Later

 Fiction by Stephen King

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This book follows a boy called Jamie who lives with his mother In New York and has special abilities--he sees dead people. Some reviewers called this a "recycled" idea, but this story really brings a unique take. As in all Stephen King's books, the point is the characters and how they handle whatever weirdness gets thrown at them.

This is a short story by Mr. King's standards, about 250 pages. I really liked it.

I also read recently by this author: Doctor Sleep

Midnight at the Electric

 Fiction by Jodi Lynn Anderson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

I categorized this book as both futuristic and historical fiction, because it's both. The story takes place in 2065, 1934, and 1919.

Does that sound confusing? Yeah. I felt like the story couldn't make up its mind what it was.

Maybe I'm too old; this book is definitely aimed at a teen audience. I didn't really like it, but I did want to know what would happen, so I did finish it...

The Silent Sister

 Fiction by Diane Chamberlain

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

I've been enjoying Diane Chamberlain's books recently, and this one was as good as I expected.

At the beginning of the story, seventeen-year-old accused murderer Lisa leaves a suicide note for her parents and disappears, leaving her yellow kayak frozen in the icy river. More than twenty years later, her sister Riley is trying to sort through the family home after their father's death, and uncovers some things about Lisa she had never known.

That sounded convoluted when I wrote it, but reading the novel was not at all confusing. This was an exciting book with good characters and a surprise ending.

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I also read recently by this author: Pretending to Dance

The Guncle

 Fiction by Steven Rowley

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Patrick O'Hara gets temporary custody of his niece and nephew, Maisie and Grant, after their mother, who had been one of his closest friends, has died, and their father, Patrick's brother, goes to rehab. Their dad had apparently encouraged the children to call him "GUP" for "Gay Uncle Patrick," hence the "Guncle" of the title. It's Patrick's task to try to give the kids a fun summer while helping them recover from their mother's death; this is made harder because Patrick himself is still getting over the death of his partner, Joe, several years before. 

This was a pretty good story, mostly lighthearted but not exactly laugh-out-loud funny.

Pretending to Dance

Fiction by Diane Chamberlain 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Molly and Aiden are trying to adopt a baby in San Diego, after Molly has suffered a miscarriage and a hysterectomy. But there are things in Molly's past she doesn't want to disclose to the adoption agency, or even to Aiden. Still, the past usually catches up with you....

Told in both the past and present, this story is engaging and and believable. I loved the characters! 

I also read recently by this author: The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes

Perfect Little World

 Fiction by Kevin Wilson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

What is the best way to raise a child? If you asked a hundred people, whether parenting experts or not, you might get a hundred different answers to that question.

Dr. Preston Grind is a research psychologist, raised by research psychologists, and he studies families. He sets up the Infinite Family Project,  a new child-centered approach in which ten children are raised in a communal environment with ten times the parental love of an ordinary family. Will his utopian approach actually work?

This is a thought-provoking story with amazing characters.

I also read recently by this author: Nothing to See Here

Lost Child

 Nonfiction by Torey Hayden

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In this book, American special education teacher Torey Hayden is volunteering with troubled kids in Wales, her adopted country. She takes on a nine-year-old girl called Jessie who lives in a children's home and has serious attachment issues.

I also read recently by this author: The Invisible Girl