(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Tennessee, 1939—Life for the Foss family is hardly glamorous, but they get by as best they can.  Living on a shantyboat on the Mississippi, they take what the river provides, carving out a life among the colorful riverfolk.  Members of the makeshift community stick to their own.  It's only when Queenie Foss' labor goes awry, progressing beyond what the local midwife can handle, that the family has to seek help elsewhere.  With Queenie and her husband in a Memphis hospital, it's up to 12-year-old Rill to keep her four younger siblings in line until their parents return.  When several days pass with no word from her folks, Rill starts to worry.  Then strangers come to the boat, snatching up all five kids.  Thrust into an orphanage under the tyrannical rule of a woman both cunning and cruel, Rill is terrified.  How could Queenie and Briny have abandoned their children?  What will happen to Rill and her siblings now?

South Carolina, Present Day—The daughter of a wealthy, well-respected senator, 30-year-old Avery Stafford is poised to follow in her father's footsteps.  Not sure how she feels about the prospect or about her upcoming nuptials, she's already a bit rattled.  A chance encounter with a nursing home patient who calls her "Fern" leaves Avery feeling even more unmoored.  She's never questioned her place in the world, or the word of her highly regarded family, but now she's forced to ask a troubling question: Who is Avery Stafford, really?

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate is a fascinating novel based on the real-life antics of Georgia Tann, the woman who ran the Tennessee Children's Home Society from the 1920s through the 40s.  After brokering thousands of adoptions, Tann became the focus of a legal investigation that found her guilty of unethical and illegal behavior, which included fraud, kidnapping and child-trafficking.  Although the orphanage was shut down in 1950, Tann died before charges could be brought against her.  Through the fictional Foss family, Wingate brings the horrors wrought by Tann to vivid life.  What results is a riveting novel that is both compelling and touching.  Despite the disturbing subject around which the story rotates, it's a moving, hopeful tale with a predictable, but very satisfying ending.  I loved Before We Were Yours and I'm not the only one—the novel just won the Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction.  If you enjoy engaging historical fiction, you don't want to miss this one.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence, scenes of peril, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

Celebrate Every Season, the sisters' newest cookbook, is another fun one.  As its title suggests, the collection is organized by month and focuses on traditional U.S. holiday/seasonal cuisine.  There's a variety of offerings, including snacks, desserts, non-alcoholic drinks, appetizers, etc.  At the end of each month/chapter is a section called "Traditions," which gives additional suggestions for fun ways to celebrate the season.  These include craft/gift ideas, recipes (food and non-food), party tips, and more.  I haven't had the time to try any of the recipes yet, but I've definitely got my eye on some (I'm looking at you, Christmas Tree Brownies!).  

If you haven't quite gotten the picture yet, let me just lay it out for you:  This is a thick, beautiful cookbook that's bursting with awesome.  You definitely want to snag yourself a copy.  It would also make a lovely Christmas or birthday gift for any home cook who digs simple, tasty meals.  What a grand coincidence!  It just so happens that I have an extra copy to give away, courtesy of the lovelies at Shadow Mountain.  I'm even willing to brave the post office in December to get it to the winner by Christmas, so be sure to enter the contest.  See the Rafflecopter below for details. 

(Readalikes:  The Six Sisters have published five other cookbooks, all of which should be available wherever books are sold.  Also, be sure to subscribe to their website for lots of free recipes and more.)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

To the FTC, with love:  I received two finished copies (one to keep, one to give away) of Celebrate Every Season from the generous folks at Shadow Mountain.  Thank you!

--

Want to win a gorgeous copy of Celebrate Every Season for your very own?  Use the widget below to enter.  Giveaway is open to readers with U.S. and Canadian mailing addresses only.  Contest ends December 18, 2017.  Book will be mailed December 19, 2017—in plenty of time for Christmas giving 😀 

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

New York City has always been an exciting place full of life, energy, and mystery.  In the alternate city presented in York by Laura Ruby, it's even more so.  It's all thanks to the Morningstarrs, a set of twins who arrive in 1798 to create a technologically-advanced city full of wondrous marvels the likes of which the world has never seen.  The pair realize some of their ambitions, but disappear without a trace in 1855.  Their most enduring legacy?  The Old New York Cipher, a puzzle with clues based on the glittering city itself, ostensibly leads to untold wealth.  Now, nearly 200 years since the Morningstarrs vanished, no one has come anywhere close to solving the cipher.  Many doubt its existence, seeing the whole mess as a joke left behind by troublesome pranksters.

Tess Biederman doesn't agree with the skeptics.  In fact, the 13-year-old is determined to solve the cipher once and for all.  If she fails, her family could lose the home where Bidermanns have been living for one hundred years.  She can't let her beloved building, one of the original Morningstarr constructions, fall into the hands of some soulless developer.  Especially when he's about as sketchy as they come.  Along with her twin brother and their friend Jamie Cruz, Tess will solve the cipher.  She won't stop until she's able to save her home—and that will only happen when she has the Morningstarr treasure in her hands.  Of course, it won't be easy to solve a 200-year-old mystery, especially when you're not the only one hot on the tail of an answer that leads to wealth untold ...

From its striking cover to its action-filled plot, York—the first installment in a planned series—provides a fun, inventive adventure story that has timeless appeal.  It also offers a mystery that's intelligent and compelling.  Young readers will appreciate the nod to their acumen.  They might, however, be put off by the novel's length and detail, both of which do require some patience.  Their fortitude will pay off in the end as York really is an entertaining romp.  It definitely gets long, but it's worth it.  Mostly. True, I didn't absolutely love the book—I did enjoy it overall, though. 

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a little of Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of York from the generous folks at HarperCollins.  Thank you!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Snow-in-Summer Martin lives an idyllic life in the lush mountains of Appalachia.  She frolics in the hills with her lovely mother and wraps herself in the magic of her father's abundant garden.  With a baby on the way, the Martins are all feeling especially content.  For them, life is simple but happy.

Everything changes when the infant and his mother die.  Paralyzed with grief, Lemuel Morton barely seems to remember that he has a daughter.  If it weren't for the kindly ministrations of Cousin Nancy, Snow-in-Summer would be completely forgotten.  Things get even worse when Lemuel marries a mysterious woman whom Snow is convinced must be a witch.  As life becomes increasingly difficult for the young woman, she makes a horrifying discovery—Stepmama, whose power feeds off the life force of others, has plans for her bewitching stepdaughter.  Very sinister plans, indeed ...

I find the people and culture of Appalachia endlessly intriguing, so when Lark recommended Snow in Summer by Jane Yolen to me, I knew I had to read it.  I've never been a big fan of Snow White, but the mountain setting with its natural beauty and magic, both charming and chilling, kept me riveted to the page.  The story is familiar, of course, but Yolen adds enough intrigue to make the tale interesting.  While I didn't absolutely adore the novel, overall I found it entertaining and enjoyable.  

(Readalikes:  A little like Fairest and Winter, both by Marissa Meyer)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs) and violence

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find