Normal Sucks: How to Live, Learn, and Thrive outside the Lines

Written by: Jonathan Mooney

First line: Sons, You have each asked me a question, in different ways, at different times, and, I think, for different reasons.

Why you should read this book: Framed somewhat as a letter to his children, this book braids Mooney's experience growing up with dyslexia and ADHD with an examination of the limiting and historical ideas of normality and a discussion of the power of being different. While he struggles for much of his youth to blend in and succeed according to other people's standards, he comes to understand that the conditions others call disabilities are, for him, wells of strength from which he can draw new ways of being. Through his cultural research, he discovers that there is, scientifically, no such thing as normal after all, that it is our differences that make us human and allow us to thrive, and that viewing differences as problems robs humanity of its fullest potential.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've never had to work to fit in. 

Clash

Written by: Kayla Miller

First line: Okay, okay, but picture this...in a city where crimes and evildoings are piled so high that they've blocked out the sun, only one hero can see through the dark...The Owl!

Why you should read this book: Has Olive Branche, the girl who is friends with everyone, finally met the one person she can't make friends with? Nat is the new girl in school, so naturally Olive volunteers to show her around, but Nat seems more interested in figuring out which of Olive's friends are cool enough for her, and Olive isn't exactly feeling the love. The harder she tries to be nice to Nat, the more she feels pushed out of her circles, until Halloween night, when Nat's true face will be revealed. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're two-faced and insecure. 

Tidesong

Written by: Wendy Xu

First line: Once upon a time in a kingdom by the sea, a dragon fell in love with a human fisherman.

Why you should read this book: Distantly descended from dragons, Sophie has the power to control the weather, but if she wants to master magic, she needs to get into the top academy for magic, so her parents send her to study with her cousin Sage and Aunt Lan. Sophie is eager to learn by Aunt Lan seems determined to wear her out with boring chores and keep all her secrets to herself. When Sophie takes matters into her own hands, she accidentally traps a young dragon called Lir in human form, and now his father, a dragon king is enraged, and time is running out to fix her mistakes. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You have no patience for studying the basics. 

All the Lovely Bad Ones

Written by: Mary Downing Hahn

First line: Grandmother met us at the Burlington Airport, a big smile on her face and her arms open for a hug. 

Why you should read this book: Banned from summer camp due to their constant pranks, Travis and his sister Corey are spending the summer at their grandmother's quaint Vermont hotel, and when they learn that the property is supposedly haunted, they can't help themselves. Little could they know that their carefully orchestrated fake haunting is just the thing to wake up the real ghosts who slumber there, uneasy in their graves. Now it's up to these two tricksters to learn the property's chilling history and set to right the evils of the past. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: For a ghost story it's not especially scary. 

How We Fight for Our Lives

Written by: Saeed Jones

First line: The waxy-faced weatherman on Channel 8 said we had been above 90 degrees for ten day in a row.

Why you should read this book: Gripping and provocative, this memoir describes the poet's early life, his burgeoning understanding of his own sexuality and what it meant to be queer and Black and smart and sexy and living in Texas. As he grows up, he grapples with how best to express these truths to himself, his family, and to the world. Woven through Jones's coming-of-age is the story of his mother, who raised him as a single mom, and the strength of her heart, along with its weakness.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you have a problem with promiscuous gay sex, this might not be the story for you.  

A Wedding in Haiti

Written by: Julia Alvarez

First line: My husband and I have an ongoing debate about how old Piti was when we first met him. 

Why you should read this book: The novelist recalls two meaningful trips she and her husband Bill took to Haiti with Piti, a charming and capable young man they befriended years earlier, along with a delightful assortment of other characters. In the first half of the book, they travel to Haiti to attend Piti's wedding, a comically difficult trip in both directions; after falling in love with the people they met on the previous journey, they feel the need to visit again in the wake of the 2010 earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince. Haiti is a foreign land to Alvarez, despite the fact that she is from the Dominican Republic next door, and she is equally enchanted and inconvenienced at every turn, capturing the land and its people, their trials, tragedies, and triumphs with a clear eye.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're shocked--Shocked!--to learn that some people take bribes. 

Took: A Ghost Story

Written by: Mary Downing Hahn

First line: The old woman stands on the hilltop, just on the edge of the woods, well hidden from the farmhouse below.

Why you should read this book: Daniel and Erica are not thrilled about their family's downgrade to living in an old farmhouse in West Virginia, which is creepy enough on its own without the locals warning them about local cryptids Old Auntie and Bloody Bones, who kidnap a little girl every fifty years, and force her to do chores. When Old Auntie comes for Erica and turns out her last servant, Selene, everyone is convinced that there is nothing to be done but wait another fifty years for her release, but Daniel is determined to use every resource within reach to bring his sister home again and save Selene as well. With his parents paralyzed with depression and almost everyone else too terrified of the ghost witch and her skeleton ghost pig, Daniel will have to confront the evil himself. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Honestly, Daniel is kind of a boring and undeveloped character, but perhaps the rest of the story is developed enough that you won't notice. 

Nightbooks

Written by: J. A. White

First line: After his family had finally fallen asleep, Alex slung the backpack over his shoulder and snuck out of the apartment, easing the front door gently home so it didn't slam shut. 

Why you should read this book: Alex has loved scary stuff ever since he was little, but when his notebooks full of handwritten spooky tales start to feel like a liability, he has no idea that his plan to dispose of them will land him smack in the middle of his own horror story. Kidnapped by Natacha, a witch who wants his stories for her own diabolical purposes, he's trapped in his own building, in an apartment that is much bigger on the inside, and much more mysterious than anything he's ever imagined. Along with another kidnapped child, Yasmin, and a seemingly hostile cat called Lenore, Alex must figure out how to defeat Natacha and escape his strange prison before Natacha or her strange domain turn on him.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You accidentally saw a zombie film when you were four and it scarred you for life. 

Sing Down the Moon

Written by: Scott O'Dell

First line: On the high mesas above our canyon, spring came early that year.

Why you should read this book: In the voice of Bright Morning, a young Navajo woman, this book presents a vivid picture of life in Canyon de Chelly in the 1860s, and what happened when white people began to encroach on this territory. Bright Morning has learned to be a diligent steward of sheep and hopes one day to marry the proud Tall Boy, a strong warrior who once killed a bear, but when she is kidnapped and sold into slavery, Tall Boy loses the use of one arm rescuing her. Shortly after that, Bright Morning's tribe, along with all the other indigenous people in the area, are forced on the Long Walk, a deadly forced relocation following the destruction of their homes and resources, and Bright Morning, and all those around her, must decide how much they are willing to risk to survive, and thrive.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Bright Morning and Tall Boy have a happy ending, but many of the people forced onto the Long Walk did not. 

A Different Pond

Written by: Bao Phi and Thi Bui

First line: Dad wakes me quietly so Mom can keep sleeping.

Why you should read this book: Hours before sunrise, a small boy and his father set out in the darkness to catch enough fish for the family's dinner before the father goes off to work. In the quiet, pre-dawn hours, the father teaches the son about fishing and responsibility, and even lets slip a few words about his old life in Vietnam, which he rarely mentions. A romantic picture of the lives and emotions of the hardest-working American immigrants, who will do anything to give their children the upbringing they deserve without allowing them to forget where they came from or the importance of family.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You really hate fish. 

Girl Juice

Written by: Benji Nate

First line: Nana...Naaaana! Help! I'm booored!

Why you should read this book: This absolutely irreverent and somewhat madcap comic follows perpetually sexy and slutty Bunny, who wants nothing more than to remain "hot and simple" forever, being admired by everyone who sees her and having weird freaky sex with everyone she meets, without taking responsibility for anything, a position that fascinates and grates on her roommates. Some of these pages stand alone, and others follow little arcs that involve scenarios like Bunny going camping or her roommate being possessed by a demon. Lighthearted but not lightweight, this book is always funny and sometimes serious.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You get bent out of shape by sexual debauchery and go out of your way to shame sluts who refuse to feel shame, or you are afraid of clowns. 

Wash Day Diaries

Written by: Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith

First line: Stand clear of the closing doors, please.

Why you should read this book: Four young Black women support each other as they navigate relationships, careers, family, mental health issues, and their hair. Kimana is avoiding an abusive ex while preparing for an upcoming gig; Cookie is repairing her relationship with her homophobic grandmother while crushing on a new girl, Nisha is navigating being pursued by two hot guys who are also professional connections, and Davene is hiding chronic depression. The ride-or-die friends are always there for each other, accepting of their foibles and journeys and rejoicing in each other's success.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't believe in accepting other people's foibles and journeys.

A Color Named Loved

Written by: M. Ellery and Clara Reschke

First line: Anna lived in Loville.

Why you should read this book: It's a children's book about polyamory, focusing on the abundance of love available to a child growing up in a stable and healthy polycule. Anna isn't quite sure about the new adults joining her family until she understands that she isn't losing anything, but gaining new "colors" in her life, as her parents' new partners bring their own personalities and strengths to raising her. It's a very upbeat and optimistic view of the situation, sure to delight polyamorous people and piss off people who oppose polyamory.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're one of those fundamentalist nutjobs who blows a gasket upon learning that other people are happy leading lives that offend you because they go against your rigid beliefs, and you go absolutely nuclear when you see children be happily raised in those situations. 

American Oz

Written by: Michael Sean Comerford

First line: Rose Dog's eyes fixed on me as he danced around the trailer in agony.

Why you should read this book: Recently divorced and spoiling for adventure, the author (age 53) resolves to spend a year working as a carnie--building, running, and tearing down rides, sleeping in terrible conditions, getting paid under minimum wage, eating on a dollar a day--in order to write a book about this hidden American culture. Along the way, he meets a fascinating cast of characters, hitchhikes thousands of miles, learns skills and lingo and history that most people will never use, is victimized by criminals, cops, and carnies, and generally Jack Kerouacs his way around the country in a cotton candy fever dream. Anyone who's ever dreamed of running away to a magical and terrible world unlike the place they've always lived will find inspiration (possible to stay home) in this engaging and wonderful memoir.

Why you shouldn't read this book: The life described by the author is magical and also terrible, to the point that it almost feels like he might be punishing himself for some past transgressions related to the end of his marriage, but as the story progresses it become obvious that he is delighted to sleep in the rain on highway on ramps and get hit in the head with giant pieces of hardware and have his life threatened by angry men and be pushed around by cops and so on, and the only person suffering in this story is his elementary-age daughter, who doesn't really understand her dad's journey and only feels his abandonment.  

We Don't Eat Our Classmates

Written by: Ryan T. Higgins

First line: Penelope Rex was nervous.

Why you should read this book: School-aged dinosaur Penelope is having trouble making friends in school due to the fact that she thinks children are delicious and she can't stop herself from trying to eat her classmates. Although she is made to spit them out every time, she finds herself shunned by her peers, who do not appreciate her attempts to devour them. Only when the class pet chomps on her finger does Penelope learn a shred of empathy and begin to understand why her behavior is so abhorrent, and how to behave so people will like her.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You think some people deserve to be bitten. 

Locomotion

Written by: Jacqueline Woodson

First line: This whole book's a poem 'cause every time I try to/tell the whole story my mind goes Be quiet!

Why you should read this book: A children's book that discusses big issues, this novel in poems takes us into the mind of Lonnie "Locomotion" Motion, a young boy grieving the loss of his parents in a fire, and his separation from his little sister in foster care. Pursuing excellence in self-expression, he examines his own feelings, limns his classmates and the adults in his life, and builds relationships. The voice is remarkable, honest and vulnerable but observant and clever, and Lonnie's journey takes him outside of himself, and into the lives of the people around him, while elevating his own mind from tragedy to hope. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're a mean foster mom. 

To Be Honest

Written by: Michael Leviton

First line My parents prepared me far in advance for life's inevitable tragedies (death, rejection, failure, etc.).

Why you should read this book: Raised by parents who taught a strict code of radical honesty, which included everyone sharing every thought that moved through their minds at all times, with the assumption that nobody could possibly be offended by this behavior because they are just being honest and sharing their thoughts, the author grows up never fully understanding what everyone else's problem is, and also not caring. It's both hilarious and heartbreaking, and as he carries this philosophy into adolescence and adulthood, it impacts every facet of his life until he realized, one day, that lying might be a habit that could actually improve his life, at least the part that involves interacting with other humans. After astonishing Ira Glass with his life story and worldview, he decides to be brutally honest in sharing his recollections in print. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Honestly, I loved everything about it, although I wondered if the author and his father ever considered that some of their policy was borne out of neurodiversity as well as honesty. 

Eerie Tales from the School of Screams

Written by: Graham Annable

First line: Okay, who would like to go first?

Why you should read this book: A delightfully creepy anthology-style graphic novel with a frame story: an elementary teacher who, for some reason, is cheerfully inviting her students to tell her the eeriest stories they can think of. The tales are a little funny but quite spooky, appropriate for elementary students who enjoy horror (scary without being gory) and span a variety of subgenres: ghosts, sea monsters, aliens, dismembered talking corpses, interdimensional monsters that feed on fear. Wonderfully, the last story ties back to the frame to create a perfect circle of eeriness.

Why you shouldn't read this book: For some readers this book might be too extreme; for other, not extreme enough.

Castle in the Air

Written by: Diana Wynn Jones

First line: Far to the south of the land of Ingary, in the Sultanates of Rashpuht, a young carpet merchant called Abdullah lived in the city of Zanzib.

Why you should read this book: It is technically a sequel to the delighting Howl's Moving Castle, although for the majority of the book, it feels more like an homage to 1,001 Arabian Nights, and the connection to the original story doesn't become clear until chapter fourteen. Our protagonist, Abdullah, makes a modest living as a carpet salesman, barely tolerating the aggressive meddling of his distant relations, and dreaming primarily of beautiful gardens beyond his reach, until the day he is bullied into purchasing a shabby but magical flying carpet. Suddenly true happiness in the form of a beautiful princess is within his grasp, but Abdullah's quest to marry Flower-in-the-Night is constantly foiled by mortal and supernatural opposition, and he has a long road ahead of him if he is to ever come to the happy conclusion of his quest.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Although I have seen the Miyazaki film about a hundred times, it's obviously different from the original novel, which I wish I had read before reading this one. 

A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy

Written by: Tia Levings

First line: This was my fault.

Why you should read this book: A young woman intent on finding the key to contentment falls hard into a dangerously misogynistic branch of Christian fundamentalism, entering into marriage with a violent and mentally ill man who promises her happiness, provided she can offer complete obedience and subjugate her personality and will to support his increasingly unstable decisions under the guise of church doctrine (spoiler alert: no human on earth could keep that guy happy). This is an intimate look into the high control cults made to appear wholesome and harmless to outsiders in popular media while crushing women, children, and anyone who cannot fully assimilate and stay within the strict and narrow boundaries prescribed by cult leaders. This book will break your heart, but if you aren't already aware of the danger posed by dominion theology (and based on the results of the last US presidential election, hundreds of millions of Americans are unaware of the danger posed by dominion theology), this book offers a chilling but sharp-eyed view into the workings of a movement that seeks to control your life and undermine American freedom on a macro level in the same horrific way that they almost destroyed Levings. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Brutal descriptions of domestic violence, infant death, and spiritual abuse. 

Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees

Written by: Thor Hanson

First line: The crossbow fired with a dull thwack and we watched its bolt disappear upward into the leaves and branches, trailing a length of monofilament fishing line that glinted in the scattered beams of sunlight.

Why you should read this book: Bees are fascinating even if you're not a biologist, and they're even more fascinating when you have a biologist to explain them to you. Spanning the entire apian world (not just honeybees!), this book details, in particular, the evolution of bees (from wasps who figured out how to live fully vegetarian lifestyles) and how that impacted the evolution of plants and the evolution of humans. Focusing on the tiny microcosms of bees' worlds, this book opens up a vast, active universe that most of us are simply too big and too busy to notice. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are ambivalent toward bees and have no interest in learning their secrets.

Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels Book One

Written by: Nancy Springer and Serena Blasco

First line: Enola, you'll manage well on your own, won't you?

Why you should read this book: I usually find graphic novel adaptations woefully inadequate, but as I haven't read the original book (although I did see both films on Netflix) this one seemed decent to me. Young Enola, the little sister of Mycroft and Sherlock, has no interest in being forced into a corset or the role of a lady, and when her mother disappears, she employs her considerable intellect to escape the confines of the life others have laid out for her. Donning a variety of disguises, she runs away to London and sets up shop as a specialist in missing persons cases, managing to find several missing persons while successfully evading her brothers, without making much headway in finding her mother. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I'm guessing the original novel is better. It usually is. 

Myth-Chief

Written by: Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye

First line: "I still think this is a bad idea," my attractive administrative assistant said, as I reached for the door of the tent.

Why you should read this book: I was obsessed with this series about a young magician with more heart than talent in the '80s, but at some point it started to seem kind of silly and I think I missed the last 2 books of the original run, and didn't read any of the collaborations with Nye; however, this volume was on a table of free books at a sci-fi convention and is apparently one of the last things he did before his death, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Skeeve the Magnificent decides to come out of retirement and set up shop as a magical consultant for unsolvable problems, but the way he left his old crew and the way he comes back proves problematic for those he considers his friends. Soon, Skeeve and his old mentor Aahz are embroiled in a vicious and very silly contest involving ghosts, foxes, glitter, gold, romance, backstabbing, naming rights, character assassination, and a surprising amount of cake, to prove who is the best in the business.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you aren't fairly conversant with the series and the world its set in, this won't make very much sense. 

The Honeybee and the Robber

Written by: Eric Carle

First line: In a hive inside an old hollow tree, there lived a honeybee.

Why you should read this book: Gorgeously illustrated in Carle's signature style, this pull-tab book follows a honeybee through her busy day. It's an accessible but informative book that includes many interesting details about the realities of life for these beloved insects. Also includes two full pages of small-print nonfiction explanations for adults, corresponding to the action on each page of the larger book, so they can answer every single question about honeybees that might arise in the minds of children.

Why you should not read this book: Like all pull-tab books, the print edition is simply no match for children's fingers, and will soon be destroyed by curious and eager grabbing hands. 

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Written by: Shelby Van Pelt

First line: Darkness suits me.

Why you should read this book: Cameron can't keep a job or a girlfriend, and the pathetic state of his life at thirty he attributes to being abandoned by his drug-addict mother and never even knowing his father. Tova is serious, industrious, and all alone at an age where others are enjoying their grandchildren, following the deaths of her son, husband, and brother. Marcellus is a giant Pacific octopus who has spent most of his life in an aquarium, and now, as he is about to achieve senescence, he's determined to use to use his keen intellect, sense of adventure, and deep understanding of human beings developed through four years of captivity, to show Cameron and Tova the important truths they cannot see through their own grief. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not really a romance novel, but it's got those kinds of ridiculous coincidences and silly writing that so often are the hallmarks of the genre.

The Hungry Clothes and Other Jewish Folktales

Written by: Peninnah Schram and Gianni De Conno

First line: Honi the Wise One was also known as Honi the Circle Maker.

Why you should read this book: This short, illustrated collection for children offers an assortment of Jewish folktales from different traditions and different eras, featuring kings, beggars, tricksters, and fools, offering moral lessons and opportunity for thought and discussion. There are the tales from the Talmud, tales from Israeli folklore, and tales from the twentieth century, all retold in the author's own voice, and often revised to suit her purpose. Rest assured, wickedness will be uncovered and forgiven, while faith and honesty will be recognized and rewarded.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Students of Jewish folklore (and even students of folklore in general) have likely already read versions of many or most of these stories. 

Beauty's Kingdom

Written by: Anne Rice (writing as A. N. Roquelaure)

First line: Ah such a long and wearying day.

Why you should read this book: Many years ago, when I was technically too young to be in possession of such materials, I read the original Sleeping Beauty Trilogy, a lush BDSM-themed fantasy series about a kingdom of sexual delights centered around a culture of naked pleasure slaves, which had a formative influence on my adolescent imagination. In this final installment, Rice takes a different angle on her fantasy and her characters, telling the story primarily from the perspective of older, wiser characters with greater personal power and agency, in many cases addressing issues of gender and class that were ignored and glossed over in the first three books, offering more modern and sensible views on the ethics and reality of sexual servitude: roles are reversed, switching is rampant, and morality is a major theme. While this new book is, perhaps, less erotic and less magical as a result, it is still provocative and thoughtful, and, for fans of the series, offers a welcome update on the characters and the world, with a satisfying conclusion that remains true to the heart of the original.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Obviously, if you aren't excited by the idea of a BDSM-theme fantasy series, this is not for you; further, if what you liked about the original was the non-consensual nature of the servitude (or the rigid views of gender and sexual roles, or the liberal views on age of consent) you may be disappointed.

Clorinda Takes Flight

Written by: Robert Kinerk and Steven Kellogg

First line: Clorinda the cow took the sun now and then in the back of a friend's house, the farmhand named Len.

Why you should read this book: Inspired by the flight of birds, Clorinda the cow becomes determined to fly herself, and enlists her friends, Hop the pig and Len the human to construct a flying machine to achieve her dream. Their initial efforts enjoy only limited success, but eventually they settle on the sensible solution of a hot air balloon. The balloon works like a charm, but poor Len is accidentally left behind as Clorinda and Hop fly over the country, across the ocean, and eventually make their way to England, where they take tea with the Queen and bring back a souvenir for Len.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's very silly. 

Llama Llama Time to Share

Written by: Anne Dewdney

First line: Llama Llama playing trains, driving trucks, and flying planes.

Why you should read this book: This is a read-aloud story in rhyming couplets for very young children, about the importance of sharing and the perils of not sharing. A new neighbor, Nelly Gnu, comes over to play with Llama Llama, and for a while he manages to handle this stranger playing with his toys, but when Nelly involves his favorite doll in the game, Llama finds he cannot share, with disastrous results. Eventually, the catastrophe is rectified and Llama learns it is more fun to share, and that doing so results in making new friends.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are over the age of seven and you know how to share. 

Leave Me Alone!

Written by: Vera Brosgol

First line: Once there was an old woman.

Why you should read this book: An old woman lives in a small house with a large family, and cannot seem to get a moment's peace to do her knitting without children interfering with the process. Winter is coming and her task is important, so she packs up and ventures through the land, looking for a little peace and quiet, but everywhere she goes, creatures seem determined to interfere with her work, even when she climbs onto the moon (where little green moon-men examine her with handheld scanners that go "beep boop"). Finally, the old woman finds an empty dimension where she can work alone, and the solitude of that strange place helps her appreciate the noise and commotion of her big family when she returns. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you found an empty dimension, you would never go back. 

Amazing Grapes

Written by: Jules Feiffer

First line: What's up? Mommy is staring out the window.

Why you should read this book: This deeply surreal graphic novel tells the story of three siblings, Shirley, Pearlie, and Curly, and their mentally absent mother, Mommy, who spends most of her time staring out the window, insensate to the world. When their father leaves and Mommy decides to remarry, a giant two-headed swan comes to carry the children off to another dimension, but Shirley refuses to heed the call, leaving the younger siblings to take a nightmare journey through another world populated by a strange assortment of companions. Eventually Mommy and Shirley (and Shirley's fiancé, Whatzisname), are able to catch up with Pearlie and Curly in this other world, and everyone sorts out where they belong and can finally move on with their lives, presumably happier than they were at the beginning of the book.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It feel allegorical and the internal logic is more complex than any of Feiffer's other work; it's very strange and in some places hard to read due to the bizarre nature of the subject matter and the characters' decision-making processes, and also due to the pervasive themes of abandonment, loneliness, and alienation. 

The Wild Robot Protects

Written by: Peter Brown

First line: Our story begins in the sky, with a bright sun and puffy clouds and a large flock of geese.

Why you should read this book: After returning to her island with her new, improved body, Roz the wild robot hopes to live a peaceful life with her animal friends, until a new threat comes to her home: a poison tide seeping through the ocean, killing all life as it goes. With Brightbill grown and mated and her new grandbabies on the way, Roz is determined to save all her friends, and when she learns that her new body is waterproof, she goes on an underwater journey to seek out a new ally, the Ancient Shark and to find the source of the poison tide. Along the way, she learns from many new animal friends and discovers her own strengths as well as the power of large groups to tackle the problems of large infrastructures.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not as good as the first one but I thought it was better than the second one; however, some readers took issue with its progressive messages regarding the environment and gender, so if you're the type of reader who gets bent out of shape by progressive messages regarding environment and gender, maybe this delightful story about a wild robot protecting the planet isn't for you. 

Kindred

Written by: Octavia Butler 

First line: I lost my arm on my last trip home.

Why you should read this book: This is a groundbreaking novel about the perilous history of Black Americans and their relationships to the white people who enslaved them, cleverly framed as a time traveling story about a young woman named Dana who, like Billy Pilgrim before her, becomes unhinged in time. Over and over, Dana is called back from 1970's LA to the antebellum south, where she must repeatedly save the life of her distant ancestor, Rufus, a rich white man who owns slaves, including another one of her ancestors, Alice, a Black woman who is the object of Rufus's obsession. As Rufus grows up, Dana must protect him to ensure her own birth, but at the same time, she cannot protect Alice from Rufus without preventing her own conception. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Slavery is brutal.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu

 

Written by: Susanna Clarke

First line: Above all remember this: that magic belongs as much to the heart as to the head and everything which is done, should be done from love or joy or righteous anger. 

Why you should read this book: These short stories are all set in the same world as the author's award-winning novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but even without prior knowledge of that paracosm, a general interest in fairy tales should be enough for the reader to glean a proper conception of the British Magic referenced within. Told in different styles and voices through different time periods, in these pages we meet the witches who protect children, young women who make deals with fairies, common men who call the irritation of the gods down upon kings, and magic all around. On its own or as a companion to the original work, this is just a delightful collection.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You might like it more if you read the other one first. 

Heaven No Hell

Written by: Michael DeForge

First line: The massage is my favorite part.

Why you should read this book: The varied stories that make up this graphic collection are simultaneously surreal and relatable, showcasing subtle truths about the inner lives of humans against strange backdrop of quiet nightmares. Imposter syndrome, unspoken love, murder, nostalgia, family, and the afterlife all undergo precise but rapid dissection. It's crazy but it makes sense but it's confusing but it feels complete. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't like stories that make you think. 

Twins

Written by: Varian Johanson and Shannon Wright

First line: Sixth grade! First day of the rest of your lives!

Why you should read this book: Identical twins Maureen and Francine have always done everything together, but on the first day of sixth grade, it seems like Francine doesn't want to do anything together anymore. It's bad enough that Maureen feels like her best friend is slipping away, but when the sisters end up running against each other for class president, their relationships starts to feel ugly. How can each sister find a way to shine separately, when they've been practically the same person for so long?

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've never worried about your identity. 

Smaller Sister

Written by: Magie Edkins Willis

First line: Olivia, darling, meet your new baby sister.

Why you should read this book: Lucy has always counted on the friendship of her big sister, Livy, but lately Livy has been changing and pushing her away and behaving in other ways that Lucy can't understand until she finds out that her sister has been diagnosed with an eating disorder. Lucy can't understand her sister's anorexia, but she's determined to help her through her recovery. But Livy's body dysmorphia eventually impacts her sister's self-image, and Lucy has to handle her own problems as her body changes.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Possibly triggering for those with eating disorders. 

The Four Agreements

Written by: Don Miguel Ruiz

First line: Thousands of years ago, the Toltec were known throughout southern Mexico as "women and men of knowledge."

Why you should read this book: A lot of people claim that it changed their lives. In repetitive and dreamlike language, it lays out a system of explanation as to why you, the reader, are unhappy, and how to find happiness by adhering to four simple beliefs about how to think and act. Just speak kindly, don't take things personally, don't make assumptions, and always do your best, and you will transform this world from hell to heaven.

Why you shouldn't read this book: The provenance of the "Toltec" is unclear (getting some Carlos Castenda vibes here) and there's a New-Agey quality in the instructions.

No Ivy League

Written by: Hazel Newlevant

First line: Add more calendars!

Why you should read this book: Homeschool ("my parents are hippies" homeschool, not "my parents are religious nuts" homeschool) teen Hazel has a nice life, studying whatever she feels like, hanging out with other homeschool kids, and the only thing she's missing is the cash she needs to go to DC with her boyfriend and best friend to see a band she loves. Hazel takes a summer job with No Ivy League, a group dedicated to hiring at-risk youth to remove invasive English ivy from the park, and suddenly she's in another world, working with kids with whom she can't seem to find any commonality, kids who have less than she does and resent her privilege. In this honest memoir, Newlevant relates the lessons she learned about race, class, romance, and community at her summer job. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: There's some spicy language in there, probably not for younger teens or kids. 

Dysmorphic Kingdom

Written by: Colleen Chen

First line: She would never be able to look at Nim the same way again. 

Why you should read this book: Part fantasy, part fairy tale, part romance, part adventure, part genre-bending, part sex-farce, constantly surprising, this unusual but delightful story is all about parts: what holds them together, what tears them away from one another. In Vesper's world, women have no rights, and she's finding it progressively more and more difficult to escape an unwanted marriage when she stumbles upon a disembodied penis who can talk and fly as well as perform other tasks more suited to its form. Determined to reunite the member with its rightful owner, Vesper embarks upon a strange journey through a landscape increasingly littered with talking, flying body parts, and she must navigate the confusing obstacles of the royal court, the attentions of men, and her own heart to become the hero scientist she's dreamed of being. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's desperately in need of a couple more proofreading passes. 

All Systems Red (book 1 of the Muderbot Diaries)

Written by: Martha Wells

First line: I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites.

Why you should read this book: "Murderbot," a security unit created from both robot and organic parts, does his job in the hopes that no one will notice he's been hacked, but his primary concern is watching TV: 35,000 hours of streaming video so far. Far more interested in the lives of the fictional characters in his favorite serials than the very real scientists he's supposed to be protecting, he still does his duty as it becomes increasingly apparent that the mission has been sabotaged and someone wants his entire crew dead. If he ever wants to watch TV in peace again, Murderbot must outwit the antagonists and save his small group of intellectual researchers from a much larger and better armed opponent. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: This is one of those stories where the plot is sort of irrelevant, but the voice and the character journey is so engaging you don't really care. (Apparently this series is being developed by Apple TV for a show starring Alexanders Skarsgard, so I guess you could wait a while and then enjoy the story the way Murderbot would want you to enjoy it, if Murderbot cared about you, which it probably doesn't.)

Turtles All the Way Down

Written by: John Green

First line: At the first time I realized I might be fictional, my weekdays were spent at a publicly funded institution on the north side of Indianapolis called White River High School, where I was required to eat lunch at a particular time--between 12:37 P.M. and 1:14 P.M.--by forces so much larger than myself that I couldn't even begin to identify them. 

Why you should read this book: Teenager Aza "Holmesy" Holmes has been living with anxiety and invasive thought for a while now, probably since her father died when she was a little kid, and although they control many aspects of her life, they don't control her best friend, Daisy. When Daisy learns that Aza used to be friends with the son of a missing billionaire (they met at "sad camp" for kids with dead parents), Daisy wants to exploit that connection in the hopes that she and Aza can collect the reward for finding the missing man. But Aza's reunion with her old friend only exacerbates her illness until her behavior threatens all her relationships and even her life. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: John Green is not exactly known for happy endings. 

The Last Unicorn: The Lost Journey

Written by: Peter S. Beagle

First line: The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone.

Why you should read this book: You may have read a book that reminds you of this one, but you've never read anything quite like this, because this is a very early draft of a very popular book, which is not quite as good as the book it eventually became, but stands alone as a story about the confluence of modernity and classical thinking. Our unicorn leaves her forest to search for others of her kind, but she never meets Schmendrick or Haggard or the Red Bull, but instead travels with one or two banished demons, depending on how you count, further and further into the world of men who have no need for or understanding of a unicorn. Although the story sort of fizzles out at the end (Beagle points out, in the afterword, that he was probably trying to write satire despite being anything but a satirist) it takes us to surprising places as it moves with some reckless haste toward its conclusion.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you haven't read The Last Unicorn you'll likely have no idea what's special about this one. 

Two Different Worlds I've Lived in: The True Story of Being Intersex

Written by: Wilma Swartz

First line: What happened to me I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

Why you should read this book: Born intersex and assigned male at birth, Wilma grew up in in a maelstrom of trauma from every direction: at home, at school, and at work, people sensed something off in her performance of masculinity and punished her relentlessly, in a time when gay people had little standing in society and trans people had no rights whatsoever. Despite doing her best to maintain a heteronormative facade, her marriage fails and subsequently she loses all rights to visitation with her son when she realizes that gender reassignment surgery is her only hope of ever living happily and authentically. Although she finds love and success as a woman, the heartbreak and scars of the past and her resonant anger still mar her memories, which she recalls in often excruciating detail, bringing her pain to light and providing a window to a little-known chapter of history.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's badly edited, often disjointed or vague, and includes some commentary that might be upsetting to secular and gender nonconforming readers, as well as graphic, sometimes violent depictions of homophobia and transphobia. 

Everything Is OK

Written by: Debbi Tung

First line: I feel so lost and overwhelmed.

Why you should read this book: In this candid and understated graphic memoir, the author describes a difficult period of her life, some relevant backstory, her journey through her mental health problems, and the world she encounters on the other side. The first half of the book is primarily a painfully accurate description of living with an undiagnosed anxiety disorder while also coping with known depression and also trying to balance a relationship and a career. The second half is more or less a catalog of the kinds of things you learn in therapy, presented in such a way that you actually might believe that everything is, in fact, OK, or that it might be, if you just keep pushing through. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I can see how the first half might be kind of upsetting to someone who was not handling their own anxiety and depression very well. 

The Way Home

Written by: Peter S. Beagle

First line: My brother, Wilfrid, keeps saying it's not fair that it should all have happened to me.

Why you should read this book: It comprises two novellas, set in the universe of Beagle's perennial classic, The Last Unicorn, the first of which features some characters from that book, but both of which center around the experiences of a young protagonist named Sooz. In the first story, "Two Hearts," nine-year-old Sooz runs away to the palace to implore King Lir to personally come to her village and slaughter a griffin that has been eating her friends. In the second, "Sooz," seventeen-year-old Sooz undertakes a much more difficult journey to a fairy realm to rescue the sister she never knew she had. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Once again, I have managed to read a series out of order, and must go back to read another book called The Lost Journey that takes place in between The Last Unicorn and The Way home, so if you haven't read those books, you should get on that before reading this one. 

The Impossible Destiny of Cutie Grackle

Written by: Shawn K. Stout

First line: The birds were following me. 

Why you should read this book: Cutie Grackle is having a hard time of life, what with her parents gone physically and her uncle gone mentally and the one adult who cares for her going out of town for two weeks and the constant food insecurity, but she is well aware, having been told many times, that this is because her family is cursed. That's when the ravens start following her, even though everyone says that birds don't follow people, and these birds definitely have a message for her, possibly about why she's cursed and what she can do about it. With her uncle under the power of his absolutely terrible friend Charlie, Cutie joins forces with Galen, who's spending the summer camping with his archaeologist father as punishment for a school prank, and together they have just a very few hours to decode the raven's cryptic communications and end the curse. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You have no clue how to break your curse. 

Sulwe

Written by: Lupita Nyong'o and Vashti Harrison

First line: Sulwe was born the color of midnight.

Why you should read this book: While I'm typically skeptical of children's literature written by famous actors, this gorgeous story about colorism and how it impacts self-image is beautifully written as well as illustrated. Sulwe is darker than the rest of her family and succumbs to internalized racism until one night a star takes her on a magical journey and tells her an allegorical myth about Night and Day, and how they are equally important. Sulwe learns that her color is beautiful and feels great about herself.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're ugly on the inside. 

The Girl from the Sea

Written by: Molly Knox Ostertag

First line: It's true, you know.

Why you should read this book: Morgan is just trying to get through high school without drawing too much attention to herself and her deep, dark secret, but all her plans go astray the night she hits her head, falls into the ocean, is rescued by a cute girl, and has her first kiss. Confronting her sexuality and the community's response to it is hard enough, but Morgan's new girlfriend, Keltie, isn't even human: she's a selkie who loves Morgan, but also wants her help averting an ecological crisis that would destroy her seal family. Morgan must own her own fears and desires, conquer her anxiety about her friends and family, and open herself up to the love being offered from all directions.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I guess there are people who want to read queer teen contemporary fantasy romance and people who don't want to read queer teen contemporary fantasy romance. 

The Bye Bye Man

Written by: Robert Damon Schneck

First line: In 1692, while the Devil was leading an assault on the fractious inhabitants of Salem Village, French and Indian raiders were menacing the seaport of Gloucester fifteen miles away.

Why you should read this book: Originally titled The President's Vampire, this book was rebranded after one of the chapters (the least strange and the least true one, in my opinion) was made into a horror film. Otherwise it's a collection of unusual occurrences throughout US history, most of which appear to be simple stories of hoaxes and cons based on some people's inclination to believe in the occult, along with a couple unsolved mysteries. That said, it contains numerous citations, appendixes, and an index, as if it's a real historical work, and, apart from the titular chapter, appears to catalog things that actually happened, reporting both what the gullible believe to have happened and what research suggests realistically could have taken place. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It doesn't quite cohere; there's not an internal consistency to the chapters, although they are each amusing, standalone anecdotes (except for the last one, which is just silly and made up). 

If UR Stabby

Written by: Kaz Windness

First line: Once upon a time, there was a murderous unicorn...

Why you should read this book: If you are angry teen who also likes rainbows, or if you simply have the mentality of an angry teen who likes rainbows, you may enjoy this eclectic collection of 1- and 2-page comics about a murderous unicorn. Stabby lampoons various cultural touchstones including numerous tarot cards, and experiences disappointment in interpersonal interactions. Kind of goth, kind of emo, kind of fun. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I was hoping for a bit more of a cohesive narrative. 

Other Words for Home

Written by: Jasmine Warga

First line: It's almost summer and everywhere smells like fish,/except for right down by the sea/where if you hold your nose just right/you can small the sprawling jasmine and the salt water/instead.

Why you should read this book: Jude is a little girl who loves her home and her friends and silly movies, but when her older brother becomes a freedom fighter and her mother finds out she is pregnant again, Jude and her mother must leave Syria to immigrate to America. Suddenly she finds herself in an alien world where her English isn't good enough and she doesn't belong or even recognize much of her new environment. With intention and persistence, Jude begins to win over the people around her, and her new home begins to win her over as well.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've had to leave loved ones behind, with no idea what's become of them. 

Mr. Jimmy from around the Way

Written by: Jeffrey Blount

First line: She and her quiet sorrow were the beginning of his giving, nudging him quietly yet powerfully from his youthful preoccupations and awakening a long-forgotten oath.

Why you should read this book: James Ferguson, the wealthiest Black man in America, is a deeply ethical and honorable man, who keenly feels the disgrace of having the single (understandable) indiscretion he's committed in his entire life broadcast across social media. Fleeing to the poorest corner of Mississippi with his tail between his legs, he seeks to do penance for his sins by living in isolation like a hermit monk, until he happens to notice that the occupants of the other twenty-two houses on his street are afflicted with the most abject poverty imaginable in America. Then he uses his stellar work ethic and massive fortune to help his new neighbors while battling racists, classists, and his own demons. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's kind of hard to suspend disbelief; Mr. Jimmy is preternaturally saintly, his enemies are comically evil, and his solutions are all kind of magical. 

The Care of Strangers

Written by: Ellen Michaelson

First line:  Sima pushed a large woman in a wheelchair to the A71 Nurses' Station to catch a bit of breeze.

Why you should read this book: The immigrant daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Sima works as an orderly in a public New York hospital in the 1980s, while pointedly not finishing her pre-med degree or dealing with her complex feelings about her mother, who is also her roommate. When she notices a young doctor who seems at risk of ending her own career before it even begins, Sima feels drawn to the other woman, intent on making friends and helping her succeed, despite Dr. Kahn's disinterest in her assistance. In her quest to show compassion to her patients and teach compassion to her colleagues, Sima needs to find some compassion for herself.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It can be a little sad in places. 

Magic by the Lake

Written by: Edward Eager

First line: It was Martha who saw the lake first.

Why you should read this book: It's a sequel to the delightful Half Magic, in which the children inadvertently order an entire lake full of magic, really too much magic for them to handle. Although this time around they have the privilege of setting their own magical rules, they immediately and willfully set about to breaking the rules, digging themselves into deeper and deeper difficulties with their own selfish behaviors. Eventually, though, they start to pay attention to reality and turn their magical intentions to helping someone else. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It simply isn't as entertaining as the first, lacking the cohesive logic of the original plot, which turned on the children figuring out the rules of magic and cleaning up their own mistakes. Also, this book, as an unfortunate product of its day, relies heavily in places on racist stereotypes; I originally intended to donate it to the children's library where I volunteer, but these dated and xenophobic ideals don't really belong in a modern library. 

Eddie Whatever

Written by: Lois Ruby

First line: How does Mom find it crumpled in the bottom of my backpack, where it's been sitting for the past three week?

Why you should read this book: Eddie Lewin is not jazzed about being voluntold to perform twenty-five hours of community service at the local retirement home as part of his bar mitzvah project when he's already got school and baseball and robotics and his actual bar mitzvah to worry about, but there's no way around it. He's got to show up at Silver Brook Pavilion and make nice with the residents, who are definitely weird, but also kind of interesting, and also possibly haunted by a ghost and definitely targeted by a thief. Eddie's determined to get to the bottom of these mysteries, but even with the help of his friends, old and new, he's still a kid, and somebody is not happy to have him poking around. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: There is a surprisingly sad bit toward the end. 

The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers

Written by: John Gardner

First line: This is a book designed to teach the serious beginning writer the art of fiction.

Why you should read this book: Very straightforward, exactly what it says on the tin: notes (an entire book's worth) directed to an audience of people who wish to tell stories but have not yet achieved mastery of the art. Even for accomplished writers, the information here may still be ideas that they have never articulated, even if they have assimilated them into their work. Also contains a chapter of writing exercises, some for small groups and some for individuals.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You aren't interested in learning to write fiction. 

Gender Queer: A Memoir

Written by Maia Kobabe

First line: Do you have everything?

Why you should read this book: I devoured this story in less than an hour, and that counts all the times I had to stop to cry, both in places where Kobabe's experience mirrored my own and in places where the suffering was worse. Kobabe, who used Spivak pronouns, determined early on that e was different than the other kids around em, but spent many years questioning emself before learning how: Kobabe is nonbinary and asexual. From candid discussion of eir clothes and hair to sex and masturbation, this open and honest memoir illustrated the reality of life for those of us who do not fall neatly into binaries and still manage to live authentic lives in a world that does not always create space or acceptance for us.

Why you should read this book: If you're not an enby, you will have to come at it with a will to learn, and if you are an enby, it might hurt to read. 

The Arrival

Written by: Shaun Tan

This is a silent comic, which contains no text in English, or any other known language.

Why you should read this book: From the uncanny imagination of an artist known for banal surrealism comes a story that is at once touchingly familiar and confusingly alien: a depiction of the immigrant experience in a bizarre foreign land where everything is new and strange. A man leaves his wife and child in a world that seems similar to ours, except for the presence of enormous dragon shadows, and journeys to a more modern city where the food, the customs, the animals, and everything else, appear just as weird to him as they do to the reader. In time, he learns to navigate this world, meeting new people, discovering the good in his surroundings, until he is in a position to send for his family and help them comfortably settle into their new home. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: For a story with no words, it really makes you work; skimming is not an option. Every imagine must be scrutinized and parsed to make sense of the narrative. 

The Gryphon Stone

Written by: Thomas Watson

First line: I was eleven years old when the last hope the authorities had for plausible deniability died.

Why you should read this book: David's already led a full life of adventure working for the United Nations Multiverse Survey with his non-human friend Trey, and has settled down into a comfortable early retirement to nurse his own regrets, but now Trey is back with bad news: their greatest enemy has taken over the world where David created his greatest regrets. Trey and David must return to Adrathea to hunt down Trey's evil cousin, Edren, who, disguised as a human, has deposed the rightful ruler, taken the throne, and destroyed the relationship between the people of Adrathea and their greatest allies, the Gryphons. With their technologically advanced swords, a beautiful but deadly traveling companion, and the goodwill left over from their previous good deeds, David and Trey need to uncover a hidden artifact, locate a missing prince, and gather an army of allies powerful enough to defeat invaders from another world before Edren destroys Adrathea forever. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: The plot is perhaps a bit driven by lucky coincidences. 

The Fourteenth Goldfish

Written by: Jennifer L. Holm

First line: When I was in preschool, I had a teacher named Starlily. 

Why you should read this book: Ellie never spent a lot of time with her scientist grandfather, because he was a cranky old man who didn't get along with her mom, but now that he's discovered the formula to reverse the aging process, he's posing as her thirteen-year-old cousin, and Grandpa Melvin is everywhere. After a misunderstanding at his lab, Melvin is desperate to break in and retrieve the research that will make him famous and save humanity from its own mortality. Ellie is increasingly interested in science and research, and increasingly uneasy about her grandfather's discovery and what it means for life on earth.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are largely unconcerned with the fate of humanity.  

The Mysteries

Written by: Bill Watterson and John Kascht

First line: Long ago, the forest was dark and deep.

Why you should read this book: With its haunting illustrations and surreal text, it's an allegory about the fear of the unknown, and the respect this fear properly inspires, and the consequences of familiarity replacing that respect with contempt. I think. The main reason to read it is probably the fact that it was written by one of the most popular comic strip artists of the late eighties/early nineties.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Despite appearances, this isn't a kids' book; I'm not really sure what its intended audience is, except for "people who were sad that Bill Watterson stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes.

The Whole Story of Half a Girl

Written by: Veera Hianandani

First line: I'm in school, sitting with my hair hanging long down the back of my chair, my arm around my best friend, Sam.

Why you should read this book: Sonia's father is Indian and her mother is Jewish, but until her dad lost his job and she had to transfer from her fun, hippie school to a public school, she never even thought about her ethnic identity, let alone questions of class and who to sit with at lunch. Now she's torn between the popular cheerleaders who don't understand her, and the kids who might understand her but aren't cool, while mourning the loss of her old relationships. And all this becomes meaningless when her father's mental health becomes the focus of her entire life. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: For a middle grade novel, it tackles numerous difficult issues. 

Ryokan: Zen Monk-Poet of Japan

Translated by: Burton Watson

First line: Though travels/take me to/a different stopping place each night/the dream I dream is always/that same one of home

Why you should read this book: It's a curated collection of the poetry of the late 18th/early 19th century Zen monk Ryokan, including the three Japanese forms of waka, sedoka, and choka, along with a selection of his Chinese kanshi, all beautifully rendered into English that evokes the complex simplicity of the subject matter. These poems tend toward observations of the natural world (often focused on seasonal changes or animla behaviors), musings on his own life as an ascetic who begs for his meals and also likes to play ball with the village boys, and his thoughts on the people and world he knows, including his memories of the past. Reading these poems may perhaps offer the reader an understanding of the unspoken ideals of Zen Buddhism, or at least Ryokan's particular take on his beliefs.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you were next in line for a position of power, you'd take it. 

Big Tree

Written by: Brian Selnick

First line: "Hello, stars."

Why you should read this book: It's the rare story told almost completely from the point of view of plants, and not just any plants: the main characters are two prehistoric sycamore seeds, desperate seeking a safe place to set down and grow roots before all their fluff falls off and they can't travel anymore. Merwin is the cautious realist who seeks to protect his impetuous dreamer sister Louise as they escape a forest fire, journey beneath the waves, and travel by butterfly, among other adventures. Is Louise communing with an ancient power, or does she just have a vivid imagination, and will her visions help them find a place to grow, and help fulfill a bigger destiny than any sycamore seed has ever imagined?

Why you shouldn't read this book: Other than the art style, it doesn't have much in common with Hugo Cabret. 

The One and Only Ruby

Written by: Katherine Applegate

First line: Nobody ever listens to the littlest elephant. 

Why you should read this book: The third in what appears to be a trilogy, this book tells the story of little Ruby's Tusk Day (a special elephant holiday for a young elephant coming of age) and her anxiety in the days leading up to it. Although Ruby lives a safe and comfortable life in the park with a herd of loving elephant matriarchs, her gorilla uncle, Ivan, and her dog uncle, Bob, she still suffers from the unresolved trauma of the things she saw in Africa in her earliest memories. Although she trusts all her family, it's difficult for her to put into words her complicated feelings about her tusks, and the plight of elephants, and the sorrow of her past, but until she can share her truth, she's always going to be scared. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not as good as the first one, although it's better than the second one. 

Jane Morris and Me: Learning to Listen

Written by: Jane Herlihy

First line: It is over. In the love of his friends -- not all, but some of his closest. 

Why you should read this book: While recovering from a horrific case of Dengue fever, the author becomes fascinated with the Victorian artist's model Jane Morris, darling of the pre-Raphaelites, and the ways that women's stories are so often dictated by men who have no inkling of their rich inner lives, and begins to write a meticulously researched diary revealing a very different Janey than the one described by the artists who painted her. From there, the project blossoms into an examination of disability and illness, sitting quietly with information and waiting for understanding, opening oneself up to the freedom and possibility of the creative life, and grappling with permanent change, among other issues. This fascinating work of creative nonfiction is both biography and autobiography, nonfiction and historical fiction, traditional and feminist, and one hundred percent art. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've happily devoted your life to the care of invalid relatives, despite being something of an invalid yourself.