointments there, the author keeps it upbeat and we see glimmers of hope too.

Do you have an anxious child? Or are you anxious yourself? If so, this is the book for you! Dr. Cohen's gentle, humorous, down-to-earth suggestions help wrangle that beast into submission, or at least enable your kiddo (or you) to laugh at it. Out of the loads of suggestions and examples he gives, there is sure to be something for everyone.

Have you heard of the Children of God? Well, nothing could be less god-like, unless you were focusing on what NOT to do in all of the ten commandments. Miraculously, Daniella grew up in this cesspool and got out. In this book she deftly tells her story, in and out of the cult, and through the next chapter of her life, the military. She brings her sharp perspective to bear in some very deep questions at the end of the book . . . questions that I, ten books later, continue to ponder.

An Irish clan gathers for the funeral of one of the siblings. The narrator of this book says she'd like to put down in writing what happened at her grandmother's house when she "was eight or nine", and so the book starts. For me, it dragged, with far too much detail, when I had a pretty good idea of what happened in that first sentence. It's a story lots of families have lurking in their past, and I'll bet the somber mood was accurate if that's your tale to tell. Just for me, a dark, plodding book.