Little Monsters

 

Title: Little Monsters

Author: Andriene Brodeur

Publisher: Audible Audio

 
ISBN: n/a

 

Thoughts: Good family drama, but there were some family issues that seemed not fully fleshed.

Rating: 3/5

The Man Who Invented Christmas

 

Title: The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits

Author: Les Standiford

Publisher: Crown

 
ISBN: 9781524762469

 

Thoughts: Approachable biography of Charles Dickens centered around his writing of A Christmas Carol, along with a brief history of the holiday.

Rating: 4/5

Mary Anne Saves the Day

 

Title: Mary Anne Saves the Day

Author: Raina Telgemeier & Ann M. Martin

Publisher: Graphix

 
ISBN: 9780545890663

 

Thoughts: Realistic portrayal of middle school friends fighting, but shows how standing up for yourself can make all the difference.

Rating: 4/5

A Thousand Times Before

 

Title: A Thousand Times Before

Author: Asha Thanki

Publisher: Viking

 
ISBN: 9780593654644

 

Thoughts: Beautiful novel about a preternatural connection between daughters and all the mothers who have gone before.

Rating: 4/5

Banyan Moon

 

Title: Banyan Moon

Author: Thao Thai

Publisher: HarperAudio

 
ISBN: n/a

 

Thoughts: This was a powerful novel about family, especially about mothers and daughters, but it had so much potential to also be an amazing gothic.

Rating: 3/5

Family Lore

 

Title: Family Lore

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

Publisher: Cannongate Books

 
ISBN: n/a

 

Thoughts: Acevedo creates such rich characters, and there are many of them in this novel about family, but I was not as impressed with her first foray into adult fiction as I am with her YA.

Rating: 3/5

Finale

 

Title: Finale: Late Conversations with Stephen Sondheim

Author: D.T. Max

Publisher: Harper

 
ISBN: 9780063279810

 

Thoughts: These transcripts of Max's conversations with Sondheim in the last decade show how sharp the composer was until the end.

Rating: 4/5